Wesley Petite
Policy Advisor for the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities
PhD in Political Science, 2021
I am happy to report that I am the Policy Advisor for the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities. I received a PhD in the Collaborative PhD program between the Department of Political Science and the Institute of Political Economy. I graduated in 2021.
I moved back to my hometown of Halifax to write the final chapters of my dissertation. Since then I have taken on the positions of Municipal Food Policy Advisor for the Ecology Action Centre (2019-2020), Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Technoscience and Regulation Research Unit of Dalhousie University (2021), and Policy Advisor of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities (2021-present). I am also teaching a course, entitled Contemporary Security Studies, for the Department of Political Science at Dalhousie University and help coordinate their Practicum Placement course. In each of these positions I have drawn from my research experience, the tutelage of Carleton’s talented faculty, and my passion for fostering localized collaborations to address complex problems. I look back on my doctoral years as my most explorative, most stressful, and most uncertain. However, the hard work required to manage and complete the doctoral program has prepared me to make valuable contributions to each organization I join. During the pandemic, I have taken up birding in the beautiful landscape of Nova Scotia.
The Department of Political Science doctoral program has inspired and equipped me to be a more ambitious researcher and professional.