KaosPilot application

What are your motivations for applying to The KaosPilots?

I am very much at a significant crossroads in my life. I have travelled as far as I can in my career in social work and in the elected position I currently hold in my trade union, the British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union (bcgeu.ca). I heard about the school when Team 12 was in Vancouver and a group of KaosPilots worked on an environmental sustainability project for the BCGEU. I did some research and later participated in a workshop with Anders Østergaard Hansen during his internship. Speaking to Anders, I felt immediately drawn to the school and programme, got excited and decided to apply. In addition to my involvement in the trade union movement (which has, for the most part, a hierarchical and centralised structure), I have worked in other organizations in the voluntary sector, many of them small, informal, and dynamic. Both experiences have created an interest for me in organisational behaviour and development and I am constantly thinking about alternative models and processes.

Which career options are you attracted to?

The things that excite me are: opportunities to express my creativity and love of art and design; variety and diversity; learning and growing; and the chance to make a difference in people's lives in a meaningful and sustainable way. The most attractive career is one that would allow me to express my whole, multi-faceted self in a collaborative and stimulating environment -something like the Centre for Social Innovation (www.socialinnovation.ca). It is a dynamic space and social enterprise in downtown Toronto with a mission to be a catalyst for social change.

Which idea or project - that you have carried out - are you most proud of?

One of the ideas I am very proud of promoting is the use of ‘plain' or ‘clear' language in collective agreements negotiated between employers and my trade union. These agreements are traditionally long, arcane documents written in formal, legal language. It is difficult for many workers to understand their rights and for frontline managers to understand their responsibilities. Disputes must often be settled by arbitration. The basis for using clear language is a different set of values that seek to empower and engage the reader. It has reduced unnecessary conflicts and made written materials more accessible to people with lower literacy levels and people whose first language is not (in our case) English. So far, I have carried out clear language rewrites of collective agreements as well as bylaws, surveys and pamphlets.

How would you contribute to Team 15?

I am funny, imaginative, and generous and I like working with people. As an adult learner, I have genuine life and work experience to bring to the team. My approach to whatever I undertake is holistic and inclusive. I also have a non-European perspective to contribute.

What unused super-power do you posses?

My untapped super-power is my great eye for good design. I have a keen aesthetic sense and appreciate excellent design, particularly graphic arts. Unfortunately, I have not really had the chance to put this super-power to use in my current work. Although, for example, I have an amazing collection of beautifully illustrated children's literature for inspiration.

What do you see as leadership?

In many ways I see leadership as a bit of alchemy: a unusual combination of the ability to inspire and elicit the best in others; a balance of ego and confidence with humility and generosity; intelligence and creativity; vision; the boldness to take risks and the self-reflection to learn from failures. I also believe that leadership involves skills that can be learned, talents that can be developed and that it is an ongoing process.

How do you take leadership in your community?

I am curious person with diverse interests and I see connections and possibilities in unlikely places. I bring this to my social activism and I take leadership in promoting dialogue between different groups in my community. One community building project I initiated brought together artists, activists, and street-involved youth to construct a huge papier-mâché puppet of a political figure for demonstrations and popular theatre ‘happenings'. Individuals, who would not normally meet, spent many hours working together toward a common goal, learning from each other and developing relationships. I believe transcending barriers - social, economic, political, cultural, and generational - creates amazing new possibilities.

What are you prepared to die for?

This is a question which, as a privileged citizen of a prosperous western country, I am not really forced to consider. Perhaps the closest I have come to facing this was a few years ago when I was part of a committee established to build a monument to Canadian veterans of the Spanish Civil War. These were women and men who defied their own government and travelled to republican Spain in the mid-1930s to fight Franco and fascism. I was privileged to meet some of the surviving veterans. What struck me most was that they were simply ordinary people who were moved to do something extraordinary and it made me think about courage, sacrifice, and idealism.

If The KaosPilots didn't exist, what would you be doing the next 3 years?

I would probably shift gears and travel to places I have always wanted to visit, like Tunisia and Turkey while considering new career options and potential educational opportunities. I would also explore possible placements with an NGO like Médecins Sans Frontières or Oxfam doing humanitarian and development work, possibly somewhere like Brazil or Afghanistan.

View the video submission for the creative assignment of my application here.

Name the worst brand or private business that you know of. Why?

Wal-Mart. The global retailer is hugely profitable but at what cost? It promotes excessive consumption of ugly, poorly made, cheap and mostly disposable goods that are often manufactured in exploitative sweatshop type conditions in the global south. It is notoriously anti-union and has been exposed for undermining basic employment standards and discriminating against minority and female workers. It has a deliberate strategy of using predatory pricing and aggressive marketing to eliminate its smaller, local competitors in a community. The diversity of local businesses is eliminated by Wal-Mart's expansion and communities are left with big-box monoculture in their place.

Name a brand or a private business that you find interesting. Why?

Vancouver City Savings Credit Union (vancity.com) is a coöperative or member-owned financial institution based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Branded as VanCity, it is the largest credit union in Canada outside of Quebec province, with 380,000 members and over C$12 billion in assets. It offers unique products and services such as: mortgages designed for older, single women who have been out of the workforce for some time and just entering the housing market; clean air auto loans to purchase fuel efficient cars; socially responsible investments; and innovative financing for civil society organisations. Local branches travel to primary schools to conduct banking for students while teaching them about finances. VanCity is the backer of Dockside Green (docksidegreen.com), a very visionary sustainable community currently under construction in Victoria on reclaimed industrial lad. "Profit" is returned to members as dividends and to the community through several generous grant schemes supporting environmental sustainability and community economic development. Members elect a board of directors in vigorously contested elections. It has established a social networking website promoting social and environmental change (changeeverything.ca) and an interactive site for member input (weallprofit.vancity.com). The indicators of success for VanCity are things like its light environmental footprint, contributions to social development and community engagement rather than just profit. Customer or member loyalty is high and the VanCity brand is highly recognised and means something.

Name one social or cultural organisation that would find you interesting. Why?

I am a gourmand, I trained as a chef, and the cultural, economic, social, and political aspects of food and agriculture fascinate me so the Slow Food movement (slowfood.org) would find me interesting. I share Slow Food's values and goals of sustainable agriculture, preserving bio-diverse food sources and traditionally crafted food products. I also strongly believe that growing, harvesting, crafting and cooking food and the joy of hospitality are powerful tools to build relationships and community and reconnect with nature and our humanity. I also think that bringing people together over food is a potential arena for conflict resolution on both small and large scales. Can you imagine a Slow Food project to unite, say, Serbs and Kosovar Albanians?

Who has been a good teacher for you? Why?

My best friend and housemate of many years, Angela, has been a great teacher to me. She has strong values and strives to live by these. She is smart, analytical, and an excellent communicator. By example and through dialogue, she has taught me about nurturing relationships, the importance of self-reflection and about having balance in your life. She has also encouraged me to explore some of the more intuitive, ‘right brain' aspects of myself, including interests in art, design, and music. She is also playful and funny and taught me about the importance of humour in life.

When was the last time that you stood up for something that you believed in?

And what was your motivation?

Recently, I found myself a lone dissenter on the executive board of my trade union over an issue of budget allocations and the process for determining them. I was firm in my views that our process was not transparent, lacked accountability and, consequently, the outcomes were skewed, reflecting long-standing inequities. In was a tough debate among twelve colleagues with an undercurrent of politics and personalities. My primary motivation in taking this stand was simply to effect some positive change. However, I would be less than honest if I did not admit to some other motivations: wanting to be right and to prevail. I was conscious of some of this throughout the long discussion and tried (mostly with success) to remain focussed n the issue.

When was the last time you surprised yourself?

In 2007, I made a small career shift and began to work with adults with autism and other intellectual disabilities. (I had previously worked with homeless youth and adults with addictions and mental health issues.) I was quickly faced with the challenge of finding ways to engage and relate to my clients, some of whom are non-verbal. I found myself genuinely surprised and moved by their unique personalities and humanity.

What question don't you want us to ask you?

When did you graduate from high school? I left school at age 15 without formally graduating. I was not challenged or stimulated in school and was distracted by family concerns. I have always been a bit embarrassed that I did not complete high school.

Where do you wish to see the KaosPilots in 10 years?

I hope KaosPIlots schools spring up in Canada and in unexpected places, particularly in the global south and the emerging economies of Asia. This type of education is transformative for individual students but is also a tremendous catalyst for shifting thinking about how to create prosperous, healthy, sustainable, and liveable communities. I think KaosPilots should continue to challenge the traditional model of education through its innovative methods and practical applications. KaosPilot graduates could form a web of innovators creating the momentum for change.

When was your belief-system last challenged? - Please describe...

My long-held belief in the state delivery of public services has been challenged on several fronts. Besides an ideological preference for government, I have focussed on the defence of public sector workers and their jobs. In efforts to build alliances with the users of social services, I have met many parents, advocates, and individual clients who are not being well served under this model. This has led me to explore alternatives such as social cooperatives and social enterprises. One incredible example of this is the San Patrignano Community (sanpatrignano.org) near Bologna, Italy. It is the largest drug rehabilitation community in the world, welcoming men and women with drug abuse problems completely free of charge. It does not accept money from its guests, their families or the government but earns its income from a variety of enterprises it has set up which provide residents with employment and life skills and dignity. I have come to see alternatives like this as an option worth exploring to improve public services.

Ask someone close to you what he or she thinks you could develop personally
- how was it to hear this?

This was a good exercise for me. I have done much psycho-educational work in my adult life and so it was not very difficult to ask a friend this question. Her response was that I needed to develop self-esteem and self-confidence in my abilities and ideas. This rings true for me.