Join us for an intimate and thought-provoking roundtable discussion featuring Ambassador Kirsten Hillman, Ambassador of Canada to the United States. This conversation offers members an opportunity to engage in a candid conversation with Ambassador Hillman, delving into the key issues shaping the bilateral relationship between Canada and the United States. 

The dialogue will touch on various issues relevant to the bilateral relationship, North America and beyond. 

NOTE THAT REGISTRATION IS OVER CAPACITY. Please note that a registration confirmation does not guarantee a spot. Members who receive an email confirmation with event details the week of January 8, 2024 are guaranteed a spot. If you are interested in joining the waitlist, please email events@pacificcouncil.org.

Guest Speaker

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Amb. Kirsten Hillman has served as Canada’s Ambassador to the United States of America in Washington D.C. since 2020.

The first woman to be appointed to this position, Ambassador Hillman has stewarded the bilateral relationship through two administrations and the COVID-19 pandemic, managing a wide range of bilateral and global files, advocating for Canada’s interests, and advancing shared priorities.

Through her twenty-five-year career with the Government of Canada, Ambassador Hillman has held various senior diplomatic, policy, and legal positions at home and abroad. She has played critical roles in negotiating important trade agreements for Canada, including the modernization of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and served as Canada’s Chief Negotiator for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Prior to this, Ambassador Hillman practised law at the Department of Justice in Ottawa and at a private law firm in Montréal.

Ambassador Hillman grew up in Calgary and Winnipeg and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Manitoba and Bachelors of Civil Law and of Common Law from McGill University. She also holds a Doctor of Laws – honoris causa – from the Royal Military College of Canada.

She was recognized in the Maclean’s magazine 2022 Power List – 50 Canadians who are forging paths, leading the debate and shaping how we think and live – and named one of Washington’s most powerful women by the Washingtonian in 2021 and 2023.

She is married and is the mother of two sons.

Presider

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Seth Stodder teaches national security and counterterrorism law at the University of Southern California Law School, and serves as a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, focused on foreign policy, national security, technology, immigration, and international trade issues. He also is a lawyer and consultant in private practice, advising clients on a variety of issues, including national security, international trade and customs law, immigration, cybersecurity, cross-border travel, human rights, and matters before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Mr. Stodder served in the Obama Administration as Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Borders, Immigration & Trade Policy, and as Assistant Secretary for Threat Prevention and Security – leading the teams developing policy and advising leadership on border security, immigration, trade enforcement, and counterterrorism, among other issues. In addition, he represented the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on CFIUS and oversaw all DHS foreign investment national security reviews. Earlier in his career, and in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, he also served in the Bush Administration as Director of Policy for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – the agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in charge of the nation’s borders – and Counselor/Senior Policy Advisor to CBP Commissioner Robert Bonner.

Mr. Stodder is a frequent writer, speaker, and media commentator on various issues. He lives in Los Angeles and, in addition to his membership in the Pacific Council, Mr. Stodder also is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and serves on the Alumni Leadership Council of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (he was a 2008 Marshall Memorial Fellow). He received his B.A. from Haverford College, and his J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School.