Ann Dale, MA/94, BA/73, has spent more than three decades exploring the complexities of sustainable community development. As a public servant, author and academic, Dale’s contributions to the public sector are considerable. In recognition of her achievements, the School of Public Policy and Administration named Dale the recipient of the 2009 Bissett Alumni Award for Distinctive Contributions to the Public Service.
In a 23-year career with the federal government, Dale contributed to critical policy issues affecting Canadian society, including the creation of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (the first federal government department outside of Ottawa) and the creation of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE). As one result of her work with the NRTEE, Dale created and continues to lead the Canadian Consortium for Sustainable Development Research.
Now in academia, Dale is Canada research chair in sustainable community development and professor of environment and sustainability at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC. Her book, At the Edge: Sustainable Development in the 21st Century, received the 2001 Policy Research Initiative Award for outstanding research contribution to public policy. Her latest co-edited publication, A Dynamic Balance: Social Capital and Sustainable Community Development, provides a compendium of academic research in sustainability and explores the concept of social capital as an important sustainability resource.
Dale is also known for her leadership in the environmental community and her efforts to build greater capacity, especially through the creation of National Environmental Treasure. She was named a research fellow by the Trudeau Foundation in 2004 and a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science in 2003.