Cathy Wilkinson

Secretary and Treasurer of the Board

Cathy Wilkinson is an Ottawa-based consultant with a long history of involvement with the Indigenous Leadership Initiative. She also served for many years as a Senior Strategic Advisor to the International Boreal Conservation Campaign.

In that capacity, she has been actively involved with efforts to support Indigenous-led conservation and the establishment of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and Guardians programs, including as an active participant in the Target 1 Funders Collaborative.

Cathy previously served as Executive Director of the Canadian Boreal Initiative, a unique coalition that catalyzed conservation solutions across the boreal, including the creation of the Boreal Leadership Council.

As a consultant, Cathy has conducted domestic and international projects for a wide variety of philanthropic, non-government, and government agencies. She has also served as a policy advisor to two federal Environment Ministers on climate change and biodiversity loss.

In 2022, Cathy was named to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Nature Advisory Committee.

Cathy has served on the boards of many organizations, including Ecojustice (chair). the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (vice chair), the Boreal Songbird Initiative (President), GreenPac and the Bytown Museum. She is also an active volunteer with the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).

 Cathy and her family split their time between Ottawa and her childhood home in Prince Edward Island. She is a passionate runner, hiker, cross-country skier, and volunteer.