Irlanda Gonzalez Price, who uses pronouns she/her, is the Associate Vice-President of Student Affairs at Vancouver Island University (VIU) in Nanaimo, BC. A Mexican immigrant and English as a second language speaker, she is both fluent in English and Spanish. Her career in post-secondary education spanning over 20 years, has been dedicated to the many areas of student development, at the community college and university levels. As a committed educator, Gonzalez Price has led several major campus initiatives at multiple post-secondary institutions in Canada resulting in improved access for under-represented and diverse learners. She has developed and operationalized Strategic Enrolment Management plans, Indigenous Student supports and led several retention campaigns which included establishing several bursaries to increase student retention.
Irlanda is a conference presenter and author, with a newly published article in the New Directions for Student Services Journal. She is actively engaged in empowering women through her work with various community organizations and is a faculty/mentor for “Women Honoring Other Women” an appreciative leadership gathering for women leaders in academia. She has been a practitioner of Appreciative Inquiry for nearly 15 years.
Irlanda is passionate about positive strength-based post-secondary education and equity and inclusion in higher education. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work and a Master of Social Work focussing on working in rural, remote communities.
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