Perodeau honoured with RRU Outstanding Workshop Facilitation Award

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Life is change

Ann Perodeau knows, lives and teaches change. Over decades in business and education, her work has always evolved: from training retail cashiers to conflict resolution consulting, to teaching young people struggling on the streets as well as mid-career professionals more at home in the boardroom than the classroom, she has adapted to every changing role.

Perodeau, who is an organizational consultant, has taught at Royal Roads University since 2001 and, most recently, has led courses for Professional and Continuing Studies in Strategic Systems Thinking.

For her efforts and expertise in decoding complex systems that she is the recipient of the 2025 Kelly Outstanding Teaching Award for Outstanding Workshop Facilitation.

No simple fixes

"There's always something difficult going on in an organization. There's always a challenge," Perodeau says. "And so students in these workshops have an opportunity from the very beginning to apply the concepts to situations in their organizations."

For example, she says it can be attractive to think that there's a simple answer to complex organizational issues. "And you see that constantly in politics… If you think a very complex situation is actually simple and has a real quick and easy fix, and you implement that fix, you can trigger chaos."

Her goal for learners in her workshops? "I'm hoping that they take away the ability to see differently, the ability to look at their own situation and others'… I'm hoping that it will encourage them to involve other people with more curiosity and collaboration."

Principles of power

She also aims to impart the principle of "power-with."

"You may have the power over a group of people," she explains. "You may have the money or resources, or you may have the decision power. But the ethic is to involve them because the impact is on that group. The strength of the group will be built up and, importantly, the quality of the decision will be improved, not just for the immediate circumstance but also potentially with a ripple of positive impact across both time and affected stakeholders."

In keeping with her teaching about "power-with" in her course on strategic systems thinking, Perodeau is quick to attribute the Kelly Award and her success as a workshop leader to the collaboration with students and support of RRU staff, including education and technical colleagues.

Indeed, the Kelly Awards committee commented on her passion and commitment to her students, and how she shows humility, recognizing how individuals are dependent on others. The committee also commented on Perodeau's passion and commitment to teaching being evident in her nomination.

Calling the Kelly Award "a profoundly moving, special recognition," Perodeau says, "I have such joy from doing this. It's a community, so every time I have a class, I have a new community of people. We all come to trust and care about one another, and have fun and struggle about things together."

About the Kelly Awards

The Kelly Outstanding Teaching Awards recognize core and associate faculty members and Continuing Studies facilitators who are representative of outstanding teaching at Royal Roads. They were created in recognition of Dr. Gerald O. Kelly, RRU's first installed president, and honour teachers who promote the university's learner-centred philosophy while making positive contributions to teaching excellence.

The Kelly Outstanding Teaching Awards are open to all Royal Roads University faculty members who are actively engaged in teaching for-credit or non-credit courses at RRU. A call for nominations is sent out each spring to faculty, staff, and students. Learn more about the awards and see past recipients.

Learn more about Professional and Continuing Studies.