Speaker

Fiona Kirkpatrick Parsons

Owīhtamakīw (Advisor)
Fiona Kirkpatrick Parsons Consulting

Meet Fiona:

Fiona Kirkpatrick Parsons is owīhtamakīw (meaning “one who advises”) with Fiona Kirkpatrick Parsons Consulting and a passionate champion of reconciliation in Canada. A member of Lac La Ronge First Nation, Treaty 6 Territory, where she was born, she is equally proud of both her nīhīthaw (Woodland Cree) roots on her mother’s side and Scottish ancestry on her father’s. 

Fiona is dedicated to inspiring and empowering Canadians to walk the path of reconciliation together, with authenticity and kindness, to help create a better country where all have the same opportunities to thrive, now and for all generations to come. 

Prior to recently returning to her own consultancy, Fiona was instrumental in spearheading and advancing reconciliation efforts at the largest professional services firm in Canada, resulting in the organization publishing the first reconciliation action plan in corporate Canada (June 2020). She provided strategic guidance to leadership on reconciliation, worked with clients on Indigenous-related engagements, and co-authored a publication on the inextricable link between climate action and reconciliation. Prior to that portion of her career, Fiona dedicated more than 30 years in the communications and marketing field, in the public, private, and media sectors. 

She has appeared as a guest on several podcasts and in media interviews (broadcast, print and online), has been a featured keynote speaker, panelist, and moderator at conferences and in boardrooms across the country. 

Volunteer roles: She was the first woman to chair a North American Indigenous Games (NAIG 2023 in Kjipuktuk/Halifax). Fiona is on the board of the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB) and on the board of the 2025 Canada Games in St. John’s, NL. She has also chaired the renowned Halifax Comedy Festival; was president, International Association of Business Communicators-Maritime Chapter; and has held director positions on several non-profit boards in both Halifax and Calgary. She currently volunteers her time with the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia (Community Grants Selection Committee) and mentors Indigenous youth, young professionals, and new Canadians. 

Recognition: Atlantic Business Magazine named Fiona as one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business in 2021 (inaugural year); she was named by PowHERhouse Impact Media Group as one of their top ten 2021 Changemakers and was the 2021 Atlantic Honouree for Women Against Multiple Sclerosis.

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