By Tracy Roberts, Director, Learning + Teaching

This month, the BCcampus team said farewell to Executive Director Amanda Coolidge and welcomed our colleague, Clint Lalonde, into that interim role.

I have been given the difficult honour of writing a farewell piece for Amanda, so I might as well get this out of the way first: everyone at BCcampus is sorry to see Amanda go, we wish her the best in future endeavours, and we hope our paths cross again. Of course we do. 

And the truth is, we’re all a bit heartbroken to lose Amanda from our daily lives as our leader and colleague, for she is the very, very best of those things.

During her three years as BCcampus Executive Director, she accomplished a tremendous amount, including leading us through significant structural and strategic changes during challenging times in the B.C. post-secondary sector. That work has been lauded by leaders across the system and has enabled BCcampus to continue moving forward and providing services and supports to benefit students in B.C. colleges, universities, and institutes.  

Prior to taking on the executive director role, she was part of the pioneering team of open education leaders at BCcampus including David Porter, Mary Burgess, and Clint Lalonde. These leaders brought open education to the B.C. post-secondary system in real and meaningful ways such as through open textbooks and Zero Textbook Cost pathways, saving students and the system millions of dollars. Her work in support of equity, diversity and inclusion as well as accessibility at BCcampus has also influenced practices and policies across the sector.

Amanda always brings energy, creativity, and practicality to her leadership and work: she likes getting things done, and she likes starting meetings on time (or early whenever possible). Without a doubt, Amanda’s superpower is building relationships. She is deeply trusted and trusting. She genuinely wants to get to know you; please do tell her about your morning routine—she’d love to hear it! She is driven by her values and cares deeply about the well-being of people and systems. She is a generous collaborator and communicator with endless charisma, humour, and humility. She’s also a bit of a goofball, which makes her approachable and someone you just love working with. 

Some of the things we will miss most about Amanda are her transparency and openness, her sense of fun and play, and her willingness to be vulnerable and seek extremely specific feedback on her own work and performance. It’s hard to imagine BCcampus without Amanda, but we are excited to see what she builds next! Amanda has launched Coolidge Collaborative, Inc., where she continues her lifelong commitment to making learning equitable, accessible, and sustainable.

Our very best to you, Amanda, because you were the very best to us!