Simone Le Gendre-King
International Education Consultant & Co-Chair, ACWPS Network
Simone Le Gendre-King is the Co-Chair of the African Canadian Women in the Public Service Network (ACWPS). Established in 2011, the ACWPS Network represents approximately 150 provincial employees in Nova Scotia who identify as women of African descent. Before stepping into the role of Co-Chair, Simone was the Chair of the Strategy and Governance committee where she led the team through the development of the Network’s strategic plan for 2020-2023 against the backdrop of COVID-19, the larger context of racial injustice in North America and the fight for the recognition of the importance of Black lives. While wearing her public service hat, Simone is the Manager of Curriculum & Program Development, and former Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) Curriculum Consultant for the NS Department of Labour and Advanced Education. She is the first Black woman to hold those positions.
Following the path of the Leatherback turtles from the warm Atlantic Ocean of Trinidad and Tobago, to the frigid ones of Canada, I moved, sight unseen, to Nova Scotia-not to eat jellyfish though, but for science nonetheless. Science Education to be precise. I was hired by the Province as a STEM Curriculum Consultant for the adult education system. It was an exciting opportunity that I couldn’t pass up because it seemed like I could use my knowledge, skills and years of expertise to make a difference.
Before moving to Canada in 2018, I had over a decade of international experience in STEM and innovation ecosystem development, futures thinking, science education and project management. On the educational leadership side I led several education projects with stakeholders across the Caribbean, North America and Europe, trained new teachers in learner centred, equity-based methodologies for the Trinidad & Tobago Ministry of Education, developed university courses for and guest lectured on Science Communication at the University of the West Indies, so I felt well equipped to bring some fresh and innovative perspectives to the adult education arena.
In my current management capacity, my work is centred on the strategic management and provincial delivery of adult education curriculum and programming through an interconnected network of community partners. I enjoy it because I get to do what I do best- solve complex problems using innovative thinking. If you have an organizational problem, or any kind of complex problem, call me – I can help get you to your desired future state by implementing inclusive and comprehensive systems.
In my free time, I am an entrepreneur, author, explorer and volunteer. In the entrepreneurial realm, I am an International Education Consultant with a passion for human capital development and global collaboration. I love exploring the natural beauty of the Maritimes, learning the stories of the communities, families and first peoples.
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What are you most proud of professionally? And who or why?
The most recent thing I'm proud of was being recognized with the Deputy Minister's Award 2020-2021. I led a wonderful team through a rapid prototyping process to respond to the need for Digital Skills training for vulnerable adults in communities across the province. I'm proud of this because the pandemic seriously affected our vulnerable communities – making attachment to the labour market even more precarious than pre-pandemic times. Apart from job losses, many folks in communities were isolated, and unable to access critical online services due to gaps in digital skills as well as lack of access to connected devices . The Digital Skills Innovation Sandbox was able to get funding to community organizations to deliver training that met the needs of their communities. It was a collaborative and impactful approach.
What’s your vision for Atlantic Canada in 10 years? What’s our biggest opportunity now?
A decade from now, I see Atlantic Canada with a thriving, inclusive circular economy, sustainable communities and as a hub for innovation. Our biggest opportunities now lie in the intersection of our people, environment, and location. I think we have something really special here in this region: the geography, biodiversity, culture and heritage, and of course our human capital. Atlantic Canada is a brand that could be exported; herein lies many opportunities to fund and drive R&D and innovation for many sectors, especially the Blue & Green economies. All these factors give us an edge to grow our region’s population in a way that balances economic and ecological polarities.
What was your greatest stage of growth? What made it a shift for you?
I am on a lifelong journey of learning and growing, however, one of the pivotal periods of my life was attending college- the transition that shaped much of who I am today. I left Trinidad & Tobago with a full academic scholarship to attend the oldest historically black university in South Carolina – Claflin University. The entire Honours College program was designed to prepare us to be confident, visionary leaders in a world where our commitment to social justice, innovation and community service would be our hallmark of excellence. This experience helped me find my voice, identify my values, and emboldened me with the courage to stand up for myself, others and for the truth.
What’s your favourite or most read book or podcast? Now or at each of your greatest stages of growth?
The book I read the most is the Bible. There’s always something new to find in there, the stories of faith and community are inspiring. It gives me the wisdom I need for every situation that I experience.
The book I am reading now is Women, Race and Class by scholar Angela Y. Davis.
Podcasts:
The Homecoming Podcast by Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis. This podcast is amazing and really focuses on integrating all aspects of our personhood. It has helped me to reflect on my personal development.
The Career Planning Show by Alex Rascanu. It shares lots of career planning insights and interviews with a diverse set of professionals.
What’s your deepest learning from this past year? How did/will you apply it?
Over the past year I’ve learned about resilience and responsibility. In the face of the pandemic and life being absolutely ambiguous, and sometimes scary – I learned that we each play a part in helping to build collective resilience in our workplaces, homes and communities. Going forward as a leader, I’ll continue to do my part to support others, ensuring that I am creating environments of trust and psychological safety, by checking in with others and considering the whole person in all contexts.
Who’s inspired you, directly or indirectly? How have they inspired you?
My parents, Annette and Cecil, inspire me the most. They are my blueprint for lifelong learning, love and evolution. They raised 5 daughters through decades of sociopolitical and global changes. Being born in colonial Trinidad & Tobago, they’ve lived through World War 2, independence, becoming a republic, social unrest, multiple epidemics, and the internet. My parents are committed to personal development at a level that puts me to shame everyday! My dad has been an athlete and businessman his whole life and even up to today, gets on his spin bike daily for an hour, and still talks to me about innovative ideas for diversifying his business. My mom taught me about the power of knowledge, herbal medicine, meditation, and prayer. She is very savvy, keeps up with global current affairs, trends and technology. She recently learned how to do video calls on her tablet and now boasts about new recipes she’s trying out from YouTube. This year they celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary. The biggest takeaway from them is that you must evolve with life, and more importantly – laugh, celebrate all your milestones, dance and have fun!
What would you have done differently?
Nothing. Because…Chaos Theory. In simple terms – the Butterfly Effect. I view life as a complex system of relationships and events that are non-linear and have some level of unpredictability. To have done anything differently would have changed the course of my life and where I am today. Also, there’s no way to know for certain that any change in my trajectory would have resulted in a more favourable outcome.
What are the principles you live by?
Truth, radical honesty, childlike curiosity.
How have you recovered from fractured professional relationships? What uncomfortable truths have you learned about yourself in those experiences?
Fractured professional relationships are not something I encounter much. My groundedness in radical honesty and proactive nature drive me to find solutions to most relational issues. I strive as much as possible to have very clear expectations from the outset. There is no truth about myself that is uncomfortable because I hold space for myself – to observe my thoughts and feelings and to reflect on them. For a fractured relationship to be reconciled, it needs to be grounded in truth, and honesty on both sides, when those ingredients are there, the repair is magical, like kintsukuroi (Japanese art of repairing with gold) – creating something stronger and more beautiful than what was there before. When those ingredients are not there – I walk away.
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Futurist, Entrepreneur, Complex Problem Solver, Transformational Leader, STEM Evangelist