Team Profiles

Faculty

Dr. Rick Rollins

Project Co-ordinator Professor, Department of Recreation and Tourism Management

“Much of my teaching and research activities deal with nature based tourism and the management of parks and protected areas. I am interested in travel and the opportunity to work in other countries. I value the opportunity to collaborate with other people and institutions, and the opportunity to learn from others and to contribute to group learning experiences.”

Dr. Ken Hammer

Professor, Department of Recreation and Tourism Management

“I'm interested in the Ghana project for a number of reasons - I love learning and facilitating the learning of others, the Ghana Project is a great opportunity to learn in an applied context; I'm interested in working in another country and connecting and meeting other people; it's an opportunity to work with a former student George Addai and one of my colleagues, Dr. Rick Rollins; it's interdisciplinary in nature; I'm interested in connecting with the community through Rotary and the Regional District of Nanaimo; it's a development project over a five-year period”.

Sheila Swanson (retired)

Department of International Education

Sheila retired in September 2008 from her role as the Director of International Education and ESL at VIU. She was the project director for the Ghana project and is one the three members of the VIU group who visited Sunyani in 2005 and wrote the ACCC/CIDA proposal. Sheila is greatly missed and will always be a team member!

Sylvia Adu

Department of Wood Utilization and Marketing Faculty of Forest Resources Technology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

“My teaching and research deals with how best wood could be exploited, marketed and used on a sustainable basis so there is always a continuous flow of wood resources over the years. This helps protect the environment by reducing Global Warming. I also handle wild fire and how it can be prevented. This is a very important course in Wood Utilization and Marketing , because fire can reduce the quality and quantity of wood , creating marketing problems. I take students to the forest to teach them the best ways to harvest timber and then to the sawmill to show them how best to saw the timber in order to get maximum yield and ensure quality at the same time. I teach students on how to preserve wood products so that they are able to stay longer in service. Apart from teaching , I am Academic Tutor to thirty students. I meet them once in every six weeks and we discuss matters concerning their social and academic lives .On the other hand if any of these students have special problems they are free to see me anytime. I am a Supervisor to four project students every academic year. I guide and direct them in their project work for them to achieve excellence.”

Kofi Nyamaah–Koffuor

Dean, School of Business & Management Studies, Sunyani Polytechnic, Ghana

Kofi currently teaches management and business communications. He has over 25 years of teaching experience around the world including Zambia and the UK. He enjoys sightseeing and sports. Kofi will travel to Nanaimo in September of 2007.

Maggie Kennedy

Nursing Instructor

 “Currently, my main responsibilities include facilitating teaching/learning with third year BSN students in both theory courses and community practice placements on concepts such as: teaching/learning for prevention, and primary health care. My background is in public health nursing. I am passionate about the important role that teaching/learning can play in preventing illness and promoting community health. It is with both pleasure and a sense of privilege that I look forward to working with the inter-disciplinary team of Malaspina students and faculty, as they work together with the community of Sunyani, Ghana, to develop strong sustainable relationships, share best practices, and promote health and wellness for all.”

Aggie Weighhill

Professor, Department of Recreation and Tourism

We would like to welcome a new faculty member to the Canadian team this year!  Professor Aggie Weighill will be joining us this year as we embark on our third study tour of Ghana.  Another addition from the Faculty of Recreation and Tourism will strengthen our capabilities as we strive this year to evaluate our progress in Environmental Education and conduct further needs assessments.  We look forward to her contribution! 

 

Amanda Moore

Tourism Management Degree Graduate

Amanda first began as a student on this project in 2006 and returned to Ghana in September 2008 for the third time. She has contributed greatly to the overall project management and her work is greatly valued.

Students

Jenn Berkely

Tourism Management Degree Student

“I am really excited to be a part of the Ghana project this year it will be a great opportunity for me. I have always been interested in traveling to Africa and being involved in a community development project like this one. I love to travel it allows you to learn and interact in a different culture, and learn a lot about yourself along the way. I am really looking forward to meeting and connecting with the team in Ghana this April!”

Sabrina Sawchuk

Tourism Management Degree Student

“I believe the true key to learning is to learn through experiences, they shape who you are and what you would like to become. I am grateful to be a part of a team where I can exercise two of my passions, my love for travel as well as my longing to be of help to someone. This project is an opportunity I have been waiting for. I am super excited to play a part in helping the Ghanaians sustain a better quality of life. I am ready and eager to absorb everything the Ghanaians have to teach me!”

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~Dr.Seuss

Trevor Campbell

Forestry

“I originally became interested in the Ghana Project because it was an opportunity to learn about forestry in another country.  As I read more about it, I discovered that it is far more than that. It is an opportunity to lend some of the knowledge I have gained, but more importantly, to learn many new things from those with far more experience. I am also looking forward to stepping foot on another continent, and connecting with a culture very different from my own. Most of all, I can’t wait to understand how fire management, resource management, and life in general is conducted when an entirely different culture, environment, and ecosystem is involved."

Matthew Moffatt

Business Administration - Finance

“I’m excited to work with the people of Ghana, to learn about the unique problems they face, and to discover the grassroots solutions they are bringing to bear on these problems. The chance to travel to Africa, to work outside the usual Canadian context, and to help contribute to real and lasting change is what drew me to this project. This is an incredible opportunity, and with an enhanced understanding and appreciation of the struggle against poverty, I look forward to making poverty a thing of the past.”

Jenn Schofield

MBA / MScIB

“Social development projects have been my passion for several years now but I have always done so from the comfort of my home country.  This is an opportunity to actually participate in the implementation phase in the developing country itself and see the impact on small communities.  I look forward to the challenges it will most definitely pose not only in my professional development but as a global citizen!”