Course Instructor
Lisa M. Zwarn (Curry), PRP — Surrey
About the Course Instructor
Lisa Zwarn (Curry), PRP has worked in the local government sector for over 21 years as an employee, a consultant, and an instructor. Lisa has a Juris Doctor from the University of Victoria and a BA (Honours) in Romance Languages from UBC. Lisa was admitted to the BC Bar in 1993. She graduated from Capilano's Local Government Professional Certificate program in 1998 and was awarded the Intermediate Certificate for Local Government Administration in 2005.
Lisa is an instructor at Capilano University. She was also the director of Legislative Services and Human Resources (formerly titled as City Clerk) for the City of Langley. Previously, Lisa was the Administrative Manager in the Community Development Department in the City of North Vancouver, a consultant with Urban Systems Ltd., and a Senior Bylaw Enforcement Officer with the City of Surrey.
Lisa has been actively involved in the education of local government officials on a variety of topics for various governmental organizations around the province, and is also accredited as a Professional Registered Parliamentarian (PRP) with the National Association of Parliamentarians.
I have known Lisa Zwarn as a respected, professional colleague for several years. However, I had not seen her in action as an instructor until I attended a course she taught on freedom for information and protection of privacy, and on how to balance the requirement for public transparency with the need to manage organizational risk.
With Lisa being a lawyer and a former municipal clerk, I knew she was very well qualified to teach that course. However, what I received from her far exceeded my expectations. Yes, she displayed comprehensive expertise in her fields of knowledge, she was very well organized, she was thoughtful and though-provoking, and she addressed the topics at hand to my full satisfaction and more. But beyond these basics, Lisa achieved much more. She delivered potentially dry and uninspiring material in a very interesting, lively, and engaging manner. She involved us effectively in case studies and very interesting scenarios, to test how much of the material we were retaining. At no time during the full day session did she lose my attention and interest. Before I knew it, the course was over, which left me asking: How did it end so quickly? At no point was I tempted to engage in responding to emails and text messages.
In my view, Lisa is not only a true professional, but is also an effective and very engaging instructor.
- Eli Mina, Meeting Mentor & Registered Parliamentarian