Carole-Anne Gillis (PhD Water Science, 2017)
Research Director, Gespe'gewaq Mi'gmaq Resource Council
When she arrived at INRS in 2009, she says she was “open to different work experiences, internships, and training opportunities.” She encourages students to seize these opportunities for professional development.
For Carole-Anne Gillis, a confluence of circumstances brought her to INRS. Curious and concerned about the algae she saw along the Restigouche River near her childhood home, she decided to go to INRS get a master’s and PhD in water science. Thinking back to her time at INRS, Carole-Anne remembers it as a “small university with small classes” that brought together students with a wide variety of backgrounds and expertise, but one interest in common: water. She spent her time at INRS working as part of multidisciplinary, multicultural teams.
Carole-Anne Gillis says her career officially started when she began her bachelor’s degree program at Université de Rimouski à Québec in 2006. When she arrived at INRS in 2009, she says she was “open to different work experiences, internships, and training opportunities.” She encourages students to seize these opportunities for professional development.
In 2014 Carole-Anne Gillis joined the Restigouche River Watershed Management Council, a nonprofit organization created out of a partnership between six organizations. Its mission is to ensure the conservation and restoration of Atlantic salmon resources and habitat. She served as its scientific director. Since 2018 Carole-Anne Gillis has worked as research director at the Gespe'gewaq Mi'gmaq Resource Council, where she continues to develop community-based research, environmental monitoring, and restoration efforts in various coastal watersheds and ecosystems.
Her hope for INRS going forward? That we focus even more on applied research and co-creation work. It’s a work approach she champions every day, collaborating actively with partners from the local community and the university.