Professor Kathleen E. Mahoney has a JD from the University of British Columbia, an LLM degree from Cambridge University, a Diploma in International Comparative Human Rights from the Strasbourg International Human Rights Institute in France, and an Honorary Doctorate from University Canada West in Vancouver. She is Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Calgary and King’s Counsel. She has held Visiting Professorships or Fellowships at Harvard University, the University of Chicago, Adelaide University, University of Western Australia, Griffiths University, the National University of Australia and Ulster University in Ireland. 

She was the Chief Negotiator for Canada’s Indigenous peoples claim against Canada and major religious denoninations for the Indian Residential School policy and the abuse inflicted on students, achieving the largest Indigenous settlement in Canadian history for the mass human rights violations. She was the primary architect of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and led the negotiations for the historic apology from the Canadian Parliament and from Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. 

Kathleen has been blanketed three times by the British Columbia Chiefs, University of Saskatchewan, Vice-Provost Indigenous Engagement, and Treaty 3 First Nation. She received her Indigenous name from Elder Fred Kelly from Treaty 3 First Nation. 

She was co-counsel for Bosnia Herzegovina in their genocide action against Serbia in the International Court of Justice with the result that the definition of genocide in the Genocide Convention was altered to include mass rapes and forced pregnancy as genocide offences. 

Professor Mahoney is a Trudeau Fellow, and a Fulbright and Human Rights Fellow (Harvard), a Sir Allan Sewell Fellow, a Senior Fellow and Canadian Co-Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Human Rights Centre. She received the Governor General’s medal for her contribution to equality in Canada. In 2022 Professor Mahoney received the inaugural Ontario Women in Law Leadership Rosalie Silberman Abella Award. She was awarded Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal from the province of Alberta and the province of Manitoba. Since 2008 she has been a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the nation’s highest academic honour.