Karen O. Taylor – Woodstock
“NBCC creates learning opportunities for a lot of people and it’s certainly part of our economic engine,” says Karen O. Taylor.
A lifelong passion for community and education led Taylor to a position on the NBCC Board of Governors. She began her career as a Human Rights officer with the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission in the mid-seventies. After 15 years as an officer, Taylor became the Director of Education with the commission. In this role she developed an understanding of the importance of valuing diversity and creating positive working and learning environments. She transferred her knowledge base from the Human Rights Commission into jobs at St. Thomas University. First she became the Director of International Programming, and then became the Director of Special Projects in the President’s office. Whether travelling the world to internationalize the campus community, or celebrating student accomplishments through graduations, special ceremonies and more, her interaction with students was what was most important to Taylor. Within the same time frame, she also taught part-time at both St. Thomas University and the University of New Brunswick. Now, as the owner of her own consulting business, she works with NB Power’s Human Resources Strategic team, which focused on developing personal growth/learning plans for all employees.
Taylor said she wanted to become part of the NBCC Board of Governors because she enjoys new ideas and working with others in the pursuit of something fresh, which NBCC personifies. She also notes that NBCC provides a wide array of learning opportunities for people. She says she’s proud to be part of the NBCC community because, growing up in Woodstock, she always knew the college was an integral part of the community.