Women in Engineering: Meet Nancy Armstrong

Whether she’s leading a project, improving a process or mentoring others, Nancy Armstrong uses her engineering background to make an impact.

Now a Safety Manager at Irving Paper, Nancy’s career path proves that engineering isn’t one-size-fits-all.

“People often think engineering locks you into a technical box, but it’s really the opposite,” she said. “It teaches you how to think. It’s a mindset you can take into so many different roles.”

Nancy’s journey into engineering started with an innate sense of curiosity. She always found herself wondering how things worked and how they could be better. This mindset led her to pursue a Chemical Engineering degree at the University of New Brunswick, followed by a master’s degree in Materials Science Engineering of Sustainable Manufacturing at McMaster University.

Before joining J.D. Irving, Limited, Nancy spent time in the steel industry at one of Canada’s oldest steel manufacturers where she worked in operations and led company-wide continuous improvement initiatives.

“I really enjoyed leading through change,” she said. “Knowing how things work gave me a better sense of what needed improvement and how we could train people to do things better.”

In 2022, Nancy joined JDI as the Training & Development Lead for the Pulp & Paper Division. In her current role, Nancy leads key divisional initiatives and drives a proactive, risk-based approach to safety.

“One of the most rewarding parts of my job is helping people shift their mindset around safety, embedding it into our everyday work instead of treating it as a checklist,” she said.

On the International Day of Women in Engineering and all year through, JDI is proud to celebrate the women who are shaping the future of engineering.