Meet Yolana.
In July, 2024, Yolana Junco began her new role as the Associate Vice-President of Recreation & Athletics at Carleton, after serving 16 years as Director of Finance and Operations within the department.
Q&A with Yolana Junco
By taking over from her predecessor Jennifer Brenning, Yolana is continuing Carleton’s tradition of having strong women leaders at the forefront of sport and athletics. With a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, Yolana plans to use her leadership role to inspire, guide, and represent other women in sport both on and off Carleton campus.
We spoke with Yolana to hear more about her career as a woman leader in sport, the impact on future generations, and what she’s looking forward to most.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your career journey thus far, and what led you to becoming the Associate Vice-President of Recreation & Athletics at Carleton?
A: My career is probably very different than any other VPs in Athletics and Recreation. I came to Ottawa as an international student many years ago to do my MBA at Carleton. My background is very business and finance oriented. I worked in different areas in the university, mainly in finance and accounting, until I was asked to do some work here in Athletics. And here I am 16 years later, you never know where your career will bring you.
Q: What motivated you to pursue a career in post-secondary athletics?
A: I thought I would be in the Athletics department only for a little bit, but then I decided to stay. I learned more and more about the importance of sport in people’s lives and the impact it can have. I had my children join competitive sports while they were growing up, and my husband and I made sport a part of our lives too. I began to learn about the values you gain from sport like teamwork, respect, and discipline, and realized how important it is.
Also, when you combine that with the importance of education, specifically post-secondary education, it is a big area where you can positively affect people’s lives. You are raising future leaders and supporting them. It is very fulfilling, combining those two things
Q: What aspects of your new role are you most excited about and looking forward to?
A: There are new opportunities on the horizon now. There is an opportunity to have a partnership with the city of Ottawa to build a new athletic complex, that would be very exciting. It is very challenging, but we are trying to move that file forward. We need to raise our profile of our sport facilities and that would be a great opportunity.
The profile on professional women’s sports is also huge and we could use that in our advantage to raise the profiles of women’s sports at Carleton.
Q: How would you describe the impact of you becoming the next leader after Jennifer?
A: The only thing I can say about that is “you can be what you can see”, and that inspires women in every area.
Q: How do you think having strong women leaders in the athletics field affects the culture and empowers both men and women athletes?
A: I think women leaders can be very flexible and understanding. We consult more than other types of leaders, and that takes time. It is hard to make difficult decisions when it takes so much time, but consulting always pays back at the end. In the end, we want the best experience for the student-athletes. But you need to create that safe environment where women and men student-athletes can come talk with you if they have any concerns. It’s in developing that safe environment that I feel women leaders, in some way have an advantage in creating.
As any kind of leader, you need to be present. You need to be seen and have people see you.
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring women leaders in the field?
A: The truth is, the new generations are better than us, I think we need to learn from them. They know what they want, and they ask for it. So, I think it’s the other way, truly, I have learned so much from my daughter. I would say be confident and ask for what you think you deserve, and fight for your ideas. You must be humble when you’re listening but be passionate when you are putting your ideas forward.
Q: Any final thoughts?
A: At first, I was hesitant to get into this role because I thought you know I’m an immigrant, with English as a second language and a diverse background, but that only makes me responsible to represent and to say that women like me, could aspire to do any leadership role in Canada. That’s what made me decide to take on this role.
