Thank you to Outgoing President Natasha Donahue!
AUSU has regretfully accepted the resignation of our AUSU President, Natasha Donahue, effective November 17, 2020. In the true spirit of education, Natasha has an amazing opportunity to work in her field of study and had to make the difficult choice to leave our organization to pursue her dreams.
AUSU would like to thank Natasha for all of her amazing work for the AU Students’ Union, her unwavering student and council support, her ongoing advocacy efforts on behalf of AU students, and her work on developing equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives to support marginalized students.
Natasha was elected to AUSU student council in 2017. During her time on council, she served in all three AUSU executive roles, including President (2020), VP External and Student Affairs (2019-2020), and VP Finance and Administration (2018-2019). She also served on the AU Board of Governors and AU General Faculties Council, and many other committee appointments at AUSU, Athabasca University, and the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA).
In her work with CASA, Natasha worked with Indigenous student leaders across Canada to address barriers for Indigenous People, worked on facilitating policy developments for an inclusive post-secondary system, and advocated for the development of an Indigenous Student Circle at AU and additional support for Indigenous students. She was instrumental in the development is a new AUSU position policy to direct the Students’ Union in its advocacy efforts on behalf of Indigenous students, as well as a new AUSU Indigenous Student Representation Committee.
She also helped spearhead the direction of AUSU towards various Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion initiatives to build community and advocate for BIPOC students, LGBTQ2S+ students, and students with disabilities.
During her time with AUSU, Natasha was also part of hundreds of stakeholder meetings with AU VP’s and administrators, provincial MLA’s, and federal MP’s and Senators to advocate on behalf of AU students. She undertook the development of an AUSU YouTube channel, spearheaded supports for AUSU students during COVID-19, developed a student focus group to provide feedback to the University regarding changes to course assessments, among countless other initiatives.
“I have witnessed what can be accomplished with a strong and dedicated executive committee that was focused on principles. This letter would have been very long if I listed all of the initiatives that Natasha created and the accomplishments she had, but the most impactful one for me was her passion for Indigenous representation.”
Darcie Fleming, AUSU Councillor
We wish Natasha all the best in the future. We know she will excel at whatever she takes on, and thank her for all she has done for AUSU and the students of Athabasca University.
