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History

The Career Counsellors Chapter was officially established in May 1995, at the CCPA (known then as the Canadian Guidance and Counselling Association) Annual conference, in St. John’s Newfoundland, through a motion of the Board. A small but dedicated group of individuals established the Constitution and elected the first Executive. Concerns raised at that time which set the direction of the chapter included the wide variety of practitioners whose training was diverse and from differing service mandates, no organization to monitor or influence professional development needs of this group, the quality of service delivery, training standards, and ethics. Seven objectives were established in the Chapter Constitution to support counsellors working in the field regardless of their training or background, or their specific work functions. The chapter objectives are:

To promote the practice of career development in Canada
To provide a forum for discussion of issues important to the field of career development
To provide professional development in the area of career development
To provide a forum for mentoring practitioners, researchers, and policy makers new to the field of career development
To provide a means by which practitioners, researchers, and policy makers working in the areas of career development can assist one another in developing new programs, methods, or research proposals pertinent to career development
To serve, with full collaboration and consultation with (CCPA), as a means to interact with government departments and / or groups for the purpose of promoting career development
To serve as a link with CCPA thereby providing for the presentation of mutually sought aims and objectives.

The Chapter has set up an award to honour Dr. Vance Peavy. The award is for a student studying in the field of career development. In meeting some of the original goals the chapter saw the development of its own web page begin in September 1998, the CDC Bulletin on line 2001, and the establishment of its own listserv through CCPA in 2005. The Career Counsellors Chapter, and its members, continues to strive to meet the original goals and objectives set in its constitution and mandate. The primary function of the chapter is to support career development practitioners in the field, to provide materials for quality service for consumers, to create and recognize new initiatives in the field. The chapter has proven its leadership in the development of the standards and initiatives to benefit the field of career development practice in Canada today.

Jen Davies

President

Dawn Schell (she/her) has been a career counsellor for over 25 years and counting! She has worked with people in varying stages in their careers – from finding a first job through to retirement and beyond. Dawn has a deep passion for empowering people to find meaning and purpose in their work and their lives. She has served on our executive for the past eight years in several roles – Member-at-Large, social media, President and is now our Past-President. Dawn has contributed at both the provincial and national levels to the conversation about the importance of career counselling and the connections between career and mental health.

Dawn Schell

Past-President

Dawn Schell (she/her) has been a career counsellor for over 25 years and counting! She has worked with people in varying stages in their careers – from finding a first job through to retirement and beyond. Dawn has a deep passion for empowering people to find meaning and purpose in their work and their lives. She has served on our executive for the past eight years in several roles – Member-at-Large, social media, President and is now our Past-President. Dawn has contributed at both the provincial and national levels to the conversation about the importance of career counselling and the connections between career and mental health.

Vacant

President-elect

Vacant

Treasurer

Sylvie Desjardins

Board Liaison

Judith MacKinnon

Member-at-Large

Judith Mackinnon hails from Eastern Canada and has been faculty member and

career counsellor at Sheridan College for over 20+ years. She is passionate about

career and student development and has had the opportunity to present at numerous

provincial and national conferences. She has also worked as teacher and guidance

counsellor in all three Maritime provinces. Judith is qualified to administer and interpret the STRONG, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Personality Dimensions, and Strenghtsfinder to name but a few. AA dedicated life-long learner, Judith is completing her Ed. D in Social Justice at the University of Toronto with an emphasis on disability and social justice issues. She has been a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) and member of CCPA since 2001. She assists the CCPA Career Chapter with social media communications and acts as liaison for Canada Career Month. Fun Fact: Judith is an avid runner and outdoor enthusiast who avidly supports community volunteering with activities ranging from tree planting in the great outdoors to assisting Newcomers to Canada with their personal and career transitions.

Christine Frigault

Member-at-Large

Christine Frigault (she/her/hers) has worked as a post-secondary counsellor for the past 22 years, currently at Dalhousie University where she primarily provides career counselling and also does some personal counselling. Christine loves helping students discover their strengths, values, interests, preferences and overcome challenges as they shape their career path while in post-secondary and beyond. She has received national and regional awards related to diversity initiatives and leadership in the field from the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE) and does research related to career development and core competency development through experiential learning. In her free time, she loves coastal hiking with her family and black labrador retriever. She is excited to be a new member-at-large with the Career Counsellor Chapter and looks forward to connecting with other chapter members.”