Nice to meet you

Courtesy of MOXX Photography

 

Born and raised in Romania, I am among a few Romanian women who has evolved from having no idea of women’s reproductive health and rights to advocating for other women. Fifty one years ago, Romania’s dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, dealt a crippling blow to women when he banned what we now call “abortion-on-request”. He wanted to impose his plan to increase the country’s population from 23 to 30 million by the year 2000. He began his campaign in 1966 with a decree that virtually made pregnancy a state policy: “The fetus is the property of the entire society.” He said that “anyone who avoids having children is a renegade who abandons the laws of national continuity.”

For anyone who has watched the movie, “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” awarded at Cannes Film festival about this topic, this is the era that I was born in.

I traveled to over 28 countries and I had a chance to work in more than 8 countries. In the summer of 2003, we decided to make Canada our country and home. That was among the smartest decisions we’ve made! I am a proud mother of two boys, a Romanian and a Canadian-born. I am a strong believer in community involvement. I am committed to personal growth evident in my education, training and the community boards I am part of. I have been working in the career development, training and development field since 1993, when I escaped from my Bachelor of Sciences, Chemistry major, and chose a new career path.

I view my career as an Employment Consultant/ Career Developer as diverse as the community that I work for. I work with clients to help them find a job or identify a new career path. As a True Color Certified Trainer and Workshop Facilitator, I am privileged to work with outside groups and organizations, to provide fun and informative communication platforms to provide the key for a successful career. The True Color workshops are the bread and butter of our personality assessment system. Using a research-based approach to understand human behaviour and motivation, through guided activities, participants learn how their color spectrum affects both professional and personal relationships.

My work experience encompasses a broad range of industries, from multinational companies (Oxford University, AVON and McDonalds), to being involved in various employment counseling positions working with aboriginal organizations and employment agencies (O.I. Group of Companies and VPI Working Solutions) and to education (Mohawk College, Halton District School Board and Hamilton Wentworth School Board). Throughout my educational and counseling experiences, I have amassed a wealth of knowledge in the domains of assessment, counseling and human resource services.

With respect to postgraduate training, I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 1992, an MBA in Marketing in 2002, and a Master in Education completed in 2015. In addition, I had been  undertaking courses and workshops specifically pertaining to career development, such as the Career Counselor Diploma and Counselling Diploma offered through Mohawk College, a True Color Facilitator Course, a Performance Management Certificate, and a Communication for Business Certificate, to name a few.

I have been volunteering since the first month I came to Canada with settlement agencies, sitting on women group boards, participating in events that support newcomers and women as panelists or speakers. I started a non-for profit organization back in 2006 – ROCATEACH – to promote culture and international languages between children, organization that merged with a bigger, non-for- profit organization, ORCA, a few years ago.

For my commitment and leadership in helping the community to grow, I was nominated and won multiple awards and community recognitions.

My favourite quote is one about the importance of continued learning: “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.” (Albert Einstein)