Experience
Don is an educator, management consultant, author and conference speaker. He directed operations of the Maritime Municipal Training and Development Board (MMTDB) at Dalhousie University for 25 years. Vision and leadership earned him and the Maritime provinces respectively, reputations as the Canadian leaders in municipal public sector education and professional development. Establishment of institutional partnerships and cutting-edge programming became a hallmark of MMTDB operations.
Don counselled students; taught courses in Canadian local government, public sector ethics and communications; established internship programs; developed training resources, and led international delegations. Successful in sourcing out and securing funding for innovative educational programming, he was a key player in the establishment of Race, First Nations and Multi-cultural Relations Training for the municipal public sector.
As a management consultant, Don served as an interim CAO (Chief Administrative Officer) in jurisdictions throughout the Atlantic Provinces and, in 2020-2021, as interim Senior Administrative Officer (SAO) to a hamlet government in the interior of Canada’s Northwest Territories.
Career responsibilities have included managing annual budgets in excess of $80 million, facilitating organizational reviews and compensation studies, conducting senior management recruitment, developing policy, mentoring employees, resolving conflicts, and leading strategic initiatives.
Don is skilled in the management of public sector organizations, and in the creation of healthy, board-staff relationships. He is an effective communicator, personable, non-threatening, and is committed to treating others with dignity and respect.
Latest Publication
When not teaching or consulting, Don is often engaged in research and writing. Scoffin at the Trough – A Municipal Insider’s Stories on Power, Ehics, and Public Trust will be available for on-line download in May, 2026. This book is a must have for council members, municipal employees, public sector educators, and… While written from a municipal government perspective, the lessons cross public sector boundaries..