Foundation Board of Directors Moves Toward Gender Parity

Members of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation have confirmed the appointments of four new Directors and two new Members to its governance team.

These appointments follow a rigorous selection process built on the Foundation’s core values ​​of inclusion, diversity and excellence. With the help of Perrett Laver, the Foundation's Nominating Committee has implemented thorough methodology aimed specifically at increasing the diversity of the Board of Directors as well as Members.

The nominating committee identified key selection criteria for this latest round of recruitment of new Directors and Members to fulfill this goal.The candidate identification process included recommendations from members of the nominating committee, consultations with other senior executives and the larger community of the Foundation as well as nominee proposals from the research of Perrett Laver.

After four months of diligent research, the Foundation named the following people to the Board of Directors and Foundation Members: 

Board of Directors

•Jameel Jaffer, Lawyer and Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University

•Bessma Momani, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo and Balsillie School of International Affairs

•Madeleine Redfern, Mayor of Iqaluit

•Jennifer Welsh, Professor at McGill University (January 2019) and Canada 150 Research Chair in Global Governance and Security

Foundation Members

•Sacha Haque, General Counsel and Secretary at Portag3 Ventures

•The Right Honorable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada from 2010 to 2017

Focus on Diversity

The new Directors and Members bring a rich and diverse set of backgrounds, experiences, and fields of expertise to the Foundation’s governance team, while moving toward gender parity on the Board of Directors, and building better representation of the diverse stakeholders, cultures, and communities that make up Canada.

Foundation President and CEO, Pascale Fournier, said:

"The Future Forums consultations we have held across Canada focus on Inclusive Excellence and Engaged Leadership. These themes are coming to life through these appointments to the Board of Directors of the Foundation.”

The Chairman of the Board of Directors, John McCall MacBain, said:

“True leadership means being and acting in an inclusive way. I am particularly proud to see the growing participation of Indigenous Canadians and members of visible minority communities on the board of directors this year, as well as gender parity.” 

As the Foundation works to innovate with its mission and programs, the appointment of these outstanding new Directors and Members will help the Foundation make the right strategic policy decisions.