Careers in Business and Consulting (Panel)

Join us as we hear from panelists who have transitioned into diverse careers in business and consulting, from their own entrepreneurial pursuits to working in a larger organization. 

Whether it be strategies or career advice, this panel is intended to be relevant to postdocs and grad students from all disciplines and academic levels. 

This panel aims to explore the following topics: 

• The journey from graduate and postdoctoral work to careers in business or consulting 
• Opportunities in the fields of business and consulting 
• Strategies for a successful job search 
• Ways to network and engage in this sector 

This panel is jointly hosted by UBC’s Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and UBC Career Centre and Simon Fraser University’s Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. 

MODERATOR

Dr. Padmapriya (Priya) Muralidharan, MITACS ELEVATE Postdoctoral Fellow, Biomedical Physiology & Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University and and Chair of the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars (CAPS-ACPP).

PANELISTS 

Dr. Roberta Borgen (Neault) is the award-winning President of Life Strategies Ltd., a consulting and training organization that she founded 30 years ago. She has degrees from both UBC and SFU, served as Associate Dean for Yorkville University, and for the past several years has been an Adjunct Professor in counselling psychology at UBC. Roberta’s consulting career as a contractor to corporations and governments began immediately after completing her master’s degree in counselling, and she has concurrently worked in academic and consulting roles ever since. Her work and travels have taken her to more than 75 countries and she is highly respected internationally for her research, training, and consulting within the career development sector. Co-developer of the Career Engagement Model and author of textbooks and workbooks on career development themes, Roberta has walked her talk, building an eclectic and fulfilling career that has also created meaningful work for many others on her team.  

Stephen McMurray began his career as a competitive swim coach after graduating from SFU with an undergraduate degree in communications. A few years into the profession, Stephen was accepted into the Master of Kinesiology program at UBC. After completing the program, he continued to work in non profit sport at Rowing Canada Aviron as their Membership Services Administrator for just over two years. In 2021, he transitioned to working for the BC Provincial Government at the Ministry of Health and is now a Health Information Consultant in the ministry. Working with health data specialists, Stephen provides business analysis and stakeholder/client services for IT platforms where decision makers have immediate access to BC's health data. Stephen is also passionate about building accessible and active communities, and recently completed a two-year term as the Co-Chair for Capital Bike, a cycling advocacy non-profit organization.

Dr. Elnaz Mohammadi is a Process Engineer and Industrial Water Treatment Specialist at WSP Canada Inc. With over seven years of experience in both academia and industry, Elnaz has conducted numerous projects related to the biological, chemical, and physical treatment of industrial wastewater. She completed her Ph.D. in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at the University of British Columbia, where her research focused on optimizing industrial bioreactors for the removal of contaminants from industrial wastewater. Currently, Elnaz works as a Process Engineer at WSP Canada Inc. where she applies her expertise to solve real-world problems in the field of industrial water treatment.