TANYA GOEHRING MARCH/APRIL 2023 BCBUSINESS.CA 25
I
f you happened to meet Tanya
Houghton on the street, you'd be
forgiven for thinking her job was
selling sunshine. At least that's
the initial vibe I get when we meet
at an East Vancouver coffee shop
close to where she, her husband and her
two children call home.
But the truth is much more grim (and
much more real) than that. Houghton, who
talks freely and smiles often, like a younger
Susan Sarandon in a non-dramatic role,
is the director of special care services for
WorkSafeBC. In that position, she oversees
case management for B.C.'s most severely
injured workers. Though she insists several
times throughout our conversation that she
loves the job, she doesn't deny that the work
can take its toll.
"When I was younger, I'd say things like,
Oh I compartmentalize it, or No, it doesn't
get to me," she says. "I think the older I've
gotten the more I realize that if it doesn't
get to you, that's the problem." She recalls
a phone call in 2018 with one of her col-
leagues after the death of her father-in-law.
WORK IN
PROGRESS
WorkSafe BC's Tanya
Houghton is juggling
two kids, school and a
challenging job, but you
wouldn't know it
FULL PLATE
WorkSafe BC director
of special care ser-
vices Tanya Hough-
ton balances heavy
work duties with
family and school
