CWRA Structure: National, Branches and Chapters

The key position in the SYP, is the SYP Chair. The Chair oversees, and supports the activities of the SYP committees and chapters. However, the real action happens within the local chapters which are strongly linked to the CWRA Branches. Each chapter organizes its own activities to meet the objectives of the CWRA in their local communities.

The National SYP Committee has a Chair and three National Board of Director Representatives, as well as a number of functioning sub-committees, which are described below.

SYP National Positions

Brackets indicate predecessor

SYP Chair

National Board of Director Representatives

SYP National Committee sub-committee’s

Governance and Administration:

The chair oversees the SYP Governance and Administration Committee (G&A). The G&A Committee is the umbrella under which the rest of the SYP operates. The G&A committee also includes representatives from each of the chapters, the committees and any SYP members that are interested in being involved at the National level. The goal of the SYP National Committee is to engage student and young professionals studying, working or interested in the field of water resources while keeping with the CWRA vision. This includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• To encourage and support student involvement through SYP Chapter development and involvement in the SYP National Committee;
• To facilitate learning and information exchange through the CWRA mentorship program;
• To encourage appropriate projects and events at the National and Chapter levels;
• To participate with appropriate agencies and organizations.

In addition, the G&A sub-committee is the communication link with the National CWRA. The SYP Chair attends National Executive calls as a guest, communicates SYP news and business to the Executive, and reports back the G&A sub-committee.

Mentorship:

The purpose of the CWRA SYP mentoring program is to promote the management of Canada’s water resources by strengthening the professional capacity of students and young professionals through meaningful mentorship opportunities and/or relationships. While mutually benefiting students, young professionals, and CWRA professionals, this program will foster a larger professional water community.

During the 2005 CWRA Annual Conference SYP leaders from across the country had an opportunity to meet and brainstorm with some of the National Executive and Board members of the organization. During that session members discussed future directions for the SYP within the CWRA and identified programs that the SYP Committee would be interested in starting—a mentorship program was one of them. Since that time the Mentorship Committee has developed a mentorship program that was approved by the National Board of Directors, and developed supporting material for Chapters to start a local mentorship program in their city.

The Mentorship Committee manages monitors and promotes the Mentorship Program at the National and Chapter level of the CWRA. If you are interested in getting involved in this rewarding committee we are always interested in welcoming new members. Currently, members of the committee contribute 1 or 2 hours approximately every month to participate in conference calls.

For further information please contact:

• Program Coodinator: Seanna Davidson, seannadavidson@gmail.com
• Team Leader: Liz Hendriks, hendriks.elizabeth@gmail.com

Special Projects:

The Special Projects sub-committee of the CWRA-SYP aims to encourage interested participants to develop, review, discuss, and take action on meaningful water related issues in their communities, or more broadly within Canada and within the CWRA.

When individuals or groups come up with particular projects or topics of interest, the Special Projects sub-committee evaluates the project to ensure that the project is consistent with the mandate of the CWRA. The Special Projects sub-committee will also assess the feasibility of implementing a given project, work towards better defining the Project objective, inform other individuals of the project in order to increase involvement, and assist in developing a schedule or series of milestones to ensure that the Project is kept on track from start to finish.

To date, accomplishments of the Special Projects sub-committee include forming an interdisciplinary group of Students and Young Professionals to submit a detailed response to the Canadian Senate Standing Committee’s (Energy, Environment and Natural Resources) Guidance Document titled ‘Water in the West: Under Pressure’.

The Special Projects sub-committee has also provided support to the CWRA Student-Young Professional Fundraising initiatives in the years 2005 and 2006 involving the creation and marketing of wall calendars featuring unique and artistic photographs depicting water resources management.

Other ongoing initiatives include promoting an evaluation of environmentally sustainable practices within the Canadian Water Resources Association as a whole and the Student-Young Professional National Committee. The Special Projects sub-committee also aims to provide a link between the SYP and the CWRA at the national and provincial branches level.

For further information please contact:

Conference:

The Conference sub-committee of the CWRA-SYP aims to encourage student and young professional activities, participation and networking, as well as assisting in coordinating student volunteers at the annual CWRA conference.

This is a unique sub-committee as the leadership, facilitation and membership changes each year based on where the annual CWRA conference will be held in that year. The SYP Conference sub-committee works closely with the hosting provincial Branch organizing committee to ensure that there is SYP activities and visibility at the conference. Ideally, the conference leader and part of the sub-committee team is based in the hosting province or city so that close communication can occur between this sub-committee and the main organizing committee.

To date, accomplishments of the Conference sub-committee include hosting an annual (since 2004) “Careers in Water” session/breakfast that features water professionals speaking about their experiences of transition from students to professional. The Conference sub-committee has also been successful in attaining floor space for a SYP booth geared towards informing students and young professionals about SYP activities, Chapters and committee’s. The SYP booth, in the past, has created a great place to meet fellow SYPs, becomes a central place to meet friends during the conference, and a chance to visit face-to-face with people that serve on committee’s or teams together.

Volunteer Coordinator

The volunteer coordinator sits on the G&A sub-committee, and communicates with volunteers at the national, committee and chapter level. The coordinator is the person designated to field conversations, emails and chats with the SYP volunteer network. They gauge energy levels, discuss whether folks are satisfied with their current roles and duties, connect people with similar interests, get people in touch with appropriate committee leaders if they are interested in getting involved with a committee or project, and ensuring chapter and committee leaders are notified when new/special projects arise.