Join us online on June 18th from 1:00pm to 2:00pm for the Living Library #11 with Dr. Chris McGrath (he/him/his), VP, Students.

This event is moderated by Ali Ryder (she/her/hers), Outreach and Education Coordinator, Student Recruitment.

Please see the biography below of our amazing panelist who is joining us for the event.

Speaker Biography

With over 25 years of experience in higher education leadership, I am passionate about empowering leaders and teams to contend with complex social problems while doing their own work to action their learning towards Reconciliation, pursue equity, diversity, and inclusion.

By day, I’m honoured to partner in leading Niagara College - as Vice-President, Students, with strategic oversight for cultivating the conditions for an unparalleled student experience. And by night, I’m Associate Faculty at Royal Roads University where I teach higher education quality and public accountability; and as Principal and Founder of Koru Coaching + Education Group, Inc., where I offer coaching and consulting to people who want to become better leaders for a better world.

In a world that values the distant objectivity of institutions and leadership, I come to my professional work with the fullest expression of my personal identity – as a cis-gendered queer man who experiences the world with depression / anxiety, while also being a first generation Canadian and first generation post-secondary graduate. In my work, I try to balance head, heart and humanity, with the belief that the idea of contemporary leadership needs to be radicalized and reimagined, especially in a world around us that feels like it's on fire.

I hold an Honours Bachelor of Arts in French Studies from the University of Waterloo, a Master of Education in Higher Education & Student Affairs Administration from the University of Vermont, and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Higher Education) from Western University. My educational and career journeys have not been easy; but they have most definitely been transformative. I look forward to sharing some of the chapters in my story.