Overhauling document management systems is another top priority for Pon
As general counsel, executive officer, legal services at Toronto District School Board, Leola Pon has been heavily focused on managing COVID-related matters since the pandemic began, which including implementing a mandatory vaccination policy. As one of only two public school boards to implement this policy, TDSB went above the requirements of the ministry, which required successfully going before an arbitrator.
Pon’s role also includes overseeing most litigation and managing Human Rights Tribunal application matters. She also leads a lean team in providing strategic advice on a variety of issues and working collaboratively with their clients, and drafting and reviewing policies. Pon is also focused on flexible work policies.
“This is a very significant change for us, as it’s not something we thought we could ever do,” says Pon, who is a judge at this year’s Lexpert Rising Stars Awards. The awards honour leading lawyers under 40 from law firms, in-house departments, and other practices. Nominations are open now and close on July 8.
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Continuing the focus on diversity, equity and inclusion is another priority for Pon. All the lawyers at TDSB have taken ‘The Path’ – a program developed by the Canadian Bar Association on Indigenous history and Indigenous laws – as part of the board’s commitment towards truth and reconciliation.
“We continue to do a lot of work on addressing equity and various forms of discrimination and hate, and we are often asked to provide advice on some elements of our equity work,” says Pon.
In the coming year, Pon’s key goals include continuing to work on the board’s commitment towards truth and reconciliation, and to solidify a continuous improvement on governance. She is also focused on providing opportunities for all the lawyers in her team to get involved in issues management, crisis management and working with members of the executive team on high profile matters to really develop their leadership skills. The focus on wellbeing has also increased significantly at TDSB so Pon has introduced a regular feature on wellness in her team meetings.
Over the past year, Pon has been working directly with the school board’s purchasing and procurement department to do a significant overhaul of its documentation. The legal team at TDSB also led and is in the process of introducing a contract lifestyle management application.
“We are at a point where we are almost paperless which is pretty significant for us,” says Pon. She has been on a multi-year journey to introduce a document management system to improve efficiency at the school board.
Pon and her team are currently working on developing a privacy program to be implemented across the school board which will embed privacy into the structure of the board. This program will include training, professional learning, developing resources and working directly with departments on a variety of issues.
Pon hopes to introduce micro-credentialing to the board to enhance the privacy training process, as well as other training programs in the board, to allow all staff to develop leadership skills.
“Getting these micro-credentials would be extremely helpful with recruitment, retention, progress and promotions, to help achieve our strategic objectives at TDSB,” says Pon.