My ECOnnect interview

What is your favourite …
Lunch-time Restaurant?
Any place serving Vietnamese
Pho
Long Weekend?
Christmas because there’s
more days off!
Long Weekend Activity?
Hiking in the mountains
Hiking Trail?
Ptarmigan Cirque

RD: What drew you to take on this new project at ECO Canada?
ET: I’ve always wanted to work in the environmental field, but I
could never find the right fit for my skills and personality.

RD: What kinds of things were you doing before coming to ECO
Canada?
ET: Well, I was taking Anthropology at the University of Calgary and
finishing my degree there. And my last job was in Primary Care
Research and Development (North Hill Mall), working on a joint
project between the University of Calgary and the Calgary Health
Region.

RD: If you were back in university and choosing to pursue a completely
different degree, what would it be?
ET: Probably international development. I’m really interested in the
ISEEE program (Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and
Economy) that’s been recently introduced. I’d definitely want to go
into anything involving sustainable energy.

RD: What have you done to be environmentally friendly at home?
ET: I bought windpower for my husband’s computer for Christmas
from the Pembina Institute so I’d say that’s pretty eco-friendly.

RD: Aside from your exciting job here at ECO, what other hobbies or
interests do you pursue outside of work?
ET: I really like music, I used to teach piano and now I’m taking up the
guitar. I’m also going to be joining a concert band, but I have to wait
for my oboe to arrive. I also like hiking, yoga, dragon boat, curling, oh
and ballroom dancing! And I’m big into volunteering. I’m run a nonprofit
organization called True Vision Ghana with a few friends in Ghana
and Canada. We fund raise money for HIV/AIDS education, youth
initiatives, and poverty alleviation through micro-loans in Northern
Ghana.

RD: Have you done any adventurous travelling lately?
ET: I’ve taken three trips to Africa between 2003 and 2005, first to
Kenya for a safari (I’ve always wanted to go on one!), and to Madagascar
to do some work for my ecology professor. Then I went to Ghana as
a research assistant for 2 months studying monkeys. Afterwards I
travelled through Burkina Faso and Mali. I made it all the way to
Timbuktu which was pretty cool! And in 2005 I went to Ghana again to
do some field research for my Master’s project.

RD: If you woke up tomorrow and were told you could do ANYTHING
you wanted, disregarding time, money and practicality, what would you
do?
ET: I would become the full-time Canadian director for True Vision, I’d
move to Ghana for a year to help with the program and take that on as
my full-time job. I think that would be awesome!

RD: What type of personality would you consider yourself to be?
Introvert/Extrovert, Type A/B?
ET: I’d say I’m very organized, pretty much a Type A. I took this colour
test recently and according to that I’m a gold which fits because I like
making lists and keeping a routine. My second colour is blue which
means I like to help people and I’d say that describes me really well.