Elizabeth Dowdeswell has accomplished much in her life and she credits being a home economist for that good fortune.
She went from home ec teacher to provincial and federal civil servant to heading a United Nations environment program in Kenya to chief executive officer of Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization.
Last week in Regina she was just Liz, the first president of the Saskatchewan Home Economics Teachers Association.
The association celebrated its 40th anniversary with the Association of Saskatchewan Home Economists, which is 50 years old.
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Dowdeswell told 100 delegates that home economists can make a difference in the world because they are always able to bridge the distance between the natural and social sciences. They are agile and capable of responding to change, she added.
“We are uniquely qualified to influence the course of events.”
When asked why a home economist should take the lead, she said, people should ask why not. For example, she once headed the national weather service.
“The world needs thinking, caring, ethical human beings,” she said.
“We must not be mere observers.”
Dowdeswell credited growing up in rural Saskatchewan in an immigrant family with putting her on her life’s path. The family placed a high value on education and lifelong learning. Growing up on the prairie develops common sense and a strength she likens to a caragana rooted in the soil.
“We are survivors,” she said.
“It’s really the DNA of the place.”
Dowdeswell thought she might be a lawyer, but it was her interaction with 4-H extension specialists that led her instead to home economics and teaching.
“They simply were who I wanted to be.”
Everything she could teach students, they gave back. Dowdeswell encouraged teachers to be open to what students can teach them. Without fresh, innovative perceptions, things won’t change.
One of Dowdeswell’s more high-profile roles was co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
“It’s a file that infects you,” she said.
“You simply cannot leave it behind.”
In Kenya, she dealt with the murder of one of her staff members.
She said Canadians are so fortunate to have respect for each other. That isn’t common in the rest of the world, she said. She also urged people to vote next week to maintain the democracy they take for granted.
After a lifetime in the public service, Dowd-eswell is now working as a private consultant with clients as diverse as the Toronto school board and the Palestinian Authority. She sits on several boards and is a visiting professor at the University of Toronto.
“I meddle in a variety of interesting fields,” she said.
