Marguerite (Margie) Mendell, who earned her PhD in Economics from McGill University (1983), has been teaching at the SCPA since 1986. Her current research and teaching are on the social economy in Quebec and internationally, social finance and impact investing, social innovation, the commons, economic democracy, and the work of Karl Polanyi whose influence continues to grow today. Margie Mendell is participating in a growing international dialogue on innovative economic initiatives to reduce inequality and develop new collective forms of wealth creation through her participation at scholarly conferences and international meetings of the OECD, the European Commission, the Global Social Economy Forum (GSEF) and civil society gatherings. She also participates in consultations in Canada (federal, provincial, municipal) and abroad on issues related to social finance and impact investing and the social and solidarity economy. Her work, published in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and most recently in Korean, has generated international interest. Dr. Mendell is also the co-founder of the Karl Polanyi Institute of Political Economy established at Concordia University in 1988, the repository of the entire Karl Polanyi Archive.
Margie Mendell is a member of the Centre de recherche sur les innovations sociales (CRISES – UQAM); honorary member of the Global Social Economy Forum. She is member of the Board of Directors of the Chantier de l’économie sociale and la Tohu. As well, Margie Mendell is a member of the editorial board of The Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi. An Interdisciplinary Journal of Economics, History and Political Science, and is on the Advisory Board of Studies in Political Economy, among others. She is a frequent contributor to television, radio and written media on public policy issues in Canada, Québec, and internationally.