Mr. Michel Richard brings several decades of experience in New Brunswick's public sector to his new role as President of the New Brunswick Health Council, effective October 2017.
The first decade of his career was spent teaching in the public school system. He was a teacher and administrator in public high schools and a curriculum consultant with the Department of Education, where he coordinated and developed the first curriculum in French-language trades education for public schools.
In 1981, Mr. Richard was charged with the founding of a community college in the southeast of the province. He undertook the challenge and established a college in southeastern New Brunswick that promoted several programs focused on new technologies. He remained as Director until 2004.
In 2002, after tackling the task of initiating the implementation of a new community college structure in the province, Mr. Richard was appointed Executive Director of the new Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick, the first provincial francophone college.
During his leadership at CCNB-Dieppe, Mr. Richard had a significant role in various organizations. Some of the roles include: president of the Provincial Association of New Brunswick Community College Directors, president of the Conseil provincial de l’enseignement professionnel des deux cycles du secondaire, member of the Executive Committee of the New Brunswick Community College Network, president of the Conference Committee of the National Colleges’ Conference of Canada, chair of the National Scholarship Committee for International Students for the Department of International Cooperation and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges, member of the Board of Directors of the of Atlantic Provinces Consortium of Community Colleges, member of the Organizing Committee of the 1999 Sommet de la francophonie in Moncton , member of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, President of the Metropolitan Village Condos Association Inc. to name a few. He has also led numerous international projects in the context of the global Francophonie, particularly in Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Morocco and Haiti.
Mr. Richard is a graduate of the Université de Moncton in pedagogy and teaching. He has a principal’s certificate and a certificate of competence for vocational education.