Karen Kraft Sloan is a passionate environmentalist whose work has shaped national policy and inspired many Canadians. During her 11-year tenure as a Liberal member of Parliament, she served as parliamentary secretary to the minister of the environment, co-chaired the parliamentary standing committee on environment and sustainable development, and played an important role in the government’s signing of the Kyoto Accord.
Kraft Sloan organized the 1999 and 2000 Eco-Summits that brought scientists, policy experts and parliamentarians together. She was awarded a gold medal in the Sierra Club of Canada 2000 Eco-Olympics. In 2002, she received the Douglas J. Pimlott Award, Canadian Nature Federation’s most prestigious award. Kraft Sloan was appointed Canada’s ambassador for the environment in 2005. More recently, she founded the environmental consulting firm EcoNexus. She is the special advisor to York’s vice-president of research and innovation.