DFAA Review: Advisory Panel Biographies

Alain Bourque

Alain Bourque has served as Executive Director of Ouranos, an innovation cluster and consultation forum enabling Quebec society to better adapt to climate change, since 2013. He implemented the Vulnerabilities, Impacts and Adaptation program, which includes more than 200 projects, since joining the non-profit organization in 2001. During his career, he has completed many regional, national and international scientific summaries and regularly contributes to media stories and policy discussions about climate change and adaptation. Mr. Bourque was a meteorologist/climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada from 1989 to 2001 where he worked on the Saguenay flood of 1996, the ice storm of 1998 and on climate services. Alain Bourque holds a Master's in atmospheric science from Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and is also a board member of the Canadian Climate Institute.

Tracy Cloud

Tracy Anne Cloud is a proud member of Metepenagiag Mi’kmaq Nation and has been the Director of Trilateral Negotiations for Mi’gmawe’l Tplu’taqnn Inc. (MTI), since 2016. Ms. Cloud has worked within the Atlantic Indigenous communities, particularly in the area of Indigenous Rights and Treaty Implementation. Her eclectic professional experience includes working at Indigenous Services Canada, in the Lands and Trust Directorate; at the National Centre for First Nation Governance, as a Policy and Implementation Officer; and from 2012-2016, Ms. Cloud served her community, holding public office as Metepenagiag Mi’gmaq Nation Band Councillor. Much of her work has focused on facilitating dialogues on aspects of governance, leadership, nation rebuilding and rights implementation. She is a mother of 3 children and a grandmother of 6 and has a passion for, and a deep connection with her people, culture and land. Ms. Cloud continues to advocate for Indigenous Rights,  the revitalization of Mi’gmaq laws, reconciliation, and reclamation within Mi’kmaq’i.

Becky Denlinger

Becky’s experience from the local community to high levels of government provides valuable expertise in emergency planning and response. Becky currently serves on the Board of Directors of Oceans Networks Canada. She is also a visiting fellow at the Western Academy for Advanced Research at the University of Western Ontario. Becky served as Deputy Minister, Assistant Deputy Minister and Fire Commissioner for B.C. She was a member of the Senior Officials Responsible for Emergency Management, the Canadian Council of Emergency Management Organizations, the Canadian Council of Fire Marshals and Fire Commissioners and was active in numerous international, national, provincial and regional emergency management and fire service committees. Prior to joining the B.C. Public Service, Becky was Fire Chief of the Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services department in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area. She served on numerous committees, boards, and councils during her tenure as chief, including the Georgia Homeland Security Task Force and the National Infrastructure Advisory Council to which she was appointed by President G.W. Bush. Becky holds degrees from Thomas Edison State University, has completed the Harvard Senior Executives in State and Local Government Fellowship Program, completed the Chief Fire Officer Designation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence, is a past Member of the Institute of Fire Engineers, and active member of the National Fire Protection Association, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and its Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Section.

Maryam Golnaraghi

Dr. Golnaraghi is the Director of Climate Change and Environment at The Geneva Association, an international think tank, whose members are CEOs of the largest insurance companies, globally. In this capacity she is leading multi-stakeholder pioneering initiatives in the areas of resilience and climate adaptation and expediting deployment of new climate technologies for industrial decarbonization. Previously, Dr. Golnaraghi was the Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction Program at the World Meteorological Organization, where she headed up and built an international program and led major capacity development initiatives with 40+ governments. She also served as an adviser to former U.S. President Clinton in his capacity as the UN Special Envoy on Tsunami Recovery. Dr. Golnaraghi founded and served as the CEO of Climate Risk Solutions, Inc., first of its kind analytics and advisory firm that worked with companies in energy, agriculture and financial sectors as well as the US government on solutions for managing physical risks of climate change. Dr. Golnaraghi serves on a number of executive and advisory boards of corporates, governments, centers of excellence and multi-lateral organizations, and is a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. She has authored numerous internationally referenced reports and a book on Strategic Partnerships in Multi-Hazards Early Warning Systems. She holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University, an MS in Applied Physics and a PhD in Physical Oceanography from Harvard University, after which she worked as a senior research fellow at the Harvard Business School.

Stephen Mooney

Stephen Mooney is a senior executive working to support infrastructure and energy development in the Yukon. Mr. Mooney has previously served as the Director for the Northern Housing Innovation Centre, Yukon Research Centre, Yukon University and previously as the Director of the Cold Climate Innovation hub at the Yukon Research Centre. In these capacities, he has worked to create economic development opportunities for all Yukoners through applied research, innovation, and commercialization, emphasizing food security, energy, and technology. Mr. Mooney has served to create national and international partnerships for Yukon University and develop its applied research facility into a globally recognized program, focused on solving northern issues. He has recently served on the National Research Council of Canada Board of Directors (2014 – 2018), and is presently the Interim President, Kluane Dana Shaw Development Corporation of the Kluane First Nation. Mr. Mooney has a Master of Science, Management and Leadership and is a member of the Yukon Association of Professional Engineers. Mr. Mooney has represented Canada on numerous Technology and Innovation Missions to Sweden, Denmark, Greenland, Norway, Finland, U.S., and Russia, fostering working relationships with international governments and organizations. Mr. Mooney has presented at over 80 regional, national and international conferences, promoting Northern Canadian technology and innovation, and raising awareness on the challenges and opportunities for Northern Canada.

Kevin Page

Kevin Page is the current Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy at the University of Ottawa. Prior to this position, he was the Jean-Luc Pepin Research Chair in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa from 2013 to 2016. He was Canada's first Parliamentary Budget Officer from 2008 to 2013. He has 27 years of experience in the federal public service with most of those years spent at three central agencies responsible for budgeting, including the Department of Finance, the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Privy Council Office. He was the Assistant Secretary to Cabinet for Macroeconomic Policy before becoming Canada's Parliamentary Budget Officer.

Robert Phillips

Robert Phillips is a member of the Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw (Shuswap) of the Canim Lake First Nation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University College of the Fraser Valley. Phillips was previously elected by First Nations Summit delegates to three, two-year terms as a Commissioner of the British Columbia Treaty Commission (2007-2013). He also previously served as Chief Negotiator, and prior to that, as Self-Government Director at the Northern Shuswap Tribal Council (1998-2007). Mr. Phillips has an extensive background in aboriginal justice and economic development. Mr. Phillips was elected in June 2019 for a third consecutive three-year term on the First Nations Summit Political Executive, which is mandated to carry out specific tasks related to Aboriginal Title and Rights negotiations with British Columbia and Canada and other issues of common concern to First Nations in British Columbia.

Veronica Scotti

Veronica Scotti has been the Chairperson, Public Sector Solutions for Swiss Re Group, and Group Managing Director, since July 2018. Since joining Swiss Re Group in 1999, Ms. Scotti was appointed President and CEO of Canada and the English Caribbean, held client-facing positions in Zurich, as Head of Business Development for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Key Account Manager Globals before moving to New York to become Client Executive, with global responsibility for some of Swiss Re’s largest reinsurance clients. She entered the reinsurance sector in 2002, with early roles in asset management, strategy, risk management and products functions, in addition to seven years in investment banking with UBS, Paribas and Fox Pitt Kelton based in London and as a researcher with Banco Di Napoli in Italy. She holds an MBA from the SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan, and a master's degree in International Commerce from the Naval University Institute, Naples, Italy. External appointments include: Member of the Bretton Woods Committee Advisory Council, Member of the World Economic Forum CEO Action Group for the European Union Green Deal, Member of the International Women's Forum UK, Member of the Advisory Committee of the Intact Centre for Climate Adaptation University of Waterloo Canada, Member of the Strategic Advisory Board Subnational Climate Fund (SCF) Pegasus Capital Advisors, Board Member GIB Global Infrastructure Basel Switzerland. Past Canadian roles: Board of the Canadian l&H Insurance association (ClHIA), Board of the ICLR.

Date modified: