Karen Farbridge was re-elected as Mayor of the City of Guelph in 2006 and returned to office in the 2010 municipal election. She was first elected to Council in 1994 and previously served as Mayor in 2000-2003 and 2006-2010.
A resident of Guelph since 1979, Karen has an MSc and PhD in biology from the University of Guelph. In 2009, she attained the Chartered Director (C.Dir) designation from the Directors College, a joint venture of McMaster University and the Conference Board of Canada.
During her tenure in municipal politics, Karen has championed sustainable approaches to community growth and development with a strong commitment to citizen engagement.
In addition to serving on all Standing Committees of Council, Karen is a member of a Guelph Hydro Inc. and its subsidiaries, and Guelph Police Services. Karen also serves as Honourary Co-Chair of the Guelph Citizenship Committee, Honorary Chair of Pollination Guelph, Co-Chair of the Municipal Leaders for the Greenbelt and serves on the national co-ordinating committee for QUEST (Quality Urban Energy Systems of Tomorrow).
Karen also champions several initiatives including:
Mayor’s Taskforce on Community Energy
In the past, Karen has served as an Associate Professor at the University of Guelph, teaching courses in political science and environmental policy, and for ten years was the Director of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group. In 2005, Karen was the recipient of the prestigious Women of Distinction Award from the YMCA-YWCA of Guelph in the business and professions category.