August 29, 2022, 15:30-17:00 PST
Location: UVIC, David Strong Building, C118 (in-person only)
Bridging divides often begins at the local level and this session will explore how building resilient and sustainable communities and economies helps to achieve the broader purpose. The importance of resilience has been amply demonstrated over the past two years where our communities and economies have been battered by external shocks. These shocks have, in turn, widened the fault lines in our society. Similarly, sustainability is critical, from both social and environmental perspectives. This session will highlight the need for economic growth as well as the need to ensure equity and positive impact. The role of cooperatives will also be explored as a way to resolve these underlying tensions.
Alicia Dubois joined the Royal BC Museum as Chief Executive Officer in February 2022 and in doing so, brought with her a wealth of leadership experience. Alicia has extensive experience at the senior executive level working for corporations across Canada. Her depth of expertise includes a strong focus on championing diversity and inclusion and intercultural understanding within the organizations she has helped lead, with a specific emphasis on Indigenous engagement and partnerships.
Before joining the Royal BC Museum, Alicia practiced law for just over 10 years in both Calgary and Toronto. Following her legal career, she pivoted to finance and as an executive member of CIBC’s team, she developed and executed CIBC’s national Indigenous Markets strategy while leading a team of experts. More recently, Alicia was the Chief Executive Officer for the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation in Calgary and following that role, she founded Nish Synergies Advisory Group to support the creation of synergistic, lasting business partnerships with shared outcomes and measurable social impact for underrepresented economic partners and communities.
Passionate about enhancing the positive national narrative around Indigenous self-determination, business and partnerships, Alicia continues to advance these conversations in her new role through speaking engagements and best practice sharing with industry, governments, and diverse audiences across the country.
Alicia attended the United Nations COP 15 in Copenhagen, Denmark for the review of the Kyoto Protocol as a delegate of the Canadian Electricity Association and as co-Chair of the CCAB, has worked with international Indigenous leaders at the OECD on matters related to Indigenous participation in regional economic development globally. Alicia is also a board member for Green Impact Partners, Inc. (TSXV), an associate member of the Business Council Canada and member of the Coalition for a Better Future. In addition, she served for three years as a member of the Royal Ontario Museum’s Board of Trustees and continues as an Honorary Trustee.
Alicia has a Juris Doctor law degree from the University of Toronto and holds a Bachelor of Science (with distinction) from the University of Lethbridge.
Over a thirty-year period, Danny Graham has held senior positions in business, law, government, and politics.
For 10 years he was the Chief Negotiator on Aboriginal Rights for the Province of Nova Scotia. He is credited with starting the Nova Scotia Restorative Justice Program and has worked to advance justice reforms with the United Nations and countries spanning four continents. He has been recognized by organizations throughout Atlantic Canada for his community and public service.
He is currently the Chief Engagement Officer for Engage Nova Scotia – an independent non-profit that is leading the Nova Scotia Quality of Life Initiative, with an extensive network of partners from the public, private, academic and community sectors – provincially, nationally, and internationally. In 2019 almost 13,000 Nova Scotians responded to a 230-question survey administered by Engage NS in cooperation with the Canadian Index of Wellbeing. With Dalhousie University, they have developed pioneering tools to extract the findings of the survey in real time across demographic and neighbourhood profiles. Partners in all three levels of government, are considering the findings of the survey and the use of the tools to catalyse new action, inform policy decisions and shape the narrative about how to build a successful society.
Lucie Moncion, a Franco-Ontarian, was appointed to the Senate in November 2016 by The Right Honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. She has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a specialization in co-operative administration from Laurentian University in Sudbury and an MBA from Moncton University. She has extensive knowledge and expertise in the co-operative sector as well as a vast practical experience in the Franco-Ontarian communities. She holds a Chartered Director designation from both Laval University and McMaster University, and she is a member of Canada’s Institute of Corporate Directors.
The first woman in Canada to be appointed as head of a caisse populaire federation, she was the President and Chief Executive Officer of L’Alliance des caisses populaires de l’Ontario for 16 years.
Among her many accomplishments, Senator Moncion was behind the creation of the Government of Ontario’s tripartite caucus on co-operatives and social finance. She was also the President and Chair of the Board of Cooperatives and Mutuals Canada and President of Le Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario.
Active on various corporate boards of directors, she has chaired the audit and governance committees of Groupe Média TFO; she was Vice-Chair of Nipissing University’s Board of Governors, Treasurer of the Direction Ontario Board of Directors, Chair of the Circuit Champlain and Coalition of Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires working groups, and a member of the Board of Directors at Collège Boréal.
Originally from Ottawa, Senator Moncion has a deep understanding of the province’s francophone minority, and an in-depth knowledge of Northern Ontario, its economy, business climate, needs and communities, and has recognized experience in the co-operatives and social entrepreneurship sector.
She has three children and three grandchildren, and she lives with her husband Yvon in North Bay, in Ontario.
Rosemary Thompson is the founding executive director of the Coalition for a Better Future, a broad-based organization representing 131 member organizations from almost every sector of Canadian society. For the past year, the Coalition has rallied the country around the need for a long-term plan for economic growth that is inclusive and sustainable. The Coalition’s goal is greater prosperity for all Canadians as we emerge from the pandemic. The Coalition is co-chaired by the remarkable Hon. Anne McLellan and Hon. Lisa Raitt. Thompson is a veteran of Canadian public policy debates and believes when differences are set aside the common good can be found to benefit Canadian citizens. Thompson served as a journalist for the CBC and as a long-time Parliamentary correspondent for CTV National News. She covered 7 election campaigns in Canada and the United States, and was on the lawn of the White House on the morning of 9/11. She has served as a senior executive at some of Canada’s largest media and cultural organizations.
Location: UVIC, David Turpin Building, B215 (in-person only)
Covid-19 has had the greatest impact where socioeconomic inequities and inequalities have been most pronounced, and where communities and citizens have had the weakest capacities to respond. Global health requires equitable, inclusive responses beyond system rivalries, informed by research, evidence and learning. However, existing health research infrastructure globally, and nationally, is often afflicted by weak institutional mechanisms, and perpetuation of power imbalances and evidence hierarchies and silos. It excludes and devalues different knowledges and lived experience. In the wider context of global health measures currently being considered by multilateral organisations. this roundtable will draw out and learn from experiences of those in the roundtable who are observing positive changes in their own specific contexts; drawing on these “bright spots”, it will explore potential actions and pathways to help improve healthcare systems that focus particularly on those who are most marginalised by social divide.
Mathew Fleury (he/his) is a bilingual (English and French) Indigenous Social Worker, community-based researcher, and public health professional. Mathew is nēhiyawak (Plains Cree), and as a proud member of one of the founding families of the Métis Nation, he has deep roots in the Red River Valley of Manitoba. Throughout his work, he draws from his lived, academic, and professional experiences in advancing grassroots approaches within research and policy. Mathew is passionate about issues impacting Indigenous Peoples, including harm reduction, mental health, and accessibility. He has also continued to promote the inclusion of those who, like him, have faced marginalization. With lived and living experiences and as a queer Two-Spirited individual, Mathew occupies the intersection between innovative advocacy, meaningful community engagement, and transformative legislation. His unwavering passion for human rights and culture has earned him a new name, proffered by Elders in his community: Gimewan Niimi (Rain Dancer). Buoyed by a vision for inclusive and impactful experiences that find ground in the teachings of the Cree and Michif peoples, Mathew seeks to continue to stand as a paragon of diversity and resilience, sowing the seeds of Indigenization, resurgence, and decolonization for generations to come.
Following studies in Psychology at Queen’s University, Mathew graduated from Laurentian University’s Indigenous Social Work program. He is completing studies at the Edinburgh Medical School: Molecular, Genetic and Population Health Sciences, alongside the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Population Health Research and Training. Mathew was previously the Housing Manager for the Culturally Supportive House with the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness. Here, he actively contributed to developing one of Canada’s first Indigenous Alcohol Harm Reduction programs. Moreover, he has experience in research and project coordination, management, academic support and grant writing in academic institutions, the Canada Research Chairs Program, and beyond. In 2019, Mathew was named a 3M National Student Fellow by 3M Canada, and that same year, he was recognized as a Youth Accessibility Leader by the Government of Canada. For these accomplishments, among others, Mathew has become highly sought after during his 9+ years of experience across research and human service delivery systems due to his strong background in trauma-informed approaches, anti-racism, and cultural safety and humility. In 2021, he was promoted from the Indigenous Harm Reduction Community Coordinator at the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) to Manager, Research and Knowledge Exchange. In addition, Mathew is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University.
Areas of Expertise: Disability Studies; Accessibility; 2SLGBTQIA+ Health; Métis-specific Health; Social Determinants of Health among Indigenous Populations; Substance Use and Harm Reduction; COVID-19 and Indigenous Communities; Indigenous Public Health Sovereignty; Equity, Diversity, and Human Rights; Autism; ADHD; Community Health/Public Health; Health Promotion; Identity Building; Indigenous Health and Wellbeing; Mental Health and Society; Community-Based Participatory Research; Social Determinants of Health; Social Determinants of Infectious and Immune-Mediated Diseases; Indigenous Homelessness; Anti-Racism, and Cultural Safety and Humility; and, HIV/AIDS and STBBI Community-Based Research.
Ry Moran, a proud member of the Métis Nation, a UVic alumnus and the founding director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), joined the University of Victoria in June 2020 as UVic’s associate university librarian – reconciliation. Moran will begin his new role at UVic in October 2020. It is the first position of its kind in Canada.
His work over the past decade of service to truth and reconciliation has brought him across all regions of the country. He has spent countless hours working alongside Elders, traditional knowledge keepers and residential school survivors.
With a passion for education and teaching, Moran has taught at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, was a major contributor to the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada and directly assisted in the development of a national reconciliation research strategy through work with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Moran has placed significant focus on educating public servants working closely with the Canada School of Public Service on a variety of executive training and learning initiatives. He is a sought-after speaker and has delivered countless keynote presentations.
Through the NCTR, Moran was instrumental in sharing experiences of Canadian truth and reconciliation processes with Truth Commissions from around the world.
He has maintained particular focus on honouring the wishes of Survivors to remember and honour the children that never returned home from the residential schools. This included a special national broadcast to unveil the names of thousands of missing children on September 30, 2019 and work with Gord Downie on the Secret Path.
Before joining the TRC, Moran was active in many areas including Indigenous language revitalization and the arts, and he has a constant and deep engagement with areas related to Indigenous health, healing and well-being. As a musician, Moran has written and produced original music for children’s television and received a Canadian Aboriginal Music Award in 2007.
Moran’s professional skills and creativity have earned him many awards, including a Governor General’s Meritorious Service Cross and a National Aboriginal Role Model Award. He was named a UVic Distinguished Alumnus in 2018. Moran was recently featured in We Are Canada, a six-part CBC series in 2018 about Canadian ground-breakers, innovators and visionaries.
Moran is an adventurer and after having canoed some exceptional whitewater in Manitoba, is looking forward to a return to Vancouver Island to resume his passions for kayaking, climbing and all the coast has to offer.
Kim Pate was appointed to the Senate of Canada on November 10, 2016. First and foremost, the mother of Michael and Madison, she is also a nationally renowned advocate who has spent nearly 40 years working in and around the legal and penal systems of Canada, with and on behalf of some of the most marginalized, victimized, criminalized and institutionalized — particularly imprisoned youth, men and women.
Senator Pate graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1984 with honours in the Clinical Law Programme and has completed post graduate work in the area of forensic mental health. She was the Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) from January 1992 until her appointment to the Senate in November 2016. CAEFS is a federation of local societies who provide services and work in coalition with Aboriginal women, women with mental health issues and other disabling conditions, young women, visible minority and immigrant women, poor women and those isolated and otherwise deprived of potential sources of support. Prior to her work with CAEFS, she worked with youth and men in a number of capacities with the local John Howard Society in Calgary, as well as the national office. She has developed and taught Prison Law, Human Rights and Social Justice and Defending Battered Women on Trial courses at the Faculties of Law at the University of Ottawa, Dalhousie University and the University of Saskatchewan. She also occupied the Sallows Chair in Human Rights at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in 2014 and 2015.
Kim Pate is widely credited as the driving force behind the Inquiry into Certain Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston, headed by Justice Louise Arbour. During the Inquiry, she supported women as they aired their experiences and was a critical resource and witness in the Inquiry itself. She also persuaded the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to initiate the Self-Defence Review and appoint the Honourable Madam Justice Lynn Ratushny to review the convictions and sentences of women jailed for using lethal force to defend themselves and/or their children against abusive men. She then worked tirelessly in pursuit of the implementation of the many positive recommendations from both. Senator Pate has been instrumental in building coalitions across the country with other equality-seeking women’s, anti-racism, anti-poverty and human rights groups and organizations; and, in this capacity, has worked with feminist legal scholars, lawyers, other professionals and front-line advocates and activists — from Indigenous communities to transition house and rape crisis centre workers.
Kim Pate is a member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, the Canadian Bar Association’s Bertha Wilson Touchstone Award, and six honourary doctorates (Law Society of Upper Canada, University of Ottawa, Carleton University, St. Thomas University, Nipissing University and Wilfrid Laurier University) and numerous other awards. Her extensive list of publications, national and international speaking engagements and her strategic intervention and advocacy for substantive equality testify to her commitment to broader social, economic and cultural change. She continues to make significant contributions to public education around the issues of women’s inequality and discriminatory treatment within social, economic and criminal justice spheres.
Senator Pate strongly believes that the contributions of women who have experienced marginalization, discrimination and oppression should be recognized and respected and she seeks to credit and empower women. She maintains contact with women in prison through her numerous visits to Canada’s federal prisons and strongly encourages other advocates, scholars, service providers, judges and parliamentarians to ground their efforts in a similar way.
Senator Pate lives in Ottawa, Ontario.
Jacqueline specializes in sustainable development, climate change, human ecology and health using community-based research, program evaluation, and gender-based analysis. In 2008, she founded Quintessential Research Group which is a community-based socio-economic research, health and environmental consulting practice.
Quinless is an award winning sociologist recognized by the Canadian Sociological Association (CSA) and the Angus Reid Foundation for her community based research that has advanced human welfare in Canada. In 2016 she was the recipient of a prestigious CLIR post doctoral fellowship through Washington DC and Digital Scholarship and Strategy at the University of Victoria where she was the principle investigator for a campus wide study with the office of the Vice President. The study focused on understanding research data management (RDM) practices. The report is open access and available at: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/handle/1828/10509
In 2013 Quinless was a presidents scholar recipient at the University of Victoria along with a Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) holder for her doctoral research on Indigenous health and wellness in Canada. She has authored several peer reviewed articles and numerous research reports for all levels of government, Indigenous communities and non-profit organizations. She enjoys teaching on a part-time basis undergraduate courses in sociology and social policy at both Camosun College and the University of Victoria. Her forthcoming book with University of Toronto Press focuses on the intersection of social capital analysis, gender-based analysis (GBA +) decolonized research methods, human health & the environment, and Indigeneity.
Ron Rice is a member of Cowichan Tribes and has the hereditary name of Wush’q. He has lived in Victoria on and off for 25 years. Working in Japan, Korea, China and Hawaii taught him to consider the cherished value of his own culture in a new and meaningful way. He is the Executive Director of the Victoria Native Friendship Centre. Previously, he worked with the BC Association of Indigenous Friendship Centres. He is a strong supporter of the Arts.
He considers event planning a hobby but takes great pride in the many high-profile events and ceremonies he has planned including the Opening Ceremonies for the Cowichan 2008 North American Indigenous Games. A board member since 2020, Ron has been re-appointed as a voting member for a term from July 31, 2022 to July 31, 2024.
Dawn Thomas joined Island Health in June 2020 as the Executive Lead, Indigenous Health. She is a member of the Snuneymuxw First Nation on Vancouver Island, and her traditional Nuu-chah-nulth name is Aa ap waa iik, which loosely translates to “The one who says the right words about chiefly business.”
In her role, Dawn is responsible for enabling and facilitating system transformation and service delivery improvements that improve the wellness, health, and care needs of all Indigenous peoples across the Island Health service area including First Nations, Metis, Inuit, and non-status Indigenous peoples – both on- and off-reserve.
Dawn engages with a wide range of senior internal and external partners to foster effective relationships, leadership and service advancement while ensuring an Indigenous lens is applied to the development, review and revision of Island Health’s organization values, governance, administration, and decision-making.
Dawn brings more than 20 years experience with Indigenous children, families, communities and leadership to Island Health. In 2021/22, Dawn was seconded to the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation in the role of Associate Deputy Minister. Her experience leading how the province and the BC health system began to respond to In Plain Sight, the relationships she developed, and the innovations and best practices she brings back with her will help advance our shared work at Island Health. She also previously worked for the B.C. government at the Ministry of Children and Family Development, and at the Office of the Representative for Children and Youth.
Dawn holds a Master of Arts in Dispute Resolution, and a Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Care, both from the University of Victoria.
Peter Taylor is Director of Research at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). Previously he was Director, Strategic Development, at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada where he was responsible for leading IDRC’s strategic planning processes.
During his ten years with IDRC, he also served as Acting Director of IDRC’s Inclusive Economies Program Area, and as Associate Director for the Think Tank Initiative, a ten-year, multi-partner programme that supports strengthening of policy research organizations in Africa, South Asia and Latin America. Peter has more than 30 years of experience in international development. He also worked at IDS as a Research Fellow, Head of Graduate Studies, and Leader of the Participation, Power and Social Change Team; as Education Technical Advisor with the Swiss NGO Helvetas in Vietnam; as Lecturer in Agricultural Education at the Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Department at the University of Reading, UK; and as Head of the agriculture department in a rural secondary school in northern Botswana.
Peter holds a PhD and MSc in agricultural education, and a BSc degree in animal sciences. He has research, teaching and writing interests in the theory and practice of organizational development and capacity strengthening, evaluation and learning, and facilitation of participatory and social change processes in a diverse range of international contexts.
Dr. Crystal Tremblay is a faculty member in the Department of Geography and Director of CIFAL Victoria at the University of Victoria. CIFAL Victoria is one of several centres around the world and an initiative of the United Nations Institute of Training and Research (UNITAR) building capacity and leadership to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). She is a social geographer and community-based scholar specializing in participatory community-based research and arts-based methods working across sectors with a focus on social justice and eco-cultural land and water stewardship. She is the academic lead for the Salish Sea Hub, an initiative of the Knowledge for Change Global Consortium founded by the UNESCO Chair in Community-based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education.
Location: UVIC, David Turpin A120 (in-person only)
The impact of growing inequality is increasingly evident in our cities and urban regions. Actions taken in our urban areas by City Governments and others to address inequalities evident in housing and employment have an important role in addressing the underlying causes of inequality. What are the latest innovations? How can we address the affordability of housing, and ensure that people from all backgrounds have access to good well-paid jobs? This panel will feature a conversation between leading researchers, advocates, and leaders of institutions, all of whom are addressing the unequal outcomes of our current economic and social arrangements.
Jenna has worked in collaboration with and for local governments, academia, as well as private sector entities, for over twelve years, and has demonstrated expertise with development and policy planning, strategic planning, project management, urban resilience, equity, climate change and public engagement. In her current role as Senior Social Planner she is part of the Community Planning and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion offices and leads various projects including those focused on climate and equity, childcare, and accessibility.
In her previous work as a development and policy planner she led many projects including an 8-community local area plan; award nominated mixed-used masterplans in established communities; extensive land use applications for Transit Oriented Development in new communities; and complex multi-residential inner-city affordable housing projects. As Research Coordinator for the School of Public Policy she co-authored a highly acclaimed paper on office vacancy and adaptive re-use and led a major research project on regional government.
As an advocate for equity and inclusion in urbanism she contributes to global planning efforts through volunteering for the Commonwealth Women in Planning Network and leading research on various topics including Feminist Planning and Urbanism. As a co-leader of the Urban Resilience Dialogues global community of practice she helps cultivate a community of professionals who experiment with approaches and solutions for adapting our cities to the increasing effects of climate change.
She holds a BA double major in Urban Planning and Anthropology from Concordia University, and an MA in Community Development from the University of Victoria.
Dallas has played instrumental roles in many industry-leading economic development projects in Canada, the USA, and overseas over the past 15 years. He has served on a number of boards, including Business Retention and Expansion International, the International Council on National Youth Policy, Junior Achievement of Saskatchewan and the Greater Victoria Placemaking Network. He currently sits on the advisory board of the Camosun Technology Access Centre.
Dallas is the youngest ever recipient of the Premier of Saskatchewan’s Award of Excellence in Leadership. Prior to SIPP, Dallas was the Economic Development Officer for the Greater Victoria Development Agency, the precursor of the SIPP model here in BC’s Capital Region.
Suzannah Kelly is the Director of Communications for BC Infrastructure Benefits (BCIB). She works with the executive team to help grow and diversify BC’s skilled labour force. Suzannah came to BCIB from the Province of B.C.’s Government Communications and Public Engagement agency, where she worked with the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, and, most recently, with the digital communications team during the first year of the pandemic, moderating the Province’s livestreams. Suzannah has also worked in the post-secondary sector and in factual television production. She started her career as a journalist, working in radio, TV and print. Throughout her career, Suzannah has used storytelling to inform and, ideally, inspire. She is a graduate of the University of Victoria where she studied English Literature, and the British Columbia Institute of Technology where she studied broadcast journalism.
Dr. Tamara Krawchenko is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Administration and member of UVic’s Institute for Integrated Energy Systems with expertise in comparative public policy and territorial development. Her scholarship examines the unique needs of places and how public policies and institutions of governance shape lived realities and outcomes. What is the right scale of governance; how do we understand territorial inequalities what can we do to tackle them; how do we design public policies that work for different kinds of places and; what is the capacity of different places to meet some the greatest challenges of our time such as climate change adaptation and mitigation and transitioning to post carbon economies? These are of the issues she tackles in her work.
Dr. Krawchenko has conducted comparative public policy research in over a dozen countries and has authored over 60 articles, books and reports. In addition to her scholarly work on such topics as coastal climate change, rural development, transportation and transit governance and intergenerational equity, she has also published her work in Policy Options, the OECD Observer, and contributed to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. As a policy analyst specializing in regional development at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris (2015-2019) she advised governments on a range of topics including rural policy (Poland), regional development (Greece, Kazakhstan, Sweden), the governance of land use (Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Poland) and Indigenous economic development (Canada and Sweden). She has also worked for both the federal and provincial governments in Canada and for a number of research institutes and universities in Canada, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan as a professor and researcher.
Dr. Krawchenko is presently leading two SSHRC-funded research projects: i) “How can we manage a just energy transition? A comparative review of policies to support the just transition from carbon intensive industries” and ii) “Canada’s ‘left behind’ places: Understanding rural and small town economic restructuring and government policy responses.” Dr. Krawchenko holds a PhD in Public Policy and Political Economy from Carleton University, a Masters degree in Public Administration from Dalhousie University and a Bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from Dalhousie University.
With more than 15 years experience in real estate and as an urban planner (RPP) (MCIP), Luke leads Aryze’s development process including site acquisition, project financing and modelling, site planning, project design, community consultation and municipal approvals.
Luke has worked as a Director of Planning and Approving Officer with a leading local government in the Greater Victoria region, bringing extensive experience at the local, regional and provincial levels of government. With a commitment to data-informed development, Luke advocates for diverse housing types for all neighbourhoods, and provides leadership to the Aryze Developments team to advance innovative urban infill projects throughout Victoria, BC. Luke holds a BA (Planning) from the School of Environmental Planning, University of Northern British Columbia. Prior to studies at UNBC, Luke studied urban land economics at the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia.
David Miller is the Managing Director of the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy.
Mr. Miller was Mayor of Toronto from 2003 to 2010 and served as Chair of C40 Cities from 2008 until 2010. Under his leadership, Toronto became widely admired internationally for its environmental leadership, economic strength and social integration. He is a leading advocate for the creation of sustainable urban economies.
Mr. Miller has held a variety of public and private positions and served as Future of Cities Global Fellow at Polytechnic Institute of New York University from 2011 to 2014. He has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Waterloo in Environmental Studies, an Honorary Doctor of Laws from York University and is currently Executive in Residence at the University of Victoria. He is the author of “Solved, how the great cities of the world are fixing the climate crisis” (University of Toronto Press).
David Miller is a Harvard trained economist and professionally is a lawyer. He and his wife, lawyer Jill Arthur, are the parents of two children.
Dr. Sudhir Nair is an Associate Professor of International Business and Strategy in the Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria. His research covers various facets of international business including drivers of international entrepreneurship and the internationalization of service firms. His commitment to engaged student learning has earned him the Gustavson School of Business’s Teaching Award. More recently, he has been researching the newcomer (immigrant and refugee) space in Canada from an interdisciplinary perspective. Externally, he engages with the local community in Victoria as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Community Partnership Network, which is facilitated by the Inter Cultural Association of Greater Victoria. He also represents UVic in a team that is jointly developing a Prosperity Index for the Greater Victoria region, with the South Island Prosperity Partnership (they arefunded by local municipalities). Prior to pursuing his PhD, Sudhir spent 15 years working in large corporations such as Citibank, as well as with entrepreneurial entities that he founded or co-founded.
Location: Virtual Only – Please Register
In 2022, the Victoria Forum and the Global Business School Network have collaborated to launch the Bridging Divides Essay contest, which welcomed 300 registered individuals and teams (347 total students) from 65 institutions, 27 countries, and 6 continents! This international group of students was prompted to submit original, unpublished essays and accompanying creative pieces that share experiences and perspectives, which inspire efforts to bridge existing divides. These written pieces had to also include a subtheme of bridging social, economic, and/or environmental divides. Through two extensive rounds of judging, the Top 3 submissions (including the essay and creative piece) were determined and the authors have been welcomed to join this esteem panel to discuss their stories and efforts when it comes to bridging divides. These authors will be joined on the panel with the second/final round judges who selected their pieces, and who will additionally discuss their comments and feedback from the submissions. The panel will be led by the Global Business School Network’s CEO, Dan LeClair as he navigates the conversation and storytelling as they are told by both judge and student. You won’t want to miss this enriching session on how students are striving to make intentional efforts and are tirelessly working to bridge so many divides.
Dan LeClair was named CEO of the Global Business School Network (GBSN) in February of 2019. Prior to GBSN, Dan was an Executive Vice President at AACSB International, an association and accrediting organization that serves some 1,600 business schools in more than 100 countries. His experience at AACSB includes two and half years as Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, seven years as Chief Operating Officer, and five years as Chief Knowledge Officer.
A founding member of the Responsible Research in Business and Management (RRBM) initiative, Dan currently participates on its working board. He also serves in an advisory capacity to several organizations and startups in business and higher education. Before AACSB, Dan was a tenured associate professor and associate dean at The University of Tampa.
Dan played a lead role in creating a think-tank joint venture between the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) and AACSB and has been recognized for pioneering efforts in the formation of the UN’s Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), where he served on the Steering Committee for many years. Dan has also participated in industry-level task forces for a wide range of organizations, including the Chartered Association of Business Schools, Graduate Management Admission Council, Executive MBA Council, and Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program.
Widely recognized as a thought leader in management education, Dan is the author of over 80 research reports, articles, and blogs, and has delivered more than 170 presentations in 30 countries. As a lead spokesperson for reform and innovation in management education, Dan has been frequently cited in a wide range of US and international newspapers, magazines, and professional publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, China Daily, Forbes, Fast Company, and The Economist.
Dan earned a PhD from the University of Florida writing on game theory.
