Election Candidates

2024 Candidates Standing for Election to the Executive Committee at the SGM

Please find a list of each candidate standing for election to Executive Committee positions in accordance with the QUFA Constitution and Policies. Each candidate has written a statement in advance of the Spring General Meeting and the elections.

Treasurer

Valerie Bartlett

Hello! I’m Valerie Bartlett, a Continuing Adjunct in the Smith School of Business. I have been serving as the QUFA Treasurer since July 1, 2022 and am seeking re-election. It has been a pleasure to serve all QUFA members in this capacity. I believe that QUFA is in a strong financial position and if re-elected I will continue to work to ensure this. Previously, I served on the finance committee of another not-for-profit and worked as a financial manager at the departmental level at Queen’s, experience that has been meaningful and helpful. I hold an MBA and B.Comm. which both provided excellent knowledge in accounting and financial management. I serve through QUFA because I think it’s important to give back and be an active member in working to improve the terms of our employment. I also enjoy thinking strategically about what we should be focussing on and doing as an organization and then working to put that into action. If you have any questions about my candidacy, please reach out to me at bartlett@queensu.ca.

Secretary

Chantal Brunette

I look forward to serving another two-year term as QUFA Secretary and as an Officer of the Association. This position includes responsibilities on QUFA Executive, Finance, and Staff Relations Committees. Taking minutes of QUFA meetings has allowed me to dive deeply in topics of discussion about postsecondary environments, and to find the best way to synthetize information for future reference. As an Officer, I developed a good understanding of QUFA staff workload. As an advocate for fair working conditions, I have been involved with QUFA in different roles since 2014, including DAN School of Drama and Music Council Representative, Continuing Adjuncts Representative on Executive, and member of the Adjunct Advocacy Committee. My ability to stay concentrated and to follow conversations, my aptitudes in clear note taking and my attention to details – many of these skills coming from my experience as a classical musician and as a translator – make me an excellent candidate for this position.

Grievance Committee Chair

Lynne Hanson

My name is Lynne Hanson. I teach in the Faculty of Law at Queen’s and have been involved with QUFA in various roles over the past 25 years. In the 1990’s and 2000’s, I served on QUFA Council and the Grievance Committee; more recently, I served as Grievance Chair from 2002 to 2007 and as VP/President/Past President from 2013 to 2019. Finally, I served as QUFA’s Equity Representative from 2020 to 2022, and am currently Grievance Chair and QUFA representative on the Joint Committee to Administer the Agreement (JCAA).

I would like to put my name forward to be nominated as Chair of the Grievance Committee, as this is a particular area of interest for me. I believe that both my years of experience at QUFA and my academic career make me well-suited for this role, and I look forward to participating in the evolution of the grievance committee over the next few years. I am near the end of my career and I am very happy to see that younger members are more involved with QUFA and are moving into prominent roles within the organization. (Overall, I have been thrilled to witness the growing support for the union across all faculties over the last decades). The Grievance Committee has witnessed a number of changes over the years, as we now see more arbitrations and have moved toward using in-house counsel; I hope to provide some institutional history as we contemplate changes in the grievance process so that we can better respond to the current challenges facing our members.

Joint Committee to Administer the Agreement (JCAA) Co-Chair

James Stotz

In addition to being the current Co-Chair of the JCAA, I was part of the QUFA Bargaining Team for the 2022-2025 agreement, and I have been a QUFA Councillor for Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy for well over a decade. I believe that communication between the University Administration and QUFA is critical, and the JCAA can be an effective channel to deal with Member issues as well as broader issues important to QUFA. As Co-Chair of the JCAA, I would like to continue pushing conversations to ensure Member Rights, as outlined in our CA. One example of which is a new provision in the CA that lets Members know how our digital information is being used by 3rd-party software vendors. Finally, we are experiencing significant uncertainty with the future of Queen’s, our programs, and our careers. It is important to ensure that the University is holding to the Agreement that they have signed and that it is similarly applied across faculties and departments.

Political Action and Communications Committee (PACC) Chair

Vanessa Thompson

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Gender Studies and the Black Studies Program and have been a member of QUFA’s Political Action and Communications Committee (PACC) since August 2023. As a member of this committee, I have been involved in advocating for greater equity and anti-racist principles at Queen’s, better working conditions (especially for more precarious folks), and solidarity with labor and community organizing also beyond the university. I’ve also witnessed membership interest in advocating for academic freedom, support and safety for vulnerable groups on campus, and further solidarity building among the unions at Queen’s. I would continue to focus on these commitments and principles as PACC chair.

I bring to this role my recent experience with QUFA, long-term experience as an Equity and Diversity General Board member at Goethe-University Frankfurt (Germany), as well as a long history in transnational abolitionist community and labor organizing. For example, I have been active in campaigns advocating for non-carceral approaches at German universities as well as better working conditions for term adjuncts and teaching assistants. At Queen’s, I have been involved in organizing against austerity, against carceral mechanisms, and for the safety of multi-marginalized groups on campus against the background of increasing anti-gender and racist attacks at Canadian universities (and beyond). This work is connected to my research and organizing as a critical black studies scholar and feminist sociologist with a focus on abolition, justice, and liberation. In Kingston, I have collaborated with OPIRG Kingston, Migrant Justice YGK, and other community organizations. In my role as PACC chair, I hope to continue to contribute to campus equity, labor organizing and solidarity, and anti-racist justice for QUFA members and at Queen’s (and in Kingston) more broadly.

Equity Representative

Ayca Tomac

I am writing to express my interest to serve on the QUFA Executive Committee as the Equity Representative. I have been working first as a Teaching Fellow, then as a Term Adjunct at Global Development Studies and Cultural Studies since 2015. I have been one of the co-councillors for Cultural Studies and Global Development Studies at the QUFA Council since 2020. I represented Term Adjuncts at the QUFA Executive between 2021-2024. I served at the Adjunct Advocacy Committee in 2022 which produced an extensive report on adjunct issues at Queen’s towards bargaining and most recently at the Bargaining Team in the last round of bargaining. I look forward to contribute to our union as the Equity Representative.

all the best,

Ayca Tomac | Assistant Professor | Term Adjunct | Global Development Studies & Cultural Studies

Continuing Adjunct Representative

Wendy Powley

I came to Queen’s in 1980 and completed my BAH in Psychology in 1984 followed by my BEd in 1985. I worked as a research assistant in the Psychology department from 1985 to 1988 when I returned to Queen’s School of Computing to complete an MSc in Computer Science. After a two year research position at RMC I returned to Queen’s and have worked since 1992 as a Research Associate (Staff), a Term Adjunct and most recently as a Continuing Adjunct. I bring to this position an understanding of Queen’s from the perspective of student, staff, term adjunct and faculty. I am passionate about ensuring equitable treatment for all and have spent much of my career encouraging young women to pursue Computer Science, a male dominated field. QUFA has been so supportive of my career journey and I would like to give back in the last few years of my career at Queen’s. I will work diligently to represent Continuing Adjuncts as well as all other members of the Queen’s community, especially in the difficult times we are currently facing.

Term Adjunct Representative

Olivia Giovannetti

Hello! My name is Olivia Giovannetti (PhD) and I am grateful for the opportunity to apply to serve on the QUFA Executive Committee as Term Adjunct Representative for the upcoming term. I have benefitted from the QUFA communications as an early career Adjunct Faculty member and am keen to give back to the university community in this administrative role. For one, I vow to relay my experiences, and those of my colleagues, as an engaged representatives at meetings. Specifically, I will be an engaged member of the advocacy group entering a bargaining year for 2025. I believe as a Term Adjunct hired to the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Science, I have a valuable perspective of some issues that other Term Adjuncts are facing and am interested in generating productive discussions related to negotiations of the Collective Agreement. I would also represent the collective view of members to university administration, in the aligned interest of QUFA to improve salaries, benefits, and working conditions of behalf of all members. Importantly, I am looking forward to discussing academic interests and ongoing efforts to foster an equitable working environment that is free of discrimination and prejudice.

When not participating actively in QUFA duties, you can find me teaching, mentoring research students, or hiking with my senior pup JayJay!

Health and Safety Representative

Lorena Jessop

I am pleased to stand for election as QUFA’s Health and Safety Representative. I am a Continuing Adjunct Lecturer in Linguistics (Languages, Literatures and Cultures). In my twenty years at Queen’s, I have made numerous connections across campus through my work as well as through my partner, who is also a QUFA member.

QUFA is an important way for its members come together to improve their working conditions and to voice their concerns to the University. In my opinion, that voice should be based on respect, building consensus and collaboration. At this difficult budgetary time, these characteristics are more important than ever. With attention elsewhere, safety is not getting much attention. However, safety risks continue to threaten our members. In fact, safety risks may be exacerbated because we are distracted.

Queen’s is a big place with a variety of working environments; consequently safety concerns vary across campus, as does safety awareness. The risks in Drama differ greatly from those in Electrical Engineering or Chemistry. Safety is vital to all Queen’s employees. I am committed to improving health and safety conditions at Queen’s in these diverse working conditions.

In addition to being a QUFA Executive Member and serving on the Joint Health and Safety Committees, to best serve the members in different departments, I will continually add to my own safety training. As well, I will interact with members to hear concerns and recommendations for the environment they work in. Regular and frequent communication between members, the Executive Committee, the Council of Representatives, and the Joint Health and Safety committees is vital.

I want to become more involved in QUFA. If given the opportunity to serve as your Health and Safety rep, my goal would be to keep everyone as safe as possible, improving safety conditions for everyone at Queen’s.

Member-at-Large

Gema Olivo

Gema Olivo is a full professor and has been a faculty in the Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering since 1999. She is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario, and in addition to her research and teaching responsibilities, has worked in various committees in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Smith Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences and School of Graduate Studies, Natural Science and Engineering Research Council, UNESCO, and professional associations. She has served as member of QUFA Council of Representatives, Nomination Committee, as Member at Large in the QUFA executive and more recently as QUFA representative in the University Promotion Advisory Committee (UPAC). She believes that an equitable work environment without discrimination or interference in the employees’ professional activities is essential for providing meaningful education and develop innovative research. She strongly believes that QUFA is committed to these values and to provide appropriate representation of all members. Therefore, she is eager to work as Member at Large within the Executive Committee in achieving these goals.

Member-at-Large

Michael Greenspan

I started my career at Queen’s in 2001, and I’ve have many interactions with QUFA over the years. When I previously served as a Department Head, I often suggested to my faculty colleagues that they contact QUFA when they encountered particular issues, many times advocating on their behalf. Our system is setup to have a balance between the roles of QUFA and administration, so that issues can be resolved cooperatively when they arise. My view is that the current administration has chosen to take an increasingly distant and adversarial approach, and that our best response to maintain and promote collegiality is through a strong and organized QUFA.

Over the past two years in particular, I’ve interacted closely with QUFA staff and administration, on a handful of issues relating to my department as well as the development of the Campus Conversations podcast. I’ve found the people at the heart of QUFA to be dedicated and principled. My interest is to get more involved through the Member-At-Large position, and where I can help advance and strengthen the goals of QUFA and our faculty.