Kelly Meighen

Kelly Meighen, née Dillon, is a highly accomplished Toronto-based philanthropist and volunteer. Through her individual efforts and as President of the TR Meighen Family Foundation, Mrs. Meighen has had a profound impact on youth mental health, the arts, city-building and not-for-profit governance in Canada. She was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just outside Boston. She is the wife of retired Senator Michael and has three sons.
Mrs. Meighen received a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Huron University College in 1971. She has received Honorary Doctorates from Mount Alison University, the University of New Brunswick and Western University.

Kelly has served on the Board of the TR Meighen Family Foundation since 1979 and has been President since 1990.  Through its philanthropic commitments the Foundation has benefited vulnerable communities across Canada by supporting strategic and creative initiatives, primarily in Toronto and New Brunswick.   
In addition to her work with the TR Meighen Family Foundation, Mrs. Meighen has held positions as Chair of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Board of Trustees, the CAMH Foundation, McGill University’s Academic Advising and Mentoring Advisory Board and the Stratford Festival.  She has held Board positions with Evergreen, Jack.org, Upper Canada College, the Wellesley Hospital and Western University as well as various leadership roles within a number of major fundraising campaigns.  In each of these roles Mrs. Meighen focused her efforts on strengthening governance and assessing the organizations’ responsibility to and impact on the broader community.

In 2019 Mrs. Meighen was the first woman named Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of The Royal Regiment of Canada, one of the country’s oldest Light Infantry units.

Kelly Meighen received The Philanthropist of the Year Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2008. She was also recognized by her alma mater, Western University, in 2010 with the Dr. Ivan Smith Award. Along with her husband, she was a recipient of the Yorktown Family Services Humanitarian Award for community service in 2013 and also awarded the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal.