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A BLUEPRINT FOR EXCELLENCE IN ENGINEERING REGULATION

How Jennifer Quaglietta leads Professional Engineers Ontario with purpose

The Registrar staff

What does it take to lead a century-old organization into a rapidly changing future?

For CEO and Registrar Jennifer Quaglietta, ICD.D, P.Eng, MBA, CHE, PMP, LLSSGB, the answer lies in bold vision, empathetic leadership, and a relentless commitment to innovation. As the first woman to hold the dual role at Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), Quaglietta is paving the way for a new chapter of regulatory excellence. Under her guidance, the organization has embraced modernization, preparing Ontario’s engineering profession to meet the demands of the future

In 2022, PEO celebrated a century serving the public interest. Quaglietta highlighted this milestone both as celebration and a call to action to continue advancing public protection, particularly in our ever-evolving world shaped by emerging technologies and societal expectations. “We’ve embarked on a journey to become a data-driven, purpose-driven organization,” Quaglietta says. “By leveraging tools like business intelligence and promoting a learning culture, we’re ensuring PEO evolves to meet the challenges of tomorrow.” Cover Story while upholding its regulatory mandate.

A masterclass in progressive leadership

An unwavering commitment to empathy has shaped Quaglietta’s career. She earned her MBA at the University of Toronto, combined her chemical engineering (ChemE) education and embarked on her professional journey in consulting. “Consulting was instrumental for me because it taught me how to communicate with different audiences, prepare polished materials, and navigate the complexities of diverse stakeholder interests,” she reflects.

These early experiences laid the groundwork for her multidisciplinary approach to leadership and problem-solving, even- tually leading to her roles in multiple industries, including pharmaceuticals, government, health care, and insurance.

After spending six years in government, followed by her work in Crown corporations, she honed her expertise in managing large-scale system transformations. “I gained a deeper appreciation for how to effect meaningful, system-level change,” she notes. “Being in a regulated environment taught me the importance of transparency, fairness, and understanding the needs of the public,” Quaglietta explains. “It also instilled in me the value of listening to diverse perspectives and synthesizing them into actionable strategies.”

Her time in health care, particularly in acute care settings, was eye-opening. “I learned so much from the remarkable leaders I worked with,” she recalls. “But perhaps the most valuable lessons were about empathy and compassion - understanding that these values are essential in everything you do.”

Meeting at Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO)

Throughout her storied career, Quaglietta has carried these lessons with her emphasizing their importance in shaping her leadership at PEO since becoming CEO and registrar in 2023.

Modernizing regulation for an evolving profession

Under the direction of PEO Council and in collaboration with staff, Quaglietta has prioritized ensuring the organization meets the demands of a rapidly evolving profession, making decisions based on necessary evidence. She led the regulator to take bold steps to align its operations with the principles of transparency and fairness. Quaglietta credits this approach with maintaining relevance by actively listening to PEO’s stakeholders and leveraging data and technology to drive meaningful change.

This commitment has led to significant regulatory advancements, including the removal of the Canadian experience requirement for licensure ahead of the timeline mandated by the Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act (FARPACTA). This milestone positioned PEO as a trailblazer among regulated professions in Ontario.

To further enhance systems, Quaglietta explains that PEO also relaunched their competency-based assessment guide, and adopted the ISO plain language standard, which removed jargon from written communications and augmented it with video media. “As adults, we have different modes of learning,” she notes. “We're going to continue to expand this concept and philosophy of multimodal ways of support and go back to basics with plain language.”

“With more than 60 per cent of our prospective applicants being internationally trained engineers, we recognized the need to adapt our processes to reflect the realities of our applicants,” she says. “By introducing digital tools, such as an online application portal, and embracing data-driven decision-making, PEO has enhanced accessibility and efficiency in its licensing and enforcement processes.”

These changes have resulted in measurable outcomes including faster application processing and increased compliance with professional development requirements. PEO now acknowledges receipt of applications for 90 per cent of applicants within 10 days and makes licensing decisions within 180 days. Additionally, 88 per cent of license holders who’ve completed at least two PEAK elements now comply with mandatory continuing professional development (CPD), a significant increase from 73 per cent in 2023. This is a major success as the organization transitioned from voluntary to mandatory continuing education.

CEO and Registrar, Jennifer Quaglietta, ICD.D, P.Eng., MBA, CHE, PMP LLSSGB

“We’ve exceeded targets by providing faster acknowledgment and decisions for applicants,” she notes, adding that such initiatives underscore PEO’s role in setting the bar for regulatory excellence. “[These] important accomplishments completely changed the way individuals experience our organization.”

Leveraging artificial intelligence

Quaglietta highlights PEO’s exploration of artificial intelligence (AI) as part of its modernization efforts and describes the regulator’s digital transformation journey as promising.

“I think there's a lot of opportunity for AI to play a role as a tool in supporting, for example, folks who are looking for something on our website,” she says. “There's a role for AI to play in ensuring that provided answers are comprehensive and line up with [our] 34 competencies, or support scanning environments when it comes to our unlicensed practice department.”

Quaglietta explains that while AI has the potential to enhance regulatory operations, its crucial to address the ethical considerations to mitigate risks. “I published a paper called ‘Preparing for the future: How organizations can prepare boards, leaders, and risk managers for artificial intelligence’ and I'll share a number of risks that need to be considered before moving ahead,” she says.

“There are governance, performance, implementation, and security risks that all need to be understood first,” she says. “We need to understand the risks involved and how we can either mitigate or accept them from that perspective. But from an ethical standpoint, even at a high level, we must ensure that we build a culture around it. We have to understand the culture of AI, the permissions around it, and know where to apply it if [we’re] going to use it.”

“We are a creature of statute — is government considering AI in how it sets the mandate, how it sets direction from a legislative perspective?” she says. “From enhancing processes to supporting applicants, there’s tremendous potential to use AI as a tool, provided we address ethical considerations and build a culture of trust around its use.”

Inspiring women in STEM

Quaglietta’s forward-thinking leadership extends beyond regulatory modernization to addressing gender representation within the engineering profession. In 2023, she was named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 by Women’s Executive Network (WXN). This honour recognizes women making a transformational difference in their fields and actively shaping a more inclusive future, particularly in underrepresented areas. She describes how this recognition is deeply meaningful and reinforced her vision for inspiring more young women to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

“I think what meant the most to me was that the nomination came from staff,” she reflects. “In my career, I've used my engineering experience to lead impactful system level transformations across several industries, and I've always advocated for women. In our profession, we only comprise of 13.6 per cent of all licensed engineers in Ontario and I hope to inspire more women to study engineering and take on leadership roles, because they can.”

Quaglietta acknowledges that challenges persist in achieving gender parity within the profession. However, she emphasizes the importance of first identifying where gender-related issues arise from during the licensing process before addressing them. “Our gender audit, conducted with researchers from the University of Toronto and the University of California, Los Angeles [publishing the report’s results in 2025] analyzed a large data pool of women and found that overall, women took longer to get licensed than men and report higher intentions of quitting the licensure process,” she explains.

“They found the experience requirement to be more challenging, particularly for women with young children. They also looked at why the processes take longer, why women take longer to get licensed, and why are they more likely to quit the process. Two major themes emerged from these findings: A lack of support from educational institutions, and a lack of support from employers. That said, they found no perceived differences between women and men in terms of meeting the academic requirement for writing the National Professional Practice Exam.”

Front row, from left: Council President, Gregory P. Wowchuk, CEO and Registrar, Jennifer Quaglietta, and Vice President, Policy & Governance and Chief Legal Officer, Dan Abrahams. Back row, from left: Vice President, Regulatory Operations & Deputy Registrar, Americo Viola, Vice President, Digital Transformation & Corporate Operations, Arun Dixit, and Lieutenant Governor Appointee, Lorne Cutler

“When we listen and learn [about these issues], we can synthesize priorities, adapt our frameworks to meet changing needs, and promote a professional culture where every engineer and aspiring engineer can see a place for themselves and that they belong,” Quaglietta says.

A legacy of impactful leadership

In the book ‘The Fifth Discipline ’ by Peter Senge, servant leadership is described as a leadership style that begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, and serve first. It’s this style of leadership that Quaglietta says influences not just her approaches as CEO and registrar, but in creating a culture of belonging in engineering environments.

“In the last couple of years, I've had the privilege of speaking to thousands of women who have obtained a license, or are in the process of, getting licensed,” Quaglietta reflects. “I've heard their sto- ries, their difficulties and worked with and met many women who have inspired me, women who are engineering leaders.”

PEO's CEO and Registrar, Jennifer Quaglietta and Lieutenant Governor Appointee, Lorne Cutler

As she considers the legacy she hopes to leave behind, Quaglietta highlights how she wants engineers to be seen as leaders, full stop. She acknowledges the mentors and colleagues who inspired her along the way to take risks, innovate, and be an exceptional listener, which she says she hopes to replicate as CEO and registrar.

“Leadership is not a title but a behaviour, and that true leadership often means looking sideways and down, not just up.”

“It's about understanding the perspective of the public so that the public looks to engineers as leaders,” she concludes. “For engineers looking to lead, true leadership means looking in places where you might not think you'll find it. That’s where you'll find the best forms and examples of great leadership.”

Jennifer Quaglietta will appear as an expert panelist at the national AI IN REGULATION conference this February in Toronto. Learn more about the event and register.

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