Martha Casey

Martha Casey is IISD’s Interim Co-President and Co-CEO, serving together with Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder. Martha is also Vice-President, Operations and Business Transformation, where she oversees the Institute’s global administration.

Martha joined IISD from Volta, one of Canada’s largest innovation hubs, where she served as its chief executive officer. At Volta, she undertook and executed a new strategic plan to ensure the organization’s success through the COVID-19 pandemic, managed multi-million-dollar budgets, and advanced initiatives on diversity, equity, and inclusion, among other responsibilities and achievements. She was previously Volta’s chief operating officer. 

Before joining Volta, Martha was the chief of staff and executive director at Dalhousie University, where she served for 4 years reporting directly to the university’s president and providing operational and strategic advice and leadership. Her earlier experience includes several years in different change management, operations, and administration-focused positions for the City of New York. These include serving as the director of project management at the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, as a project manager for the New York City Department of Finance, and as a senior analyst for New York City’s Office of the Mayor. 

Martha is currently on the board of directors for the Halifax Chamber of Commerce and the advisory board for the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University. She holds a Master of Public Administration degree from New York University, a Bachelor of Laws degree from Dalhousie University Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Bishop’s University.