News
This is the third instalment in our series Building a Better New Brunswick.
Today’s question-and-answer is with Ken MacLeod. Ken MacLeod has been a leader in the not-for-profit sector for 25 years as a senior manager, volunteer, board member, donor and consultant.
Today he is president and CEO of the internationally acclaimed New Brunswick Youth Orchestra. He is also founder of NBYO’s similarly acclaimed Sistema NB program, which offers social change and hope to vulnerable children through music.
Sistema NB is expanding annually and currently operates four Sistema NB centers in New Brunswick, serving more than 700 children daily. NBYO and Sistema NB are also providing leadership in Canada by presenting national conferences for teachers and leaders and by mentoring others in their efforts to begin Sistema-inspired programs.
And that’s not even MacLeod’s day job. He is founder and president of KMA Consultants, a firm specializing in fundraising and communications for non-profit organizations, serving charitable organizations throughout Canada. From 1995 to 1999, he served as a member of the legislative assembly. He also served as vice-president at Atlantic Baptist University (now Crandall University) and was part of the management team that built a new campus and expanded academic offerings.
A graduate of Acadia University and Mount Allison University, he is a recipient of the Order of Moncton, Fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar and a Paul Harris Fellow. He serves on the Board of YOA Orchestra of the Americas and is a faculty member of its Global Leaders program. He has served on numerous local, regional and national boards and is a frequent presenter at symposia and conferences.
The following is an abridged version of his conversation with the Times & Transcript:
Q: How would you build a better New Brunswick?
A: Make sure no one is left out – and make sure everyone is included to their fullest potential. I’ve thought a lot about the fact everyone has talent and something to offer. Through Sistema and other experiences, I have more conviction today than ever that talent is universally distributed in the world, but opportunity is not. Sistema is an example of that.
It’s tragic for any person in our province who is left out, but it’s tragic for our society as well because we’re missing out on the benefit of that person’s contribution. We’re only 750,000 people. If any place has to capitalize on every single person, it’s New Brunswick. We can’t afford to have people on the sidelines. Sometimes we think of this lost talent as benign, but there’s a real cost.
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Q: What’s the first step? A: I think two investments are crucial. One is education and the other is social development.
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Q: Let’s talk about education first.
A: Well I think we’ve done a pretty good job with things like literacy and academics, but the things left behind are the trades and entrepreneurship. We need to be more proactive in developing them.
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Q: And what sort of investments in social development are you thinking about?
A: Non-profit organizations, their whole world is to elevate human potential. I’m thinking of groups like the Boys and Girls Club, Moncton Youth Residences, CAFI, MAGMA, Arts New Brunswick. Investments in groups like those have impacts of multiplication not addition. These entities of course need to be accountable, but when government, not-for-profits and the community work together, the potential is exponential.
