Tonio Sadik

Senior Advisor, Environmental and Social Impact

Dr. Tonio Sadik is an Indigenous ally of German and Egyptian descent, with expertise in federal policy, research, and negotiation. He has worked for over 20 years in a senior capacity at the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) where he advanced First Nations advocacy and negotiations on some of the most consequential environmental and land-use issues facing First Nations in Canada. 

This has included co-chairing the AFN/Canada Joint Committee on Climate Action (JCCA), representing Canada at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, and participating in the development of the Specific Claims Tribunal Act. He was also a principal investigator for the 10-year First Nations Food, Nutrition, and Environment Study (FNFNES).

In 2021, he was named to Canada’s Clean50 list, which recognizes leaders advancing the clean economy. The following year, the U.S. State Department selected him for a Humphrey Fellowship on Climate Change — a competitive program that places senior professionals from around the world at leading American universities to deepen their expertise and networks.

Tonio holds a PhD in Anthropology from Simon Fraser University (2009) and has taught at both the University of Ottawa and Simon Fraser University. He lives in Ottawa, where he continues to learn from and mentor a new generation of policy professionals and leaders.