Vice-President Student Services
Gerry brings a wide range of educational and business experience to UCW. His focus is on meeting the needs of each student. As a Manager of Westin Hotels across Canada, Gerry managed every detail for ordinary and extraordinary guests alike, including Royalty, heads of state and professional sports teams.
Gerry then spent five years in private post-secondary business and management education at the Victoria College of Business, which grew into the Canadian College of Business & Language in 1993, and the Canadian College of Film & Acting in 1996. He merged the Canadian College of Film and Acting with LearningWise Inc. in 2005. Gerry pioneered many new program combinations and marketing techniques, which have now become standard practices in this industry, paying particular attention to the development of marketing channels, recruitment and business development internationally.
An active community and industry member, Gerry is one of the founding Directors and current President of the Canadian Association of Private Language Schools (CAPLS) and as a result, also represents CAPLS on the Citizen and Immigration Canada’s (ACISI) Advisory Committee on International Students and Immigration. He is a long-time Director of the Victoria Morioka Sister City Society, and a number of other Boards, non-profit and educational associations. He also served as Commissioner for a two-year term in 2000 for the Ministry of Advanced Education’s Private Post-Secondary Education Commission (PPSEC).
As well as being a skilled educator and administrator, Gerry is an accomplished filmmaker. He has produced over 67 short film and video dramas and documentaries and is keenly interested in the convergence and development of new forms of film and animation technologies. Several of his shorts have been participants at international film festivals.
As if that weren’t enough, Gerry has also been a competitive driver for several racecar teams, with an astonishing record of thirty-three wins in one hundred and seventeen races, and is an avid golfer. However, Gerry is finding the demands and activities of UCW the most exciting and rewarding of all!