Noteable Alumnae
Danielle Fritz, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine,
Class of '98, Speech Day, June 2009, Guest Speaker
Danielle grew up in the Cowichan Valley and as a young girl became acquainted with horses when her family moved to Cowichan Station. At the age of eight she received riding lessons for her birthday. This gift became a true life-long passion.
Danielle competed with her horses in Hunter competitions and was extremely involved in the local 4-H Horse Club. Danielle received many horsemanship awards, which were attributed to the compassion she displayed toward horses. After graduating from Queen Margaret’s School, she received her Equine Canada level one coaching certificate and started her pre-veterinarian studies at the University of Victoria. During her time at UVic, Danielle was recognized for membership in the Golden Key National Honours Society at the University of Victoria.
Prior to completion of a degree, Danielle was accepted into the Western College of Veterinarian Medicine. During this time Danielle was inducted into the Golden Key International Honours Society at the University of Saskatchewan. Danielle graduated with distinction from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. She was then accepted into an equine surgical internship in Portland Oregon. After completing her internship, Danielle moved home to Vancouver Island and started her own equine ambulatory practice in the Cowichan Valley.
Today Danielle’s equine practice has grown to a two-veterinarian ambulatory practice. Danielle continues to have the passion for horses that she did as a young girl. She still enjoys competing with her horse in the Hunter ring and shares the enthusiasm of horse showing with her husband.
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).
