Ursula Gobel was appointed vice-president, Stakeholder Engagement and Advancement of Society, at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in November 2019. In her role, Ursula provides strategic leadership to advance and mobilize social sciences and humanities research. Ursula guides the work of a dynamic team that is responsible for communications, strategic foresight, partnership development and engagement with stakeholders. 

Ursula joined SSHRC in 2007 as director of communications. She led the development and implementation of strategic communications for SSHRC, as well as for several international programs, including the Canada Research Chairs and Canada Excellence Research Chairs programs, on behalf of Canada’s three federal research granting agencies. In 2014, Ursula was appointed associate vice-president, future challenges, where she led strategic initiatives to advance the social sciences and humanities contributions toward meeting future, long-term societal challenges.

Ursula brings extensive experience in leadership and management across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.  She has held Board positions at the Institute for Public Administration of Canada, the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance, and the Canadian Tourism Commission, and has been an active volunteer for the United Way. Ursula holds executive leadership training from Queen’s University, as well as business and economics diplomas from Algonquin College and John Abbott College.