Michele McKenzie

Michele McKenzie is an international tourism expert with expertise in marketing and business model innovation enabling sustainable growth. She is Chief of Party, USAID South Caucasus Regional Tourism Program, and has worked on USAID funded tourism growth programs in Jordan and Tunisia.

Michele is the former President and CEO of the federal Crown corporation ‘Canadian Tourism Commission’ (‘Destination Canada’), and former Deputy Minister of Nova Scotia Communities, Tourism, Culture and Heritage. In 2020 she was recognized by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014, she was named by Hotelier Magazine as one of the ‘10 Most Influential Leaders in Canada’s Hospitality Industry in the Past 25 Years’.

Michele is a graduate of Dalhousie University and holds an Honorary Degree from Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. In 2017, she completed a one-year fellowship with Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative. She is on the board of Canada’s foreign direct investment agency ‘Invest in Canada’ and is a member of the departmental audit committees for Statistics Canada and Parks Canada.

Michele and her husband Chris live in Waverley, Nova Scotia, and together they enjoy getting out on the Trans Canada Trail at Shubie Park every day possible.

Michele served on the Board of Trans Canada Trail from 2017 to 2023, and Board Chair as of September 2024.