Blair Dickerson has left her position as VP external relations and communications at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council to become a VP of Rio Tinto's Canadian operations. Dickerson held the NSERC position for seven years as the granting council boosted its participation in public-private research partnership activities. Prior to NSERC, she held positions with the Solicitor General of Canada, Transport Canada, Department of National Defence, Western Economic Diversification and Multiculturalism and Citizenship Canada. Dickerson also worked at Natural Resources Canada in the areas of mining, forestry and energy, as well as at GlaxoSmithKline. She holds a BA in political science from Carleton Univ and an MBA from Queen's Univ….