Elissa Golberg

Biography

Elissa Golberg is Assistant Deputy Minister for Strategic Policy at Global Affairs Canada. She is also currently the department’s Champion for Innovation and Experimentation, and Head of Performance Management and Results. Ms. Golberg has held several senior Canadian government roles, including Assistant Deputy Minister – Partnerships for Development Innovation (2015-17); Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations (Geneva) and to the Conference on Disarmament (2011-15); Director-General of the Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force (2009-11), and Representative of Canada in Kandahar, Afghanistan (2008-9).

Ms. Golberg’s areas of expertise include crisis management coordination, human rights, humanitarian action and sustainable development cooperation, geopolitics and peace and security policy. She has extensive experience working with multilateral institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector, and in encouraging institutional innovation and effectively managing change.

Ms. Golberg is a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, and the UN Central Emergency Revolving Fund Advisory Group. She sits on the Boards of the Centre for Global Governance and Innovation (CIGI), the Lewis Perinbaum Award, and the Advisory Board for the 2021 Canada Forum for Impact Investment and Development.

Ms. Golberg holds a Master’s degree in International Relations. She is a recipient of the NATO ISAF General Service medal, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, the Public Service Award of Excellence, and 3 Ministers’ Awards for Foreign Policy Excellence. She has been a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and published articles on humanitarian, fragile state and public policy related matters.