New Executive Director joins Owen Sound Georgian College

Dave Shorey joins Georgian College as Executive Director of the Owen Sound Campus on Oct. 12. Shorey will be part of Georgian’s senior leadership team and oversee the strategic direction of the campus. This includes cultivating, developing and nurturing positive relationships with community, government and industry partners. Shorey will also ensure continued quality programs and exceptional service delivery as well as provide oversight for campus administration, organizational planning and operations.

“Dave is a recognized community builder, collaborator and highly engaged leader,” said Dr. MaryLynn West-Moynes, Georgian College’s President and CEO. “With an outstanding career in post-secondary education and municipal capacity building, he brings a wealth of expertise to Georgian and models many of the skills we hope to instill in our students as an innovator, change-maker and lifelong learner.”

Shorey comes to Georgian as Innovation Officer for the Municipal Innovation Council in Bruce County where he built a broad network of stakeholders to identify, understand and co-develop solutions to emerging issues in the community. Among many achievements, Shorey developed a comprehensive framework for eight municipal organizations that identifies areas of opportunity and the strategic capabilities needed for advancement. He established communities of practice that connect municipal staff from across the council’s membership to learn together, collaborate and solve common challenges. He also fostered closer ties between municipalities and postsecondary institutions through applied research and work-integrated learning. For example, he worked with students from University of Waterloo’s School of Planning on an attainable housing strategy for the Town of Saugeen Shores.

Shorey is a faculty member at Wilfrid Laurier University and teaches in the Master of Education program. Previously, he served as Associate Director, Residence Education, at the university. He championed collaboration across the institution and the co-creation of innovative programs. Notably, he led the advancement of a nation-leading Residence Education unit, which focuses on student transition and leadership development. The unit was ranked the number one residence program in Canada in 2018 and 2019 by Maclean’s magazine in the comprehensive university category.

Along with extensive curriculum development experience, Shorey has provided consulting to numerous postsecondary institutions on designing curriculum for experiential learning outside the classroom and the change management process. Shorey has also been actively involved in numerous professional associations committed to student success and sustainable growth in the postsecondary sector.

He has deep ties to the area. Shorey was born and raised in Southampton, Ontario, and attended St. Mary’s High School in Owen Sound. He brings to the role a passion for student success and love of Grey and Bruce counties.

“I look forward to celebrating the strengths of Georgian’s Owen Sound Campus and am eager to work closely with current and prospective students, staff, faculty, community and industry partners,” Shorey said. “I’m deeply invested in creating a space for all to call Georgian home. I’ve seen firsthand how rich this area’s potential is and the college is uniquely positioned to build community capacity and provide critical resources that support sustainable growth in the region.”

Shorey holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Global Studies and Master of Education from Wilfrid Laurier University. He’s currently completing his Doctor of Education at Western University in the field of Educational Leadership. He’s also a member of Laurier’s Centre for Leading Research in Education, with a focus on lifespan, living and learning.