Noteable Alumnae
Lianne M. Lefsrud, M.Sc., P.Eng., Class of '88
Speech Day, June 14th, 2008, Guest Speaker
Lianne has a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering and an interdisciplinary Masters of Science, in Environmental Engineering and Sociology, both from the University of Alberta. She created her interdisciplinary Masters to understand the technical and socio-economic effects of noxious facilities. Her thesis specifically addressed the design considerations of a nerve-gas munitions incinerator for the U.S. Army. She is currently working on a Ph.D. in Business, in Strategic Management and Organizational Analysis, studying the role of professionals in the adoption of corporate environmental initiatives. For the past five years, Lianne has been the Assistant Director Professional Practice with APEGGA (Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta), the regulator of over 50,000 professional engineers and geologists in Alberta. She was the only woman director at APEGGA and the youngest by a fair margin. Her portfolio included Practice Standards, Environment, Practice Review, and Continuing Professional Development.
Previously, she spent almost seven years with CN Rail in various operational capacities including: engineering, mechanical, transportation, and marketing. As an interesting aside, she is qualified as a locomotive engineer and is used to answering “train” questions. She’s also worked in construction, oilfield, water resources, and environmental consulting.
Lianne is active in the Air and Waste Management Association, WISEST (Women in Scholarship Engineering Science and Technology), is on the Board of the Rotary Club of Edmonton and the Edmonton Community Rotary Foundation, and is the public member on the Registration Committee for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta. She actively enjoys spending time with her family, running, downhill and cross country skiing.
Josephine Chen, Class of '97
Speech Day, June 16th, 2007 guest speaker
Josephine graduated from QMS with Governor General’s Award in 1997 and was the Head Girl of the graduating class. During her time at QMS, she was actively involved in the equestrian program (Riding Captain 1997), the field hockey (Team Captain 1997) and basketball teams, the concert band and the Chapel Choir. Josephine obtained her Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto (Toronto, ON) in 2001. Shortly after graduation, she began her career in the engineering consulting business, working on safety equipment analyses for the nuclear power industries. Josephine obtained her Professional Engineer (Ontario) designation in 2005 and continues her work at the engineering consulting business. In August 2006, she accepted the position as the Manager of the Risk Management Department in the consulting firm, and began working on projects ensuring public’s safety in building structures, on amusement rides, and in large-scale public events.
Outside of work, Josephine enjoys karate and springboard diving. She holds a second-degree blackbelt in karate and is a certified provincial diving competition judge (Ontario). Josephine is also currently working towards a Master degree in Business Administration at the Schulich School of Business (Toronto, ON).
