San Patten

San Patten teaches A Sustainable Future (SUST 1001) and Sustainability and the Non-Profit Sector (SUST 3104) at the College. San also teaches Social Policy at Mount Allison University’s Department of Sociology (by distance).

San loves the multidisciplinary approach at the College. In SUST 1001, for example, San and her co-instructor, Glen Lesins, come from completely different ends of the education spectrum (San from public health, and Glen from atmospheric science)! In SUST 3104, San puts heavy emphasis on real-world learning about the role of non-profit organizations in driving social, political, economic and environmental change.

When she isn’t teaching at the College, San runs her own consulting practice, San Patten and Associates, which specializes in HIV policy development, facilitation, program evaluation, and community-based research. She works extensively with issues related to injection drug use and sexual health, in Canada and internationally.

San has a passion for social justice and equity, and plays an active role professionally and personally in many forms of volunteerism, advocacy and activism. She is Chair of the board of the Halifax Refugee Clinic, a local non-profit organization that provides free legal and settlement assistance to refugees. She is also an Executive Committee member for HaliFIX, Atlantic Canada’s only overdose prevention site.

Outside of work, San enjoys lots of different hobbies including rowing, knitting, kayaking, hiking and playing soccer. Her favourite kayaking spot is the 100 Wild Islands Nature Conservancy along the Eastern Shore in Nova Scotia.

In January 2021, San was interviewed by Green Teacher about the role of non-profits in climate change response -- check out the podcast episode here!

Pictured: San on one of her hiking trips to Cape Chignecto, NS.