On March 11th, 2021 at 12:00 pm EST, a virtual seminar on the topic of Mentoring Women in Engineering will be hosted by the Canadian Academy of Engineering and National Engineering Month. The seminar will be 90-minutes long and will begin with presentations by speakers Samantha Espley, P.Eng., M.A.Sc., FCAE and Sarah Shortreed, P.Eng, FCAE. After each presentation there will be an opportunity for the audience to ask the speaker questions. The presentations will be followed by a panel discussion with both speakers, which will be moderated by Kim Keating, P. Eng., MBA, FCAE, ICD.D. The focus of this seminar is to feature women who have attained leadership roles within the field of engineering and to discuss trends for women in different industries and mentoring.
The following are some of the topics which will be touched on in the Mentoring Women in Engineering seminar. Samantha will discuss an overview of mining industry, the representation of women over time and events that influenced that evolution, research into the satisfaction of women in the mining industry, importance of mentoring and sponsorship roles to women, and “How To” on mentoring and sponsoring others. Sarah will discuss trends for Women in Technology and Women in Cyber, and the top 3 things you and your mentor/mentee should be talking about.
Register today here!
Samantha Espley
Samantha is a mining executive with extensive experience in operations, projects, and corporate governance. She currently holds the role of Vice-President of Mining Transformation at BESTECH and brings over 30 years of experience in leading multidisciplinary experts and overseeing programs, with roles at Vale, Inco, Falconbridge, Dome, and Denison-Potacan. She is the current President for the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) where she has a strong focus on business strategy.
Samantha provides senior advisory guidance on the boards of the Centre of Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI), MIRARCO, Bharti International Advisory Board for the Laurentian University School of Engineering, Canadian Academy of Engineering, and she is active in supporting Global Mining Guidelines group, Science North, Women in Mining, Women in Science and Engineering, NEO Kids Foundation, Zawadi La Tumaini, and she is the president and CEO of DROCOR.
Samantha is a Professional Engineer in Ontario, with engineering degrees from the University of Toronto and Laurentian University, and has been honoured to receive numerous distinctions and awards for her efforts including the Governor General’s Gold Medal, CIM Distinguished Service Medal, Women in Mining Trailblazer’s Award, Engineers Canada Award, Laurentian University’s Achievement Award, University of Toronto’s Mid-Career Award, and the Professional Engineers of Ontario Award for Engineering Management.
Kim Keating
Kim is a strategic business leader with over 20 years of experience in the global energy sector. She is currently the Chief Operating Officer at the Cahill Group and her responsibility spans the country ensuring safe and effective operations while driving execution certainty and strategic growth. Kim has held a variety of progressive leadership roles from engineering through to construction, safety & risk management, commissioning, production operations and field development with Petro-Canada (now Suncor Energy Inc.). She holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree, a Master of Business Administration, is a registered member of the Professional Engineering & Geoscientists NL and holds the Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP) designation.
Kim is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineers and is on the Board of Directors for Yamana Gold Inc., Major Drilling International, and the NL Oil and Gas Industry Development Council. Kim is the Co-Chair of the 2025 Canada Games Bid Committee, and she has served as Vice Chair of Memorial University’s Board of Regents, Chair of the Rhodes Scholarship selection committee, Chair of the St. John’s Board of Trade, and is the President of Women in Science & Engineering NL. She is a founding member of the International Women’s Forum (NL Chapter), board director with the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Foundation, Opera on the Avalon & Canadian Academy of Engineers. In 2018, Kim received the Memorial University Faculty of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award, the PEGNL Community Leadership Award, as well as the St. John’s Board of Trade Community Builder of the Year Award.
Sarah Shortreed
Sarah Shortreed is the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of ATCO, where she has responsibility for the overall leadership of Information Technology. Her mandate is to expand and enhance ATCO’s forward-looking, enterprise-wide IT strategy and technology roadmap, and deliver innovative strategies. Sarah is focused on delivering solutions and exceptional customer service to ATCO’s global businesses. Sarah brings more than 30 years of global experience in many industries and executive roles spanning business consulting, complex multi-stakeholder program management, operations, P&L, sales, customer relationship management and product management.
Sarah holds a Bachelor of Engineering Science degree (Mechanical), from the University of Western Ontario, and currently sits on the Board of Governors for the University. She is the current Chair of the CIO Committee at the Conference Board of Canada, and recently completed terms on the Board of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), as well as the Digital Advisory Board to the CIO Branch of the Treasury Board of Canada.
