Victoria De La Ronde

A 35-year resident of Centretown Ottawa, Ms. Victoria C. DeLa Ronde has been a public servant, business person, mentor, arts lover and social advocate.  She was a lawyer by profession with a Master of Laws degree from the London School of Economics.  Her undergraduate studies in psychology, music and history of opera provided an appreciation for the performing arts.  For example, while studying for her Masters degree, she attended 47 plays, musicals, opera and dance in London’s West End.  On the much broader scope, Victoria has worked in, lived in, or travelled to 75 countries.  As a young Metis woman growing up in Meadow Lake Saskatchewan, her dream was to acquire the best means possible to support successful relationships, community and family for generations.   Thus, her extensive experience and education along with strong leadership skills contributed to a distinguished career in both government and private industry.

Her career spans twenty-five years of federal government experience, two years with a provincial government and fifteen years in private industry.  With the federal government Ms. De La Ronde worked for Veterans, Employment and Indigenous Affairs departments.  Recent positions include Director of Research supervising for example, Indigenous policy research in demography, health, income, education outcomes, housing and economic development. As Senior Director of Treaty Policy she set up and renewedTreaty commissions an Treaty discussion tables.  In addition to her government career, Ms. De La Ronde has considerable experience in private industry including international studies in tourism (Egypt and Greece), Alternative energy (Barbados, Jamaica, Dominica, SE Asia), Digitizing grain storage facilities (China), green energy (Ecuador).  Recent projects in Canada include First Nations housing, communications strategies to establish a First Nations Credit Union, design of training course for commercial leasing on reserve lands, Women and Self-government and Traditional Knowledge.  What few know is that Ms. De La Ronde was a Master in Judo, is a yoga teacher and a motivational speaker.  She accomplished all this while managing progressive vision loss since a youth.  “The use of assistive technology is crucial to her success and independence”, she says.