First term: June 17, 2021 to June 16 2024
Dr. Karin Schnarr is an associate professor of policy at the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics (Lazaridis School) at Wilfrid Laurier University, where she teaches strategic management at the undergraduate, master’s and executive levels. Having served a term as director of the BBA program at the Lazaridis School, she is now the director of the MBA programs where she is leading the revision of MBA education. Dr. Schnarr received a PhD in strategic management (corporate governance) and an MBA from the Ivey School of Business at Western University, a master’s degree in English literature from Queen’s University and bachelor’s degrees in English literature and science from the University of Waterloo. Prior to working in academia, Dr. Schnarr spent a number of years working in senior roles with the Government of Ontario and consulting in the private sector.
In 2019, Dr. Schnarr received the Donald F. Morgenson Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence – Early Career Excellence, awarded annually by Wilfrid Laurier University. She has published and presented at many international, peer-reviewed conferences on strategy, governance, health innovation and case-based learning, and has authored book chapters and a number of award-winning cases on a variety of business topics and companies.
In 2021, Dr. Schnarr was asked by the Government of Ontario to chair their Task Force on Women and the Economy. The Task Force focused on the challenges Ontario women face rejoining the workforce post-COVID and consulted province-wide on three related subjects: entering and re-entering the workforce; women in entrepreneurship and small business; and women in underrepresented fields (skilled trades and STEM). The Task Force delivered their recommendations to the Government of Ontario in fall 2021 and several were immediately included by the Government in their Fall Economic Statement.
Dr. Schnarr is a former national council member of SSHRC Canada and currently sits on the Waterloo Regional Police Services Board. She has also volunteered her time on the board of the children’s charity the Sandbox Project and sits on the national advocacy committee of ALS Canada. Dr. Schnarr lives in Kitchener with her partner Josif and their two daughters.