Name: Fiona Bradford (she/her/hers)
Job Title: Social work professional practice leader
Years of Service: 6
Worksite: East Kootenay Regional Hospital
Community: East Kootenay region – between Invermere, Kimberley, and Cranbrook
Ancestral Territory: I live and work between the Ktunaxa and Secwepemc territories
Favourite Quote / Advice to live by: We generally regret the things we didn’t take a chance on in life, rather than the things we did.
As a forester turned social worker, ultra-marathoner and team leader, Fiona Bradford brings her full focus and passion into everything she does in life.
For Fiona, social work was an intentional career choice. She originally completed a forestry degree and worked in the B.C. forest industry. Says Fiona, “I was a forester before GPS was invented, and I admit that my directional skills were not very good. I spent a lot of time looking at upside-down maps and wondering where my truck was parked!” After eight years in that profession, she realized that her heart was more suited to a people-focused career, and returned to university to pursue a bachelor and then master degree in social work.
When she and her husband decided to raise their three kids in Invermere, Fiona started a private practice, which she ran as a sole practitioner for 10 years. She then realized she wanted to work toward systemic change within a team of social workers, which led her to Interior Health. At IH, Fiona has had several different roles: she’s worked in mental health counselling; renal social work; on the regional mental health and substance use team; and now works as a professional practice leader out of the East Kootenay Regional Hospital.
