As OSPE celebrates 25 years of representing Ontario’s engineers, we reflect not only on the impact our community has made on our members, but the influence our members have made on us. To celebrate this milestone, we reached out to OSPE leaders who have shaped the industry and OSPE itself, beginning with Alourdes Sully, P.Eng., one of OSPE’s founding members.
When Alourdes Sully joined OSPE at its inception in 2000, she was enthusiastic about OSPE’s mandate and eager to contribute to the creation of an advocacy group for Ontario’s engineers.
She believed wholeheartedly in the need to represent engineers to the government, employers, and the public. When Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) launched a call to draft OSPE’s first strategic plan, Alourdes didn’t hesitate to step up.
She responded to the call and became one of the first 100 professional engineers who worked on the initiative.
As Alourdes grew with the organization as a member, her peers encouraged her to run for the Board of Directors in 2006. With support from the OSPE community, she was elected for two consecutive 3-year terms.
Alourdes served as the Treasurer in 2009, Vice-Chair in 2010, and the Chair for the 2011-2012 term. In 2013, she remained on the board for another year serving as Past Chair of OSPE.
During her seven years on the board of directors, Alourdes played a vital role in shaping OSPE’s direction. She represented OSPE on the Board of the Professional Engineers Foundation for Education, chaired both the Executive Committee and the Audit and Finance Committee, and contributed to several other initiatives, most notably the Women in Engineering Advisory Committee.
Reflecting on her time with OSPE, Alourdes highlighted key achievements during her leadership. “I am grateful that under my leadership, the board agreed to have a board member chair the Women in Engineering Advisory Committee,” she shared in an email. “In addition, we expanded government liaison activities throughout Ontario. At some point, OSPE faced a very challenging moment during a PEO referendum. The board members, with the support of the acting CEO, worked collaboratively to ensure that OSPE was relevant then and remains relevant today.”
Looking to the future Alourdes hopes to see OSPE further expand its membership and continue its leadership role representing the engineering profession.
“I will continue to be an active advocate for OSPE by encouraging my peers to join and engage in the governance of the organization,” said Sully.
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