New members join SA board after appointment process held to fill holes.
The two vacant positions on the Student Association (SA) board of directors (BOD) have been filled.
The general elections held in March 2025 saw all 11 positions filled with new members. Shortly after the new term began, the educational centre representatives for hospitality & culinary arts, and preparatory & liberal studies, vacated their roles.
“One of the candidates was no longer apart of the department he applied to represent, and that is against our bylaws, and the other person was simply not able to complete the tenure, so they sent regrets for it. That means that they said that they can’t do it anymore. So, we moved on and looked at a hiring process,” said Nikita Yadav, director of communications on the BOD. “The election process was taken care of by our CRO, and they conducted interviews, and we had about 16 applicants. As far as I know this information was also confidential to remove any board biases that we may or may not have, and just to provide a more fair ground for everyone to participate.”
At the May board meeting – the first meeting of the year for the newly minted team – the hospitality & culinary arts and preparatory & liberal studies positions were deemed vacant.
Thus began the process with the chief returning office (CRO) to start the process to get new members. Yadav says the CRO took care of the process, conducting interviews with 16 applicants across the two positions. Ultimately, she says the CRO chose the best candidates deemed fit for the position and brought them to the members – and a vote – and the next meeting.
“They had to be from that department and well, they had to be enrolled. They had to make sure that for the entire tenure they would be in that role. And these are all outlined in our bylaws generally. But apart from that, obviously their intention of being on the board, why they wanted to be there, was also a video requisite, as in filming a video interview and sending across why you wanted to be a part of this position,” she added. “So, after the selection was done by the CRO then it was brought to the board, and the board, in a board meeting, was like, Okay, this is the candidate we wanted to be on the team. So, they decided they make the final decision, and ultimately we voted upon the final person.”
The new representatives for the board include Rain Avery as the new preparatory & liberal studies educational centre representative, and Alitzel Martinez Hortelano as the new hospitality & culinary arts educational centre representative.
Yadav likes how each of the new representatives brings a fresh perspective and adds diversity to a board that she believes was already very diverse. She believes the diverse perspectives that each member of the board helps to make more equitable decisions for the large and diverse community at George Brown College (GBC).
With the new year set to get underway the new members have had the chance to start learning about the organization they represent and attend meetings. For Avery, getting the chance to represent the students of GBC and those in the preparatory & liberal studies educational centre, is a great pleasure.
What inspired them to want to join the board was wanting to be able to support people they way they were supported.
“I would say I had a relatively rough upbringing with education. So high school was a bit rough. I didn’t have a lot of chances or money to continue with post secondary studies, or have enough resources to jump right into a solid post secondary program at University. So when I had the chance to come to George Brown, I first entered a program before the program currently in the general arts and science, which gave me the credits to enter this program. And I’m really, really grateful for the people who got me here and resources I was able to have,” they said.
“I’ve been set up enough where I have my own apartment and I have everything I need that I got to the point where I thought I’m just I would be so happy to be able to do the same for others in my life. And I’ve had that chance during my first year in the program in the general arts and science where I was able to emotionally support other students who were in similar positions to me, or I really got to know George Brown really well, because I kind of grew up around people who were either like working here, or other students. So, I’m just so happy to be able to give back to people who were in a similar position to me. Now that I’m on my feet and I’m in a good position myself. I’m really happy to have that position for that reason.
