Meet Dave Bailie, Purppl’s new Client Engagement & Success Lead
We’re excited to welcome Dave to the Purppl team! As our new Client Engagement & Success Lead, he’s here to ensure organizations feel supported and confident in their journey with Purppl.
His role is all about cultivating meaningful relationships, matching organizations with the right coaches, and setting them up for success with tailored support and resources that align with their impact goals. If you’re working with Purppl, Dave is someone you’ll get to know well – and you’ll be better for it.
Beyond his role at Purppl, Dave describes his purpose simply: “Leaving the environment in a better place than I found it. With a deep love for nature, I always knew my professional focus would be on not only protecting the environment but working to help improve it for generations to come.”
That love for nature and understanding ecosystems led Dave to the waste industry. “This global industry is heavily impacted by our daily choices and the disconnect we have here in Canada to those impacts needs to be talked about more. Not only with access to recycling locally and using what we have – to understanding how close we are to filling up our landfills with the consumption habits and behaviours pushed on us from our capitalist society – to how inaccessible it is to participate in the ‘zero waste/circular’ economy – to the local and global disparity where waste is ‘managed’ usually in low socioeconomic neighbourhoods and countries.”
Dave has spent years trying to understand how people interact with waste, who defines its value, and what recycling actually means depending on whether you’re a consumer, a business, or a reporting body. “Curbside recycling was established to make consumers in the ’80s feel less bad about their consumption habits from the newly created big box stores – that same sentiment exists today.”
An early and lasting influence on his journey was Louise Schwarz of Recycling Alternative. “I heard her speak at an event and was hooked on her mission and vision.” When Dave eventually got the chance to work with Louise directly, he says, “I really got to learn and see first hand what it meant to work for a social enterprise AND how a social impact leader acts in their community.”
Looking ahead, Dave’s vision is grounded, relational, and regenerative: “Now, it is all about the farm and the land my partner and I have [in Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee territory in rural Ontario]. Setting down long-term roots and being good stewards of the land. A good father to my future children. Be someone who is proud of the work and the impact their work is having in the world.”
He doesn’t measure impact in traditional ways, instead focusing more on the present and releasing the need for everything to be planned and chasing perfection. “I ensure I am doing something fun every day. Then I know I am taking time for myself, time to decompress, and time to step away from always doing.”
When asked what gives him hope, Dave says: “Talking with others who are doing the work – or when it is a real hard day, reading what they are posting or working on.”
Thanks for sharing, Dave. We’re lucky to have you on the team!
This is part of Purppl’s Purposeful People series, celebrating the unique voices committed to building a just, regenerative economy.
