Lisa Ashton

Director of Agriculture Policy, RBC Thought Leadership

Lisa’s passion for Canada’s agriculture sector—and its role as a global leader in production, innovation, and sustainability—was shaped by her upbringing on her family’s farm in Southwestern Ontario. This early interest led her to pursue post-graduate degrees in Ireland, Germany, and most recently at the University of Guelph, where she completed a PhD focused on the governance of scaling natural climate solutions in Canadian agriculture.

Currently, Lisa is the Director of Agriculture Policy at RBC Thought Leadership, where she leads agriculture and food research and stakeholder engagement. Prior to joining RBC, she was the Sustainability Lead at Grain Farmers of Ontario and worked as a consultant, helping not-for-profit organizations and companies develop and implement regenerative agriculture strategies.

Speaker Sessions

Investing in the Future: Advancing Economically Resilient Practices

  • Future-Proof Our Agriculture and Food System
Session Date
Tuesday, Oct 7 2025 | 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM
Featuring
Nick Betts Executive Director, Canadian Alliance for Net Zero Agri-food (CANZA)
Jane Church Corporate Engagement Director, Nature United
Sophie Neveux Director of Global Sustainability, Agropur
Lisa Ashton Director of Agriculture Policy, RBC Thought Leadership
Dana Dickerson Director of Market Development and Sustainability, Grain Farmers of Ontario
Kaleigh Brinkhurst Manager of Sustainable Finance & Insights, Farm Credit Canada
Ryan Tougas-Cooke Program Director, Sustainable Agriculture, Smart Prosperity Institute
Alain Brandon Vice President, Sustainability, Social Impact & Government Relation, Loblaw Companies Limited
Fiona Briody Program Manager, On Farm Climate Action Fund Program, RDAR
Edward Olsen Partner, Leader, Environmental, Social & Governance, MNP
Brought to you by