Corporate Legal Counsel, Descartes Systems Group.

David Isern, Chair

Board Member since 2019
Chair of the Governance Committee

David has recently become part of the Emmanuel at Brighton Child Care Centre community and is delighted to serve as a Director.   

As a corporate lawyer at a leading global organization, David is a strategic advisor focused on mergers and acquisitions and the commercialization of technologies. He has regularly advised boards on matters including governance, legal procedure, stakeholder engagement, and risk management.  Dedicated to community service, he currently serves as a director and secretary of the board at a large not-for-profit organization in the Waterloo Region, volunteers as a legal specialist mentor at several start-up incubators, and has taught business law at post-secondary institutions.

David is committed to working collaboratively to advance the Centre’s mission and values through community advocacy and government relations. Having lived in seven countries and being a non-native English speaker, he is keenly aware of the challenges faced by new-comers and marginalized community members. As a result, David is a passionate proponent of diversity and inclusion and strives to ensure that different perspectives are heard and that barriers are identified and removed.  

Growing up, David was fortunate to develop a passion for the sea through exploring deserted beaches and remote islands with his family. Although moving so often put an end to nautical adventures, it did introduce him to aviation and he has been looking skyward ever since. Encouraged by his loving wife to stop talking and do something about it, David is (finally) pursing his private pilot’s license.