Rachel Dekker, MPhil (Oxon.)
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
“Rachel has a strong and nuanced understanding of corporate social sustainability, combining her knowledge of how communities build resilience with practical on the ground experience helping companies contribute to that resilience. She does this with a rare combination of empathy and an exceptional level of competency.”
— Stephanie Bertels, Director, Centre for Corporate Governance & Sustainability (Simon Fraser University); Founder, Embedding Project
“Rachel has been tremendously impactful in my work with communities in our region, in community wellness, engagement, and investment. She is extremely knowledgeable, both on what leadership requires and what is needed on the ground. Rachel cares deeply about our work and her guidance on the Taskforce has been invaluable.”
— Verna Westlake, Community Wellness Taskforce, Northwest Arctic Region & Teck Alaska
Rachel Dekker is a corporate sustainability strategist and social impact professional with extensive international work experience in natural resource, agriculture, circular economy, and cleantech industries, as well as the not-for-profit and social enterprise sectors. She has worked across the minelife stages from exploration to closure stages and brings a life cycle perspective and systems lens to her work. She has published a community resilience guide to help companies build strong relationships with communities.
Rachel has an MPhil in International Development from the University of Oxford and has completed certificate programs in Social Innovation, Public Relations, Public Participation (IAP2), and Public Company Governance. Rachel is based in Burnaby, BC, Canada.
Education
Master (MPhil) in International Development, University of Oxford
Bachelor and Master of Arts in Modern Languages, University of Victoria
Public Participation, International Association for Public Participation
Social Innovation, Simon Fraser University
Public Companies: Financing, Governance & Compliance, Simon Fraser Univ.
Public Relations, British Columbia Institute of Technology
Competencies
Sustainability Strategy
Social Management Systems
Social/ESG Risk and Due Diligence
ESG Integration
Sustainability Goal Setting
Community Investment/Community Development
Social Innovation
Stakeholder Engagement
Life Cycle and Systems Thinking
Languages
English (fluent)
French (fluent)
Dutch (fluent)
Spanish (intermediate)
German (intermediate)
Volunteering
Rachel has served on multiple non-profit boards in the fields of sustainable business, international development, and sustainable agriculture/economic development.
