Meet Richard Hall, the KSA’s new executive director

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The Kwantlen Student Association has been on the hunt to hire a permanent executive director since 2022 following the resignation of then-Executive Director Ben Newsom, who worked in the position for 12 years. 

 The hunt finally came to an end mid-September when Richard Hall was hired for the position. As executive director, Hall is responsible for managing employees and aspects of human resources including hiring, discharging, training, and supervising of employees in discussion with the executive committee, according to the KSA’s Regulations.

The KSA hired two interim executive directors between December and September. Parveen Sehra stepped into the position after Newsom’s resignation. Three months later, Sehra was appointed as the permanent executive director until she resigned in June. The KSA then hired Gagandeep Kaur as an interim executive director until Hall came into the picture and Kaur was dismissed.  

After obtaining a bachelor of arts with honors in geography from the University of Washington, a master of science in geography specialized in healthcare research, and a law degree from the University of Victoria, he embarked on a fulfilling career, working in a variety of positions with various stakeholders and community members.

From working in legal sectors for Chevron and the Vancouver School Board, to being the senior labour relations officer for the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre, Hall is a jack of many trades with a passion for education. Later, he became the chair and CEO of Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada before his position at the KSA.  

He was also the first director of governance and natural resources for the Sumas First Nation, working to advocate for their rights to take back the land with respect to governance of natural resource issues.

 With this vast career in his back pocket, Hall wanted to join the KSA as executive director because of the uniqueness of working in a university environment.

 “It’s a real privilege and honour to be here,” he says. “It’s nice to be working in a university student environment, and hopefully be able to provide some leadership and mentorship and try to position the KSA for the future.”

“Celebrate the past, challenge the present, and change the future” is a mantra Hall lives by and aims to reflect in his work at the KSA. Just over a month into his role as the executive director, he has been working to build a strong relationship with staff members to learn what they want to achieve and put them on an equal playing field instead of relying on a hierarchy.

“It’s all about working as a team at the end of the day,” Hall says. “It doesn’t really matter what I want personally, and I’m not here to advocate. I’m here to try and move us forward into a better future.”

He hopes to work towards several goals including bridging relationships between KPU and the KSA, conducting effective outreach to the student population, and increasing the KSA’s prominence on all KPU campuses. He’s also working on developing a student union building which he says will need to fit into KPU’s 2050 Campus Vision plan and have future KPU students and their potential needs at the forefront.

He also wants to make the KSA a more welcoming space for students including reconfiguring the KSA’s offices, rebranding their spaces, and designing a new logo, all of which Hall wants to be representative of local First Nations.

 “I have a job here because of the tuition the students pay, and so I want students to have a comfort zone of what the KSA stands for and what potentially the KSA could achieve for them during their tenure here when they’re attending as a student,” Hall says.

He hopes to bring humour, diplomacy, mediation, labour relations skills, and human resources skills to the position.

 “I’d like to be able to leave the role with positive footprints in the snow, that we did make some positive change … and that people are comfortable with the direction that I’m respectfully suggesting we should go in and, at the same time, always considering that we’re here for the students,” Hall says.

Taking a multidisciplinary approach to life and education is something he values and says students should strive towards during their time in university.

“Enjoy this time, it’s special. You’re very lucky to be where you are and to surround yourself with good people. Put yourself in the best position possible … to get that education.”

Students can reach out to Hall through his email at richard.hall@kusa.ca.