Alumni changemaker Dan George finds truth and potential in conflict

Learn more about RRU’s Alumni Changemaker Achievement Awards. 

For most people, conflict is something to be avoided. For Dan George, conflict is full of potential. 

It reveals what people, organizations and governments truly care about. And because of that, when managed well, conflict can open the door to healthy discussions about difficult and often avoided topics. 

George knows this well. As president and CEO of Four Directions Management Services Ltd., he has spent decades hosting, organizing and facilitating these kinds of conversations, working among First Nations and between Indigenous Peoples, government and industry. 

For that work over the past 40 years, the Wet’suwet’en Nation member, whose home village is Hagwilget in New Hazelton, will be recognized this spring by Royal Roads University with an Alumni Changemaker Achievement Award. 

George, who earned a Master of Arts in Conflict Analysis and Management in 2010, will receive the Distinguished Changemaker Award, which honours an alum with a long and established career who exemplifies sustained impact and leadership over a lifetime. 

"It was the potential of the people that drove me"

George’s career began at the Prince George Native Friendship Centre, where he started as a summer student, then became a program director and board member, eventually serving as executive director of the largest such centre in Canada. 

In 1993, he and his wife, Teresa George, founded Four Directions. 

“The reason I did that was because there were no First Nations people in the strategic planning, organizational development and conflict transformation space,” he says. “I wanted to step into that space and create opportunities for our communities to work with people who are Indigenous and who have an inherent understanding of the challenges and opportunities we face.” 

While others at the time saw economic potential in partnerships between First Nations and industry, he says, “It was the potential of our people that drove me.” 

But it wasn’t until several years into running the business that he began to consider his own potential. 

Learning the theory behind the practice 

“I did not have a formal education at that point,” George says. “And I often felt, in some ways, like an impostor, that the level of responsibility I carried didn’t match, in my mind, my level of formal education.” 

In his early forties, he enrolled at Royal Roads University to “gather the theory behind the practice I was doing every day. I also wanted someone to point out what I thought I knew but maybe didn’t.” 

He remembers arriving for orientation feeling nervous and asking Teresa to come with him. It didn’t take long, however, to realize he belonged. In classrooms filled with people from diverse backgrounds, they learned from one another. 

“I challenged my peers,” he says, “and they challenged me.” 

Since then, he has continued to work in many different rooms, supporting organizations, communities and companies through negotiation and strategic facilitation, including B.C.’s First Nations leadership, industry and various orders of government. 

"You’re never too old to learn” 

He describes his work simply: “We help apples talk to oranges.” 

In those conversations, conflict is always present, George says. “But the reality is, we need to find ways to have healthy, productive conversations with one another.” 

Receiving the changemaker award brings “mixed emotions,” he says. “On one hand, I’m honoured. On the other, I find myself wondering, did I do enough?” 

Still, he will accept the honour proudly at the ceremony, alongside Teresa, their daughters Amanda and Brittany, and their five grandchildren. 

“They’re my crew. They mean the world to me, and they’re the reason I do what I do,” he says. “And I want my grandchildren to see the value of education and that you’re never too old to learn.” 

About the awards 

The Alumni Changemaker Achievement Awards showcase the diverse talents and accomplishments of RRU’s alumni network as they advance the university’s vision to inspire people with the courage to transform the world.    

A celebration for the award-winners will take place as part of Alumni Weekend May 1–2, 2026, which also includes a keynote address by Nobel Peace Prize nominee Sheila Watt-Cloutier, alongside inspiring talks, workshops, and tours.