Dan Burns

Biography

Dan has been developing and teaching within interdisciplinary post-secondary educational programs for over 25 years. His master’s degree in environmental science and bachelor’s degrees in psychology and biology prepared him well for addressing complexity within management and education systems. Throughout his career, he has been involved in the creation of new initiatives. As Operations Manager within B.C. Packers’ newly formed aquaculture division, he utilized environmental and production modelling to drive decisions and innovation in this new industry. Because the operations were remotely located, the company initiated a self-managing team model. Dan was responsible for directing these teams. Subsequent to these experiences, he served for the next 18 years within First Nations post-secondary education. Dan led the development of the first U.S. degree program that deeply integrated social and natural sciences with Indigenous worldviews. Its goal was to prepare the next generation of Aboriginal environmental leaders.

Research Interest

As Science Director for the U.S. consortium of 37 Tribal Colleges, he worked closely with Tribal leaders, faculty, and administrators on design and implementation of educational programs that supported economic and cultural revitalization. Returning to Canada, Dan joined Simon Fraser University’s newly formed Faculty of Environment, where he led the development of the new Bachelor of Environment credential and its three interdisciplinary majors, including a joint major in Sustainable Business. Dan comes with many years of experience developing and teaching project-based interdisciplinary courses. Within the Certificate in Applied Leadership program at Booth University College, Dan will support students in gaining an understanding of the complexity within their organizations, integrate course projects and activities with the overall program learning outcomes, and reinforce group learning using both face-to-face and online delivery. These will be done within the structure of the Leadership in Action: Application for Professional Practice course.