Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences appoints new executive director

I am pleased to announce today the appointment of Gabriel Miller as Executive Director of the Federation. Mr. Miller is an experienced not-for-profit leader with an extensive track record in member relations, advocacy, stakeholder engagement and public policy development. 

Mr. Miller is currently Vice-President of Public Issues, Policy and Cancer Information at the Canadian Cancer Society. He will begin a five-year term as the Federation’s Executive Director on May 1.  In his current position, he leads a 21-person nationwide team and has spearheaded a transformation to increase the Cancer Society’s reach and influence as an advocacy organization.

Mr. Miller will bring to the Federation an exceptional combination of talents in all aspects of association management.  He is engaging, dynamic and will listen carefully to the needs of members.  He will also communicate in fresh and compelling ways the excitement and potential of the social sciences and humanities.

At the Canadian Cancer Society, Mr. Miller directed successful grassroots national campaigns was a leader in highly effective coalitions, including one that led to the federal ban on asbestos announced in 2016. His strategies expanded public dialogue on complex issues such as end-of-life and palliative care. Prior to joining the Cancer Society, he was government and media relations director for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, whose members include big city mayors and municipal governments from across the country.

Mr. Miller was named one of Canada’s “top 100 lobbyists” by The Hill Times in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017 He holds a bachelor of arts from Queen’s University in philosophy, and has served as a member of not-for-profit boards as well as the Government of Canada’s Diamond Jubilee Advisory Committee.

The members of the search committee, in addition to me, were Guy Laforest, the Federation’s President-Elect and a professor of political science at Université Laval; Lisa Philipps, professor of law at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School and Lisa Young, vice-provost and dean of the faculty of graduate studies at the University of Calgary.

Christine Tausig Ford will continue to serve as interim executive director of the Federation until May 1.

Dr. Stephen Toope
President | Président
Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences | Fédération des sciences humaines
300 – 275 Bank, Ottawa, ON K2P 2L6