Location: Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum, 20 Sky Blvd, Goffs, NS

Date: Thursday, July 27th, 2017

Time: Lunch and Networking: 11:40 am, Presentation: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Cost: Free (lunch – please advise of any special dietary requirements)

RSVP: Please use our Online Registration process to register by Tuesday, July 25th, 2017.

This event qualifies for 1 Professional Development Hour (PDH) for the Engineers Nova Scotia CPD program.

Habitat for Humanity Nova Scotia

Its provincial roots established in 1992, Habitat for Humanity Nova Scotia is a non-profit organization working towards a Nova Scotia where everyone has a safe and decent place to live. To date we have built 55 homes throughout the province to help low income working families achieve the goal of successful homeownership.

In 2015, Habitat for Humanity Nova Scotia welcomed more than 1,040 active volunteers to help with our mission and were privileged to have them donate more than 10,080 hours to help make homeownership a possibility for 9 new families across the province.

An affiliate of Habitat for Humanity Canada, we form part of the more than 63,000 volunteers every year and more than 55 affiliate organizations across the country working toward affordable homeownership.

Speakers:  Emily MacNeil, Volunteer and Program Coordinator with Habitat for Humanity and Denise Pothier, P.Eng.  

Denise Pothier, P.Eng. Bio:

Denise was born and raised in Nova Scotia, with French Acadian and Mi'kmaw heritage. A Professional Engineer, Denise has 23 years' experience in oil and gas, regulatory compliance, quality assurance, process engineering and risk assessment. She is currently employed at Stantec Consulting Ltd., an international engineering firm with 22,000 employees in 400 locations located on six continents. Denise holds the positions of Vice-President Practice Services and Vice-President Indigenous Relations. One of Denise’s most proud professional moments is when she was awarded the ‘Managerial Excellence’ Award of Excellence at Stantec.

Denise is well known as a champion of diversity and inclusion, and has served on Stantec's Diversity and Inclusion Council for the last decade. As Vice-President, Indigenous Relations, her responsibilities include the fostering and building of relationships with Aboriginal communities and businesses. Denise is committed to providing opportunities for training, hands-on skill development, employment and business to Aboriginal community members.

Over the past few years, Denise has been learning more about her Mi’kmaw heritage. She has participated in the “This Is What I Wish You Knew” project and was integral in bringing the “Walking With Our Sisters” memorial to Halifax. Last month, she was invited to participate in Indspire’s Soaring Career Conference in Ottawa with 900 indigenous youth. Through her session, Denise made engineering relatable and allowed the students to try it by designing and constructing an emergency shelter. She recently returned from Chiapas, Mexico on Habitat for Humanity international build for an indigenous community.

Techsploration is a non-profit organization that has been delivering high impact experiences for girls and their schools for the past 20 years. Denise was one of the inaugural volunteers and has continued to be involved as a mentor, guest speaker, and has served on the Board of Directors for a number of years.  

Denise has already been well recognized for her passion and leadership as a pioneer for diversity and inclusion. In 2016, she received the Progress Club Women of Excellence Award from the Canadian Progress Club Halifax, in the category of Management and the Professions.

In 2016 Denise accepted an invitation to serve as the incoming Chair of the Engineers Nova Scotia Women in Engineering Committee. Through the Committee she has initiated a mentoring program that brings together female professionals, engineers-in-training, and students. Denise was recently asked to consider serving as an elected Board Member at Engineers Nova Scotia, the regulatory body for the 6,500 professional engineers and engineers-in-training licensed in that province. In 2017, she was appointed to the national Board of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

Because of these accomplishments and her demonstrated leadership in many unique and demanding areas, Denise was selected to be profiled in an upcoming book entitled, "Women of Innovation: The Influence of Leading Canadian Women in Engineering". Denise was also profiled by Women In Science and Engineering Atlantic in their diversity poster series of women in Science Technology Engineering and Math careers in 2016.

Currently pursuing her MBA, Denise is passionate about continuous learning. She also recently completed the Indigenous Partnership Development Program through the University of Alberta.