Professional Development: Engineering Your Future

This professional development session focuses on career advancement, inclusion, and leadership within the engineering profession, with a particular emphasis on women, people of colour, and internationally educated professionals. The presentation topics and presenter information are listed below:

1) Engineer-in-Training (EIT) Pathway to permanent employment and professional licensure

2) Empowering Through Direction: Building Skills with Purpose

3) Addressing systematic challanges and how to navigate them

4) How to make a lasting impression in interviews

3) Soft skills that matter

Presenter's Bio:

Michelle Johnson is an accomplished leader with a foundation in International Development Studies, specializing in Community Economic Development, Politics, and Economics. Her academic background, paired with certifications in Applied Management (Utilities Management), Change Management, Project Management and the CIMA program, informs her systems-focused approach to driving meaningful and sustainable impact.

A dedicated coach, mentor, and advocate, Michelle is deeply committed to elevating underrepresented voices and fostering environments where people feel valued, included, and empowered. Her career spans high-level roles in the financial sector, where she championed socio‑economic advancement, as well as serving as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisor shaping policy, building partnerships, and influencing culture.

As an immigrant to Canada and a proud member of the BIPOC community, Michelle brings an intersectional lens to all she does. Her professional work is complemented by her community involvement in promoting financial literacy, youth empowerment, newcomer support, and skills development initiatives for all marginalized groups.

A committed lifelong learner and dedicated Toastmaster, Michelle embodies purposeful, transformational, and ethical leadership that believes in the power of community and the importance of lifting others up.