EFMABC member profile – Jodie Miller

Jodie Miller

SCHOOL DISTRICT 64, GULF ISLANDS

It was the spirit of travel and adventure that brought Jodie Miller from the world of engineering to facilities management.

As the director of facilities and transportation for School District 64, Gulf Islands, Miller made a ca-

DESIGNING FOR HUMAN POTENTIAL

architecture planning interior design new construction renovations

reer change when she started with the district in September 2020.

Miller, originally from Essex, England, graduated with a degree in civil engineering – a career she chose as teenager because of the opportunities to travel abroad. She worked as an engineer in England, New Zealand, Australia, and in the Philippines consulting on bridge projects before she received the opportunity to emigrate to Canada. After working in Vancouver for a construction company, she moved to serene Saltspring Island in 2020, and what started as a temporary position with District 64, soon turned into a full-time permanent position.

With her background in engineering and project management, Miller says stepping into facilities management has been quite a steep learning curve. “We have an amazing team here that have been very supportive in showing me the ropes,” she says. “That makes a big difference when you are surrounded by good people.”

Based on Saltspring Island, the school district is comprised of 10 schools and covers the southern Gulf Islands; Saltspring, Mayne, Galliano, Pender, and Saturna Islands.

“There’s so much to continuously be learning in the role itself,” she says. “It’s busy, fast paced, and a fun challenge as well.”

Miller says that the Gulf Islands district is a small one, which has given her the opportunity to be involved at many levels including capital project management and

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With her background in engineering and project management, Miller says stepping into facilities management has been quite a steep learning curve. “We have an amazing team here that have been very supportive in showing me the ropes.”

transportation in addition to her role in facilities management.

In an effort to provide more efficiency and security, Miller and her team helped to overhaul and modernize several internal systems including the introduction of a new centralized transport registration system for parents to register children, and electronic tap cards for the students getting on and off the buses.

“It’s rewarding to think that all the effort that you put into your job benefits the students and the local community. So that’s a really fun part of the work that I enjoy.”

Another recent capital management project will see the school district receive its first electric bus to be put into operation this year on Mayne Island.

An upcoming summer project that Miller is looking forward to is referred to as ‘Reconfiguration’ where the school district closes a school to repurpose it for use over the summer months. This summer, the Saltspring Middle School will be closed and leased by the CRD to provide community programming, and an entire wing of the facility is being renovated to become a modern office space for staff and community use, complete with programming and entrepreneurial space to go alongside creative courses for students.

Miller has quickly become accustomed to island living as an avid hiker and camper, always enjoying being by the water. She also loves to paint and has sold a few of her original works in local art shows.

“It sounds like a lifelong journey getting to this point,” she says. “I’m really lucky in my career, I’ve travelled quite a lot, and now sometimes I’m driving to work in the beauty of Saltspring Island, and I feel like pinching myself that I get to live and work here.” n