Edna Nash was a graduate of the UBC Faculty of Education, and an admired leader in Adlerian Psychology, classroom management and family education. She taught at UBC, was a founding member of the Adlerian Psychology Association of British Columbia and served as the President of the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology. Her remarkable career was recently recognized with the award of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Edna was born in 1922 and grew up in Parksville on Vancouver Island, before enrolling in teachers training in Vancouver. She married Bernard Nash in 1943 and took a break from her teaching career to become the mother of four children. After returning to her career, she attended night and summer school at UBC between 1963 and 1970 to study for her Bachelor of Education and Masters in Education. It was during this period that the words of Dr. Rudolf Dreikurs sparked her interest in Adlerian Psychology.

Edna’s early understanding of psychology was shaped by her father who, despite passing away when she was only 17, was a major role model for Edna throughout her life. The words of Dr. Dreikurs echoed what she had learned from her father and inspired her to attend summer school in Crete to learn more about Alfred Adler’s theories. That summer school later became the International Committee of Adlerian Summer Schools and Institutes (ICASSI), of which Edna served as a Board member and attended and taught at every year for nearly forty years. Edna’s career evolved from teaching and counselling in the school system to a thriving practice as a Counselling Psychologist and a teaching career at UBC.

After Bernard passed away in 1996, Edna continued with her psychology practice, community involvement and conference participation well into her eighties. In addition to being an outstanding professional, she was devoted to her family, she loved her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren deeply, and actively supported and encouraged them in their many endeavours.

Edna will be remembered as a person who encouraged everyone to be the best that they can be, expressing pride in everyone’s achievements and setting a wonderful example. She genuinely believed that anything was possible and her courage and zest for life left a lasting impression on everyone she met. Edna shared the happiness of the last few years of her life with Al Tranfield, a childhood friend who she met again in 2007, for the first time in 68 years.

The Edna Nash Graduate Scholarship in Family Education and Family Counselling was established at UBC in 2012. In 2017, to mark the five years since her passing, family and friends are aiming to increase the value of the annual award from $3,250 to $4,000. To support this ambition, the family will match all donations, up to a maximum of $12,000.

In keeping with Edna’s remarkable life and career, the award is given to outstanding graduate students in the Faculty of Education, whose studies and career aspirations are focused on Family Education and Family Counselling. Edna had a distinguished career as a Counselling Psychologist, and taught for many years at UBC and in the Greater Vancouver School District. Your gift to the scholarship fund will recognize and honour Edna’s legacy and help support talented students to pursue their studies.