Between 2013 and 2019, Vaughan served as President and CEO of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and Chair of the IISD Experimental Lakes Area Board. Prior to his role at IISD, Vaughan served as Canada’s Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development, Director of the Department of Sustainable Development at the Organization of American States (OAS), and Visiting Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

He has also served as Head of Economics at the NAFTA Environment Commission and Counsellor at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Earlier in his career, Vaughan worked at UN Environment where he initiated the UNEP Finance Initiative as well as the UNEP Environment-Trade program.

Vaughan holds post-graduate degrees from the London School of Economics, the University of Edinburgh and Dalhousie University, and an undergraduate degree from Mount Allison University. In addition to his role as International Chief Advisor of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), Vaughan currently serves as a board member of the Mare Nostrum Global Initiative.