- Daurene Lewis
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Daurene E. Lewis, CM is a Canadian politician and educator.
Born in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Lewis is a descendant of freed Loyalist African Americans who settled in Annapolis Royal in 1783. She is a descendant of Rose Fortune, a Virginian who became the first female police officer in North America
In 1984, Lewis was elected Mayor of Annapolis Royal, making her the first female black mayor in Canada.
Lewis attempted to enter provincial politics in the 1988 election, making an unsuccessful bid to represent Annapolis West in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for the Liberal Party. She was the first black woman in Nova Scotia to run in a provincial election.
Trained as a Registered Nurse, Lewis holds a Diploma in Teaching in Schools of Nursing from Dalhousie University, a Masters of Business Administration from Saint Mary's University, and in 1993 was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Mount Saint Vincent University.She has 30 years experience in health care
In 1994 Lewis was added to the Nova Scotia Black Cultural Centre Wall of Honour. In 1995, she was recipient of the United Nations Global Citizenship Award. In 1998 she received the Progress Club of Halifax Woman of Excellence award for Public Affairs and Communication.
In 2002, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada. That year she also received the YWCA volunteer award, and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal.
Lewis is the former Executive Director of the Centre for Women in Business at Mount Saint Vincent University. She is principal of the Institute of Technology Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College. In 2001 she became the first African Canadian senior administrator in the history of the College. She recently completed an extended terms on the Board of Directors of Canada Post and the Governor General's Order of Canada Advisory Council. She is currently on the executive of the Vanier Institute of the family and the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts. She is a member of the International Women's Foundation.
External links
See also
- Black Canadian
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