Michelle Leslie

Michelle Leslie is a Senior Manager in Deloitte’s Infrastructure practice based in our Ottawa office. 
 
Michelle is a journalist and climate scientist/meteorologist with over 15 years’ experience, advising public and private sector clients on ESG, climate and sustainability issues and strategies. Prior to joining Deloitte, Michelle worked as a meteorologist and journalist for major news outlets in Canada and internationally including CTV, CBC, Thomson Reuters and the Boston Globe, for over a decade. 
 
Michelle produced comprehensive national forecasts and covered major international weather and climate events including Hurricane Katrina, the Oswego snowstorm and the Indian Ocean Tsunami. She worked with ECCC’s forecasting center in Ottawa to cover an initiative to support underserved populations with enhanced weather capabilities to prevent casualties during extreme events. She has a solid understanding of meteorological models, climate data and meteorological tools and methodologies. 
 
Prior to joining Deloitte in 2022, she worked for Invest Alberta and the Government of Canada on the nexus of energy, climate policy and capital markets. Michelle also worked for the nuclear industry as an advisor on climate change where her work included participation in delegations related to sustainability and climate including Climate Week (NYC), the IAEA’s General Assembly and the Joint Panel Advisory Committee meetings on the environment. She was also part of the Government of Canada’s Clean Energy Ministerial task team.

Michelle has substantial experience with policy analysis and strategy creation, focused on the potential consumer/customer impact and solutions to drive investment with a focus on energy systems, climate offsets, net-zero pathways and integrating nature-based solutions to create more circular economies. 

Michelle completed undergraduate studies, in meteorology and journalism through the University of Toronto, Mississippi State University and the Munk School of Global Affairs. Additionally, she has completed the Certificate in ESG Investing through the CFA Institute, and completed the Sustainability Accelerator, executive education program through MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She holds her French language BBB accreditation through the Government of Canada.