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Great People Doing Great Things
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Great People Doing Great ThingsVideo Productions Team: Communications Nova Scotia
Did you know the Nova Scotia Government has its very own Video Production Team? This dynamic group provides script writing, directing, filming, editing, animation services, and much, much more. Their soaring imaginations and focused skills brought us Sammy the Snow Plow – an animated educational film for children. And speaking of soaring - they bravely took to the skies to create a marketing video about Nova Scotia’s oil and gas industry. From the small screen to the big screen to the computer screen, their productions shine at home and around the world – and have also earned them some major awards including three 2006 Telly Awards, a 2006 Communicator Award and a 2006 Atlantic Gemstone Award. This is one team that will go to any length to capture and share the action in our communities. Team Members:
Dave Taylor: Department of Natural Resources
“Ranger Dave” loves to teach children to care for the natural environment – and his favourite classroom is Nova Scotia’s great outdoors. As a Natural Resources Education Instructor at the Natural Resources Education Centre in Musquodoboit, Dave shares his passion for nature with more than 100 children a week. Children learn best through action, believes Dave, and need to be immersed in the woods to really connect with the natural environment. So he uses a combination of classroom teaching, interactive activities, and outdoor tours to show children in our communities what sustainable forest management looks like. A real trail blazer, Dave helped develop several education trails, like the Musquodoboit and Northumberland Trails. By planting a love of nature in today’s children, “Ranger Dave” is helping them grow into tomorrow’s environmental caretakers. Jason Hollett: Department of Energy
Jason may be young, but he’s already making a name for himself in communities around Nova Scotia as he helps them work on climate change initiatives and renewable energy development. In fact, his innovative thinking earned him a position in the Daily News "Top 30 under 30" in the Social/Environment category in 2006. Those aren’t the only places he’s putting his energy. Jason is also a part of a team that launched the Wind Atlas in September 2007, where the public can view the wind speed in their respective communities online. Currently, Jason is the provincial lead for the new Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market project, which will be powered by wind turbines, heated by solar panels and cooled by the ocean’s breezes. In this role, he’s helping the Halifax Farmer’s Market Co-op realize on a small scale what he wants for every community in the province: an eco-friendly, sustainable future. Sylvia Parris: Department of Education
Sylvia wants to make sure every student in Nova Scotia learns the vital life-lesson of respect for diversity. As a Multicultural Education Consultant, she meets with youth and educators in schools to promote cultural competency and multiculturalism; monitors and researches racial issues; and works to improve the information available in the school system. Through government’s Racial Equity Policy, Sylvia helps to ensure that policies within the education system are respectful of all aspects of diversity, with a particular focus on African Nova Scotians and Mi’kmaq communities. Her tireless efforts in promoting inclusiveness and equity in public schools have earned her the prestigious Part of the Solution award by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre. Her work included educating students about the Holocaust, furthering tolerance, and combating racism. Karen Parusel: Nova Scotia Economic Development
Karen Parusel really clicks with people. In fact last year, almost 5,000 people a day clicked with her, in a way. Karen works to support one of Canada’s most innovative C@P (Community Access Program) networks, which provides affordable Internet access to the public. C@P sites have to be many things to many people. Karen works hard to make sure they are welcoming places for job seekers, sharing environments for students and learners, helpful locations for citizens in need of government online services, and even convenient places for tourists and travellers to stop and check email. Every day there are new technologies people can use to make their communities better places to live, work, and do business. At the Terence Bay and Area C@P site, Karen works with the local C@P committee to meet this continuing challenge. Karen was a key player in the design, planning, and delivery of eight successive C@P YES (Youth Employment Strategy) agreements that provided summer employment to over 1,000 Nova Scotian youth. The C@P program is a joint provincial and federal initiative. To date, there are over 250 C@P sites in Nova Scotia. Look for the @ sign in provincial highway signs, to find the one closest to you! Environmental Monitoring Team: Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries
In three short years, the Environmental Monitoring Team has gone a long way to ensuring aquaculture is environmentally sustainable in Nova Scotia. They started by collecting over 1,400 sediment samples from 40 different bays around the province. That collected data now acts as a baseline guide for assessing any environmental risks and changes in the industry. It also gave the team the information they needed to implement a comprehensive environmental monitoring program for more than 330 marine aquaculture sites throughout Nova Scotia. This innovative and effective program is one of only a few to sample diverse aquaculture sites in a variety of marine ecosystems. It is a first for Nova Scotia, and the first time that empirical evidence has existed on an industry-wide scale. Not surprising, the Environmental Monitoring Team’s work has generated interest from across Canada, and as far away as Chile and Norway. Team Members:
John Webb: Department of Community Services
Plane crashes, hurricanes, other disasters … John Webb knows that emergencies like these are made up of hundreds of human beings who all need food, clothing, lodging, and other necessary care. It’s something he learned while responding to more than 50 emergencies in Nova Scotia, including Swiss Air, 9/11, and Hurricane Juan. John knows that in order for the care to be effective, there has to be a coordinated provincial approach. In 2000, he played an instrumental role in creating that approach by helping to build a formal partnership between the Government of Nova Scotia and the Red Cross. Thanks to this partnership, the first of its kind in Canada, the Red Cross will act as the social services response agent working under the Department of Community Services. Together, they will ensure food, clothing and shelter are available to Nova Scotians in times of emergency. In 2005 this Director of Emergency Social Services was deployed to the Gulf Coast of the United States to share his knowledge of emergency response and to assist with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. While there, John managed a shelter of 270 evacuees and was able to find them alternative accommodation in a timely manner, which guaranteed their safety during a very difficult time. Kevin Penny: Department of Education
Kevin Penny and his team are out to break down the barriers some students with disabilities face in getting an education. Kevin and his team collaborate with universities across the province to create more accessible services through improved funding and policy development. Thanks to these efforts, university students with disabilities may be provided with tuition grants, equipment, interpreters, tutors and/or computer software to help them gain the advantages of a post-secondary education. Funding for these initiatives is provided by both provincial and federal governments. Kevin Penny has also been the Nova Scotia government’s provincial representative to the Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres since 2002. Sharon Davis-Murdoch: Department of Health
Effective health care recognizes that different people have different needs. It understands the communities it serves; and it provides the best care possible to patients and clients with diverse health priorities, values, beliefs, and behaviours. That’s why Sharon Davis Murdoch proposed and developed the Diversity and Social Inclusion in Primary Health Care Initiative. The Initiative resulted in the first Cultural Competence Guidelines in Canada. The Guidelines provide direction in addressing the broad health needs of Nova Scotia’s culturally diverse populations. The Guidelines support approaches toward creating equitable access to health care for Nova Scotians who have traditionally faced barriers. They aim to reduce health disparities and inequities and increase detection of diseases that are more common among marginalized people. The Diversity and Social Inclusion in Primary Health Care Initiative also provided educational resources so everyone from the District Health Authorities and primary health care professionals, to the Nova Scotian public, will have the chance to understand and develop cultural competence. Veronica Marsman: Emergency Management Office
Doing what's best when the worst happens - that's Veronica's career in a nutshell. As a social worker with the Department of Community Services for 24 years, she has helped families in times of crisis to deal with their children, assisted in placing children and youth in alternate care and has worked with foster parents and DCS staff to improve services to children and families. Today she is applying her leadership skills and knowledge of emergency procedures to help government departments ensure that critical services will continue to function when a crisis occurs. This involves working with department Business Continuity Coordinators to help them identify threats and prepare appropriate response plans. Veronica wants Nova Scotian's safety to be assured, so she makes sure these plans are exercised and maintained. A Senior Project Manager in the Business Continuity Management Office (EMO-NS), Veronica is currently the President of the Canadian Association of Social Workers and the North American Vice- President for the International Federation of Social Workers. Attending the national and international meetings associated with these positions has allowed her to bring back learning about disaster planning, poverty issues, child welfare matters, and how to work effectively with disadvantaged people, for the benefit of all Nova Scotians. Norma MacIsaac: Department of Intergovernmental Affairs
Norma MacIsaac is a woman with a mission and the determination to achieve it. As Chair of the Institute of Public Administration (IPAC) Nova Scotia Regional Group, Norma led an executive of provincial, federal, and municipal civil servants, academics, and students in fulfilling the IPAC mission, which is to be dedicated to excellence in public service. That means encouraging the highest standards of professional practice and service to the public, enhancing the understanding of the public sector, advocating the highest values and ideals of public service, expanding and exchanging knowledge about public administration, promoting the education and professional development of public administrators, and more. Somehow it is fitting that a person dedicated to excellence in public service should be recognized for her own excellence in the way she does her job. In 2007, Norma and her team were awarded the Wes Black Trophy for their exceptional achievements in serving their membership and community, for showcasing best practices and innovations in regional group governance, and for furthering the goals of IPAC. For more information about IPAC visit www.ipac.ca. * The 2006/07 IPAC NS Regional Group Executive consisted of the following members:
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