Okanagan College business deans appointed to tourism boards

Okanagan College business deans appointed to tourism boards

Published 5:30 am Wednesday, December 17, 2025

The deans of Okanagan College (OC)’s business school are striking a critical connection between education and the region’s tourism sector with their appointment to tourism boards representing the province.

OC announced Tuesday, Dec. 16, that School of Business dean Joe Baker is joining the Tourism Industry Association of British Columbia (TIABC)’s board of directors, while the school’s associate dean Aggie Weighill has been elected to the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) board.

“Participation on these boards deepens Okanagan College’s direct engagement with B.C.’s tourism sector at both regional and provincial levels and aligns with our drive to position the region as an epicentre for food, beverage, and tourism education, innovation and scholarship,” OC provost and vice-president (academic) Samantha Lenci said in a release.

READ: B.C.’s capital coming off its best tourism season in a decade

She added that Baker and Weighill’s leadership will prove valuable to OC’s future Centre for Food, Wine and Tourism that’s undergoing construction and slated to open in fall 2027.

The centre will provide a hub for experiential learning, applied research and industry collaboration, where students gain hands-on experience through pop-up concepts, vineyard and orchard learning sites, destination planning studios and integrated work placements.

It will “bring students, industry and community together to co-create solutions related to topics such as sustainability, workforce development and climate adaptation,” Baker said in the release. “Serving on TIABC’s board is about ensuring those solutions are relevant across B.C., responsive to industry, and rooted in the values and identity of this region.”

J.J. Belanger, TIABC’s chair, expressed delight to welcome Baker aboard, praising his knowledge of the post-secondary education sector and his ability to build strategic partnerships and bring a “refreshed and forward-thinking” perspective.

”His leadership will be instrumental in helping TIABC advance solutions that strengthen B.C.’s tourism industry and its workforce,” Belanger said.

Weighill, meanwhile, brings more than two decades of academic leadership and community partnership experience, and says TOTA’s tourism commitments mirror OC’s ethos.

“As we build the OC Centre for Food, Wine and Tourism, our seat at the TOTA table helps ensure the centre’s programs and partnerships respond to the real challenges and opportunities in our region,” she said in the release, “from climate impacts and workforce resilience to responsible growth and authentic experiences that honour place.”

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TOTA board chair Sandra Oldfield added that “having academic leaders like Aggie at our table ensures that our regional strategies — from workforce resilience to climate action — are grounded in the best research, innovation and educational pathways for the talent we need tomorrow.”

The Okanagan, renowned as a four-season tourism destination and celebrated for its landscapes and thriving food and beverage scene, boasts award-winning wineries, orchards and farm-to-table dining rooted in local agriculture.

This fall, Kelowna’s designation as Canada’s first UNESCO City of Gastronomy further elevated the culinary innovation in the region.