The power of three

Part travel agent, part logistics coordinator, part negotiator and always smiling; the Administrative Team for the Dean's Office is ready for anything. Nicole Farrell, Lyndsay Caslick and Jessica Murray, are the three members that comprise this dynamic team.

Between the three of them, they coordinate the schedules for Dr. Michael J. Strong, dean, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry; Dr. John Denstedt, special advisor to the dean for health globalization, internationalization and simulation; and Dwayne Martins, chief operating officer respectively.

They also coordinate international travel for delegation visits and the meetings for various executive councils; keeping the senior leadership of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry well-coordinated and on task.

To be a part of this team, you need to be a jack of all trades. Each day is different and brings new challenges; something that Farrell noted is the part of the job she likes the most.

"I like that I come in each morning thinking I'm going to work on something, and then end up working on completely different tasks. I also enjoy seeing something coming down the pipe and strategically planning to accommodate the request, or mitigate the risks associated with it, and working with it until it comes to fruition."

For Caslick, planning the logistics around the foreign delegation visits is what she enjoyes the most. The visits can involve booking flights, accommodations and meals for visitors. It also involves finding the right people for the delegation to meet with and booking those meetings, all while trying to give visitors the best experience possible on campus.

"Working with the foreign delegations, I'm learning so much about other cultures and meeting new people via email or Skype calls. It takes a lot of coordination to work out each aspect of the visit, but it is very rewarding", Caslick said.

Murray's favourite part of the job is working with great people. "Our team gets along so well, and I really enjoy coming into work each morning."

As great as the job is, like any position, it is not without its challenges. For this team, those challenges centre mostly around one thing - scheduling. Between the three of them, they coordinate and plan schedules for some of the busiest people in our organization.

With the team having now been in place for a full year, they are standardizing all their processes, including travel, electronic filing and bookings, as a way to make things more efficient for themselves and all those they connect with on a daily basis.

These three women work tirelessly to keep the senior leadership team at the School on task and up to date with their daily schedules and work flow. When they are not in the office, all three enjoy taking yoga classes, going to the gym and indulging in a well-deserved glass of wine.