Federation of Students Elections

Why Vote Sarah Cook for VP Administration and Finance?

My name is Sarah Cook, and I am running with Brad Moggach and Nikki Best, and together we are Team Yellow!

I truly believe I am the best candidate for your Vice-President Administration and Finance. Firstly, my academic background is that of business and human resources management, which are the primary roles of the VPAF. I am currently pursuing my Certified Human Resource Professional designation. I have completed coursework in accounting, marketing, economics, training and development, staffing, and basic and strategic human resource management.

Secondly, I currently hold the office of Vice-President Internal of the Federation of Students, one of the four executive officers. This has given me inside knowledge of the business and financial affairs of the corporation. This experience has also improved my administrative skills, as there is a great deal of administrative work in the VPIN portfolio. In my role as VPIN, I am charged with setting and administering the budget of the eight services of the Feds. I worked hard to ensure the services had the resources they needed to excel, but also ensure they were being fiscally prudent at the same time. This has given me real budgetary experience, which is an asset for me as the VPAF oversees the budgets of the entire corporation. I have also lead and participated in hiring of staff members and volunteers, from co-op students, service coordinators and One Waterloo volunteers. I am also prepared to advocate on student's behalf for their health and dental plan, the UPASS, and the various agreements the Feds have with UW. I will strive for maximum value for student's money. I also hope to continue decreasing expenses at the Bombshelter to decrease deficits, but continue to keep food and drinks reasonably priced for students. In my current role as VPIN, I have seen the importance and need for student services and therefore if elected to VPAF, I hope to increase the resources allocated to the service side of the corporation, from staff time to financial resources. I have also filled the VPAF role while the current VPAF was away, so I have actual experience in this position. I also provided advice and assistance to the current VPAF and President on various HR issues over the course of the year. I believe that I have excellent relationships with all of the Feds staff members.

Prior to becoming VPIN, I was the Chapter President of UW's Engineers Without Borders, which greatly honed my organizational and administrative skills, as well as my financial management skills because the chapter raises almost $40000 each year for overseas volunteers. I was extremely financially prudent and resourceful as the Chapter President to ensure the maximum amount of funds were spent on overseas programs. This role also gave me significant experience communicating with and working successfully with different types of people. Based on my volunteer work prior to becoming an executive I was the recipient of a FedS Leadership award. I believe that all of these skills and knowledge make me the best candidate for your VPAF.

Vote Moggach, Best, & Cook on Feb 9-11 at http://vote.feds.ca

My Platform

Your Money

• Ensure the budget is brought to council as soon as possible, and that the meeting is well advertised to give students a chance to see and understand where their Feds fee is going. Budget should also be clearly laid out so students can see true revenues and expenses for each department.
• Ensure greater emphasis of staff time and resources support the service side of the Corporation, honouring the board approved 65/35 split
• Implement changes to the UPASS agreement after consultation with students, and ensure that GRT makes the changes students are requesting
• Work tuition and book rebate for students who must withdraw due to medical reasons into Health and Dental plan
• Increase the graduate student Health and Dental rate so they are covering their own costs, undergraduates should not be subsidizing graduate health insurance
• Ensure UW follows the contract for Tim Horton's space and pays Feds what is owed so we can reinvest the money into you
• Ensure Society cheques are cut as soon as possible so they can start their programming early in the term

Your Businesses

• Decrease expenses and increase patronage through promotions and special events at the Bombshelter pub to decrease deficit
• Increase the amount of funds allocated to the Fed Hall / Bomber Subsidy Fund
• Increase the amount of fair trade products and vegetarian/vegan options in our food service
• Diversify the entertainment at Fed Hall / Bomber by hosting comedians, hypnotists, and guest speakers to cater to the UW student audience
• Implement dual licensing at the bars so everyone can attend events

Your Staff

• Continue to offer and encourage staff members to participate in professional development experiences to serve you better
• Ensure the bar staff have diversity and sexual harassment training so those spaces can be more comfortable for everyone
• Hire a Communications Coordinator to better facilitate the communication of what Feds is doing, and what you would like us to be doing
• Allocate more funding for staff time in the Clubs and Services department to better assist student groups with event planning and administration of their groups
• Ensure Aussies space is converted to office space to support our Marketing and Special Events departments so they can expand to serve you better
• Ensure staff have time to support Clubs, Services and Societies with their finances and administration
• Ensure that volunteers have the resources they need to do the best job possible, and provide incentives to attract the best people

Sarah Cook