Heather Plett
"You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions." - Naguib Mahfouz (Nobel Prize Winner)
I still have a long way to go before I’d call myself “wise”, but I like to define myself more by the questions I ask than I do by the answers I try to come up with. For me, one of the great beauties of getting older is that I’ve become more and more comfortable sitting with the questions, content to let them hang there without insisting that they be wrestled to the ground with an answer. Life is mystery and possibility and I try to embrace that every day.
I’ve been on this earth since 1966. I spent my formative years living a simple, yet often idyllic life on a farm in Manitoba. Growing up, I spent much of my time either immersed in a book, or trying to find adventure wandering around the nearby bushes and fields - on foot or on horseback. Some of my adventures involved creating things like teepees in the bush behind our house.
After finishing high school, I spent some time working at a summer camp, and then headed off into the world to find more adventure. After a couple of years at Bible College (which only served to add to the questions rather than provide the answers that seemed important at that stage of my life), I moved to Winnipeg. I worked for a few years, and then went to the University of Manitoba where I got a BA in English and Theatre. I started writing plays and had three of them produced on stage.
Around that time, I met Marcel, the man who would become my husband. Marcel was a truck driver at the time, but he has since moved on, and now has more university degrees than I do. (He’s just starting to teach school as I write this.)
After University, I got a job in the federal government. After a few years in administrative positions, I found my niche in communications. Starting as a communications officer, I moved fairly quickly into leadership positions. I managed communications teams in two different government departments.
While working for the government, Marcel and I were blessed with four beautiful children. One of them (our son Matthew) was unfortunately born still and we never got to raise him, but our three daughters (Nicole, Julie, and Madeline) have grown into beautiful young girls who continue to fill our lives with blessings.
After 13 years in the federal government and nearly 10 years in leadership positions, I decided it was time to move on. Though I’d learned a lot about communications, public relations, and leadership while working for the government, I felt like I needed an avenue that fit more with my passions. When I was offered a position as Director of Resources and Communication with Canadian Foodgrains Bank, I very happily accepted it.
For the past 5 years, I have been leading a national team responsible for all of the communications, education, fundraising, youth engagement, and volunteer support at Canadian Foodgrains Bank. It’s been a very fulfilling job and I can’t imagine a better fit for my skills and passions. Not only do I get to lead a great team of people and meet interesting people across Canada, I also get to travel to fascinating places like Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, India, and Bangladesh.
In my travels, I have been incredibly touched by the people I have met, many of whom are living with the deepest poverty you can imagine. Mostly, though, I have been touched not by their desperation, but by their hope. There is an incredible resilience of spirit in people all over the world.
In the last ten years, as I have developed my skills as a communicator, leader, facilitator, and writer, I have enjoyed finding more and more opportunities to use my skills in freelance work. I have facilitated a number of workshops in areas such as leadership and creativity and I have had the pleasure of seeing a number of my articles appear in print.
I still manage to find some adventure along the way (I went skydiving to mark my 40th birthday), and I still have lots of questions that sit with me and keep me company. Though I’ve lived through a number of pretty tough life-shaping moments (my dad’s death was one of the hardest, along with the loss of my son), I would have to say that, on the whole, life’s been good
Name: Heather Plett
Hometown: Winnipeg, MB
Writer, Communicator, Facilitator, Leader
Quote: “And we’re all just walking spirals - from the inside out - getting further from the point - less certainty more doubt.” - Christa Couture
Books: Everything Must Change, Traveling Mercies, Left to Tell, The Paradox of Choice, The Tipping Point, Addicted to Mediocrity, Insecure at Last,
Musicians: Catie Curtis, Sara Groves, Martyn Joseph, The Waifs, Sarah McLaughlin, Jann Arden, Steve Bell, Bruce Cockburn, Christa Couture, Cowboy Junkies, Hothouse Flowers
Where I’ve been: Ethiopia, India, Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, England, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France, Greece, Mexico, Spain, United States
About Me
all contents copyright - Heather Plett