Scott Baker has played an integral role in the growth and success of WE as one of the world's leading charitable organizations. Scott joined the team in 2004 as Director of Leadership Programming, helping to inspire and motivate thousands of youth across Canada to take action in their local communities. As one of the organization's first speakers, Scott provided invaluable leadership to various programs and campaigns and has played an important role in turning strategy into action.
In 2007 Scott moved to Ecuador to set up WE’s operations in country, building a team and program from the ground up. Working to empower indigenous peoples in rural communities, Scott helped implement the WE Villages model, which included building schools, water systems, and hand-washing stations. Scott's passion for sustainable development through a partnership with local communities helped him lead an incredible team in Ecuador for four years as the Country Director. Scott developed strategic partnerships with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, and local municipalities to ensure the sustainability of the projects and programs. Because of his tenure there, WE Charity's relationship with local communities is synonymous with trust, co-operation, and sustainable development.
Scott returned to Canada in 2010 to assume his role of Executive Director at WE Charity. As Executive Director, he played a key role in leading the organization's expansion globally. During his tenure, Scott was responsible for the leadership and management of staff across North America, the United Kingdom, and our international offices. With a strong background in finance and mathematics, Scott brought in strong systems of financial management as WE Charity grew to a global organization. As Executive Director, Scott worked directly with the WE Charity Canada, USA, and UK board of directors in the governance and oversight and helped guide the organization from an Ontario focused organization in 2010 to one with significant projects and programming around the world.
In 2019 Scott moved into the role of Chief Operations Director in 2019, where he was dedicated to the oversight of WE Charity's international work. In 2019 and early 2020, Scott focused on increasing the impact and effectiveness of WE’s international programming. With the arrival of COVID-19, Scott worked with the country teams to develop local responses and to ensure the proper protocol was in place to ensure the safety of both our local staff and the communities we serve.
Scott’s favorite memories at WE include shifting from school building to the 5 pillar WE Villages model, the very first WE Day, and opening up Ecuador as a WE Villages country, partnering with the College Board to bring AP with Service to hundreds of thousands of students, and expanding WE Schools and WE Teachers globally.