Secretary General
Dr. Shannon Quinn was appointed Secretary General in September 2021. In this role, she supports NRC senior executives in advancing the Government of Canada's science, research and innovation agenda. Her responsibilities include: international relations, communications, policy, strategy and performance. Her team also provides governance support to the NRC Council.
Shannon is an experienced executive, with a background in science and technology, both in the private and the public sectors. Prior to joining the NRC, Shannon was Vice-President, Science, Technology and Commercial Oversight at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), where she was responsible for the science and technology mission, as well as internal and external communications and Indigenous engagement.
While at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Shannon was part of the leadership team that restructured AECL, including the sale of its commercial division, and the implementation of the current government-owned, contractor-operated model. She was also responsible for medical isotope policy and programming. Before joining NRCan, she held various technical and leadership positions in the steel industry, and was an adjunct professor at McMaster University.
She holds a B.Sc. and B.A.Sc., from the University of Ottawa in Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering, respectively; a PhD. in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University; and an MBA from the University of Ottawa.