Janice is a life-long explorer – with a diverse career by design. She is currently a member of the UBC BRIMM team (Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining), as the BC & Yukon Innovation Lead for the pan-Canadian MICA Network. BRIMM is one of 6 partner organizations that supports small-medium businesses that are creating technology solutions for challenges experienced across the mining value chain – including exploration. She has previously dedicated more than 30 years to mineral exploration in BC and across Canada as a professional geoscientist, leading project teams, and providing strategic and operational advice to the C-suite. As a specialist in bridging silos, she has fostered collaboration among diverse team members, consultants, service providers, and executives to advance projects. Some of which became producing mines, while others navigated through the peaks and valleys of market conditions, towards successful pivots.
From those experiences, it was the many informal stories she heard about risks and uncertainties faced by explorers, that inspired Janice to become an active supporter and ongoing volunteer for AME. To help them navigate that space, she served on AME’s Health and Safety committee for 5 years, and in 2017, was honoured with the AME Dave Barr Award, for Innovation & Leadership in Health and Safety in chairing and leading a diverse volunteer team in developing fresh approaches to training. Known for her willingness to move “towards”, both into the unknown and also to build bridges in spots of tension, these involvements have more recently inspired Janice to introduce and promote the core practices of successful explorers as participatory strategies to navigate change in the wider industry: pattern spotting, inquiry and deep listening, collaborative action and feedback loops. Because no one can see it all.