Wanda Thomas Bernard
Dr. Bernard champions issues impacting African Canadians, people living with disabilities and other marginalized populations. She is particularly invested in human rights, employment equity, and mental health. Dr. Bernard is a highly regarded social worker, educator, researcher, community activist and advocate of social change. She has worked in mental health at the provincial level, in rural community practice at the municipal level, and, from 1990- 2016, as a professor at the Dalhousie University School of Social Work, where she also served as director for a decade. As an educator, with over 40 years experience in higher education, she has developed new courses, innovated existing courses and actively engaged in facilitating professional development for educators, especially in the area of anti-racism and social justice. Dr Bernard has also engaged in developing, facilitating and training others to deliver community based professional development programs, with a focus on anti-oppression, for various sectors.
She also served as the Special Advisor on Diversity and Inclusiveness at Dalhousie University and she is the first African Nova Scotian to hold a tenure track position at Dalhousie University and to be promoted to full professor, and most recently professor emeritus. She is a founding member of the Association of Black Social Workers (ABSW) which helps address the needs of marginalized citizens, especially those of African descent. Dr. Thomas Bernard has received many honours for her work and community leadership, notably the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Canada. She was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 2016 as an independent Senator representing Nova Scotia, where she continues to champion issues of social justice.