ÎüʪÊÓƵ School of Business
Dean's office contacts
Dean
Joe Baker
Joe Baker is multi-passionate leader within Canada’s education, tourism and hospitality sectors and a vocal advocate for an inclusive, future-forward workforce.
Prior to joining ÎüʪÊÓƵ School of Business, Joe was an active entrepreneur and consultant. Splitting his time between national and provincial workforce development projects, media and publishing, and leadership speaking engagements; Joe brings a wealth of diverse experience to his role as Dean.
He was previously Dean at Centennial College’s School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts where he led the most meaningful transformation in the school’s over 50-year history including the creation of a dynamic experiential learning eco-system.
Joe has held senior management roles at George Brown College’s Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts including Director of Operations, Services and Partnerships. Before joining higher education, he worked in hotels and managed restaurants.
He has a Master of Education, a Bachelor of Commerce and extensive executive education and certifications. Joe serves proudly on the board of directors for Tourism HR Canada (THRC) and Co-operative and Work-Integrated Learning Canada (CEWIL).
Associate Deans
Laura Thurnheer
Accomplishments:
In her role as an Associate Dean of the Okanagan School of Business, Laura works with a leadership team and approx. 90 faculty and staff serving 1,500 Business students across four campuses in the Okanagan, Similkameen, and Shuswap areas. Most recently, she was an Associate Dean in the Science, Technology and Health portfolio at ÎüʪÊÓƵ working with 13 departments in the Science and Technology areas.
As an active member of her local business community Laura is very aware of the challenges facing businesses today and strives to help new and existing businesses develop and expand. Laura is a past President of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, a past Director of the British Columbia Wine Authority, a current Board Director with CPHR BC & Yukon, and the current Board President of KCR Community Resources.
In addition to her professional career, Laura and her husband own a small business operating in the Central Okanagan. Laura enjoys an active Okanagan lifestyle finding time for skiing, golfing, kayaking and camping.
Research Interests:
Governance, Women in Leadership, BC Wine Industry.
Associations and Board Memberships:
Board President, KCR Community Resources
Board Director, CPHR BC & Yukon
Member, Chartered Professionals of Human Resources, CPHR BC & Yukon
Member, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
Credentials:
Master of Business Administration (Strategic Management), Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia
Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing), Faculty of Commerce, University of British Columbia
Provincial Instructors Diploma (PIDP), Post-Secondary Endorsement, Ministry of Advanced Skills and Education, British Columbia
Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR), CPHR Canada
Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), Society for Human Resource Management, USA
Kerry Rempel
Kerry Rempel brings a variety of experiences to her current role as Associate Dean of Business. Prior to taking on the Associate Dean role in 2023, she taught primarily in the management and human resources areas of the BBA, coached competition teams, and was a faculty lead for the Scotia Bank Centre for Nonprofit Excellence. She served as the Chair of the Business Department from 2019-2022 and led the development of several new programs for. In addition to roles with the Business Department, Kerry also led the OC Strategic Planning process for 2015-2020.
Her early industry experience was focused on operations management and management consulting in the fields of recreation, athletics, print and digital media and tech. In 2003, she moved to Kelowna to transition from corporate work to build a consulting practice focused on nonprofit organizations. That fall she made her first connection with ÎüʪÊÓƵ and by January 2004 was teaching in the Business Department. She continues to work with industry by supporting work-integrated learning opportunities for students.
Kerry is also active in the region conducting community-based research, developing and leading workshops, and consulting with nonprofits and social enterprises. Along with other colleagues, she works to integrate her research into the community through the creation of teaching cases and the production of community reports and toolkits.
Danielle Robinson
Danielle Robinson has PhD from the University of Guelph in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, a Masters of Education from UBC, a Wine Business Management Certificate – Foundation Level from Sonoma State University, and Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) level three. She lives in the South Okanagan (British Columbia, Canada) where she explores the relationships between local food cultures, sustainability and rural tourism. Danielle teaches courses in tourism planning, wine and food tourism and sustainable tourism at ÎüʪÊÓƵ.
Credentials:
MEd, UBC
BA, SFU