Community work earns Veronica Fox Distinguished Changemaker award

Learn more about the Alumni Changemaker Achievement Awards. 

Veronica Fox is the fifth Black woman in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s 152-year history to achieve the rank of inspector.  

But what makes Fox stand out from her colleagues are her community focus and dedication. These are the reasons she will be presented with an Alumni Changemaker Achievement Award by Royal Roads University this spring.  

Fox, a Master of Arts in Leadership graduate in charge of community programs and administration at the Coquitlam (BC) RCMP Detachment, has earned the Distinguished Changemaker award. The award recognizes an alum who is leading change, either through mentorship or exhibits significant achievements throughout their career.  

In a letter of recommendation for the Distinguished Changemaker award, Dwayne McDonald, commanding officer of the BC RCMP, lauded Fox for making a lasting, positive impact within the RCMP and the broader community. 

McDonald wrote about his former executive officer: “She constantly seeks out opportunities to develop and support others, particularly in advancing the representation of women and racialized employees within the RCMP.” 

He pointed out her work with the BC RCMP Black and African Canadian Police-Community Dialogue initiative and her involvement in the Young Women in Public Safety program as examples of her “dedication to encouraging and guiding the next generation of leaders in community safety.” 

She was also instrumental in professionalizing a National RCMP pilot on race-based data collection and championed the first delivery of the RCMP African Canadian Experience Workshop in British Columbia.  

Fox, who grew up in Burnaby, BC and joined the RCMP in 2006, was a junior constable when she started the RRU MAL program to further her career.  

“Royal Roads has given me the opportunity to think big, try new things and be persuasive,” says Fox. “And I have been fortunate throughout my career to have had many managers who were willing to allow me to let loose and channel that energy into something productive, positive and professional.” 

Fox also notes the importance of embracing dialogue that might be challenging, but ultimately advance an organization, community or relationship.  

“One point of focus [from RRU] that I’ve carried with me is the concept of challenging your own assumptions… taking a hard look at different angles of issues or problems. You're not learning or developing unless you're constantly engaging, and your organization is not going to move forward unless you're active in that kind of [deliberate] communication,” she says. 

Fox’s career was a natural progression from her family vocations. Her Barbadian grandfather came to Canada and joined the Canadian military during the Second World War, and her father had a long career with BC Corrections. He and her mom, a registered nurse, always encouraged Fox and her brother to get involved in their community. 

“Volunteerism is something that’s very important to our family and our parents had us engaged in the community from early on,” she says. “We've always had this kind of drive in our family and that rubbed off on me.” 

And it led to many of her efforts throughout her career — and, in a way, to this achievement award, of which she says: “I am deeply honoured. It really means a lot to me, particularly from Royal Roads, because I have a lot of respect for the establishment and what I learned there, and I'm very thankful.” 
 

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. The awards reception will be held during the annual Alumni Weekend on May 3 in the Dogwood Auditorium at RRU.