Women in Municipal Finance Series: Tackling New Challenges with Stephanie Nagel
As part of our “Women in Municipal Finance Series”, MFOA is highlighting inspiring and trailblazing women across Ontario’s municipal finance sector. This month, we met with Stephanie Nagel, General Manager of Corporate Enterprise Services and Chief Financial Officer for the City of Welland. Stephanie highlights the importance of taking on new challenges.
Journey Into Municipal Finance
Stephanie: After graduating from Brock University, I started in the private sector at IBM where I decided to pursue my CGA designation. IBM didn’t have an accounting team in Canada, so I had to change roles to get the experience for my designation. I took a role in the non-profit sector for Sick Kids Foundation, where I began as an Intermediate Accountant and eventually moved to Senior Accountant.
I never considered a career in the municipal sector, but after my husband took a job in consulting that required a lot of traveling, we decided to move back to Niagara Region to be closer to family and friends. I began looking at local finance roles and ended up as the Deputy Treasurer for Lincoln, which is my hometown. Once I started in the municipal sector I didn’t look back.
After Lincoln, I worked at Welland as the Manager of Finance, Budgets, and Financial Reporting. I then moved to West Lincoln for seven years as the Treasurer, including a brief stint as Acting CAO. During my time at West Lincoln, I also pursued my Masters in Public Administration from the University of Western Ontario.
After West Lincoln, I began at Peel Region as the Manager of Billing for water and wastewater and then in corporate finance as the Development Charges Financing Manager. For a short period of time, I switched to Hamilton because I wanted to be closer to home, but when the role of Treasurer/Director of Finance opened at Peel Region, I returned. With that role I also became the Treasurer for Peel Region’s Social Housing Corporation. After six years, I’ve come full circle and am back at Welland.
I’ve been in every size and type of municipality in Southwestern Ontario. I have learned something new in every place, and I brought that experience with me to every municipality!
Tackling New Challenges Head On
Stephanie: I have many highlights from my career, including advancing my career over time and working in a variety of municipalities. But my most memorable highlights are from facing new challenges. Working at Peel Region, the portfolio for the Peel Housing Corporation was a challenge; it’s not something you often get an opportunity to do in the municipal finance sector. In that role, I helped with financing strategies and worked with the team on how to make places better to live in. Being able to help to find ways to maintain and build new homes was rewarding.
Also at Peel Region, I was involved in an IT project to bring in a new billing system. I had done some IT projects before but nothing of this magnitude. It was one of those experiences that was invigorating and stressful, but it turned out to be as successful as you could hope for (because nothing is perfect!)
Another highlight was when I decided to pursue my Masters in Public Administration. It was a huge time commitment, and I was working full-time with a small child. Part way through the program I had my second child. It was hard to motivate myself to finish the program, but I had a lot of support from family and friends. I am really glad I completed my degree; it broadened my knowledge of areas outside of finance and opened my network of peers.
Speaking of my network of peers, becoming a Director on the MFOA Board and working with GFOA on the Committee of Canadian Issues has been a rewarding experience. I really enjoy collaboration and meeting new people. The work within Boards and Associations is really important to the sector.
On Inspiring Diversity and Inclusion
Stephanie: Inclusion is important, because it gives you a diversity of ideas. When hiring, I try to look within my team and determine what gaps are missing. The right skill sets and diversity within teams will encourage different opinions. Sometimes it’s hard to bring diversity into workplaces because of the demographics in the area; in those cases it takes more time and effort. Once you bring in diversity into your workplace, it’s important to provide the space to share experiences and cultures.
Councils don’t always reflect the culture of their communities, but this seems to be changing over time. It’s interesting to see different opinions, religions, and cultures at the table.
A concern I’ve heard around hiring practices is related to English proficiency – critiques around not understanding what someone says. But I remind others that it’s okay to ask someone to repeat their answer, and maybe we need to work on being more active listeners. Language barriers should not disqualify the skills that a person can bring to the organization. Similar to concerns with writing, it’s easy to work with the employee to provide feedback and help them improve on grammar or spelling. It’s worth the time and effort for the right employee and to help them grow.
On Mentorship
Stephanie: I’ve never been a formal mentor under a program, but often over my career, people have sought out advice or asked me to help them with career questions. Across time, I’ve had at least half a dozen people who have approached me for help about a new job or role or project. They recognize me through MFOA, discussion forums, or speaking at conferences.
There’s a lot of benefits to formal mentorship programs, I’ve even set people up with mentors through programs, but I prefer non-formal settings. It’s about having a group of people who you can contact when issues come up.
Importance of Continuous Learning
Stephanie: It’s important to always look at continuous learning and finding opportunities (ie/ courses, workshops, certifications, advanced degrees) that can help you improve. Get involved in other organizations and associations to get a broader network and keep yourself engaged.
I like to develop a learning plan for myself every year. It isn’t very specific, but I try to set goals of what else I can be doing to help improve my work. It’s not always academic related – it can be to read a book, or go to discussion forums more often. It’s also very satisfying to check things off as I accomplish them throughout the year.
Making Your Voice Heard
Stephanie: It’s not easy – it’s a balance of being strong and confident but not too much of either. It’s difficult for women because if you’re too assertive you can be labeled differently, and it’s hard to break that label.
It’s important to be passionate about your beliefs, but you have to be open to other ideas and learn to recognize when something is important and when it isn’t. Don’t continue the fight if it isn’t worth it. I also think it’s important to have facts that support your argument. You have to be rational and defend yourself but remember that everyone deserves to be heard.
