Ask Me Anything: Navigating Your Career in the Federal Public Service

September 11, 2023 - Defence Stories

Opening remarks:

Gérard Étienne

Featuring:

Terri-Ann Hurst, Anna Wong, and Lisa Earle

Co-hosted by:

Kirk/Kaiya Hamilton and Lyrique Richards

Date and time:

Wednesday, September 20, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM EDT

Audience:

Open to all Government of Canada employees

Register:

Online registration form

Link to join:

Join the webinar

Ask Me Anything is now on GC Wiki Collab.

Caption

Pictured is the poster involving the Ask Me Anything, "Navigating Your Career in the Federal Public Service” event on September 20, 2023. Panellists include Terri-Ann Hurst, Ana Wong, Lisa Earle, and Gérard Étienne. Hosts include Kirk/Kaiya Hamilton and Lyrique Richards.

Event Description

Join us for the Ask Me Anything, "Navigating Your Career in the Federal Public Service," where our speakers will share insights and guidance to help you thrive in the federal public service. Learn strategies to map your career path from entry-level to senior leadership roles and gain a comprehensive understanding of the nuances of government employment. Whether you're a newcomer or a seasoned public service member, this event will equip you with the knowledge and tools to navigate your public service career.

Join us as our speakers share their stories, reflections, and experiences on the Ask Me Anything stage to help you navigate your career!

About the Ask Me Anything series

This session is part of a series of Ask Me Anything discussions that give us a platform to share stories, listen, ask respectful questions and continue on our journey to have more inclusive organizations.

As an individual, you can’t necessarily change where you live. You certainly can’t change your past, but you can adjust who influences you—through the authors you read, the music you listen to, the movies you watch, and the interactions with your community. The ‘Ask Me Anything’ series provides you with an opportunity to increase your perspective — to learn from the lived experiences of individuals who are bravely sharing their stories to help educate and move the public service towards a culture where equity is embedded.

The series also provides an opportunity for you to know that you aren’t alone. These experiences, especially the negative ones, are systemic and happen all too frequently throughout the public service. The objective of shining this light is to continually increase the network of public servants ready to take action and move forward toward a culture of inclusivity and belonging.

Opening Remarks

Gérard Étienne, Keynote Speaker, Human Resource Consultant, Diversity and Inclusion Expert

Gérard Étienne is a keynote speaker, human resource consultant and diversity and inclusion expert. He is an outspoken supporter of human rights and employment equity who has worked in human resources as a vice president in a large financial institution and as a director general in the public sector.

Gérard is a sought-after expert on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in order to boost innovation, leadership, technical excellence, and employee engagement. He has a wealth of experience working with senior executives.

Gérard's experience in and across many different sectors and settings has made him adaptable, sensitive, broad-minded, and extremely valuable to those with whom he collaborates.

Meet our panellists

Terri-Ann Hurst, Interim Senior Advisor to the Director General of Response, Canadian Coast Guard

Terri-Ann is a highly experienced professional with almost two decades of service in the public sector. She currently serves as the interim Senior Advisor to the Director General of Response at the Canadian Coast Guard in the National Capital Region, and in her regular capacity, she serves as the Senior Advisor of Events Management within the department.

Terri-Ann started her career as an Administrative Assistant in the Central Region at the Canadian Coast Guard. Since then, she has held various positions in the department, acquiring invaluable experience in executing complex projects. With a proven ability to mobilize teams, foster collaboration, and lead large-scale initiatives, Terri-Ann has a solid foundation in governance, and public and stakeholder engagement, gained from her prior employment within the municipal government.

Terri-Ann completed the Graduate Diploma in Public Administration program at the University of Western Ontario. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Communications and a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal and Professional Studies from the University of Windsor.

Terri-Ann is deeply committed to continuous learning, achieving success through resilience, and continued authentic leadership. She sets an unwavering example of perseverance and inspires others to achieve new heights of excellence in public service. Her success rests on the pillars of integrity, adaptability, and a strong commitment to personal development.

Anna Wong, Director of Digital Talent Development, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

As a first-generation Chinese Canadian, Anna is passionate about designing and delivering better government services so that more people can benefit from all that Canada has to offer. She lives for opportunities to build and empower teams to do good government – from scaling pilots to become products and services, simplifying systems and structures, to raising the bar on digital literacy and business acumen.

Lisa Earle, Commanding Officer, Operational Business, Central Region

After graduating from the Canadian Coast Guard College in 2007 with a Bachelor of Technology in Nautical Science (Navigation) and a Watchkeeping Mate Certification, Lisa Earle sailed with the CCG out of Quebec City until joining the Fleet shore team as a Superintendent of the Central (and Arctic) Region in 2017. Continuing self-studies, she successfully obtained her Master, Near Coastal certification in 2020. Her career has taken her over the globe, East and West through the North-West Passage, around Panama, to Japan and Western Africa.

She grew up on the ocean in Northern Newfoundland, a descendent of many generations of seafarers. With salt water practically flowing in her veins, there is no wonder she is passionate about navigation and the sea. As a woman, Captain and leader, she strives to be a positive influence for fleet, women in uniform and Coast Guard as a whole.

Meet our co-hosts

Kirk/Kaiya Hamilton , Senior Strategic Advisor, Infrastructure Canada

Kirk/Kaiya Hamilton has been a public servant for 17 years and has worked with multiple departments, including The Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Border Services Agency and National Defence in areas that span Human Resources, Auditing, Policy, Strategic Planning and Data Innovation. Currently, he/she works as a Senior Strategic Advisor for Infrastructure Canada, working on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion, supporting diverse communities with a focus on 2SLGBTQIA+ people, Women and Persons living with disabilities.

Kirk/Kaiya provides strategic advisor to Senior Leadership on new initiatives related to Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion and is working on incorporating business incubation strategies into the DEI space.

Kirk/Kaiya has many different identity layers, including being a man, woman, husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, public servant, advocate, manager, advisor, genderfluid, pansexual, polyamorous, white, male and much more.

Lyrique Richards, Student, Diversity and Inclusion Office, Materiel Group, Department of National Defence

Lyrique is a Human Kinetics student at the University of Ottawa with a focus on social issues in sport, physical activity, and leisure. She’s in her third year of public service, spanning experience from Health Canada and National Defence. But Lyrique is much more than that. Her layers include being a Black Canadian woman, born and raised in Ottawa to immigrant parents from Jamaica and Antigua.

Lyrique was raised with strong ties to the West Indies, with soca and reggae music pouring from her home, being an Afro-Caribbean dancer for ten years, and as an Alumna of the Afro-Caribbean Cotillion program. Lyrique carries her Caribbean culture with her, influencing her passion for welcoming those around her into the Caribbean culture and her drive for diversity and inclusion work.

From a young age, Lyrique has loved to use her voice to share stories, uplift others and encourage people to be unapologetically and authentically themselves. Lyrique is striving to build a database of books by minority authors for minority students to use for research papers and projects; it will be a place where minority students can see themselves reflected in their work.

Her daily mantra: Just do you, and you’ll leave your mark

Mission - Ask Me Anything Series

We recognize that individuals are composed of a multitude of layers that make us who we are. We do not fit easily in one box or another and we can’t be neatly counted. We represent the mosaic of Canada.

It is important that we find value in each other’s experiences, differences and unique characteristics. When we build our cultural competencies, we are able to work better together in our teams and respond to each other with relevance, empathy and compassion. By celebrating and sharing our authentic selves, we gain greater appreciation of each other and the diversity that surrounds us.

We know through diversity, that workplaces and communities are stronger, more successful and resilient. And most important, it creates spaces of inclusion and fosters a sense of belonging at work where people feel valued.

#AMAChallenge

We encourage others to have courageous conversations with their peers. Use the monthly Ask Me Anything sessions as an opportunity to have brave conversations in your workplaces with your teams.

Here’s what you need to do:

Invite your leaders and colleagues in your organization to an Ask Me Anything watch party, tune in live and watch the session together. Make sure it’s in their calendars.
Before the watch party, book an “After the AMA – Team Session” with your immediate team for the day after the event for 30-60 minutes. Share the resource guide and have these questions for discussion.

After the AMA: Team session discussion questions

What was my main takeaway – expand and share an amazing quote, story or moment
What made me uncomfortable/ what was one of my blind spots?
What is an example of systemic discrimination that I am aware of in my life?
What am I not going to do anymore?
How can I use my voice/ influence? – both overtly/ covertly
Where am I going to dig in and learn more?
How will I continue this conversation?

It is important that we find value in the experiences, the unique characteristics of each other. When we develop our cultural competence, we are able to work better together within our teams and respond to each other with relevant empathy and compassion. By celebrating and sharing our authentic selves, we gain a greater appreciation for each other and the diversity that surrounds us.

Thank you to our contributors

Thank you to our contributors from across the Public Service of Canada – Canadian Coast Guard, National Defence, Infrastructure Canada, Treasury Board Secetartiat -