Q&A with avec Véronique Trudeau, Program Manager

September 3rd marked Véronique’s second year of employment with Green Marine as Program Manager. Since her arrival, Véronique has taken on major challenges, such as the development of the new Community Relations performance indicator.

Q: What led you to work in the maritime industry, more specifically at Green Marine?

A: I was introduced to Green Marine while working as a consultant at Norda Stelo where I participated as an observer in the annual Green Marine auditor training. I then had a mandate with a Green Marine certified port to develop and implement management plans related to the program, which led me to get to know Green Marine better and I remember thinking to myself: « I would love to work for that organization!” As a biologist with a specialization in aquatic ecology, it goes without saying that I am an advocate for the protection of our beautiful St. Lawrence River. So when I heard there was a job opening in Quebec City, I didn’t hesitate a minute to apply. I saw it as a great opportunity to participate in the protection of our great river and our oceans!

Q: What is your favourite part of your job as Program Manager, and what drives you the most?

A: Oh, that’s not an easy question… In fact, my favourite part is that I get to do a little bit of everything: coordinating working groups and committees, meeting with people from the industry, NGOs and government, participating in various external committees, travel and conferences, recruitment, special projects, networking, etcetera. There is no shortage of opportunities and tasks! However, I must say that I find it particularly motivating to actively participate with our members in program review and development. For me, this is where I can add my touch to the program, where I can make a very concrete contribution to helping the industry improve its environmental performance.

Q: September 3rd marked your second year with Green Marine. What is your greatest achievement so far?  

A: As mentioned in the introduction, I think my biggest accomplishment to date has been completing the development of the new Community Relations indicator. Everything about it was new and challenging for me: coordinating the working groups, developing criteria in an area that is not my expertise, and going through in a period of familiarization with the program, its members, my colleagues, etcetera. I think I was able to coordinate everything well and surround myself with the right resource people to make that happen. Of course, that includes my dear colleagues who supported me throughout the process.

Q: When developing the new Community Relations indicator, what was the biggest challenge you faced?

A: I would say the biggest challenge was managing the amount of work required to coordinate two working groups, one in French and one in English, in order to produce a complete indicator in one year! The work had begun (with the indicator objective, the concept to be covered, the survey of members) before I joined the team, but the working groups had not yet started to develop the criteria. I had to organize a dozen meetings in one year with a lot of translation in between so that the two groups could effectively work in tandem. I think our executive director wanted to test me!

Q: If you could pick one participant to visit in person, which one would it be and why?

A: Another tough question… I love to travel and want to visit them all! However, if I had to choose, having never been to that part of the country, I would maybe start with the Port of Prince Rupert…

Q: Having not yet had the chance to attend our GreenTech conference in person because of the pandemic, what are you expecting at GreenTech 2022 in Montreal? 

A: I’m expecting an exceptional and unifying event where I will finally have the opportunity to meet in person my Seattle colleague, Eleanor Kirtley, and our newest colleague, Brittney Blokker, who is also based there, as well as representatives of several of our members who I have only seen in video conferences to date. We are all looking forward to the next GreenTech conference! Fingers crossed that it will finally happen in 2022…