For more than thirty years, Rankin MacSween has led the growth and diversification of New
Dawn Enterprises. New Dawn, a non-profit, private, volunteer-directed social enterprise
dedicated to community building, identifies community needs and establishes and operates
ventures that speak to those needs.

Rankin first joined New Dawn as a volunteer in 1980, became Executive Director in 1985 and
President in 1995. In this time, he has witnessed this initially small organization grow into a wellknown
and respected community development social enterprise that today employs nearly 200
people.

Rankin was born and raised in Boisdale, Cape Breton Island. He holds degrees from StFX,
University of Ottawa, the Merrill Palmer Institute, a PhD from the University of Toronto and holds
an honorary doctorate from Cape Breton University. Rankin is a founding member of the
Canadian Community Economic Development Network. He has also served as a board member
of the Church Council on Justice and Corrections, the Vanier Institute of the Family, and the
Island Community Justice Society. He is a past chair of the Cape Breton branch of the
Canadian Mental Health Association and in 2008 was inducted into the Cape Breton Business
Hall of Fame.