Administrative Professionals Community of Practice annual gathering celebrates growth

What began as a single networking event has grown into a thriving community for administrative professionals across the University of Waterloo. Staff members came together to learn, connect and celebrate their contributions to the University.

The University of Waterloo's Administrative Professionals Community of Practice held its second in-person event this spring in the Pearl Sullivan Engineering building. Since launching a hybrid event in the Tatham Centre in April 2025, the community has continued to grow, bringing together 60 staff members at this year's gathering.

“Following the overwhelmingly positive feedback from our launch event, additional volunteers were invited to join the steering committee and preparations for 2026 began shortly thereafter. Our funding request to the staff excellence fund was approved, enabling the steering committee to move forward with planning a robust event,” said Deb Iler, Chair of the Community of Practice and Executive Assistant in Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE).

The in-person session coincided with Administrative Professionals Day (the last Wednesday in April) with the theme “Focus on us”. The group celebrated years of service, professional achievements and contributions across the University. For attendees, a highlight of the day was the interactive session hosted by certified coach and educator Jan Vilaca. Vilaca’s session featured practical tips to help administrative professionals to work smarter, leave earlier and lead with authority.

Building on the success of the first two gatherings, the steering committee aims to make this an annual event. The Community of Practice would like to offer more continuous learning and connection through future events and resource-sharing initiatives. For example, the group recently attended an informative in-person session about Artificial Intelligence for administrative professionals led by Pavol Chvala, Director of AI Innovation and Systems Development in Information Systems & Technology.

“One of the things I value most about the Administrative Community of Practice is the sense of connection it creates,” said Patience Silas, academic administrative assistant at St. Jerome’s University. “It has introduced me to colleagues across campus, provided opportunities to learn new skills and reminded me of the strong network of administrative professionals who are willing to share knowledge and support one another.”

The Community of Practice extends thanks to the Staff Excellence Fund for the financial support that helped make this event possible. Administrative professionals who would like to get involved, suggest topics or join the community of practice can contact ceed.admin@uwaterloo.ca.