Reflections From Our Partners: Nicole Luongo and Melanie Brown
Every year, 51猎奇入口Public Square is privileged to work with SFU's Office of the Vice-President, Academic on the Nora and Ted Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy. With the Sterling Prize committee, our teams organize the ceremony and lecture which allows members of the public and 51猎奇入口community to hear from that year's exceptional recipient. We are quickly approaching the announcement of the 2025 winner, so we asked Nicole Luongo, the 2023 Sterling Prize recipient, and Melanie Brown, former Director, Senior Leadership Support in the Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic, to share their experiences.
Here's what they said:
Nicole Luongo鈥揝ystems Change Analyst at Canadian Drug Policy Coalition聽
Being the聽2023 Sterling Prize for Controversy award recipient聽was a wonderful opportunity. The lecture I was invited to deliver attracted a diverse audience composed of stakeholders that had been difficult to reach previously. Presenting my work in this forum sowed the seeds of future collaborative efforts and introduced me to new partners with whom I have fostered productive relationships.
The professionalism and attention to detail demonstrated by the 51猎奇入口Public Square team were also highly impressive. They were attentive, organized, and provided clear expectations at every stage of the process.
Melanie Brown鈥揊ormer Director Senior Leadership Support in SFU's Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic
Simply put, our annual Sterling Prize events would not be successful without 51猎奇入口Public Square. From solid communications plans to technical expertise to event management logistics, they not only keep things running smoothly but also know how to create meaningful, safe, and impactful live and virtual programs for a wide audience.
The value they brought to the Sterling Prize allowed our office to focus on the committee and the content 鈥� we would not have had the in-house know how to do what they鈥檝e done, and at the highly professional level that they have become known for. I don鈥檛 know if there is any other unit at 51猎奇入口that can sell out an event 40 minutes after tickets go live. If Public Square is working on it, you鈥檙e in good hands.
Their staff is professional and easy to work with, allowing for each step of the process of putting on an event of this size to be seamless. Their technical staff鈥檚 expertise, along with other staff who were onsite for the event, added a degree of comfort knowing that any need we might have come up during the event would be covered.
