Louise Erskine

MPS, Global Development

Hometown: Camrose, Alberta, Canada
Colleges attended and degree earned: Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Agriculture Systems from University of Alberta; Lancaster University, visiting undergraduate.

Tell us a fun fact about you.

I spent much of my undergraduate degree researching chicken reproduction so know great chicken and egg facts. Did you know the colour of an eggshell is not an indicator of the type of chicken that laid the egg nor the nutrition of the egg?

What are the big challenges you want to tackle in the world?

I am inspired by women around the world who work in primary agriculture, from subsistence farming to ag tech. Women in agriculture struggle from under-representation, despite making up a significant portion of the industry's workers. This may be limited access to financial capital, decision-making powers, and land ownership, to name a few. I will use my professional career to develop tools and policies that empower women to be successful in the world's most important industry because empowered women mean an empowered world.

What were you doing before the MPS program?

Prior to the MPS program, I worked as the personal advisor to provincial and municipal elected officials, including Alberta's first New Democratic Minister of Agriculture.

What does global development mean to you?

For me, global development is the opportunity to reconcile historic wrongs, develop tools that create a more equitable future, and share learnings across culture, class, and community.

What has been the most memorable or impactful experience of your career so far?

In 2019 I was hired as Alberta's youngest ever Ministerial Advisor, working each day to provide policy and political counsel to the Minister of Agriculture. I was tasked with liaising with Alberta's first Local Food Council, working together to create local food policy that would empower local farmers, small and large.