Cynthia Wright

Cynthia Wright dedicated her career to environmental protection and conservation. In early years she focused on integrating science and policy to develop plans, policies and standards in conservation authorities in Ontario, in the Alberta Forest Service and in the federal government with Environment Canada. She was with Environment Canada for over twenty years, working on challenges such as reducing toxic substances and conserving species at risk. Along the way Cynthia developed an interest in making organizations more effective. Within Environment Canada she took positions of increasing management responsibility that exposed to her to the full mandate of the department and all aspects of running a large organization. She ended her career as the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Environmental Stewardship Branch, responsible for the department’s legislative policies and programs for environmental protection and biodiversity conservation. One of her main focuses was to implement a systems-based approach to developing and implementing regulations.

Cynthia has a Masters degree specializing in resource policy from the University of Guelph and a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo. Since retiring, she has volunteered with non-profit organizations and enjoys the variety from pulling out invasive species to improving management effectiveness.