Lucie Edwards teaches public policy and international relations at the Canadian Staff College, a centre for graduate study and research in international security sponsored by the Department of National Defence. She previously taught at the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier Universities in Waterloo, Ontario. She graduated from Trent University in 1976 and has maintained a strong connection with the university, returning to lecture in development studies as the Ashley Fellow and alumna in residence at Champlain College in 2011. Lucie moved to academe in 2009 following a 34-year career in the Canadian Foreign Service. She served as Canadian High Commissioner to Kenya, South Africa and India and as Ambassador to the UN Environment Program. At Headquarters, she served as Director General for Global Issues and Assistant Deputy Minister for Corporate Services in the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa. Her last assignment in the Canadian Foreign Service was as Chief Strategist, integrating policy and operations.
In 1995, she received the Public Service Award of Excellence for her humanitarian work during the genocide in Rwanda. She also received a merit award for her human rights work combatting Apartheid at the Canadian Embassy in Pretoria, from 1986 to 1989. She was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award of Excellence by the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2009. Mrs. Edwards has served as a consultant and adviser on rural development for a number of international organizations, notably within the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research. She served as Chair of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) from 1999 to 2003 and as a trustee of the Centre for International Forest Research (CIFOR) and the International Centre for Insect Physiology (ICIPE). She currently serves as Past Chair and trustee of Partners in Health Canada, and as a trustee of the Bhutan Canada Foundation. In October 2018, she was elected to a three-year term as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), headquartered in Beijing China. She lives in Ottawa with her husband Tom Roach (70) and three dogs, who are Honorary Fellows of Champlain College. Mrs. Edwards’ second three-year appointment to the Board began on July 1, 2017.