People of PacifiCan: Meghan Chen

Meet Meghan,

We’re excited to introduce Meghan, who has recently joined PacifiCan as a Senior Learning Consultant. With a deep passion for mental health, her expertise is already making a positive impact, both on individuals and across our agency.

With extensive experience leading candid – and sometimes difficult – conversations about mental health and wellness in the public service, she believes that organizations thrive when their people are healthy. As part of her role, Meghan is interviewing staff at all levels to assess our organization’s needs and providing guidance on initiatives, including those with learning components like Indigenous Inclusion.

When Meghan isn’t leading impactful initiatives, you can find her cooking up a new recipe or kayaking while taking in the stunning mountain views of our beautiful province.

Learn more about this dedicated Eastvan-er who is driving meaningful change and helping to shape a healthier and more inclusive future for our agency.

How did you arrive at PacifiCan?

Over the course of my career, my interest in mental health has been the common thread in many of my experiences and assignments. I took over running the interdepartmental Mental Health Community of Interest my second year in government because I saw a need and an opportunity to work with some incredible people. That led to developing the Mental Health Pulse Survey, founding Open Door Symposium on Mental Health, co-founding the Pacific Pride Network, and various assignments to develop mental health, EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion), reconciliation, and learning strategies for branches and regions. At times it has felt like a disconnected and scrambled path, but it’s starting to make sense (to me at least)! Our organizations are healthy when our people are healthy.

What interested you about PacifiCan?

So many people have told me that PacifiCan’s goal is to be on the cutting edge. And I took that to apply internally as well. I want to be a part of an organization that is dedicated to agility, efficiency, and breaking status quos. 

What do you do in a typical day?

This is a hard one, because it’s never the same. My job is to help the organization design a Learning Strategy that is strategic, impactful, and forward looking – which takes me to a lot of corners of Pacifican! I would say that, right now, my day is about 30% interviews and meetings with staff from all levels to understand the organization and its needs; 30% providing advice and input on all initiatives with learning components (e.g., Indigenous Inclusion); 30% analysis and writing; and 10% holding my head in my hands trying to figure out how it all fits together.

What do you find most rewarding about your work?

In every single one of my assignments and roles in government, the most rewarding part is always having someone come to me and say that it made a difference in their lives. Whether it made them think a little differently, provided them with the support that they needed, or made them feel more secure at work and about who they are as individuals. In doing the important work that we do daily, and as part of the larger public service system, it can be easy to forget that we’re all just people trying to serve people. I feel most rewarded when we are able to make people feel seen and heard.

Any advice you have for people who may want to join PacifiCan? 

Not to state the obvious but: talk to the people here. Take them for a coffee or find some other way to get face to face time. Your network is the most important thing you’ll build in your career. And the only way you can really gauge if an organization is a good fit for you is to talk to the people that work there.

Can you share one of your greatest accomplishments (can be within or outside of your work at PacifiCan)? 

I’m lucky to have been a part of a lot of projects that I’m proud of. I will always be proud of the work we did for the Mental Health Community of Interest, notably the Open Door Symposium on Mental Health.  While I no longer am involved with planning it, it has grown from a very small, budget-less event to something that feels wide-reaching and foundational in the Pacific Region. I am grateful to have been given the space in those events to start honest and difficult dialogues around mental health and wellness in the public service. It was a good reminder for me that sometimes solid, small-scale ideas can have impacts beyond your wildest expectations.

Can you give us one or two things that you enjoy outside of work? This can be a hobby or some fun fact that your colleagues may not know about you

I love cooking. It’s the only way I can decompress after a long day and quiet all the buzzing in my brain – though I can’t follow a recipe to save my life. I also love to kayak. Sitting out on the water looking out at the mountains is the most peaceful thing I can imagine.

Name 3 songs that are on your Spotify Playlist

1. Pink Pony Club, Chappell Roan
2. Orange Colored Sky, Nat King Cole
3. I and Love and You, Avett Brothers