Natasha Burke – 2026 Western Science Alumni Award of Achievement Honouree
Natasha Burke, PhD’12, has been awarded the 2026 Western Science Alumni Award of Achievement for her pioneering work in quantitative finance and her outstanding efforts to uplift women in finance leadership.
Natasha found her passion for mathematics and finance while studying at Memorial University in her home province of Newfoundland.
After completing her MSc there, she had her pick of institutions where she could complete her PhD. She interviewed across Canada, but chose Western University for the people, and that is still what she remembers most fondly about her time in London, Ont.
While completing her PhD in applied mathematics, the opportunities to share ideas and problems, share ongoing research on math and finance and to get different perspectives were a highlight. She formed life-long friendships during that time, and they remain in touch despite the demands of work and family.
Her passion for people has continued in her work at TD. As Vice President, Counterparty Risk Analytics, her work is focused on understanding risk and working with trading partners to ensure there are controls, governance and boundaries. Natasha loves her work, but supporting people has also become a passion for her.
At TD for more than 10 years, she has steadily been promoted through increasingly senior roles, not only for her math skills, but also the leadership and communication skills that were nurtured at Western.
Natasha has worked tirelessly to mentor and support women – who are vastly underrepresented in senior leadership roles in areas like quantitative finance, risk and analytics within the financial services industry.
“One of my big passions currently is working with women who are at that senior manager level and are really ready for an executive role,” Natasha says. “Making sure that I’m helping facilitate that for women because we tend to not get offered it in the same way at the same point in our career.”
Natasha currently mentors dozens of people - including many who have since moved on from her company - so they can continue to share their experiences while benefitting from her guidance on technical challenges, career decisions and professional goals.
The Science Alumni Award of Achievement is just the latest in a series of accolades for Natasha’s work and dedication, including the TD Corporate League of Excellence and the TD IMPACT program.
She also continues to build her skills through prestigious programs like the PwC Women in Leadership program, and works to pass along her experiences and show young women who might not consider quantitative finance as a career.
“I think it's really important that I use that representation to make sure that other people know that this is an option and making sure that there is that ability for me to influence and hopefully keep growing the female population in the area. It's still quite unbalanced, especially when you get to the PhD level, and I see that translated to industry, particularly when you get to the executive level. So, hopefully that helps.”
