Jessica Vandenberghe, 2021 AWSN Athena Outstanding Volunteer Award Recipient

Jessica Vandenberghe, P.Eng., MSc, is born of the Dene Thá First Nation and raised in a very inclusive German family in northern Alberta. She has had an exceptional career based on her two engineering degrees from the University of Alberta. She has worked in the oil sands, mining, regulatory, infrastructure, consulting industries and now academia. She is an Indigenous Professional Engineer, Industrial Professor, and the Assistant Dean, Engineering Community and Culture at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta. She also contributes to Truth and Reconciliation, acting as a bridge to Indigenous communities, talks to Calls to Action implementation, and works on TRC awareness through her consulting company Guiding Star Consulting. She is a mother of two and is passionate about equity, diversity and inclusion. She sits on many boards and Councils, walks in many governance worlds, and does her best to contribute to the development of well-rounded and ethically minded engineering students who will ultimately build strong and vibrant communities within Canada.