For the full list of speakers and links to all bios, visit our main ESV webpage.
Melanie Vanstone
Director General, Motor Vehicle and Road Safety, Transport Canada
Melanie Vanstone is the director general of motor vehicle and road safety at Transport Canada (TC). In this role, she is responsible for the development and implementation of federal regulations and policy in support of vehicle safety standards and commercial vehicle safety in Canada, as well as stewardship of TC’s Motor Vehicle Test Centre.
Previously, Vanstone was director general of multi-modal and road safety programs at TC, a role that included leadership on regulatory policy and innovation. Prior to joining TC in 2019, she was an executive director and director at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, responsible for policy and programs supporting post-secondary research in Canada. She also worked in various roles at the Privy Council Office and Employment and Social Development Canada.
Vanstone holds a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, and Master of Public Administration from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. She lives with her husband and children in Ottawa.
Matthew Avery
Director, Strategic Development, Euro NCAP
Matthew Avery has worked in vehicle safety for 35 years. As strategic development director for Euro NCAP, his role focuses on developing new strategic safety goals for the organization in pursuit of its 2030 vision zero objective.
His current focus is the implementation of a new heavy goods vehicle program that independently safety tests European Trucks for the first time. Designed to address the growing number of vulnerable road user and car occupant crashes on European roads involving heavy commercial vehicles, the suite of tests initially focuses on active safety measures but moves into passive safety in the future.
Avery spent 35 years as director of research at Thatcham Research in the UK where he was instrumental in new whiplash tests subsequently adopted by consumer rating schemes globally.
Jennifer Morrison
Director, Vehicle Safety Strategy, Mazda
A nationally recognized automotive safety expert, Jennifer Morrison is Mazda’s chief safety advocate in the United States, shaping technical policy positions, guiding public‑facing safety communications representing Mazda across regulatory, academic and industry forums.
Morrison led Mazda North American Operations to establish the vehicle safety strategy communications department for Mazda North American Operations, where she oversees safety compliance, vehicle safety ratings, and advanced safety research for the U.S. market. She is responsible for aligning Mazda’s safety roadmap with emerging regulatory, technological, and industry trends, while advancing the company’s human‑centric approach to crash avoidance, crashworthiness, and occupant protection. Her work supports Mazda’s long-term vision of eliminating roadway fatalities and reinforces the brand’s reputation as a leader in safety engineering.
Morrison began her career in the Office of Defects Investigation at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) before spending 15 years as a Vehicle Factors Investigator and Investigator‑in‑Charge at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) There, she investigated more than 70 major loss‑of‑life crashes involving passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, and trains. Those cases profoundly shaped her dedication to preventing roadway crashes and driving measurable improvements in vehicle safety.
Andre Weimerskirch
COO, Block Harbor Cybersecurity
André Weimerskirch is chief operating officer of Block Harbor Cybersecurity. Previously, Weimerskirchwas vice president for product integrity and technology at Lear Corp., where he was responsible for product security, functional safety, platform software, and validation labs. He also established the transportation cybersecurity group at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and still holds an adjunct associate research scientist appointment. He co-founded the embedded systems security company ESCRYPT in 2004, which was sold to Bosch in 2012.
Weimerskirch is active in all areas of transportation and AI robots cybersecurity and privacy. He is co-founder of the American Workshop on Embedded Security in Cars (escar USA), co-chairs the CCAT cybersecurity working group at the University of Michigan. He is an advisor to the University of Michigan-Dearborn computer and information science department.