Last month, the District announced that it was hiring Lisa Scott as the town’s new Chief Administration Officer.
At the time, details were scant. Indeed, little more was revealed other than her name.
But Scott started on June 3, and we were able to sit down with her to find out a bit more about her and her history.
“Originally I came from Manitoba, which is where the majority of my municipal experience comes from,” says Scott. “I first was with the town of Rivers and then I was with Intergovernmental Affairs for a while, before moving on to the rural municipality of Whitewater, which then amalgamated into the municipality of Grassland.”
She spent 20 years working in Manitoba. “And then in 2020, Covid hit and things changed. The world changed. And so my spouse and I took a big trip out to BC and just absolutely loved it.”
So, the couple looked at each other and thought, why not? “We were at a point in our lives where we were looking for a change, and we decided that’s where we wanted to be.”
So in 2021, she began working for the village of New Denver. “I really, really like New Denver. I mean, that’s a beautiful part of the province.”
But, again, she and her husband went for a trip, this time in summer of 2023. “Last summer, we came here to the Tumbler Ridge area, and we said to each other ‘wow, if a job ever opened up in Tumbler Ridge, this would be a great place for us.’”
At the time, the District had just hired a new CAO, so there was little opportunity, but in November, the decision was made that the new CAO wasn’t working out. The job was re-posted and Scott applied for the position. She was hired in May, and began her new job on June 3.
When she left New Denver, staff and council wrote her a very positive Farewell. “The Village staff and council want to express our deepest gratitude and admiration for Lisa Scott, our outgoing Chief Administrative Officer,” the wrote. “Lisa’s tenure has been marked by exceptional leadership, unwavering dedication, and an unparalleled depth of knowledge that has profoundly shaped our municipality.
“From the moment Lisa joined us, she demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to our community. Her vision and strategic guidance have navigated us through challenges and helped us progress through a variety of projects. Lisa’s integrity, influence, and expertise have made her not just a leader but a mentor to many.
“Her passion for public service and her genuine care for the well-being of New Denver was evident in every project she undertook. Whether it was enhancing municipal services, fostering community engagement, or driving infrastructure projects, Lisa’s contributions have left an indelible mark on our village.
“As Lisa embarks on her next chapter, we want her to know that her legacy will continue to inspire us. Her impact on our village will be remembered for years to come, and we are all better for having had the privilege of working with her.”
Scott says her strengths are embedded in her experiences. “I’ve been around for a while,” she says. “I’ve seen a lot of things. I’ve dealt with a lot of things. I have a lot of experience with a lot of things, everything from building a good team and overcoming some issues to having experience in emergency management.”
More than that, she says she has a very strong financial background. “That’s an important attribute that the CAO needs to have. I mean, you need to really be able to understand the financial part of it. The CFO obviously is the expert in that field, but it’s important for the CAO to really be able to understand that as well.”
Anything else? “I mean, I’m just a lovely, likable person,” says Scott, with a laugh.
Having only been on the job for little more than a week, she’s still working on figuring out the political and social landscape here. “From the outside, Tumbler Ridge seems to be a community where there are a large number of volunteers and everybody cares about each other and the community,” she says. “That’s a great environment to come into. And so I want to build on that. Otherwise, I’m still just trying to figure out where work might be needed and where to focus my efforts.
She says a lot of people don’t understand what the role of administration is. “Although I may be the head administrator in this district, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m a decision maker. I mean, the council members are the decision makers, the policy makers, and I support and implement their decisions. If people are thinking that they can bypass that process and come to me and get things done that way, that’s not how it works. I am absolutely here to support council and to provide expert advice when they’re making those decisions. But I implement and make sure what is happening is happening per the vision of council.”
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
