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Mona James has spent more than 17 years preparing students for a future in the travel and tourism industry as an instructor and internship coordinator for the School of Hospitality and Tourism.

Teaching all levels — from fresh, first-year students to seasoned, bachelor degree pupils — James shares her passion and expertise in areas such as global tourism, hotel front office operations marketing and revenue management, drawing on her robust education, as well as experience working in the industry.

James bolstered her SAIT diploma by obtaining a degree in Leisure, Tourism and Society from the University of Calgary and later earned a Master of Arts, Tourism Management from Royal Roads University. Her thesis examined crisis management in the tourism industry, using the devastating Calgary floods as a central focus.

But it’s not just students who benefit from James’s well-established teaching career.

Through her Instructional Skills Workshops, James onboards and encourages instructors to pursue new ideas in teaching, helping them to find improved ways to engage with their own students in the classroom

Awards and achievements:

  • Saitsa Instructor Excellence Award nominee

My dream job: "To work for Disney."

Media interviews:

Media looking to speak to any of our experts should contact Jill Purdy, Manager, Strategic External Content, Communications.

a view of the moutains and stream in between

Oki, Âba wathtech, Danit'ada, Tawnshi, Hello.

SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney.

We are situated in an area the Blackfoot tribes traditionally called Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. We now call it the city of Calgary, which is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3.