Deborah Harford is a systems change leader with experience in the non-profit, academic, and corporate sectors. She co-founded ACT (the Action on Climate Team) at SFU, North America’s first think-and-do tank developing policy guidance for climate challenges spanning energy, infrastructure, water, food, and biodiversity, and served as EVP, Global Strategic Partnerships and Head of Sustainability at tech start-up Legible, where she led multi-capital accounting strategy while forging partnerships with multinationals. A trusted advisor to governments and non-profits, Deborah consults on low carbon resilience strategy with federal ministries, and is a Climate Solutions/Technology & Society Fellow at SFU’s Centre for Dialogue, where she is building an initiative examining intersections between AI and climate change. She served on the expert adaptation panel of the Canadian Climate Institute, the federal Expert Panel on Adaptation and Climate Resilience Results (EPCARR), and the Council of Canadian Academies’ expert panel on Top Climate Risks for Canada, and has authored numerous reports and articles including a book on the Columbia River Treaty.

Deborah holds a Master of Education in Contemplative Inquiry and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Communications and English, both from SFU, and a certificate in AI and Ethics from the London School of Economics.