The Office of Alumni Engagement is pleased to announce the six newly elected representatives to Memorial University’s Board of Regents.

Elected for a three-year term, the new alumni-elected representatives follow below.

• Dr. Lloydetta Quaicoe, BA(Hons.)’94, LLD’23
• Anik Rahman, B.Eng.’17
• Trudy Morgan-Cole, MA’93, M.Ed.’05
• Andrea Stack, B.Comm.(Co-op.)’96, MBA’01
• Andrew Mercer, B.Mus.’94, B.Mus.Ed.’94, M.Ed.’07
• Leigh Borden, BA(Hons.)’00

Alumni-elected representatives were selected from a slate of 45 candidates voted on by 4,021 voting alumni who cast a combined total of 12,924 votes.

The election ran from July 24–Aug. 22, 2023. The successful candidates will take their seats on Sept. 1, 2023.

“I am very pleased to congratulate and welcome our new alumni-elected representatives to the Board of Regents,” said Glenn Barnes, chair, Board of Regents. “I am impressed by the number and calibre of candidates who came forward. We are fortunate to have a strong alumni community that remains connected to Memorial and is keen to play an active role in the governance of our university. New members bring diverse backgrounds and skills to enrich our deliberations and I look forward to working with them over the next three years. I also want to extend my sincere appreciation and gratitude to the regents whose terms have now concluded. They have served Memorial with passion and dedication and I wish them well in their future endeavours.”

Dr. Lloydetta Quaicoe, BA(Hons.)’94, LLD’23

Dr. Lloydetta Quaicoe was born in Sierra Leone and moved to Newfoundland and Labrador in 1982. She is the founder and CEO of Sharing Our Cultures, a non-profit organization that engages youth in activities to enhance their sociocultural and employability skills, offering free intercultural learning programs to school children to help them recognize the importance of diversity and inclusion. Dr. Quaicoe is the recipient of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association’s Patricia Cowan Award for supporting and promoting education, was recognized with RBC’s Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award for Social Change, honoured with the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Human Rights Champion Certificate, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and a doctor of laws degree from Memorial. She is chair of the OMNI East Advisory Council for Ontario and Atlantic Provinces and served on the Minister’s Roundtable for Immigration and the Multicultural Education Advisory Committee. 

Anik Rahman, B.Eng.’17

Anik Rahman is a licensed professional engineer and Project Management Institute-certified project manager with expertise in renewable energy development, commercialization and electricity market operation who currently serves as an advisor with the Independent Electricity System Operator, a not-for-profit organization that operates Ontario’s electricity grid and oversees the wholesale electricity markets. Mr. Rahman brings experience from the energy industry in successfully collaborating with public and private organizations, regulators, entrepreneurs and innovators around the world. Consequently, he was appointed to the World Energy Council’s prestigious Future Energy Leader program as a Canadian envoy. Mr. Rahman is a champion of energy transition, climate tech and energy equity. A lifelong volunteer and community worker, he was an active member of many student-run organizations during his time as a student at Memorial, including two terms as an elected director for the student union. He also has a long history of working with alumni associations through his role as a founding member of the Canadian Alumni Association of Bangladesh. Mr. Rahman is committed to serve the broader Memorial University community with a goal to assist the institution to positively contribute to the social, cultural, scientific and economic advancements of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Andrea Stack, B.Comm.(Co-op.)’96, MBA’01

Andrea Stack is an investment advisor and portfolio manager at CIBC Wood Gundy, helping her clients navigate the complexities of managing wealth, working with them to provide financial, investment and estate plans. She is a fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute, a chartered life underwriter and a certified financial planner. Volunteering and community service are integral parts of her life. She is an active member of the Rotary Club of St. John’s Northwest, serving as club president from 2010–11. She is a recipient of a Paul Harris Fellowship given by Rotary International. She has served on various committees, including Hope Air, Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of N.L., St. Patrick’s Mercy Home and the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Foundation. In 2018 Ms. Stack was chair of the St. John’s Board of Trade. This is her second term serving on Memorial’s Board of Regents.

Trudy Morgan-Cole, MA’93, M.Ed.’05

Trudy Morgan-Cole is a writer and educator. After 27 years of teaching high school and adult education English and social studies, she currently works as intake co-ordinator at The Murphy Centre, helping adult learners navigate paths to completing their education. Her career as an educator has focused on helping students overcome barriers to success and find their own voices. An author of more than 20 books, her acclaimed historical novels focus on Newfoundland and Labrador history, with a particular interest in uncovering and recreating women’s stories. Her latest work, the Cupids Trilogy, deals with the founding of the first English colony in Newfoundland, attempting to reimagine the stories of women colonists and critically examine their role in colonialism. Ms. Morgan-Cole cares deeply about education, the importance of the arts in our community and the need to uplift and centre marginalized voices, all concerns which inform her interest in the future of Memorial University and her desire to contribute by serving on the Board of Regents.

Andrew Mercer, B.Mus.’94, B.Mus.Ed.’94, M.Ed.’07

Andrew Mercer began teaching in Newfoundland and Labrador schools in 1994. For the last 18 years, his teaching has been entirely online through the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation. His proven track record in the creation and dissemination of content via social media has produced a YouTube channel with more than six million views and social media followers tipping 25,000. His innovative work has been profiled in Canadian Music Educator, Popular Science, the Wall Street Journal, the Globe and Mail, CNN and Nippon TV. Mr. Mercer has shared his work at national and international conferences and symposia, including the International Society of Musical Education conference, TEDx, the Music Teachers National Association conference, the National Association of Music Merchants and the National Association of Music Educators. He has been a member of several boards of directors, including the Canadian Music Educators’ Association and the Coalition for Music Education in Canada. He is currently a director with Debut Atlantic and a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association and the Newfoundland and Labrador Music Educators’ Association.

Leigh Borden, BA(Hons.)’00

Leigh Borden is a devoted Memorial alumna. As a student, she was involved in the Memorial English Students’ Society and MUN Drama. She was president of the Memorial University of Newfoundland Students’ Union from 1999–00. After graduation, she was awarded the Birks Medal and the George M. Story Convocation Medal in Arts. While completing graduate studies at the University of Toronto, she served as an alumni representative on the Board of Regents from 2002–04. For the last 15 years, she has worked as a teacher librarian at Holy Trinity Elementary School in Torbay, N.L. Ms. Borden has worked as a lecturer in Memorial’s Faculty of Education and mentors early career teachers. She is nationally recognized as an advocate for teacher librarians and school libraries and was honoured by Canadian School Libraries with the Angela Thacker Memorial Award for excellence in teacher-librarianship and advocacy for school libraries. She is actively involved in the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association’s leadership and serves as president of Teacher Librarians of Newfoundland and Labrador. She looks forward to continuing her advocacy on the Board of Regents.

For further information, visit Alumni Engagement.