Aaron Freeman: Addressing ENGO Real-World Government Relations Challenges: A Three-Part Workshop Series (2026)

Dates: June 11, 18 & 25, 1-2:30 PM ET (Zoom Meetings)

Cost: $40 per seat / $60 for two staff from the same ENGO / $80 for teams of three from the same ENGO. Multiple registrants from the the same organization are encouraged.

*All registrants will be provided with a link to the recording and presentation slides following each session. The recording will be available for 60 days.

This series will take on selected and specific real-world ENGO Government Relations (GR) challenges raised by the participants who will be asked to define their scenarios through a brief survey upon registration.

These real-world ENGO GR challenges will then be workshopped by Aaron in the sessions. Each session will include an outline of principles, context on the political landscape, and an exercise where selected challenges will be addressed. All participants will benefit by seeing how to work through GR challenges. Sessions will be 90 minutes each, including a highly interactive mix of training, a drill-down on specific participant case studies, and discussion.

Registrants will be asked to lay out their specific ENGO GR challenges via responses to a few questions they will see upon registration. Based on the responses, a brief summary of their GR challenge will be shared in advance with the other participants. If you have multiple registrants from your organization you can submit multiple scenarios or concentrate on one for the team. This information needs to be submitted 1-2 weeks before the series begins so we can organize the material for the session.

This series is for those who have at least some experience with GR, and who have had challenges navigating an issue through government. The format will be highly interactive, with opportunities for discussion of specific examples. The main focus will be on the federal government, although there will be the opportunity to raise issues participants are dealing with at provincial or municipal level.

This online workshop series will take place on Zoom Meeting with cameras and audio enabled.

Our Presenter

Aaron Freeman is a Managing Partner and Founder of Pivot Strategic Consulting, which provides government relations and policy advice to companies, NGOs, and Indigenous organizations. He is also the Founder of GreenPAC, Canada’s organization to build environmental leadership in politics. Between 2009 and 2012, Aaron served as a Senior Advisor to the Premier of Ontario. Prior to joining the government, Aaron coordinated several national advocacy campaigns on environment, democratic reform, and human rights issues. He also served as Policy Director for Environmental Defence.

The Hill Times has named Aaron one of the Top 100 Federal Lobbyists in Canada. He has received a King Charles III Coronation Medal, and a Canada Clean50 Award for his work as a Sustainability Champion.

Aaron has taught public governance law at the University of Ottawa and is co-author of The Laws of Government: The Legal Foundations of Canadian Democracy, a book the Ontario Bar Association lists as one of “The Top 15 Books Every Lawyer Should Read.”

Aaron’s new Energy Neighbour initiative provides homeowners with no-cost, one-on-one expert guidance and qualified contractor referrals to make clean energy retrofits easier.