About
Sandy is a goal oriented, and results driven individual who retired in August of 2019, as the District Principal of International Education from SD8 Kootenay Lake after 17 years. She has traveled extensively around the world to recruit students to study in Nelson. During her time with SD8 she increased international student enrollment to the district by 900% because of her solid relationships with many diverse agents and understanding diverse business styles. She attended the University of British Columbia where she graduated from the Faculty of Education with a major in English. She then pursued a master’s degree in Administration and Curriculum through Gonzaga University. Sandy taught ESL for 8 years and completed her TESOL certificate through the College of the Rockies in 2008. She pursued a master’s certification in Intercultural Studies from Queen’s University in 2012, 2013, 2014, known as the International Education Teaching Program - IETP. After the 3-year completion of the IETP certificate, Sandy completed the IDI Qualifying Seminar for administration and interpretation of the Intercultural Development Inventory, a tool for leaders and individuals to assess their ability to navigate differences across cultures.
Sandy has worked closely with the Ministry of Education in the province of BC through her former role as president of IPSEA. She was asked by the MoE to chair the committee responsible for the current K-12 Provincial Homestay Guidelines and then worked with a team of 3 provincial colleagues to design the curriculum for the “Global and Intercultural Studies” course for students in grade 10, 11, 12. In 2016, Sandy won the coveted British Columbia Council for International Education Award for Leadership in International Education. Not one to slow down, she completed her RISIA Immigration Course with CBIE in 2018. Sandy was just hired by Selkirk College to teach a 4 month course on EDIJ to City of Nelson employees which was highly successful and lead to her being called back to do a seminar for senior management of the City of Nelson so that they understood how the IDI could help them to be better leaders in the workplace. She is currently employed as a private Intercultural consultant by a private international business company in Kimberley, Purcell Collegiate, as their director of admissions. The school will open an independent private boarding school in September 2023. Sandy’s private business company for her work with Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Justice is called, “This Stuff Matters”, and it is through the business company that she has had the privilege of working with health authorities, private business, public school districts, colleges, universities, and non-profits on their intercultural journeys.