Authored by:
Tonya Edvalson
Membership Chair, SRAI
University of Utah
Email:tonya.edvalson@hsc.utah.edu
We are proud to highlight a volunteer from our Canadian Section this month. She was quickly identified by the Chapter Section President, Jennifer Freeman, when we reached out for a name.
Sivagowry “Gowry” Lewis is a Grants/Contracts Officer in the Office of the Vice President, Research and Innovation at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. Her day-to-day responsibilities include oversight of government and international research grants and contracts. She has over has nine years of multi-faceted experience in senior administration and research project management. She holds a Master of Arts in Political Science and Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School.
Gowry hasn’t wasted any time getting involved with SRAI. Having only been a member for two years, she has spent time, particularly over the last years on various committees and recently represented SRAI at the Canadian Association of Research Administrators (CARA) National Meeting in Ottawa. CARA is one of SRAI’s Partner Societies, where we work with common goals to reach out and expand SRAI’s reach to other organizations across the world.
Attending her first SRAI meeting was done in style! Gowry was an attendee at the International/Canadian Section Meeting in Iceland. She found the speakers “phenomenal with extensive experience in the various topics.” She was hooked with an engaging format and examples that were shared where she could concretely support her research office. Throughout her time with SRAI, she has found the members to be very generous with their time, making some connections and finding mentors along the way. “Everyone is very welcoming and collaborative!” This is what we find most common in our groups and it’s impressive to know that it’s carrying through across borders of countries across the world.
Gowry is one of our own. She doesn’t seem to know how to quit with sharing of her own time. When asked what she does when she isn’t a “research administrator.” She writes: “In my spare time, I serve as a member on the Ryerson University’s Board of Governors. I also serve as an advocate on several committees such as the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Steering Committee and the Sexual Violence Support and Education Advisory Committee and Ryerson University.”
Thank you, Gowry, for being so willing to give of your time and represent SRAI at events like CARA and within our organization. You are fitting in fine with your short tenure within SRAI and proven that you don’t need to be in the organization for a long time to be involved. I don’t think we have seen the last of you yet. You are just getting started and will be a great asset to our Canadian Section as well as SRAI, overall!
#Membership