Community Development and Capacity Building

Debra Swan has been supporting organizations serving the most vulnerable among us for over 30 years.  Debra is considered a pioneer in the field of community development and capacity building. As a community consultant, her work has taken her across Canada, helping organizations that serve these populations.

Debra believes that the marginalized among us are the most underestimated resource in our community; that a community’s health is built on its social capital; and that everyone has something to contribute, given the chance, no matter what their circumstances.  These core values are what drives her work.

Debra grew up in small town Ontario in the Niagara fruit belt, moving to Moonstone, Ontario in 1979 where she raised her 4 children.  In 2008 she moved to Nackawic, New Brunswick and continued to run her consulting business while providing leadership to the housing first initiative in Fredericton.  In 2016 she was offered and accepted the Executive Director position for the newly created Local Community Food Centre here in Stratford.