David Mulder has had a varied career in industry, government, and education over a period of fifty years, and, as such, is able to fill a variety of roles due to his grasp of the problems and challenges that personnel in these areas encounter on a daily basis. He has travelled to 65 countries on overland and independent travel, and has visited and lived in 24{17ed4b947b5ecd6da9d3a7b807fdef29c56bf028a610db6111fa8d721e8c087a} of these countries more than once. His grasp of different cultures and working environments is a valuable asset in working with people in other countries, an understanding of which is too often not appreciated by others who have not had this experience. David completed six courses towards a PhD degree in international/intercultural education at The University of Alberta during the early 1990s, but had to withdraw since he was unable to obtain a thesis advisor for Russia and would have had to move to another city and lose his job at The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT).
His career began immediately after graduating from The University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree, specializing in geology. He has worked as an exploration and mine geologist (open pit and underground) in western British Columbia (copper), the Northwest Territories (tungsten), the Yukon Territory (silver-lead-zinc), western Ontario (uranium, iron ore, massive sulphides), Alberta and Saskatchewan (coal), Kentucky (coal), and western China (gold, silver, lead, zinc, iron ore).
During the late 1970s David phased out of mining and moved his growing family to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. David worked for two electric utility companies where he was on a negotiating team for a thirty year contract to supply coal to a mine-mouth power plant, and set up the geology/mining department for a new power plant west of Edmonton. In the early 1980s David accepted the position of Manager of the Energy Section for Alberta Economic Development, and later as Manager of Special Projects. During this period he gained valuable experience in understanding the role of government as he liaised with senior management in industry, government, and with senior personnel from over forty foreign missions through the International Trade Branch. David served as Chairman of the Energy Division and a member of the Executive Committee of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce for two years during the late 1970s.
In early 1986 David began a new career as an instructor at NAIT, having previously earned an MBA degree from The University of Alberta and having taught several business courses there and at a community college. David worked at NAIT until mandatory retirement in 2003, and taught courses in mathematics, geostatistics, business statistics, physics, geology, computing, economics, marketing, project management, and three quality control courses which he continues to instruct on weekends twice a year. During the early 1990s David earned a Diploma in Postsecondary Education at The University of Alberta by taking evening courses in order to enhance his ability to teach others how to learn better.
Interspersed with his travelling following mandatory retirement from NAIT, David worked as a contractor for a geotechnical consulting firm where he worked on geotechnical , geoenvironmental, hydrogeological and slope stability projects in northern Alberta. Due to the current economic slowdown in Alberta, his services have been temporarily postponed.
David is in good health and wishes to continue living an active professional life. He is an active member of The Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta. He is single and is willing to relocate to another country if required. David’s philosophy towards success on the job is to do it right the first time, and avoid costly and time-consuming delays and rework.