Alum finds ways to have a big impact on health and students

David Kerr (BSc鈥�19, MBA鈥�23) loves to have an impact. Thanks to his MBA, he鈥檚 doing that by enhancing Nova Scotia鈥檚 health-care system and supporting a new generation of BIPOC MBA students.

Posted: October 17, 2024

By:聽Emm Campbell

David Kerr (BSc鈥�19, MBA鈥�23) is always looking for an opportunity to have a positive impact. That led him to the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub, where he works to support the enhancement of the province鈥檚 health-care system as a business development coordinator.

鈥淚 get to work with clinical and operations teams, understand their challenges, and help them to identify and trial solutions,鈥� says Kerr. 鈥淢ost of the time, we are looking at new technologies to see if they can improve a particular area of health care. The fact that I get to be part of that process is profound.鈥�

A change of career plans

Growing up in Ontario, Kerr wanted to be a doctor. His mom suggested Dalhousie for his Bachelor of Science degree.

鈥淪he said it was far enough away for me to gain independence, but close enough to visit often,鈥� he says. "We went to some of the recruitment events, and I realized that, at Dal, you're less of a number and more of a person compared to other universities I was looking at."

聽After graduating, Kerr took a job at Tranquility, a mental health startup that developed a digital cognitive behavioural therapy platform. His goal was to save money for medical school, but his work helping the company grow inspired a change of plans.

鈥淲e did a project where we offered the app to Dal鈥檚 Faculty of Graduate Studies students,鈥� says Kerr. 鈥淚t was incredibly rewarding to be part of this project. It made me realize that by bringing new medical technologies to market, I could still make a meaningful impact on people鈥檚 lives, just in a different way鈥�

Kerr returned to Dalhousie to earn an MBA. He chose the university in part because he knew the calibre of its programs and professors. He also saw opportunities to gain unique hands-on experience through the Faculty of Management鈥檚 Doing Business in Emerging Markets course and the Corporate Residency MBA Pathway.

鈥淒al was the only university that offered an eight-month residency in the middle of a two-year program, which is a whole academic year,鈥� Kerr says. 鈥淕iven my interest in health, I knew I could accomplish more and gain more knowledge in that time than I could with a four-month internship at another university.鈥�

Kerr鈥檚 internship was with the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub, opening the door for his current role. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have gotten the job without the experience my MBA internship provided me,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t gave me the know-how to conduct due diligence on companies from both a financial and a competencies perspective. But it also taught me the value of relationship management and navigating complex organizations, which is helpful when working with clinical and operational teams.鈥�

Helping a new generation of students

Shortly after graduating, Kerr reached out to Dalhousie to create the Sealy Thrive Bursary. Named for Kerr鈥檚 mother, who has devoted herself to making education more equitable, the bursary provides financial support to BIPOC students pursuing their MBA. Kerr himself was the recipient of a BMO Entrepreneurship Scholarship.

鈥淩eceiving the scholarship was impactful because it validated my potential and helped me get where I am going,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檇 like this bursary to do the same for students and give them some relief from expenses like the cost of food or rent so they can succeed.鈥�

Kerr plans to help bring more life-changing medical technologies to market, but his ambitions go far beyond that.

鈥淭he one thing I truly strive for is to have a tangible impact,鈥� Kerr says. 鈥淚 want to continue growing in my career so that I can give back even more to my community and help others. Those are the values I was raised with and that鈥檚 what drives me.鈥�

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