This past Monday, a new executive director of customer and corporate services sat at her desk for the first time in Collingwood’s town hall.
For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood we spoke with Amanda Pegg, executive director of customer and corporate services for the Town of Collingwood.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up in Richmond Hill in Oak Ridges.
Q: Where did you attend college and university?
A: I have a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Waterloo. I also have a human resources management diploma from Georgian College.
I went to Schulich (School of Business) for a master’s in municipal leadership.
Q: Where did life take you then?
A: I come to Collingwood from the Town of Innisfil. I worked in Innisfil for more than a decade. My most recent role there was the director of shared services.
I was also an interim director of corporate services there, and lead of the HR division.
I love Innisfil. I really enjoyed my time there. They have wonderful staff and I have a lot of respect for the council there.
Leaving wasn’t easy but I was definitely ready for a new opportunity.
Collingwood has always interested me.
Q: You were recently hired by the Town of Collingwood as the new executive director of customer and corporate services. Did you always know you wanted to go into public service?
A: Yes and no.
I knew I wanted to work in a position that had the opportunity to improve people’s lives.
Municipal government, in my opinion, has one of the greatest opportunities to have a positive impact on people’s day-to-day lives. It’s an honour and privilege to be part of that.
HR (human resources) has always been a passion of mine. It helps make workplaces amazing. I feel the department has the greatest opportunity to enhance workplaces. Coupled with the local government component, it’s a great combination.
Q: What made you want to make the jump to Collingwood?
A: The Collingwood community is definitely vibrant. I was impressed with the history within Collingwood, like the shipyard history and the grain terminals.
Collingwood has, what I would say is, one of Ontario’s prized gems, which is Georgian Bay. I grew up on Georgian Bay – boating, cottaging. My family has always had a boat and cottage on the bay.
I also knew a number of staff who work for Collingwood who spoke really highly of the senior leadership.
Q: What unique traits do you hope to bring to the table, and what do you hope to accomplish in the role?
A: I bring years of experience leading complex teams and projects. There are tons of exciting things on the horizon. I’m confident... I can work with these teams to move those things forward.
I also bring a willingness to respectfully test the status quo.
CAO Sonya (Skinner) is a very forward-thinking leader and I think our skill sets will compliment each other. I would call myself a compassionate leader in terms of my style. I believe that will serve well as the community emerges from the pandemic.
Q: What kinds of things do you like to do outside of work?
A: I love Georgian Bay. My husband and our three boys have a boat at our cottage on Georgian Bay. We spend quite a bit of time there. We love the outdoors – kayaking, anything on the trails.
Anything outdoors, I’m doing it.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like people in Collingwood to know about you?
A: I’m super honoured to be able to serve the community. It’s a privilege to work with staff and council.
For our feature People of Collingwood, we’ll be speaking with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way, letting them tell their own stories in their own words. This feature will run on CollingwoodToday every Saturday. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email [email protected].
