On June 19, more than 450 Durham College (DC) employees took time to invest in themselves at Professional Development (PD) Day 2018.

This year’s event offered a refreshed format that included three feature presentations, an opportunity for attendees to enjoy lunch together and a choice of one of 13 concurrent sessions on a variety of timely subjects led by DC employees from all corners of campus.

Aboriginal student advisors Julie Pigeon and Peggy Forbes helped attendees start the day in a good way by leading a smudging ceremony in the courtyard of the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre (CRWC). Next, DC president Don Lovisa kicked off the formal program by welcoming everyone and introducing the first of the day’s following featured speakers:

• Mark Bowden – Winning body language: optimizing workplace and client relationships
• Maydianne Andrade, PhD – Addressing unconscious bias
• SmartLeese Creative – Building client-centric relationship with improv

PD Day is an annual event, organized by the college’s Human Resources department, which enhances employee engagement using thought-provoking presentations and opportunities to reconnect with colleagues and recharge through exposure to new ideas and skills.

With more than 800 full-time employees and approximately 1,000 part-time employees, DC is one of the region’s largest employers and provides more than $900 million to Durham Region in positive economic impact annually. Events like PD Day are one of the many initiatives that help make DC one of the GTA’s Top Employers.