"

Meredith Richmond

Alumni Profile: Meredith Richmond Currently, a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Education experience: 1996, a B.A. in Psychology at Queen’s University. In 1999, a diploma in Early Childhood Education. 2024: M.P.A. at Queen’s University. Career timeline: 2001-2006, a family service worker at the Children’s Aid Society. 2006-2016, a clinical case manager and psychotherapist for a non-profit addictions agency. 2018-2021, a federal government case manager at Veterans Affairs Canada. 2018-2022, a manager at the Office of Women and LGBTQ Veterans. 2022-2024, an Ontario regional lead, national managers community, at the Canada School of Public Service. Currently, a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. What made you choose this path? Second year biopsyc course. I fell in love with the brain and motivation systems and then how those systems interact with in ways that impact our behaviors/ addictions / mental health. I fell in to child welfare but it gave me the experience I needed to join the addictions agency and eventually become a registered Psychotherapist. I struggled with my own mental health and undiagnosed neurodivergence and barely made it through my BA. I had initially wanted to go to grad school. Do you have advice for students interested in pursuing a similar path? There is more than one way to get to where you want to go and during that journey you may learn you want to go some where else entirely. Be open to possibilities and remain curious. What has been the biggest challenge on your career path so far, and how have you navigated it? Mental Health and undiagnosed ADHD. YEARS of therapy and meds ;) I had to advocate for my needs and ask for support to be authentically me. This was much harder during the beginning of my career and there were times I was not sure I would make it. Having good medical and family/friend supports was so important. Finding mentors was also key. What has been the biggest joy on your career path so far? When I won an award in my second year in the Government for being a leader in workplace wellness. I had left my previous workplace on stress leave because of a lack of support and finding a place where I was thriving and being recognized for who I was and what was important to me was so validating.

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

The Canadian Student Guide to Applying Psychology in Varied Career Paths Copyright © 2025 by Copyright is retained by the authors is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book