OUR TEAM

MDR Strategy Group employs a small team of dedicated employees in Nova Scotia and Ontario and is supported by more than one dozen consultants, journalists, and other professionals who are deeply committed to supporting organizations whose mandates are to build safer, healthier, greener, and more equitable communities.

 

Daniel is a seasoned and award-winning professional recognized for his innovation and thought leadership in non-profit organizational design. His career has been dedicated working with and for non-profit organizations and governments, primarily in licensing and regulation, community economic development, labour market economics, and public health. A recognized facilitator, speaker, and instructor, he has maintained an unwavering commitment to social impact in Canada and around the world for thirty years.

Daniel has been actively involved in consumer protection for ten years working with regulatory bodies overseeing communications departments and leading start-up and transformational change processes at provincial and national levels.  He is the principal architect behind the development of the Canadian Regulatory Guide, a comprehensive national directory of regulatory bodies; RegulatoryJobs.ca, Canada’s hub for employment opportunities in the regulatory sector; and The Registrar magazine, a national consumer protection trade publication. In 2016, Daniel received the Consumer Protection Award from the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR).

Daniel is a member of the Board of Governors of King’s-Edgehill School and the Board of Directors of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, Education and Development (CEED) in Nova Scotia.  His governance experience also includes former positions on the Boards of the United Way Halton & Hamilton, Community Development Halton and HMC Connections in Ontario. He previously also served on the Boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ottawa, the Social Planning Council of Ottawa, and Child Find Nova Scotia in Halifax, where he presided over the creation and launch of the province’s Amber Alert program.

Daniel has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Dalhousie University and pursued an M.S. in Community Economic Development at Southern New Hampshire University.  He received a post-graduate certificate in European Union External Relations from l’Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium and an executive certificate in Digital Business Strategy from MIT. Daniel is expected to receive an MBA from the University of Cumbria in 2023.

The Honourable Dr. Wayne Adams is one of Nova Scotia’s most recognizable political figures. An award-winning former broadcast journalist, and former newspaper columnist, former municipal & provincial politician, and environmental activist, Wayne was elected the first member of the provincial Legislative Assembly for the riding of Preston in 1993 and became the first African Nova Scotian elected to the Legislative Assembly, and subsequently the first Black appointed cabinet Minister.

Wayne served as Minister of Supply & Services, Minister responsible for the Communications and Information Act, Minister of the Queen’s Printer, and then Minister of the Environment, Minister responsible for the Harness Racing and Boxing Commissions and Minister of the Emergency Measures Act.

Under his leadership, Nova Scotia experienced its most sustained period of environmental growth since the creation of the Department of the Environment in 1973. Wayne led the major reforms of the new Environment Act, introducing the first comprehensive World-Renowned Solid Waste Management Strategy in Canada, reducing the amount of solid waste being generated in Nova Scotia by more than 50% in less than two years; while creating a new stream of waste resource-based industries and related recycling job ending the era of municipal dumps, closing the majority of dumps and landfill sites.

Wayne formed the Nova Scotia Environmental Industries sector that experienced a growth rate exceeding 250%, employing some ten thousand people (at the time of leaving office).   Other legislative accomplishments include the introduction of the First-“Protected Spaces Act,” which preserved 800,000 acres of environmentally significant land for the eco-enjoyment of future generations. As Minister responsible for the Emergency Measures Organization, Dr. Adams established Canada’s first “Province-wide fully integrated 911-emergency response system”: Nova Scotia’s first 911. He was instrumental in the creation of the Nova Scotia Community Economic Development Investment Funds (CEDIF), as well as blueprinting a department of African Affairs, and assisted in building the community foundation of the highly successful Black Business Initiative.

Wayne received an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.  He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2003 and invested as a member of the Order of Nova Scotia in 2011. 

Nawaz is a highly accomplished professional with over 14 years of diverse experience in the non-profit, healthcare, and regulatory sectors. With a proven track record of addressing complex issues and driving innovative solutions, Nawaz has overseen multiple strategic initiatives in health regulation at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and College of Massage Therapists of Ontario.

Nawaz has an extensive background in project management, having previously worked at The Hospital for Sick Children, the University of Toronto, and University Health Network. His expertise in implementing forward-looking methodologies has been recognized, and he has successfully used novel approaches such as human-centered design to solve multidimensional challenges at prominent organizations such as CIBC, the Royal Bank of Canada, the Toronto Transit Commission, and Quintiles IMS.

Nawaz has an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, an MSc from the University of Toronto, and a BSc from McMaster University. He is a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt from McGill University, and he is currently pursuing his Project Management Professional (PMP) designation, which he is expected to receive in the spring of 2023.

When he’s not busy driving success in his professional career, Nawaz enjoys spending time with his family, building Lego creations with his son, and nurturing his plant collection.

Collette is a communications professional in Nova Scotia with over 10 years of experience dedicated to helping regulators and non-profit organizations build and foster relationships with stakeholders.

A purposeful communicator excelling at providing leadership with strategic communication advice, she has extensive experience with multiple regulatory bodies, such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers and the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. Through her work with regulators, she has managed member communications, media relations, copywriting, website redevelopment, social media strategy, stakeholder engagement, and community outreach programs.

In addition to her regulatory experience, Collette has developed and implemented digital communication and branding strategies for non-profit organizations. She uses her insight and experience as the Board Chair for Eating Disorders Nova Scotia and previously supported the organization as a peer mentor and Chair of Eating Disorder Awareness Week.

She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from Dalhousie University, and received an Advanced Diploma in Public Relations from the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC).

Allison has more than 10 years of graphic design experience with start-up companies and large corporations, including Lockheed Martin Canada. Since working at MDR, Allison has been instrumental in overseeing complex projects for regulators in Alberta, Ontario, and Nova Scotia, and other organizations in Canada and the US.

Originally from Nova Scotia and living in Ontario, Allison’s extensive experience supporting web development and graphic design projects continues to support organizations in meeting their operational goals.

Allison has a BA from Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, and an A.C.S. diploma in Multimedia from LaSalle Inter-Dec College, Montreal. She also recently completed the ENVSP (Envision Sustainability Professional) designation offered by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure in Washington, DC.

Damian has an extensive background in multimedia journalism and digital marketing. A journalist, Damian also writes for The Registrar magazine, Canada’s consumer protection publication; Beyond, the quarterly magazine of the Bereavement Authority of Ontario; and other publications.

Damian has written about ground-breaking political and social issues affecting licensing and professional regulation and labour market issues in Canada. As a reporter, he has covered news locally and nationally for several publications and has also collaborated on multiple long-form projects with several notable news outlets.

Damian obtained his Honours B.A. at York University and Journalism education at Humber College in Toronto.

For more than nine years, Maestro has spent his time eating, sleeping, and playing.  This little guy has never had a real job, has no formal education, and his aspirations are limited to hanging out in Amazon boxes. To our disappointment, he prefers TV to a good book.

Maestro’s life is truly the envy of the MDR team.