Anna Redden

Anna Redden is the Associate Vice-President Research and Dean of Graduate Studies at Acadia University. In this position, she plays a key role in developing research policy, advancing innovative research and graduate programs, as well as working externally with industry and community partners, government agencies, foundations, and other research institutions to grow Acadia’s research enterprise and identify future opportunities.

Anna has science degrees in Biology from Acadia University (BSc Hon, MSc) and Memorial University (PhD). Her postdoctoral and first faculty appointments were held in Australia at Monash University and Newcastle University, respectively. Anna returned to Nova Scotia and Acadia in 2005 as Associate Professor in Biology and Director of the Acadia Centre for Estuarine Research.

In response to the rising interest in tidal energy development in the Bay of Fundy in the late 2000s, Dr. Redden co-led the establishment of the Fundy Energy Research Network (FERN) in 2009 to assist the province, tidal energy developers and the research community in working collaboratively to address research needs and challenges. In 2012, she co-founded the Acadia Tidal Energy Institute and served as its first Director. The Institute has focused largely on environmental and socio-economic research and outreach associated with tidal energy opportunities and developments. Anna has more than 30 years of ecological research experience in coastal waters, including recent tidal energy environmental studies on the movements of migratory fishes and marine mammals with partners in both industry (tidal energy developers and manufacturers of environmental sensors) and government (provincial and federal).

From 2009-2016, Anna served as an independent Director on the Board of the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) and has been a Board member of the Offshore Energy Research Association (OERA) of Nova Scotia since 2018. Anna’s involvement in sustainable energy and economic development includes her focused work in 2018 as an invited member of the Task Force for the Just Transition for Canadian Coal-Power Workers and Communities.