Career Paths: Alternatives to Academia

This event is for PhD students and Postdoctoral Fellows who are considering careers outside of a traditional tenure-track role.
Join us to hear experience and advice from our four panellists:

Jennifer Polk  (external link, opens in new window) 
Career coach for Graduates and PhDs

Jennifer regularly facilitates professional development workshops and delivers presentations for students and postdocs. Her University Affairs blog was a three-time gold winner from the Canadian Online Publishing Awards. Jen’s essays have also appeared in Inside Higher Ed, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Globe and Mail, Academic Matters, as well as in three books. More recently, she was an expert panelist for the 2021 Canadian Council of Academies report, Degrees of Success, on the challenges PhDs face transitioning to employment. In addition, Jen currently serves on the board of directors for CAGS, the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies. She earned her PhD in history from the University of Toronto. 

Peter Bevan (external link, opens in new window) 
Senior Manager, Digital Health at KPMG

Peter completed his PhD in Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto, followed by a Postdoctoral Fellowship and Assistant Professorship in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at McMaster University. Peter left academia to support digital healthcare system transformation with KPMG as a Senior Manager.   

Rich McCulloch (external link, opens in new window)  
Executive Director of Research Services at Toronto Metropolitan University

Rich earned his PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Guelph. After holding Teaching Assistant and Research Associate positions at the University of Guelph, University Health Network and finally Toronto Metropolitan University, Rich rose through increasing leadership roles and now holds the position of Executive Director of Research Services within OVPRI at Toronto Metropolitan University. 

Chelsea Suttcliffe  (external link, opens in new window) 
Project Geochemist - Advanced Projects at Teck Resources Limited

Chelsea moved to industry 1 year ago when she joined Teck Resources Limited, one of Canada’s leading mining companies. Prior to this, most of her career was in research at the University of Toronto, where she held Postdoctoral Fellow, Sessional Lecturer and Research Associate Positions. She earned her PhD in Geochemistry from the University of Oxford. 

The event will be chaired by Dr. Carl Kumaradas (opens in new window)  - Associate Dean, Programs, Yeates School of Graduate Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University.