Mike Harcourt
Chair, AGE-WELL Board of Directors
Mike Harcourt is an honorary Co-chair at the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) President’s Advisory Council on sustainability, and in 2009, was appointed Associate Director of the new UBC Continuing Studies Centre for Sustainability, where he contributes in the development of educational programs that emphasize practical knowledge in tackling climate change and other sustainability issues. Mr. Harcourt was appointed by United Way of the Lower Mainland to be lead faculty in United Way’s Public Policy Institute. The first of its kind in British Columbia, the Institute is designed to bring together public policy experts to work with senior managers in social services and health-related agencies who want to better understand and influence the public policy process.
Mr. Harcourt earned a BA and an LLB from UBC, and has been awarded Honourary Doctors of Laws from UBC, Royal Roads University, Simon Fraser University, University of Northern B.C, Kwantlen Polytechnic University and Okanagan University College. His exemplary career as a lawyer, community activist, and politician has been honoured with several awards including: the J.B. Harkin Medal Award, Conservation of Nature, 2003; the prestigious Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institute Public Service Award, 2005; and the Canadian Urban Institute’s Jane Jacobs Lifetime Achievement Award, 2006. In 2008, he was awarded the UBC Alumni Achievement Award of Distinction for contributions to British Columbia, Canada and the global community. He was named an officer of the Order of Canada in 2013.
Mr. Harcourt is a speaker and advisor internationally on sustainable cities, always providing tangible solutions aimed at improving the creativity, innovative capacity, and environmental sustainability of communities. In addition to devoting much of his time to promoting urban sustainability issues, he has been an advocate for the disabled community and the First Nations People. Mr. Harcourt has had a profound and lasting influence in the public realm over many years and in many fields, and has earned national and international acclaim for his vision, passion and impact.