Our Executive Team

Neil Fassina

On October 11, 2016, Dr. Neil Fassina became Athabasca University’s (AU) eighth President. Shortly thereafter, and on behalf of the university community, Neil introduced Imagine: Transforming Lives, Transforming Communities, a five-year strategic plan to transform AU into a world-leading, digital-first university. Imagine is a strategy which builds on AU’s rich history as an innovator and disruptor of higher education and positions it to take on the challenges of the 21st Century’s learners.

As the President of AU, the Open University of Canada, Neil aligns his passions and tireless advocacy for lifelong learning to enable adult learners and their communities to reach their highest potential through an accessible and flexible university education.

Prior to joining Athabasca University, Neil held several leadership roles at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), including Provost and Vice President Academic, as well as Dean of the JR Shaw School of Business and the School of Culinary Arts.

Throughout his academic career, Neil has strived to maintain strong connections to the communities he serves. In his capacity as a post-secondary administrator, he has served on and continues to serve on boards of directors in the not-for-profit sector.

With a background in human resources and applied decision making, Neil has blended his leadership and academic careers in the areas of strategic thinking and planning, leadership, effective negotiation strategies, conflict management, and human resources.

Dr. Fassina holds a PhD in Management from the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto, a BSc in Psychology from the University of Calgary, and is a chartered professional in human resources (CPHR), and a chartered director through the Institute of Chartered Directors (ICD.D).

Matthew Prineas

Dr. Matthew Prineas joined Athabasca University in early September 2017 and is in his first term as Provost and Vice President Academic.

Before assuming his current role as Provost at Athabasca University, Matthew served in a variety of influential leadership roles at the University of Maryland University College. As Provost and Vice President, Academic, he has a broad and deep mandate to lead, champion, and advance AU’s academic mission.

As the University’s chief academic officer, he is responsible for creating and elevating academic excellence and quality, including academic programs, research, academic policy, accreditation, and learner services. The office combines and balances academic leadership with leadership on institutional planning, budgeting, and resource allocation.

Matthew works closely with President Dr. Neil Fassina to deliver academic and administrative excellence across the entire institution, in large part by leading and supporting the implementation of AU’s strategic plan, Imagine: Transforming Lives, Transforming Communities.

Dr. Prineas holds a PhD in English from the University of Rochester and has an extensive academic record.

Adriana Cavaliere

Adriana joined Athabasca University in January 2018.

As the President’s Senior Executive Assistant, she brings years of diverse experience, having provided administration and support services to both the executive leadership team and the board of governors. Her experience spans the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors where her knowledge in event coordination and fundraising has been an invaluable asset for the teams she supports.

Adriana is highly goal and team focused and takes a proactive approach to her work. She is committed to Athabasca University’s “I-CARE” values and to the services she provides to the Office of the President and to the Athabasca University community.

Prior to her time at Athabasca University, Adriana worked for the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) where she began as the Dean’s Assistant at the JR Shaw School of Business, then worked as the Executive Assistant for the office of the Provost and Vice President Academic.

Adriana has a diploma in Broadcast Communications, Radio Production from the British Columbia Institute of Technology as well as Special Events Management and Project Leadership certificates from NAIT.

Carol Lund

Carol joined the Office of the University Secretariat at Athabasca University in 2001. Her prior work included various senior administration roles in management and human resources, in both the public and private sectors.

As the University Secretary, Carol provides leadership and expertise to ensure effective operation and administration of the University’s bi-cameral governance system (which comprises The Board of Governors and the General Faculties Council), serving as senior advisor on governance issues. Carol is responsible for providing leadership and expertise in policy management, legislative privacy compliance and information access, ombudsmanship, compliance with applicable provincial and federal legislation, and legal issues.

Deborah Meyers

Deborah joined Athabasca University in September 2018 as the Vice President Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer. Deborah brings strong leadership, mentorship, and a service-based culture to the Finance and Administrative team at Athabasca University. Her strong history as a leader contributes positively to the culture and strategic lens at Athabasca University. She is well-known as an inclusive, consultative, mindful leader and decision maker with significant experience in systems thinking and senior executive leadership.

Prior to joining Athabasca University, Deborah served most recently as the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President Administrative Services for Saskatchewan Polytechnic.

In addition to oversight of Saskatchewan Polytechnic Finance and Administration, including Human Resources, Information Technology, and Facilities, Deborah sponsored a major enterprise resource planning (ERP) renewal, the introduction of business analytics, and the shift to a strategic procurement process.

Prior to joining Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Deborah served in numerous senior leadership roles in Finance and Administration. These include Superintendent, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Treasurer for the Calgary Board of Education and Assistant Deputy Minister of Corporate Services for the Government of British Columbia.

Deborah has been engaged in change leadership, financial oversight, and administration in higher education, primary education, government, and Crown corporations since the late 80s across three provinces. She is well versed in the challenges and opportunities higher education institutions face, and in the role of Agencies, Boards, and Commissions in government contexts.

Deborah holds a BComm from University of British Columbia and a Chartered Professional Accountant designation.

Gilbert Perras

Gilbert joined Athabasca University in March 2019, as the Chief of Staff, Office of the President.

Gilbert began his career at Athabasca University (AU) over 30 years ago holding various positions within the IT department and the Office of the Registrar. While working full-time he also completed his Master of Education at AU in 2001. In 2006, he left the role of Registrar at Athabasca University to take on a new challenge as Director of Student Services and Registrar at Keyano College. After living in Fort McMurray for three years and working at the college, Gilbert moved back to Edmonton to take on a manager role within the Advanced Education department of the Government of Alberta (GOA). Gilbert spent 10 years with Advanced Education and the GOA first as a manager, then as director in the apprenticeship division, and finally as an executive director. In March of 2019 he moved ‘back home’ to Athabasca (and Athabasca University) undertaking the role of Chief of Staff.

As Chief of Staff in the Office of the President, Gilbert combines his passion for lifelong learning with his 30+ years of experience working in the Alberta post-secondary system to assist AU in moving forward with our Imagine strategic plan. Gilbert works closely with both the President and the Executive Team on a wide range of matters of institutional importance. He also works closely with the Senior Executive Assistant in the Office of the President to provide overall support for the operations of the Office of the President.

Charlene Polege

Charlene joined Athabasca University in November 2017 as the Chief Human Resources Officer.

Charlene Polege has spent the last 20 years collaborating with business leaders to empower and amplify their people talent in support of business goals and objectives. Her expertise includes a range of strategic human resources functions: talent management, employee engagement and retention, leadership and culture, and organizational effectiveness and change.

Before joining Athabasca University, Charlene served as Vice President Human Resources and Privacy Officer at SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts, one of Canada’s leading hotel management companies, where she led HR through complex organizational change (e.g., privatization, mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, and ownership transition) in both unionized and non-unionized environments.

Throughout her career, Charlene has been a passionate believer in the importance and impact of aligning the value systems of people with the vision and mission of an organization to create a shared purpose and culture, resulting in a high performing, resilient, and innovative organizations.

Charlene holds an MA from Royal Roads University, a Certified Executive Coach (CEC) designation from Royal Roads University, a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation from CPHR Alberta and a Society of Human Resources Management Certified Senior Professional (SHRM-CSP) designation from the SHRM in the United States.

Jennifer Griffin Schaeffer

Jennifer Griffin Schaeffer is the Vice President Information Technology and Chief Information Officer. Jennifer started at Athabasca University in November 2017 and is leading the digital transformation of Athabasca University to a Cloud & Code Campus—providing a collaborative engagement space for students, professors, and researchers to continuously innovate in digital pedagogy, applied augmented intelligence, and online learning experiences. Under Jennifer’s leadership, in November 2018 Athabasca University became the first Canadian university to officially collaborate with Amazon Web Services to provide cloud infrastructure, accredited cloud education programs, artificial intelligence and machine learning tools for AU researchers’ innovation, and comprehensive cloud training for all technical and non-technical AU team members and management.

Jennifer is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States has over 15 years of executive management experience and over 20 years of digital strategy and information and communication technology expertise. Most recently, Jennifer served as the Associate Vice President of University Digital Strategy in University Relations at the University of Alberta for seven years. While there she co-founded Onlea Corporation, a not-for-profit focused on producing Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC) and engaging interactive learning experiences for academia, government, and industry. Before joining the post-secondary sector in 2010, Schaeffer spent over a decade leading product development, research and development (R&D), and customer acquisition strategies in institutional securities and retail banking in financial services firms headquartered in the USA and Canada. Also in the mid-90s, she founded and was Executive Editor of one of the first online and virtual news media start-ups, NewsTrolls, Inc.

Schaeffer holds a Master of Music degree from Yale University and a Bachelor of Music from Indiana University. A self-taught coder from age 11, she continues to be a lifelong learner in leadership, entrepreneurship, and IT professional development programs. In May 2019, as J.G. Schaeffer, she published her first book of speculative literary fiction, The Architects of Vascularization: Even the Losers. Married to artificial Intelligence researcher, Dr. Jonathan Schaeffer, she and her husband live in Edmonton, Alberta, and enjoy nature hikes, antiquing, and travel adventures with their children.

Kristine Williamson

Kristine Williamson joined Athabasca University in October 2018, as the Vice President University Relations. A recognized leader in fundraising, communications, marketing, and alumni relations strategy and management for over 20 years, Kristine has an extensive background in building effective and productive relationships in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors.

Kristine came to AU from the Alberta College of Art and Design (now Alberta University of the Arts) where she served as the Vice President, Engagement. Responsible for the strategic direction and operation of the Engagement team, Kristine also led the rebranding and renaming project for the university.

Prior to her role at Alberta University of the Arts, Kristine held a series of progressive roles in the Development Office at the University of Calgary, ending her tenure as the Associate Vice President, Development. At that time, the university was heavily engaged in a $1.3-billion fundraising campaign and Kristine led a dedicated team of 40 professionals in achieving annual fundraising goals in excess of $55 million.

In addition to her experience in the public sector, Kristine honed her leadership and consultative sales skills with internationally known Campbell Soup Company for over six years, leading their healthcare business for Western Canada.

Kristine has an MBA from Royal Roads University and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Saskatchewan.