Jocelyne Smallian-Khan

Jocelyne is a curious soul with a love for travel, dance, good stories, and great company. She’s happiest when she’s discovering a new city, soaking up the sun on a beach, learning how to say “cheers” in another language, or sipping something delicious (be it tea, wine, or a well-crafted cocktail).

She loves music (listening, playing, or dancing to it), cards and board games, riding her motorcycle, and slipping out for the occasional spa day where the only thing on her to-do list is relax. She’s also known to dive into books, dabble in writing, create lists and spreadsheets of random ideas (from projects to take on, inventions she wishes someone would realize, or some other hairbrained plan that may or may not become reality), lose track of time tinkering on her computer, make plenty of room for family and friends, and always be dreaming of her next big adventure. Sometimes all that can happen in the same afternoon!

After 35 years with the federal government of Canada, Jocelyne officially retired in 2023… but she didn’t exactly slow down. These days, she runs a small business, teaches dance, organizes the odd community event, writes about her travels (here and and on TripAdvisor), and generally finds new ways to keep life interesting.

Equipped with a Bachelor of English from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Public Administration from Dalhousie University, she has mixed creativity and public service in equal measure. She’s also spent time on community arts and multicultural boards, because she believes that life’s a lot more fun when people come together to create something meaningful.

Jocelyne has never wanted to be easily defined or pigeonholed. She loves the art of cultivating contrasts: structured yet spontaneous, practical yet playful, social yet independent, thoughtful yet adventurous. Maybe it’s that balance of opposites that keeps her imagination always one step ahead of the clock. It’s probably why she always has more ideas than hours in the day.

Jocelyne freely admits she has had a habit of taking on too much, but she figures that’s better than the alternative. After all, she’d always rather be too busy than too bored.