The Whistler Institute has a new top official, with Mandy Rousseau stepping up as executive director early in February.
“The Whistler Institute has done great work developing education and thought leadership programming, and my vision is to build on their good work,” said Rousseau in a release.
“I‘m a big fan of learning for life, and I believe education is our best avenue forward to creating more dynamic cohorts of thought. I am honoured to join the Whistler Institute where we inspire action and facilitate learning for life opportunities for the whole community.”
Rousseau joins the Whistler Institute from Tourism Whistler, where she served as communications manager for a little over a year in 2022 and 2023. She also served as director of fundraising with the Pemberton Off Road Cycling Association for a year, and has experience with both the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre.
The community will soon have an opportunity to meet Rousseau, who started in her new role on Feb. 1; She will be at the upcoming, recently-announced 2023-24 global perspectives speaker series to be held in Whistler in March and April. The speaker series includes two sessions on health-care.
She steps into the role previously held by Suki Cheyne, who served as executive director for six years during which the Whistler Institute gained charitable status, rebranded, and signed memorandums of understanding with both the British Columbia University of Technology and Capilano University to deliver post-secondary programming in Whistler.
Cheyne has since left the Sea to Sky corridor to pursue other opportunities, and remains attached to the Whistler Institute in an advisory capacity.
In other administrative news for the institution, it also announced the appointment of four new directors to its board: Andrea Eby of Capilano University; Elyse Feaver of Audain Art Museum; Cynthia Higgins of the Sea to Sky School Board; and Adam Seedsman, who recently moved to Whistler and volunteers his extensive corporate expertise.
“Looking ahead, our goal is to grow and diversify our programming over the next three years,” said Sue Adams, who is chair of the board.
“The expertise our new executive director and board members bring to the table will be indispensable to attaining these goals. While plenty of work is ahead of us, I’m proud of how our outgoing directors have really set up the incoming team for success.”
The Whistler Institute was formed from the Whistler Education Group that first appeared in 2012 to re-imagine how educational opportunities could enhance the local experience. It has an organizational agenda of identifying regional learning needs, and finding resources and partners to meet them. Through partnerships with other educational organizations, the Institute—which is without a physical, brick-and-mortar space—has delivered 48 courses and events to more than 2,700 people.
It is funded through private donors, foundations, government grants and fees for service.
