David Bell, a political scientist by training, was an undergraduate at York University in its earliest years, graduating with his B. A. in 1965. He received his PhD from Harvard University in 1969, and taught at Michigan State University for 2 years before returning to York in 1971 where he served as Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (1981-87) and Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Studies (1992-1996). He was founding Director of YCAS, the York Centre for Applied Sustainability (1996-2003) which later evolved into the York University Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS).

David was part of the Canadian delegation to the UNESCO World Conference on ESD in Japan where he served as facilitator for a Workshop entitled “ESD in the post-2015 era: from policy to practice.” In December 2014 a revised version of his paper “Twenty first Century Education: Transformative Education for Sustainability and Responsible Citizenship” was presented for discussion at ACDME (the Association of Canadian Deputy Ministers of Education).

David was the Chair of Learning for a Sustainable Future from 2006-2017. His other roles included: Co-chair of EASO – the Education Alliance for a Sustainable Ontario (http://www.sustainable-ontario.org); and Co-chair of ESD-Canada (www.esdcanada.ca). He served as a member of the National Round Table on Environment and Economy (www.nrtee-trnee.ca) from June 2003 to February 2007. From December 2002 until November 2006, David served as Chair of the Board of Directors of Parc-Downsview-Park Inc. (www.pdp.ca), a federal Crown Corporation whose mandate was to create for the people of Canada an “urban greenspace for the enjoyment of future generations” at former CFB Downsview.

David Bell passed away in January 2017. LSF established the Dr. David V.J. Bell Memorial Fund to continue his legacy of empowering our children to change the world.