Lesley Burns is a seasoned governance, accountability, and capacity-building expert with over 25 years of experience. She has designed and implemented capacity development programs for auditors and elected members of oversight committees in local, provincial, and federal governments across Canada and globally. Lesley has delivered more than 100 workshops and courses in diverse formats through these programs, from in-person to hybrid and virtual settings.
As an expert for the Technical Assistance Partnership-Expert Deployment Mechanism (TAP-EDM) initiative, Lesley, alongside other Canadian experts, is collaborating with the Government of Ecuador’s Office of the Comptroller General (Auditor General) to support an expanded Performance Audit practice. The initiative aims to strengthen the performance audit practice to empower the Comptroller’s office to ensure the most effective use of state resources.
Lesley’s expertise includes global initiatives such as evaluating the World Bank’s Parliamentary Strengthening Program and crafting and facilitating capacity development programs for public service professionals at Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs. She has also researched, developed, and implemented training and information programs focused on promoting good governance and combating corruption at the Global Organization of Parliamentarians against Corruption (GOPAC).
Based in Ottawa, Lesley is the vice president of Professional Development for the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation (CAAF). Earlier in her career, she represented the Government of Canada as the Academic and Public Relations Officer at the Canadian Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela. Lesley holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of British Columbia, an MA in Political Science, and an Honours BA in International Development from the University of Guelph.