“I believe in a more sustainable and inclusive future for our amazing city and province.”

Saoirse MacKinnon is an environmental geoscientist, science educator and university administrator who has called Kelowna home for most of the past two decades. She has built her career around science education, environmental understanding and helping students access meaningful learning opportunities.

Saoirse holds a Master of Science in Environmental Geosciences from the University of Victoria, along with two bachelor’s degrees from the University of British Columbia. She is also a certified secondary school teacher and previously taught middle and high school math and science in both British Columbia and Alberta.

Since 2015, Saoirse has worked in post-secondary education in Kelowna. She currently serves as Department and Lab Program Manager for the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at UBC Okanagan, where she oversees departmental operations, budgets, administrative and human resources processes, staff and student employees, laboratory programming and large first-year lab courses.

Her work also includes developing policies, coordinating experiential learning and supporting initiatives that reduce barriers to science education. She has contributed to Open Educational Resources and the use of technology to make educational materials more accessible to students.

Saoirse is a neurodivergent transgender woman and a proud member of Kelowna’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Her experiences have strengthened her commitment to inclusion, respect for diversity and protecting the rights, health and wellbeing of all people.

Outside of work, Saoirse enjoys exploring the Okanagan and the rest of British Columbia with her family and sharing her passion for the natural world with her child.

Saoirse is running in Kelowna-Mission to bring her experience in environmental science, education, management and community life into public service and to advocate for a more sustainable and inclusive future.