Katherine Festeryga holds nearly a decade of experience in both the public and private sectors, helping to shape policy and advocate for policy priorities in Canada. Katherine recently launched agricultural technology startup, Edie Farming, building Ontario’s first commercial rooftop greenhouses at scale which won the City of Toronto’s Women4Climate award in 2024. Previously, Katherine was on the policy and communications team at Sidewalk Labs – a landmark Google company that applied forward-thinking urban design and cutting edge technology to the world’s biggest challenges. Prior to Sidewalk Labs, Katherine led legislative and strategic policy communications for NAFTA negotiations and Buy American tariffs for the Province of Ontario at the Ministry of Economic Development and Growth. Katherine holds her Master’s of Public Policy, specializing in climate impacts on food supply at Northwestern University and is a University of Western Ontario graduate with a BA in History and double major in Political Science, as well, she currently sits on the board of North York Harvest Food Bank.