Altus Assessments - July Employee Spotlight 2019

This month we’re shining the spotlight on Jillian Derby, our Content Lead. 

Jill joined the Altus Assessments team in October 2018. She came to us from her hometown Montreal to be our Content Lead within the operations team - a role-specific to Altus. Jill takes all of our test content from idea generation, to video production, question formulation, and review, and finally compiles a balanced test for applicants. She works diligently with the research team to ensure all of our test content and review processes reflect best practices. If that doesn’t sound like enough, she also works to make everyone’s job easier - by bringing in chocolates to the office frequently. 

Jill came to Altus with specific experience that makes her such a great fit for her role here. After receiving her degrees in English Literature and Education at McGill University in Montreal, she completed a Master’s in Literature at Ryerson University, where she researched how theoretical physics and emotion intersect. She also worked in Montreal as a high school teacher for 7 years. Afterward, Jill wanted to expand her skills in narrative writing, education, and ethics, and this is how she found Altus Assessments. While she misses her classroom sometimes, she continues to love the ongoing challenge Altus provides her. Her teaching experience allows Jill to apply her knowledge of narrative and learning design to our content strategy. We feel so lucky we have Jill to guide us and our content goals!

Jill embodies Altus team values. An advocate for soft skills, it matters to her that the world learns and displays the kind of things that we assess for with the CASPer test, such as collaboration, empathy, and equity. 

If you find Jill outside work hours, she will likely be reading in the west end of Toronto with either a coffee or a glass of wine in hand. Jill is an avid reader and loves going used book shopping at the many stores Toronto has to offer, proclaiming that “Boom” is her favourite! Her favourite sections to browse include contemporary fiction, science, poetry, and psychology. She also consistently meets her goal to read 50 books a year! 

When we asked Jill to tell us something surprising about herself, we were not disappointed. Jill got her black belt in karate when she was only 16 years old. 'Haiyah!’ She has competed internationally and even taught karate at her local dojo. If you were wondering, she still keeps her sai under her bed… just in case.

Quick Facts About Jill:

• Her favourite animal is a dog
• If she was an animal she would be a cat …
• She hits her peak creativity at 2 or 3pm 
• She has a captivating laugh that will make you think you should take up stand up comedy 

Jill is Awesome Because:

• She is such a pleasure to work with
• She is never afraid to work hard and get things done
• She has a way of making a personal connection with every single person in the office that feels deep & genuine
• She is the 👑 Grammar Queen 👑

Thanks for making Altus Assessments SUCH a special place to work Jill - you are amazing!