special thanks to our speakers

Amr Addas

Strategic Advisor for Sustainability Concordia University

Amr Addas is the Strategic Advisor for Sustainability and an Adjunct at the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University. He is also the Director of the Van Berkom Investment Management Program. Amr leads Concordia’s Sustainable Investing Practicum in collaboration with Manulife. He is also the lead faculty member for the Sustainable Investment Professional Certificate (SIPC) offered by the John Molson Executive Centre. Amr has taught at McGill University, Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business, and Sherbrooke University.

In addition to his academic work, Amr offers consulting services to investment professionals and sustainable investment training to corporate clients and financial institutions. He also volunteers his time on several advisory boards and industry working groups.

Amr obtained his MBA from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1995 and his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the American University in Cairo in 1991.

Pedro Antunes

Chief Economist and Primary Spokesperson The Conference Board of Canada

Pedro Antunes is the thought leader and spokesperson for the Conference Board’s suite of economic forecast products, as well as other reports and economic indicators that relate to Canada and its regions. Mr. Antunes has provided expert testimony before parliamentary committees. He makes numerous presentations on economic topics and dialogues with Canadian leaders, the public and media about issues important to Canada.

Mr. Antunes joined the Conference Board in 1991 after working with the Canadian Forecasting Group at the Bank of Canada. In addition to his contribution to regular forecast products, Mr. Antunes led research on the impact of demographic change on the financial sustainability of public health care, productivity and other issues affecting the long-term economic growth for Canada and its provinces. He also worked on several international projects, helping decision-makers in Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan and Ukraine develop appropriate forecasting and policy analysis tools.

Pedro is fluent in both official languages. He is married with one son and enjoys hikes with his dog and playing soccer. Mr. Antunes holds an M.A. (Economics) from Queen’s University and a B.A. (Honours Economics) from Bishop’s University.

David Attipoe

Managing Director Industry Immersion Africa

Dr David Attipoe (MD, iiAfrica), a Ghanaian permanent resident in South Africa, holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Cape Town. He is currently the Managing Director of Industry Immersion Africa (iiAfrica) a pan-African institution that trains top graduates in business and soft skills. He is an AIMS Alumnus and he graduated from Senegal with an MSc in Mathematics (Cum Laude) with a focus on finance. Before his joining AIMS, he studied bio-mathematics (Botany, Zoology and Mathematics) at the University of Ghana. He was the Program Lead of the AIMS ESMT Industry Immersion Program from 2019 to 2021, a program that sought to build the bridge for Mathematicians to transition to industry. Under his leadership, the program scaled to 3 African Countries from South Africa. In 2021, in partnership with Academics Without Borders (AWB Canada) and Strathmore University, he successfully launched the IIP Program in Kenya. In 2022, David has further scaled the program to Cameroon and the iiAfrica team has trained 100 top Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates from more than 15 African countries. His vision is to train 1 million STEM graduates in the next 10 years to build an African ecosystem where the graduates impact the continent’s 4IR ambitions.

He was recently selected as one of the 40 African German young business leaders (AGYLE).  The Programme brings together “40 under 40” young leaders from Germany and Africa in a long-term business network for the development and promotion of innovative ideas and business models between Africa and Europe. He is passionate about STEM education in Africa. His particular interest in experiential learning leans toward how STEM education enhances entrepreneurial efforts for the economic transformation of the African continent.

The Honourable Janet Austin

Lieutenant Governor Office of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia

The Honourable Janet Austin was sworn-in as the 30th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia on April 24, 2018. Prior to this appointment, she spent 15 years as Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Metro Vancouver, one of the province’s largest and most diversified non-profits. There she oversaw operations delivering services to tens of thousands of people annually at more than 40 locations.

Raised in Alberta, Her Honour spent her early career in public sector roles in Calgary, working in regional planning and public consultation and communications for the provincial government. She eventually moved to British Columbia, where she began working with BC Housing and discovered her passion and aptitude for public office. Prior to joining the YWCA, Her Honour served as Executive Director of Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland, and actively volunteered for many organizations in commitment to helping improve the lives of others, as well as serving on various boards ranging from Translink to the Women’s Health Research Institute.

Her Honour is Chancellor of the Order of British Columbia and was invested as a Member of the Order in 2016. As Lieutenant Governor, she has identified three key themes for her mandate: the promotion of diversity and inclusion, democracy and civic engagement, and Reconciliation.

Anne-Catherine Bajard

Executive Director British Columbia Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC)

Anne-Catherine joined BCCIC in the position of Executive Director in May 2021.  She comes from a background of activism and alliance with feminist, intersectional, indigenous and community development movements in Latin America, West Africa and Canada.  She has accrued over twenty years of experience leading programs for Oxfam International, Crossroads International, International Media Support, and BC’s Justice Education Society, among others. She has further managed university international cooperation projects at the University of Victoria.

Anne-Catherine’s journey began as a youth activist and continues as such, with an ever-increasing commitment to intergenerational and intersectional approaches. She believes in continuous learning and credits the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon, the domestic workers’ movement of Bolivia, the youths of Liberia and community economic development initiatives in Western Canada for helping shape her vision.

Anne-Catherine is a long-time member of BCCIC and was a member of the Board in earlier years in representation of Crossroads International. She was a founding member of the Canadian Community Economic Development Network’s International Committee. She is committed to the development of local and global partnerships and alliances and recently applied this to her work on Oxfam’s Knowledge for Impact Team.

Susan Black

Chief Executive Officer The Conference Board of Canada

Susan Black is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Canada’s leading independent applied research organization. Since 2018, she has led a successful transformation at The Conference Board of Canada and has focused its efforts on providing rigorous research insights to Canadians across nine knowledge areas.

Susan has over 30 years’ experience across sectors and industries. As President of Catalyst Canada, CHRO at Intact Financial and SVP, People at Holt Renfrew, Susan has dedicated her career to advocating for inclusive environments, stronger employee engagement, and opportunities for women in the workplace.

Susan believes in the power of people and expanding her horizon on a daily basis.

Susan holds a BA from Yale, has an MBA from Harvard, and obtained a PhD in organizational studies from York University.

Elizabeth Borycki

Professor of Health Information Science University of Victoria

Dr. Elizabeth Borycki is a Professor in the School of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria. She is the Director of the Social Dimensions of Health and the Director of the Health and Society programs in the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies. Elizabeth received her PhD from the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto, a Masters degree from the University of Manitoba in geriatrics and community health nursing and an Honours Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Lakehead University. Elizabeth joined the University of Victoria over 10 years ago. Prior to coming to the University of Victoria, she spent over 15 years working in health care in varying roles in chronic disease management, geriatrics, case management, clinical informatics as well as health information technology design and implementation management. She has published over 150 articles, book chapters and books in health and health informatics.

Elizabeth has served as Academic Representative for Canada for Canada’s Health Informatics Association (2007-2013), Vice President representing North America on the Board of Directors for the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) (2010–2013). She founded the International Medical Informatics Association Working Group focusing on Health Informatics for Patient Safety and she is currently the Scientific Program Committee Co-Chair for Medinfo 2017. Elizabeth returns to the Board of Directors of IMIA in August of 2016 as Vice President – Special Projects.

Eric Cornuel

General Director & Chief Executive Officer European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), Brussels

Eric Cornuel is the Director General & CEO of EFMD (European Foundation for Management Development) in Brussels since 2000. He holds a degree of Sciences Po from IEP Paris, an MBA from HEC Graduate School of Management, Paris, and a DEA in strategy and management from Paris Nanterre University, together with a Doctoral Certificate in Strategy from HEC Graduate School of Management Paris and a PhD in management, written on international network organizations, from Paris Dauphine University. Eric started his career as an entrepreneur by setting up an hydroelectric power plant in France when he was still a student.

He served as Dean of the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research, KIMEP, at the time the leading Business and Economics school in Central Asia, from 1997 to 1999. He was awarded a honorary professorship for his achievements there. From 1996 to the present, Eric Cornuel has been affiliate Professor at HEC Graduate School of Management, Paris. He has taught for 15 years at various management schools in Europe and Asia.

Mary Coyle

Senator Senate of Canada

A long-time champion for women’s leadership, gender equality, and the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Mary Coyle has forged a distinguished career in the post-secondary education and non-profit sectors, with a focus on international and local development.

She holds a diploma in French Language from the Université de Besançon in France and a Bachelor of Arts in Languages and Literature with a major in French and a minor in Spanish from the University of Guelph. After working for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as a Cuso International cooperant in Botswana, she earned a Master of Arts in Rural Planning and Development at the University of Guelph. She subsequently worked as a rural development advisor in Indonesia and later to support two State Islamic Universities develop their community engagement strategies.

For the next decade as Executive Director of Calmeadow, Ms. Coyle helped the organization pioneer the creation of the world’s first commercial micro finance bank, BancoSol, in Bolivia and establish the First Peoples Fund to provide micro loans to First Nations and Métis communities in Canada.

In 1997, she joined St. Francis Xavier University, serving as Vice President and Director of the school’s Coady International Institute, a world-renowned centre of excellence in community-based development and leadership education. During her tenure, the Coady International Institute grew significantly, enhancing its global education and innovation agenda and expanding programming for women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples.

Since 2014, Ms. Coyle has worked as the Executive Director of the Frank McKenna Centre for Leadership at St. Francis Xavier University, a centre devoted to developing student leadership. She also continues to work as an advisor and facilitator for various organizations, including the Haitian Centre for Leadership and Excellence and the Friends United Indigenous Arts and Culture Initiative. Mary Coyle played an instrumental role in the establishment of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, the Romeo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative, and the Indian School of Microfinance for Women.

She has 3 daughters, Emilie, Lauren, and Lindelwa, and 7 grandchildren.

Marty Deacon

Senator Senate of Canada

Marty Deacon was appointed to the Senate of Canada on February 15, 2018.

Prior to serving in the Senate, Senator Deacon completed a 35-year career in Education. As an Educator with a Masters of Education (Western University) she taught (Physics, Science, Physical & Health Education) in Secondary Schools (Waterloo Region District School Board), at two Universities (University of Toronto, Western University), was a Consultant, and an Administrator at the Elementary and Secondary School level. Deacon finished her career in Education as Superintendent. Following this career, Senator Deacon consulted across sectors with a focus on organizational excellence.

Senator Deacon, while raising two daughters (Kristine and Kailee) with husband Bruce, also volunteered extensively in her community and internationally. She garnered international respect in sport and education. This work began when Deacon served as an Apprentice Coach for the 1994 Commonwealth Games. Over the past 24 years Deacon has coached, led or served at 15 Olympic, Commonwealth and Pan Am Games. Her highest international opportunity was leading Team Canada (Chef de Mission) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.

Senator Deacon presently serves as Director on the Canadian Olympic Committee, Commonwealth Games Canada, Ontario Excellence Leadership Centre and the Grand River Jazz Society.

Senator Deacon is most passionate about the physical and mental well-being of all Canadians. She is an advocate for the future of women and young girls and children worldwide. She has mentored and supported leaders in developing countries with a belief that sport, the arts and education can build better communities, one community at a time.

Senator Deacon is dedicated to ensuring organizations can thrive and function at optimal levels. She has assisted with developing governance and policy that allows this to happen in a meaningful, purposeful and respectful way. Senator Deacon will use all of her skills and experiences to ensure an inclusive. inviting meaningful connection for all Canadians. All perspectives need to be heard and understood. Senator Deacon understands the importance of taking risks, participating in courageous conversations and learning every day.

Senator Deacon has been recognized through a variety of awards including: The Women of Distinction and Lifetime Achievement Award (YWCA), Waterloo Region, The International Olympic Committee, Education and Youth Award, the Jules Nisse “Playground to Podium” award, the Queen Diamond Jubilee Medal, Induction in the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame and the Cambridge Hall of Fame.

Senator Deacon enjoys time with family and friends, exploring the world as a global citizen, hiking, cycling, yoga, quiet reading and music.

Elizabeth Dowdeswell

Lieutenant Governor Goverment of Ontario

The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell is the 29th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. As the representative of Her Majesty The Queen, Ms. Dowdeswell carries out constitutional and ceremonial duties and facilitates healthy citizen and community engagement.

Ms. Dowdeswell has served the public interest at all orders of government and in the private sector. She contributed globally as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. In Canada her diverse portfolios ranged from education and culture to environment and the management of complex public enquiries. She was the founding President and CEO of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, and later the President and CEO of the Council of Canadian Academies. She has served on the boards of Canadian and international corporate and non-profit organizations.

Since taking office in late 2014, Ms. Dowdeswell has challenged Ontarians to think deeply about their role not just as residents of a province, but as global citizens. Building resilience and sustainability through inclusive economic prosperity, environmental stewardship and social cohesion as well as safeguarding democracy have been the focus of her mandate.

Ms. Dowdeswell has a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics and teaching certificate from the University of Saskatchewan and a Master of Science in Behavioural Sciences from Utah State University. She is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Ontario and the recipient of numerous distinctions and fellowships. She holds 12 honorary doctorates.

Alicia Dubois

Chief Executive Officer Royal BC Museum

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.

Sharmarke Dubow

Councillor City Hall of Victoria

Sharmarke Dubow is the first Black City Councilor in Victoria in more than 150 years and a United Nations Human Rights Fellow. Sharmarke strongly believes that City leaders ought to focus not only on service delivery, but on efforts that create a sense of participation and belonging, to the benefit of all community members. Sharmarke sits on various regional service and civic committees. Outside of his city duties, he is a board member of Broadbent Institute, Climate Caucus and the Vancouver Island Human Rights.

He is a long time former board member of the Canadian Council for Refugees and has previously worked at both the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria and the Victoria Immigrant Refugee Services Centre.

Sharmarke is an organizer, connector, and an award-winning community leader such as 2020 Top Canadian Immigrant Award, Victoria Community Leadership Award 2017 and this year 2022, he was named ‘noteworthy historical figure’ by Canadian Heritage as part of the federal department’s celebration of Black History Month.

Dubow immigrated to Canada in 2012 and settled in Victoria. Before this, he worked in Egypt with AMERA International, formerly AMERA UK, or Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance and the Psycho-Social Services and Training Institute in Cairo, including the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) at the American University in Cairo (AUC). For 20+ years, Sharmarke was a refugee himself living with great uncertainty and he brings this perspective to all of his work with the city and the wider community.

Skw'akw'as (Sunshine) Dunstan-Moore

Community Climate Justice Coordinator VIDEA (Victoria International Development Education Association)

Skw’akw’as (Sunshine) Dunstan-Moore (She/Her) is a Nlakapamux and Yakima youth from Lytton, BC, Canada. Sunshine is a Community Climate Justice Coordinator for TLKemchEEn (Lytton, BC) along with VIDEA Sunshine is also a member of the Youth Advisory Group with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and a Generation Power Intern with Indigenous Clean Energy. Sunshine is a member of the Stockholm+50 Youth Task Force where she has co-created and collaborated on the S+50 Global Youth Policy Paper. She assisted in designing the S+50 Handbook. Sunshine also gave the opening statement on behalf of the Children & Youth Major Group in the Opening Plenary of UNEA 5.2. Sunshine is passionate about Indigenous and Human Rights, amplifying silenced voices, and spreading awareness on the climate crisis. Some of Sunshine’s interests are photography, filmmaking, painting, and hiking.

Jenna Dutton

Senior Social Planner City of Victoria

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.

Balgis Osman Elasha

Chief Climate Change and Green Growth Specialist African Development Bank

Dr. Balgis Osman Elasha is a Climate Change and Green Growth Expert with African Development Bank. Osman-Elasha’s work has received global attention. A lead author of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, she was among a select few to represent the group in 2007 in Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, next to Al Gore. The following year, she was awarded the UN’s Champions of the Earth Prize.

The US State Department invited her to the United States in 2008 to take part in a science diplomacy programme, where she gave lectures on climate change at several American universities. Balgis Osman Elasha holds a PhD in Forestry Science, Master in Environmental Science and a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) with honor in Forestry and Agricultural Science. She has more than 17 years’ experience in different climate change issues with special focus on vulnerability and adaptation assessment related to African countries and the Middle East. Her achievements were the result of years of hard work and persistence. Like women studying the sciences everywhere, she was among a small group at her university.Osman-Elasha began her career doing forestry work at Sudan’s Forests National Corporation in the 1980s. Her Fuelwood Development for Energy project emphasized community forestry, fuel conservation, and sustainable forest management. As part of that project, her team distributed improved cookstoves to reduce firewood use. She credits this work with having introduced her to the climate variability experienced in rural areas of Sudan, and to the problems faced by the rural communities.

Osman-Elasha began her climate change work as a researcher in the Climate Change Unit at Sudan’s Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources. Her work there included conducting greenhouse gas analyses, which caused her to realize the link between rising greenhouse gases and deforestation in Sudan. Her research there addressed climate change vulnerabilities and adaptations in drought-prone regions.

Greg Flato

Acting Director Environment and Climate Change Canada

Greg Flato is the Acting Director, Climate Research Division for Environment and Climate Change Canada. Dr Flato has been a research scientist at the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis (CCCma) since 1993, and its manager from 2004-2014. He is the Vice-Chair of the IPCC’s Working Group I (WGI), which examines the physical science underpinning past, present, and future climate change. He is an adjunct professor at UVic’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences. Dr. Flato is an expert on sea-ice and global earth system models and their application to historical climate simulation, seasonal to interannual climate prediction, and long-term climate projection.

Mathew Fleury

Manager of Research and Knowledge Exchange First Nations Health Authority

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.

Stephen Flynn

Founding Director Northeastern University

Dr. Stephen Flynn is the Founding Director of the Global Resilience Institute at Northeastern University where he leads a major university-wide research initiative to inform and advance societal resilience in the face of growing human-made and naturally-occurring turbulence. At Northeastern, he is also Professor of Political Science with faculty affiliations in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the School of Public Policy & Urban Affairs.

Dr. Flynn is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on critical infrastructure and supply chain security and resilience. He is co-author of the textbook, Critical Infrastructures Resilience: Policy and Engineering Principles (Routledge, 2018) and has led teams in conducting post-disaster infrastructure resilience assessments, initially with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and then from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In 2014, Flynn was appointed by the Secretary of Homeland Security to serve as a member of the Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Council (HSSTAC). He also serves as chair of the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) Security Advisory Committee. Additionally, he holds research affiliations with the Wharton School’s Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. He previously served as Founding Co-Director of the George J. Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security at Northeastern University. Dr. Flynn is also the principal for Stephen E. Flynn Associates LLC, where he provides independent advisory services on improving critical infrastructure security and resilience.

Before joining the faculty at Northeastern University in 2011, Dr. Flynn served as President of the Center for National Policy. Prior to that he spent a decade as a senior fellow for National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Prior to September 11, 2001, Dr. Flynn served as an expert advisor to U.S. Commission on National Security (Hart-Rudman Commission), and following the 9/11 attacks he was the executive director of a blue-ribbon Council on Foreign Relations homeland security task force, again co-led by former Senators Gary Hart and Warren Rudman. He served as the principal advisor to the bipartisan Congressional Port Security Caucus, advised the Bush Administration on maritime and homeland security issues, and after the November 2008 election of President Barack Obama, served as the lead policy advisor on homeland security as a part of the presidential transition team. From 2003-2010 he served as a member of the National Research Council’s Marine Board.

Dr. Flynn has presented expert congressional testimony before the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives on 31 occasions. He has delivered keynote addresses at more than one hundred international and national conferences. Dr. Flynn is a frequent media commentator and has appeared on Meet the Press, 60 Minutes, The News Hour, The Today Show, the Charlie Rose Show, CNN and on National Public Radio. He has written two of the most widely-cited books on homeland security: The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation (Random House, 2007) and America the Vulnerable (HarperCollins 2004). Five of his articles have been published in the prestigious journal, Foreign Affairs. Excerpts of his books have been featured in Time, as the cover story for U.S. News & World Report, and as the subject of two CNN documentaries.

A 1982 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Dr. Flynn served in the Coast Guard on active duty for 20 years, including two tours as commanding officer at sea. As a Coast Guard officer, he served in the White House Military Office during the George H.W. Bush administration and as a director for Global Issues on the National Security Council staff during the Clinton administration. He was a Guest Scholar in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution from 1991-92, and in 1993-94 he was an Annenberg Scholar-in-Residence at the University of Pennsylvania. He received the M.A.L.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, in 1990 and 1991 and in 2009, he received an honorary doctorate of laws from Monmouth University.

Jonathan Fowlie

Chief External Relations Officer Vancity

Jonathan leads Vancity’s External Relations and Impact Strategy division. In this capacity, Jonathan oversees Vancity’s response to the climate emergency, Vancity’s work to address other systemic challenges such as inequality and housing affordability, and other values-based work in areas such as Reconciliation and social and financial inclusion. To achieve these goals, Jonathan aligns and heads Vancity’s areas of community investment, government relations, strategic communications, marketing, climate strategy and performance, and stakeholder relations.

Under Jonathan’s leadership, Vancity has committed to bring its loans and mortgages portfolio to net zero by 2040, a decade earlier than most other financial institutions. As part of delivering on this commitment, Vancity joined the global Net Zero Banking Alliance, and deepened its emissions accounting and disclosure through the Partnership for Climate Accounting Financials (PCAF). During this time, Vancity has also renewed its Indigenous banking strategy, and developed innovative programs to support, among others, emissions-reducing retrofits in affordable housing units. Prior to joining Vancity, Jonathan was a reporter at The Globe and Mail and The Vancouver Sun, where he covered multiple assignments such as the war in Afghanistan and the Tour de France, and served six years as legislative bureau chief in Victoria. He also worked as a communications and public affairs consultant, advising some of B.C.’s top organizations. Jonathan has degrees in Film Studies and Journalism and is an alumnus of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values Leadership Academy. He has been a Board member with the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation and is currently a member of the board of Vancity’s Community Foundation.

Cliff Fregin

Chief Operating Officer Indspire

Cliff Fregin was born and raised in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and is Haida from Old Massett, Haida Gwaii.  With 35+ years management experience, Cliff has been extensively involved in Indigenous economic & business development throughout Canada. A strategic thinker and strong financial manager he is known nationally for his expertise in leadership development, stakeholder relations, partnership development and development of programs and services.

Through 1995-2002, Cliff had been employed as the Executive Director of the Gwaii Trust – a partnership between the Haida Nation and the settlers on Haida Gwaii.  Gwaii Trust manages a perpetual trust fund initially capitalized at $38 million in 1994; market value in early 2003 was $62 million.

In December 2002, Cliff was hired by National Aboriginal Capital Corporation Association (NACCA) as the Chief Operating Officer, responsible for finance and programs in Ottawa, ON.  NACCA is an association of Aboriginal Financial Institutions (AFIs); these 55 AFIs provide high risk small business development financing and services to aboriginal entrepreneurs throughout Canada.

From October 2006 – July 2019, Cliff Fregin has led the New Relationship Trust (NRT) as Chief Executive Officer.  NRT is a trust fund charged with building capacity for British Columbia First Nations by supporting First Nation governance, economic development, education, language revitalization, and youth & Elders initiatives.

Cliff has experience establishing youth mentorship programs with corporations nationally and internationally particularly in the business sector; Cliff is one of the founders of YES – Young Entreprenuers Symposium, which provides entrepreneurship training through an annual conference – for 15+ years.

Since August 2019, Cliff has held the Chief Operating Officer (COO) position with Indspire; a nationally recognized top 10 charity in Canada supporting indigenous students through scholarships, bursaries and mentorship initiatives.  Indspire has grown to provide $20+M in scholarships to 6,900 students in the past 2021-22 year.

Rosa Galvez

Senator Senate of Canada

Rosa Galvez is an environmental engineer, an independent senator at the Senate of Canada since 2016, and the President of the Parliamentary Network on Climate Change of ParlAmericas, a network of parliamentarians from the Americas. She was a professor at Laval University in Québec for over 25 years and she was Chair of the Civil and Water Engineering department from 2011 to 2017. Her expertise is on water and wastewater treatment, watershed management, sustainable development, municipal and hazardous waste, site remediation, impact assessment and climate risk to infrastructure.

At the Senate, she is a member of the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance and the Senate Standing Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources which she chaired during the 42nd Parliament. In 2021, she was the sponsor in the Senate of the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, providing an accountability framework for the federal government to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. She was also recipient of the Clean50 Award 2021 for her parliamentary work on climate and the environment. In March 2022, she published a white paper on Aligning Canadian Finance with Climate Commitments, which led to the introduction in the Senate of Bill S-243, the Climate-Aligned Finance Act, legislation to help guide the financial sector in its transition to a net-zero economy.

Paul Genest

Senior Vice President Power Corporation of Canada

Former Deputy Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, Senior Vice President, Power Corporation of Canada and Power Financial Corporation.

Mr. Genest was appointed Senior Vice-President of Power Corporation and Power Financial in 2016.His background includes government, academia and business. He served in a number of portfolios as a deputy minister in the Ontario Government, including with Intergovernmental Affairs and Francophone Affairs.

Mr. Genest was deputy minister responsible for oversight of the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games held in Toronto in 2015. He has served in the federal government as Director of Policy and Research in the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada. He held executive positions with the Council of Ontario Universities and Bell Canada and has served as adjunct professor at Glendon College, York University. A Fellow at the Brookfield Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Ryerson University, Mr. Genest is an active volunteer with a number of organizations including Pine River Institute, which provides residential rehabilitation for teenagers, the Nature Conservancy of Canada – Ontario Region, Business for the Arts, and the Alliance Française de Toronto. A champion of diversity, he has been honoured for his advocacy for the rights of the LGBTQ community. He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Mr. Genest holds a Bachelor of Arts, Honours (graduating cum laude) in English and Philosophy from the University of Guelph, a Masters in Philosophy from the University of Ottawa, and a PhD in Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and has completed the Rotman School of Management, Institute of Corporate Directors – Directors Education Program (ICD.D).

Nathan Gillett

Research Scientist Environment and Climate Change Canada

Nathan Gillett holds a PhD in atmospheric physics from the University of Oxford. After his doctorate, Nathan worked as a post-doc at the University of Victoria in Canada on the detection and attribution of climate change, before being appointed as a lecturer then reader at the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia. In 2008, Nathan returned to Canada to work as a research scientist at the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis (CCCma). He was appointed manager of CCCma this year, where he oversees the development and application of Canada’s earth system model.

His primary research interests are in detection and attribution of climate change, and the influence of stratospheric ozone depletion on climate. He served as a lead author of the IPCC Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports and of the 2014 WMO/UNEP Ozone Assessment.

 

Dallas Gislason

Director of Economic Development South Island Prosperity Partnership

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.

Adam Goehner

Director British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)

Adam Goehner is the Director, ESG Strategy and Risk, at the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI). Mr. Goehner oversees BCI’s overall total portfolio ESG risk exposure and has developed a cross-asset class risk and opportunity identification framework to track and evaluate long-term systemic ESG issues to inform investment strategies. Adam’s background includes advising public and private venture investments in strategic start-up companies, developing corporate sustainability and climate change strategies and supporting clean technology development accelertors.

Kristi Govella

Deputy Director German Marshall Fund

Danny Graham

Chief Engagement Officer Engage Nova Scotia

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.

Adel Guitouni

Associate Professor of Management Sciences University of Victoria

Dr. Adel Guitouni is an award-winning associate professor of management sciences, operations research and decision support systems at the Gustavson School of Business. His PhD and master-level students benefit from his multi-disciplinary approach to teaching and professional activities, which includes his work with the Canadian government where he directed large scientific teams involved with major events and strategic initiatives such as the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and G8/G20 summits, and a variety of projects with the Canadian Forces.

Since 2011, on behalf of the business school, Adel has actively engaged in several educational activities that support the democratic transition and socio-economic development in the MENA region (i.e., Tunisia and Libya) from providing coaching sessions to senior government officials to obtaining grant funding to develop the country’s leadership capacity. In 2014 in partnership with Tunisian higher education institutions, he established a not-for-profit non-governmental organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship development and innovation.

Adel has published numerous refereed papers and book chapters, and is the recipient of several multi-million dollar research grants. On the research side, he has made several contributions to multiple criteria decision aid (MCDA), supply chain management, information systems, resource management, and cloud computing. His research interests include the automation of planning and scheduling, net-enabled dynamic resource management and supply chain management, classification and machine learning, multiple criteria decision analysis, multi-objective optimization, collaborative decision making, and decision support systems.

Through his research Adel’s goal is to help improve the decision-making process at the individual and corporate level. Through his entrepreneurship and leadership project work, he hopes to empower youth and leaders by giving them the tools to change their world.

Before joining the Gustavson School of Business full-time in 2011, Adel served as one of its adjunct professors. He has also held positions with the Canadian government and taught at Laval University, University of Sherbrook and Concordia. He has supervised numerous graduate students and six post-doctoral fellows, and he maintains membership in international policy groups and think tanks.

Kevin Hall

President University of Victoria

President Kevin Hall is an innovative academic leader and civil engineer known for his strong commitment to sustainability, innovation, community engagement, and unwavering belief in equitable access to education, and equity, diversity and inclusion.

Throughout his career at three world-class institutions, Hall has served at many levels and functions—from faculty member, research centre director and department chair, to vice-president and senior deputy vice-chancellor of global engagement and partnerships.

A civil engineer who has made global impact, Hall has put research into practice by delivering knowledge to industry and community. His academic interests are focused on water quality modelling, environmental monitoring and pathogen detection systems, and water and health in marginalized communities. He is known for identifying opportunities for collaboration and for creating value in the regions in which he works. Hall played an integral role in establishing many new academic, research and enterprise ventures that have benefited students, staff, and the community at large.

Hall has served on over 30 corporate boards in Australia and Canada, is an avid arts enthusiast, and has a lifelong commitment to fitness.

Jill Hanass-Hancock

Senior Specialist Scientist South African Medical Research Council

Prof. Dr. Jill Hanass-Hancock is Senior Specialist Scientist at South African Medical Research Council. She is a scientist focusing on the vulnerabilities and needed adaptations to enhance inclusion of people with disabilities in HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) programmes in Southern Africa. She has investigated accessibility of sexuality education, inclusive and integrated HIV and SRHR care and the integration of rehabilitation services into key public health programmes such as HIV.

She has a strong policy and programme development background and her work does not only contribute to science but also informs local, national government and the work of international agencies such as UNAIDS or UNFPA. She has been ranked in the top 1% of scholars writing about disabled persons over the past 10 years – a level deemed as “Expert.” Quoting Jill: “The current COVID-pandemic has highlighted the inequality between those with and without disabilities again. The pre-pandemic inequalities deepened and the needs of people with disabilities were only an afterthought. Under crisis conditions the SRHR needs of women with disabilities have become a forgotten agenda as we are dealing here with several levels of marginalization: COVID and its inequality in responses, disability and gender”. She will be speaking in the plenary on Mental Health and disability – particularly with perspectives on how those experiencing challenges related to disability and mental health have already faced an enormous impact from the pandemic and are likely to continue doing so as Covid-19 casts its long shadow.

Ricardo Hausmann

Founder and Director Growth Lab

Dr. Ricardo Hausmann (born 1956) is the Rafik Hariri Professor of the Practice of International Political Economy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is the founder and director of the Growth Lab, dedicated to do fundamental and applied research on growth, productive transformation and social inclusion and help countries, regions and cities with their development strategies. He is also a former Venezuelan Minister of Planning of Venezuela and a former Chief Economist of the Inter-American Development Bank where he founded the Research Department. He co-introduced several regularly used concepts in economics including original sin, growth diagnostics, self-discovery, dark matter, the product space, and economic complexity.

His work has been published in some of the top journals in the world, including Science, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of International Economics, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of International Money and Finance, Economic Policy, and the Journal of Economic Growth, among many others. These publications have been cited more than 42,000 times, and their main findings have been highlighted in mass media outlets such as The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

Since launching the Growth Lab in 2006, Hausmann has served as principal investigator for more than 50 research initiatives in nearly 30 countries, informing development policy, growth strategies, and diversification agendas at the national and sub-national levels.

Kate Higgins

Chief Executive Officer Cooperation Canada

Kate is an accomplished leader and experienced manager, with over fifteen years of experience in international development, civil society, think tanks, and government. She was previously Deputy Executive Director of Oxfam Canada, where she has led the organization’s work on strategy and communications and spearheaded a number of organizational change initiatives. Before joining Oxfam, Kate worked for CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organizations, where she led strategy development and the organization’s work on data, sustainable development and citizen action.

She has held senior policy and research roles at the North-South Institute and the Overseas Development Institute, leading work on chronic poverty, protracted conflict, women’s economic justice and international assistance and building several global, multi-stakeholder initiatives. Kate started her career at the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), working on the Indonesia and Papua New Guinea programs. She has lived and worked in Australia, Canada, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Thailand and Uganda and has undertaken missions in several other countries. Kate has degrees in economics and development studies from the University of Oxford and the University of Sydney.

 

Ava Hill

Board Director Commonwealth Sport Canada

Ava Hill, whose traditional name is Iohahatie, has extensive experience working with Indigenous organizations. She was elected Chief of the 56th and 57th Six Nations Elected Council, succeeding her fifteen years as a member. Ava is a member of the National Consortium for Indigenous Economic Development at the University of Victoria and is Co-Chair for a group working on a Declaration on Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples Through Sports.

Ava is a Board Director for Commonwealth Sport Canada and has been appointed to the position of Indigenous Advisor to the Geographical Names Board of Canada. She was recently awarded the YMCA Peacemaker Medal for 2020. Ava was recruited for the Advisory Board in 2021.

Carol Anne Hilton

Chief Executive Officer The Indigenomics Institute

Carol Anne Hilton, MBA is the CEO and Founder of The Indigenomics Institute. Carol Anne is a recognized First Nation’s business leader with an international Master’s Degree in Business Management (MBA) from the University of Hertfordshire, England. Carol Anne is of Nuu chah nulth descent from the Hesquiaht Nation on Vancouver Island.

Carol Anne was recently appointed as a senior advisor on the Canadian Federal Economic Growth Council. The Council advises the Federal Finance Minister Morneau on Canadian economic growth. Carol Anne was also recently appointed to the BC Economic Task Force advising the Ministry of Jobs, Trade, and Technology. Carol Anne is currently authoring ‘Indigenomics- a Global Power Shift’ Carol Anne has led the establishment of a line of thought called indigenomics- building and developing local Indigenous economies.

Carol Anne’s work has been recognized with a BC Aboriginal Outstanding Business Achievement Award, a Creating Wealth Award from the National Indigenous Council of Elders and Business of the Year Award from the Nuu chah nulth Economic Development Corporation. Carol Anne currently serves as Director on the McGill University Institute of the Study of Canada and the National Canadian Community Economic Development Network and is also serving as a juror on the Smart Cities Challenge. Carol Anne is an instructor at Simon Fraser University’s Community Economic Development Program and a faculty lead at the Banff Center’s Indigenous Business Program where she was also a Fleck Fellow.

Brittany Hull

VP Marketing Earth's Own

Brittany Hull is the Vice President of Marketing for Earth’s Own Food, the Vancouver-based food company who has been making plant-based milk since before the hashtag was trending. The Earth’s Own portfolio of Oat milk, Almond milk, butters and spreads can be found in grocery stores, coffee shops and kitchens across Canada.

Having graduated from Gustavson in 2000, Brittany spent the first ten years of her career working in several large multinationals in Toronto, including at Heinz, Kellogg’s and Canada Dry, before returning home to the beautiful West Coast.

Brittany is a passionate believer in the power of plant-based eating as a tool in the fight against climate change. Through her work on the Earth’s Own brand, her and her team have built the Earth’s Own Plant Project to support people and projects that are moving the plant-based agenda forward to fight the climate change crisis. They’ve supported seven plant-based enterprises to date with more being announced this Fall.

Brittany has been featured in number of publications, blogs + podcasts including Strategy Magazine, Canadian Grocer, Foodology, Vancouver Is Awesome, Vegconomist, Noms Magazine and “What’s Working in Marketing”.

Outside of work, Brittany is an avid traveler, an inexperienced but eager gardener and an active early morning riser, who enjoys starting the day by running up mountains. Brittany is happiest when spending time with her husband and two young daughters in their hometown of Port Moody, BC., where she is surrounded by mountains, trees, and ocean.

Van Jackson

Political Scientist University of Wellington

Dr. Van Jackson is an American political scientist, futurist, and media pundit specializing in Asian security and the politics of US foreign policy. He is a Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington, and concurrently holds think tank appointments as a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, as the Defence & Strategy Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies in Wellington, New Zealand, and as a Senior Fellow in the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation & Disarmament. Van’s first book, with Cambridge University Press, was Rival Reputations: Coercion and Credibility in U.S.-North Korea Relations (2016). His second book, also with Cambridge University Press, is On the Brink: Trump, Kim and the Threat of Nuclear War (2018). While writing On the Brink, Van kept a diary about its writing process that was published every day at War on the Rocks, called Nuke Your Darlings. In 2021, Van began writing regularly for the Duck of Minerva. In 2019, Van was featured in the Washington Diplomat’s “People of World Influence” series. He is currently engaged in two major research projects—one examining the implications of progressivism for grand strategy, and the other a critical scrutiny of America’s paradoxical role in both sustaining and risking the “Asian peace.” Although long affiliated with the Center for a New American Security in various capacities, he has no relationship to it whatsoever since 2021.

Van is the host of The Un-Diplomatic Podcast, and previously hosted the acclaimed show Pacific Pundit. From 2015 through April 2017, he was an Associate Professor in the College of Security Studies at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) in Honolulu. From 2014 through September 2015, Van was a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow in residence at the Center for a New  American Security, researching the intersection of Asian security and defense strategy. He has testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, and is a frequent commentator in popular media and policy outlets.

From 2009 to 2014, Van held positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) as a strategist and policy adviser focused on the Asia-Pacific, senior country director for Korea, and working group chair of the U.S.–Republic of Korea Extended Deterrence Policy Committee.

During his time in OSD, Van’s responsibilities ranged from long-range strategy, policy planning, and studies of military innovation to crisis management and direct negotiations with numerous Asian government ministries. He was a contributor to the 2013 Strategic Choices Management Review, the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, and OSD’s implementation of the U.S. policy of rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific. He was also part of the DoD working group that established the Department’s positions on autonomy in weapons systems (DoD Directive 3000.09). From 2009 to 2012, Van advised the White House and Secretary of Defense on crisis management and strategic courses of action through two Korean Peninsula crises, represented the Department in direct negotiations with North Korea addressing its nuclear program, and helped establish the first extended deterrence consultation mechanisms with South Korea and Japan. He is the recipient of multiple awards in OSD, including the Exceptional Civilian Service Medal.

Van previously taught courses on Asian security, grand strategy, and bridging the theory-policy divide at Georgetown University, Hawaii Pacific University, and the Catholic University of America, and has been a rotating lecturer in the Naval Postgraduate School’s Regional Security Education Program. In 2014, Van was also appointed as a Track II adviser to the Alliance Vision Group headed by the State Department’s Office of Policy Planning and South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has delivered guest lectures at a number of schools globally, including Stanford University, Harvard University, Syracuse University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Ritsumeikan University, the U.S. National War College, the U.S. Naval War College, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. From 2011 to 2013, Van was also a non-resident James A. Kelly Fellow in Korean Studies with the Pacific Forum at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. He has published widely in academic journals, including Security Studies, Journal of Strategic Studies, International Studies Review, European Journal of International Security, Foreign Policy Analysis, Journal of Global Security Studies, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament, Survival, Naval War College Review, Asia Policy, Asian Security, Comparative Strategy, and Contemporary Security Policy. His commentary and policy analysis has appeared in the Washington Post, POLITICO Magazine, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Hill, Axios, Far Eastern Economic Review, War on the Rocks, The Interpreter, Real Clear Defense, The Spinoff, and The Diplomat, among others. He holds a PhD in world politics from the Catholic University of America and was formerly selected as one of the “Top 99 under 33” foreign policy leaders by Diplomatic Courier magazine. Van started his career in the U.S. Air Force as a Korean linguist and intelligence analyst, and was an honors graduate from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA.

Matthew Jenkins

Policy and Campaigns Coordinator Leeds University

Dr. Matthew Jenkins (Ph.D., Cardiff) [He/Him] is the Policy and Campaigns Coordinator at Leeds University Union in Leeds, England. His day-to-day work centres around the successful delivery of a variety of democratic processes at the union and supporting student-led campaigns at a local, regional, and national level. He is especially involved in sortition-based decision-making at the ‘LUU Better Forums’ and the training of student campaigners in campaign coordination, strategy, and planning. Around this he also works on several long-term democracy improvement and empowerment projects; from ensuring democratic representation of marginalised voices at the union, to improving the transparency and accountability of internal policy implementation procedures. He is currently working to ensure that student-led policy is implemented more consistently in a way which treats students as experts in the future of their union.

Prior to taking up this post, he completed a Ph.D. in the philosophy of science at Cardiff University working on structural analyses of replication failures and the role of theory in designing highly replicable experiments. He was examined by Prof. Alessandra Tanesini and Dist. Prof. Edouard Machery. His research prepared him for the complexities of implementing and supporting policy and teaching prepared him to engage enthusiastically with students’ wildcard ideas!

David Johnston

Former Governor General of Canada

David Johnston was born in Copper Cliff, near Sudbury, Ontario on June 28, 1941, the son of Dorothy Stonehouse and Lloyd Johnston, the retail manager of a local hardware store.

Following the family’s move to Sault Ste. Marie, he attended Sault Collegiate Institute and played under-17 hockey with future hockey hall of famers Phil and Tony Esposito. Mr. Johnston went on to attend Harvard University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1963, twice being selected to the All-American hockey team on his way to being named to Harvard’s athletic hall of fame. He later obtained Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of Cambridge and Queen’s University. In 1964, he married his high school sweetheart, Sharon Johnston, with whom he has five daughters. They are grandparents to 14 grandchildren.

Mr. Johnston’s professional career began in 1966 as assistant professor in the Queen’s University law faculty. He moved on to the University of Toronto’s law faculty in 1968, and became dean of Western University’s law faculty in 1974. He was named principal and vice-chancellor of McGill University in 1979, serving for fifteen years before returning to teaching as a full-time professor in the McGill Faculty of Law. In June 1999, he became the fifth president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo, serving until 2010 when he was asked to serve as Canada’s 28th governor general. Throughout his career, Mr. Johnston has served on numerous provincial and federal task forces and committees, as well as on the boards of a number of public companies. He was president of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (now Universities Canada) and of the Conférence des recteurs et des principaux des universités du Québec. He was also the founding chair of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, and he chaired the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the federal government’s Information Highway Advisory Council and was the first non-American to chair Harvard’s Board of Overseers. Mr. Johnston is the author or co-author of more than 25 books, including new editions, and he holds honorary doctorates from more than 25 universities and learning institutions in Canada, China and India. He was invested as an officer of the Order of Canada in 1988 and promoted to companion, the Order’s highest level, in 1997. On October 1, 2010, Mr. Johnston was sworn in as the 28th governor general since Confederation. His motto, CONTEMPLARE MELIORA, meaning “To envisage a better world,” refers to his belief in the abilities of all Canadians to imagine and create a smarter, more caring nation and contribute to a fairer, more just world. The motto appears on his coat of arms along with a crest, arms and supporters reflecting the priorities of his mandate. In the Mr. Johnstons’s view, a smart nation is one that learns from the past, embraces the future and looks to the world with confidence and respect, while a caring nation recognizes that the measure of any society’s success lies in its ability to help others, particularly the vulnerable and marginalized among us. Together with Sharon Johnston, he focused his mandate on strengthening the pillars of learning and innovation, philanthropy and volunteerism and families and children. Mr. Johnston has inspired and launched a number of major new programs and initiatives, including My Giving Moment and the Governor General’s Innovation Awards. He revitalized the Caring Canadian Award program which recognizes individuals who volunteer their time to help others and, with Her Majesty The Queen’s approval, he supported the creation of the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers, an official Crown honour which incorporates and replaces the Caring Canadian Award. Mr. Johnston also supported the introduction of the Polar Medal, a program that replaces the Northern Medal, to celebrate Canada’s northern heritage and recognize achievement in the polar regions and in Canada’s North. Additionally, he established the Rideau Hall Foundation as a means of strengthening the institution’s ability to serve Canadians through a range of initiatives linked to leadership, education, innovation and giving. In keeping with his role and responsibilities as governor general, Mr. Johnston has visited hundreds of cities and small towns from coast to coast to coast during his mandate. He has represented Canada on more than 40 missions abroad. In March 2015, Mr. Johnston accepted a prime ministerial request to extend his mandate by two years, until September 2017.

Suzannah Kelly

Director of Communications BC Infrastructure Benefits (BCIB)

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.

Jeff Kennedy

Assistant Professor Queen Mary University of London

Jeff Kennedy is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at Queen Mary University of London’s School of Law, where his teaching has been recognized with a President and Principal’s Prize and Education Excellence Award, and as a finalist for Oxford University Press’ national Law Teacher of the Year (2022) award. While teaching primarily on issues of criminal law and justice, he researches and writes more broadly on the intersections of democracy within criminal justice, legal education, and university governance. His interest in these intersections had led to a variety of more practical projects in both non-profit and higher education contexts, within an emphasis on democratic innovation in educational settings. In 2021, for instance, he co-organized the Students’ Jury on Pandemic Learning, a deliberative democracy pilot project through which students advised the School of Law on its management of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ilona Kickbusch

Founder and Chair Global Health Centre

Professor Ilona Kickbusch is the Founder and Chair of the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Professor Kickbusch key interests relate to the political determinants of health, health in all policies and global health. She is the founder of the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute, Geneva. She advises countries and organizations on their global health strategies and trains health specialists and diplomats in global health diplomacy. She continues to advise the WHO. She is a member of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board. She acts as Council Chair to the World Health Summit in Berlin and is vice-president of the European Health Forum Gastein.

She has been involved in German G7 and G20 activities relating to global health and the global health initiatives of the German EU presidency in 2020. She chaired the international advisory board for the development of the German global health strategy. She publishes widely and serves on various commissions and boards. She initiated the @wgh300 list of women leaders in global health. She is program chair of the leaders in health network SCIANA. She is co-chair of a Lancet FT Commission on “Governing health futures 2030: growing up in a digital world.” She continues to advise the World Health Organization. Professor Kickbusch has had a distinguished career with the World Health Organization.

She was key instigator of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and WHOs Healthy Cities Network and has remained a leader in this field. She was the director of the Global Health Division at Yale University School of Public Health and responsible for the first major Fulbright Programme on global health. She has published widely and received many prizes and recognitions. She has been awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesverdienstkreuz) in recognition of her “invaluable contributions to innovation in governance for global health and global health diplomacy.

Michael King

Associate Professor University of Victoria

Dr. Michael R. King joined the Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria in July 2019. Prior to UVic, Michael was at Ivey Business School (2011-2019), where he held the Tangerine Chair in Finance and co-founded the Scotiabank Digital Banking Lab – Canada’s first FinTech research centre. He is the co-author of The Technological Revolution in Financial Services: How Banks, Fintechs and Customers Win Together (with Richard W. Nesbitt). Michael is working on a 3-year project with BCI and PICS on “Climate Finance: Integrating Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Considerations into Investment Decisions”.

Before moving to academia, Michael spent two decades working in investment banking (1990-1998) and central banking (2001-2011) in New York, London, Zurich, Ottawa and Basel. Michael completed his PhD at the London School of Economics in 2001 and his CFA designation in 1999. He has taught finance to undergraduates, MBAs and executives. His research focuses on climate finance, FinTech, banking, international finance, and corporate finance.

Tamara Krawchenko

Assistant Professor University of Victoria

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.

 

Andre Kushniruk

Director and Professor of the School of Health Information Science University of Victoria

Dr. Andre Kushniruk is Director and Professor of the School of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria. Dr. Kushniruk conducts research in a number of areas including evaluation of the effects of technology, human-computer interaction in health care and other domains as well as cognitive science. His work is known internationally and he has published widely in the area of health informatics. He focuses on developing new methods for the evaluation of information technology and studying human-computer interaction in health care and he has been a key researcher on a number of national and international collaborative projects.

His work includes the development of novel methods for conducting video analysis of computer users and he is currently extending this research to remote study of e-health applications and advanced information technologies, including computerized patient record systems. Dr. Kushniruk has held academic positions at a number of Canadian universities and he has taught courses in areas such as human-computer interaction, database management and systems analysis and design. He holds undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Biology, as well as a M.Sc. in Computer Science and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from McGill University.

Dan Leclair

Chief Executive Officer Global Business School Network (GBSN)

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.

Brad Liski

Chief Executive Officer Tru Earth

Brad Liski is the CEO and co-founder of Tru Earth®, an award-winning eco-friendly household product company, based in Port Moody, B.C. which began operation in April of 2019. Brad believes that the best thing we can do to save the planet is to educate young people. He lives out this passion as a mentor at E@UBC focusing on climate solutions. Brad was recently named a Sustainability Leader by Canada’s Clean50 for 2022. As the leader in the Retail Product category, he has been recognized for making the most significant impact in helping Canada reach our climate targets. Other awards include B.C.’s Top Exporter of the Year, B.C.’s CEO of the year, and Best Eco-Friendly Household Product Company 2022.

Brad is a Director of the Board of the Salish Sea Research & Education Society. Brad is passionate about the environment and causing disruption for the betterment of the planet. He has also built a strong partnership with the global conservation organization, Ocean Wise. Together they have founded the Ocean Wise Shoreline Cleanup USA to encourage others to get involved in the fight to save the oceans and the planet. Brad is a leader in positioning companies & brands for dynamic growth & profitable expansion with a long and verifiable record of success leading start-up, high growth, acquisition, merger & receivership operations.

Wilton Littlechild

Grand Chief Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations

Wilton Littlechild, Ph.D., is a Cree chief, residential school survivor, and lawyer who has worked both nationally and internationally including with the United Nations to advance Indigenous rights and Treaties. He has also – through leadership with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission – raised awareness of former Canadian policies that decimated the livelihood and culture of Indigenous Canadians.

Born in Alberta, Wilton Littlechild was raised largely at residential schools from 1951 to 1964, where he spent 14 years surviving through study and sport. After leaving residential school, he studied physical education at the University of Alberta and law at the University of New Mexico, where he continued his balance of academics and hockey.

Chief Littlechild was a member of the 1977 Indigenous delegation to the United Nations (UN), and worked on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He organized within the UN to increase Indigenous input in the economic and social issues the UN tackles. In the 1980s, he worked on the lawsuit to prevent patriation of the Canadian Constitution until the Aboriginal and Treaty Rights were protected and, in more recent years, has been a regional and International Chief on Treaties No. 6, 7, 8.

Chief Littlechild has been a member of parliament, Vice-President of the Indigenous Parliament of the Americas, North American representative to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and a chairperson for the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Commission on First Nations and Métis Peoples and Justice Reform.

In addition to his ongoing work with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he’s continued to run his own law firm in Erminiskin Reserve, Alberta, and maintains his commitment to sport. He has been inducted into seven Sports Halls of Fame.

He has been awarded the Order of Canada and in 1993, the Canadian government awarded Chief Littlechild the Canada 125 Medal. He is a 2015 Laureate of the Indspire Awards and was recently honoured with the Alberta Award of Excellence.

Basma Majerbi

Associate Professor of Finance University of Victoria

Dr. Majerbi is an associate professor of finance at Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria. Her research interests include international finance, sustainable and impact investing, and climate-related financial risks and opportunities. Her teaching integrates sustainable finance and impact investing topics into core finance courses in the MBA in Sustainable Innovation and the Master of Global Business programs. She is a recipient of multiple awards including Research Excellence Award, Best MBA Professor of Year, Innovation Award, Service Excellence Award, and IAB Community Engagement Award.

At UVic, Basma is currently leading the development of the Vancouver Island Impact Investing Hub (VI3Hub), an integrated, multi-disciplinary, solutions-driven platform working to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, inclusive and resilient economy by expanding access to impact capital through education, research and community engagement.

Outside UVic, Basma acts as a Technical Advisor with the International Monetary Fund’s Institute for Capacity Development where she contributes to training of government officials in developing countries on topics related to financial development, financial inclusion, and other financial sector issues. She is a member the steering committee of the Canadian Sustainable Finance Network (CSFN), a member of the Research Advisory Council of the Institute for Sustainable Finance and is co-founder and co-chair of the International Workshop on Financial System Architecture and Stability (IWFSAS), an annual conference that focuses on topics related to sustainable finance.

Luke Mari

Principal Aryze Developments

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.

 

Dame Louise Livingstone Martin

President Commonwealth Games Federation

President of the Commonwealth Games Federation. She is also a Scottish sports administrator, retired athlete, nutritionist and former educator. She is President of the Commonwealth Games Federation. She was elected to the role by the Commonwealth Sport Movement in September 2015 in Auckland, New Zealand, becoming the first female to hold the prestigious office. She was re-elected to a second term in September 2019 in Kigali, Rwanda.

Dame Louise has a long and distinguished association with the Games as an athlete (swimming for Team Scotland at the Perth 1962 Commonwealth Games) and thereafter as Team Manager, Administrator and Honorary Secretary, while she was the first female elected to the CGF Executive Board. Dame Louise played a lead role in bringing the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow during the Bid, served as Vice Chair of the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee, and was formerly chair of SportScotland from 2008 to 2015 and Commonwealth Games Scotland from 1999 until 2007.

In 2008, she joined the Commonwealth Advisory Body on Sport, which she chaired from 2014-2018. In 2018, she was awarded a Damehood in the New Year’s Honours List for services to Commonwealth Sport. She was awarded the CBE in 2003 for services to the Commonwealth Games.

Yonah Martin

Senator Senate of Canada

The Honourable Yonah Martin (born April 11, 1965) is a Conservative Senator from British Columbia, appointed by The Right Hon. Stephen Harper in 2009. She is the first Canadian of Korean descent to serve in the Senate of Canada and the first Korean-Canadian parliamentarian in Canadian history.

Senator Martin is currently the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (since November 2015). She previously served as the Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate (2013-2015); and as the Deputy Whip of the Government (2011-2013). She has been Co-Chair of the Canada Korea Inter-Parliamentary Group since 2009; and Chairs or serves on the Executive of various interparliamentary groups. In November 2015, she co-founded International Parliamentary Coalition for Victims of Sexual Slavery (IPCVSS), and currently serves as Co-Chair of Canada.

Her notable achievements as a Senator to date include the enactment of her Senate Public Bill – Korean War Veterans Day Act (June 2013); the successful campaign to add TCM and Acupuncturists to the schedule of health professionals for GST/HST exemption (April 2014); ‎and the conclusion of a multi-year negotiation process and implementation of the historic Canada Korea FTA (January 2016).

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Yonah Martin immigrated to Canada in 1972, and resided in Metro-Vancouver ever since. She earned a Bachelor of Education in 1987 from University of British Columbia and had a 21-year teaching career (1987-2008) until her appointment to the Senate. She earned a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction in 1996. She later co-founded C3 Korean Canadian Society, a non-profit organization that aims to “bridge communities”. Currently, she serves as Honorary Patron of C3, in addition to serving on several regional, national and international Boards and Advisory Councils.

In recognition of her community service in the Tri-Cities region, Yonah Martin was awarded the 2004 Spirit of Community Award for Cultural Harmony. In 2009, she was awarded the Order of Civil Merit Moran Medal by the president of the Republic of Korea for outstanding leadership and work in advancing the rights of overseas Koreans; and in 2012, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by Governor General David Johnston. In 2014, as part of UBC’s centennial campaign, she was recognized as one of UBC’s top Education 100 Alumni; and in February 2016, she was honoured with the King Clancy Award from the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons (CFPDP). Most recently, Yonah Martin was among 100 Canadians to be featured (for 1965, her birth year) in MacLean’s special Canada Day issue of “Canada’s Stories“, to mark the magazine’s 100th anniversary.

She has been married to Doug Martin for over 25 years, and they are proud parents of a daughter, Kiana Mi-Sun.

Mary Jane McCallum

Senator Senate of Canada

Dr. Mary Jane McCallum is a First Nations woman of Cree heritage and an advocate for social justice who, over the course of her distinguished career, has provided dental care to First Nations communities across Manitoba.

She received a Dental Nursing Diploma at the Wascana Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences in 1977 and a Dental Therapy Diploma at the School of Dental Therapy in 1979, before earning a Doctor of Dental Medicine from the University of Manitoba in 1990.

From 1979 to 1997, she was involved in the dental field in various capacities, including as a dental therapist in northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba communities and as an assistant professor at the University of Manitoba running a dental clinic in Churchill and overseeing students completing their practicum. From 1996 to 2000, she worked on an interchange with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs as the Regional Dental Officer for the province.

From 1992 to 1996 and from 2003 to 2010, Dr. McCallum worked in her home community of Brochet, where she managed community health programs, including a children’s dental program, a diabetes program, and prenatal program, and volunteered for several committees, including a housing committee, a school committee, and an education committee. She also ran a monthly dinner and meeting with the Elders to discuss social issues affecting the community.

Dr. McCallum worked as an independent contractor for the federal First Nations and Inuit Health Branch providing services in northern Manitoba before returning to the University of Manitoba in April 2002 to lead the Aboriginal Dental Health Programs.

Since that time, she has continued to work to provide vital dental and health services to a variety of northern, First Nations, and Indigenous communities throughout the Manitoba region. She currently practices dentistry at the Opaskwayak Cree Nation reserve near The Pas.

In addition to her professional endeavours, Dr. McCallum leads workshops and presentations in which she shares her personal experience as a residential school survivor in an effort to raise awareness and understanding.

Dr. McCallum is a member of the Manitoba Dental Association, as well as the Canadian Dental Association.

Marilou McPhedran

Senator Senate of Canada

Born and raised in rural Manitoba, Canada, called to the Bar of Ontario, named a Member of the Order of Canada (1985) in recognition of her co-leadership in the successful campaign for stronger gender equality protections in the Canadian constitution and appointed to the Senate of Canada by Governor General David Johnston on the recommendation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016, Marilou McPhedran is a lawyer and educator who specialized in teaching and developing systemic and sustainable change mechanisms to promote equality and diversity, having co-founded several internationally recognized non-profit Canadian organizations, such as LEAF – the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund, which has conducted constitutional equality test cases and interventions for 30-plus years, METRAC – the Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children, and the Gerstein Crisis Centre for homeless discharged psychiatric patients.

She founded the International Women’s Rights Project in 1998 and the Institute for International Women’s Rights at Global College in 2009 – based on her intergenerational models “evidence-based advocacy” and “lived rights”. When Chief Executive Officer of a Federal Centre of Excellence based at York University, Canada, she directed staff and programs that included a cyber research network on women’s health and rights.

She has developed human rights courses online and in the classroom and has chaired three independent inquiries into the sexual abuse of patients (1991-2015), co-investigated and co-authored applied research, including: the first international study to assess impact of the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women in ten countries (1998-2000); What about accountability to the patient? (2001), the National Study on Rural, Remote and Northern Women’s Health in Canada (2001-2003); the textbook, Preventing Sexual Abuse: a Legal Guide for Health Care Professionals (2004); a strategy paper for Canada’s ambassador to the UN, Engendering the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ Doctrine (2005); Women’s Constitutional Activism in South Africa and Canada (2009 International Review of Constitutionalism); 28-Helluva Lot to Lose in 27 Days: The Ad Hoc Committee and Women’s Constitutional Activism in the Era of Patriation (2015).

Her authorship includes: the 2006 National Journal of Constitutional Law article, Impact of S.15 equality rights on Canadian society: beacon or laser?; the 2007 Supreme Court Law Review article A Truer Story: Constitutional Trialogue; and the 2014 Michigan State Law Review article, Complements of CEDAW – U.S. foreign policy coherence on women’s human rights and human security.

A pioneer in research and advocacy to promote human rights through systemic reform in law, medicine, education, governance, she chaired the 2006 international Forum on Women’s Activism in Constitutional Reform, held the Ariel F. Sallows Chair in Human Rights at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law, was appointed Chief Commissioner of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission in 2007, and was Principal (Dean) of The University of Winnipeg Global College in Manitoba from June 2008 to July 2012, then served as the Human Rights Fellow in the UNFPA Geneva Liaison Office and taught as a Visiting Professor at the UN-mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica in 2012-13.

From 2008 to 2019, she was a tenured full professor at the University of Winnipeg. She was the founding director of the Institute for International Women’s Rights at Global College from 2009 to 2016 and the creator / director of the annual ‘Human Rights UniverCity’ summer institute based at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights from 2011 to 2018.

Ovide Mercredi

Former National Chief

Ovide Mercredi is a Cree, born in the northern community of Grand Rapids, Manitoba in 1946. He served his community as Chief of Misipawistik Cree Nation from 2005 to 2011 and acted as a councillor for three years after his terms as Chief.

A graduate of the University of Manitoba’s Robson Hall Faculty of Law in 1977, he practiced criminal law and later specialized in constitutional law as an advisor to Manitoba Chiefs. Ovide Mercredi became a national and international leader in advocating for Indigenous peoples’ rights.

In 1989, Ovide was elected Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations for Manitoba as well as appointed a member of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission. He became a key strategist for the Assembly during the time of the Meech Lake Accord constitutional reform discussions. Ovide has always advocated for non-violent methods to resolve conflict and he had an active role in negotiations in Oka, Gustafson Lake, Iperrwash and Burnt Church.

On June 12, 1991, Ovide was elected National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, a role which he held for two terms from 1991 to 1997, where he represented a diverse group of people who embraced differing traditions and at times, represented conflicting interests. During his first term, he led the negotiations for the First Nations in the Charlottetown Accord. In his efforts to find consensus for policies and to foster unity, he spent much of his time traveling across Canada to meet people and to learn firsthand of their difficulties.

He became the first chancellor of Manitoba’s University College of the North in 2007. He was selected in a traditional manner to be the National Spokesperson for Treaties 1 to 11 which he led from 2006 to 2014. For his work as an advocate of non-violent methods for change, he has been nominated by the Government of India for the Gandhi Peace Prize. He served on the board of the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

Among his many honours and awards are; Order of Canada, 2021, the Order of Manitoba in 2005 and honorary degrees from Bishop’s University, St. Mary’s University, Lethbridge University, Athabasca University, the Law Society of Ontario and the University of Manitoba.

Ovide is the author of My Silent Drum a book of poetry and enjoys golfing.

Currently, Ovide is working for Nishnawbe Aski in Northern Ontario on the application of the Declaration of Indigenous Rights as a tool for reform of Canadian laws.

David Miller

Managing Director C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy

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.

Cheryl Mitchell

Academic Director for the MBA in Sustainable Innovation University of Victoria

Dr. Cheryl Mitchell is the Academic Director for the MBA in Sustainable Innovation. Dr. Mitchell’s research focuses on the business of healthcare, with an emphasis on the context and processes that support or impede care delivery. Specifically, her current projects examine how process, professions, legitimacy and the use of current and historical narratives inform organizational design and change. Cheryl is also a Principal Investigator at the Cardiac Network of Canada (CANet), a National Centre of Excellence (NCE) where she researches collaboration in research networks. Dr. Mitchell teaches primarily in the MBA program and has taught courses on collaboration, design thinking & innovation, organizational development, leadership, as well as overseeing all Capstone Consulting projects. She has a Masters degree in Counselling Psychology as well as a PhD in Human & Organizational Systems.

Prior to joining the University full-time, Dr. Mitchell worked as a freelance advisor, facilitator and social science researcher, who has provided organizational system solutions across the public service and social service sector for more than 20 years. During that time, she designed and facilitated hundreds of group programs for over forty thousand participants. Over the years her practice evolved from team building and leadership development, through engagement and strategic planning, to a focus on organizational structure, team crisis interventions, change management, and identity & culture development. Since 2016, Dr. Mitchell has specialized in healthcare working with on various projects both locally, provincially and nationally. She currently specializes in health system design & facilitating multi-stakeholder collaborative processes to develop sustainable solutions to complex system issues, and to drive innovation.

Dr. Mitchell has also developed curriculum and training programs on many topics for organizations and conferences, as well as delivered several keynote presentations. She uses her skills in social science to apply qualitative research methods for data collection and thematic analysis to better understand organizational dynamics and ensure the development of comprehensive and sustainable solutions. As well, she also has an understanding of implementation science, and the process required for system innovation and transformation. As a practitioner, she is known for her solution-focused approach, her ability to apply a range of collaborative strategies including design thinking and agile scrum methods, and her style of navigating through all types of conversations from resolving issues, identifying opportunities for innovation, and creating sustainable systemic strategies. Dr. Mitchell is also a certified executive & team coach and qualified to deliver a wide range of assessments.

Amina Mohammed

Deputy Secretary-General Executive Office United Nations

Deputy Secretary-General Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG) Ms. Amina J. Mohammed is the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group.

Prior to her appointment, Ms. Mohammed served as Minister of Environment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where she steered the country’s efforts on climate action and efforts to protect the natural environment. Ms. Mohammed first joined the United Nations in 2012 as Special Adviser to former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the responsibility for post-2015 development planning.

She led the process that resulted in global agreement around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Ms. Mohammed began her career working on the design of schools and clinics in Nigeria. She served as an advocate focused on increasing access to education and other social services, before moving into the public sector, where she rose to the position of adviser to four successive Presidents on poverty, public sector reform, and sustainable development. Ms. Mohammed has been conferred several honorary doctorates and has served as an adjunct professor, lecturing on international development. The recipient of various global awards, Ms. Mohammed has served on numerous international advisory boards and panels. She is the mother of six children and has two grandchildren.

 

Miguel Molico

Senior Director Bank of Canada

Miguel Molico is the Senior Director, Climate Analysis Team, at the Bank of Canada. He oversees the Bank’s analysis and research on the macroeconomic and financial stability implications of climate change. He is a co-author of the 2022 BoC Staff Discussion Paper “Transition Scenarios for Analyzing Climate-Related Financial Risk”. Dr. Molico has worked in the Financial Stability Department since 2014 and previously worked in the Funds Management and Banking Department. Prior to joining the Bank in 2006, Dr. Molico held academic positions at the University of Western Ontario and Penn State University. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Lucie Moncion

Senator Senate of Canada

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.

Greg Moran

Executive Chairman Academics Without Borders

Greg became executive director of Academics Without Borders in October 2017.

Immediately prior to taking on the executive director role, Greg was the director, special projects at the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario for two years. Greg served as provost and chief academic officer of Aga Khan University (AKU) from 2011-2015 and was based in Nairobi, Kenya, for three of those years. AKU is an international institution of higher learning operating in eight countries on three continents, with campuses in Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, England, and Afghanistan. He is professor emeritus and provost emeritus at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada, where he held an appointment from 1977 through 2015.

At Western, Greg served as chair of the Department of Psychology, Dean of Graduate Studies, and for 10 years as provost and vice president (academic). As a developmental/clinical psychologist and professor for over three decades, he has pursued a better understanding of the nature, origins, and developmental consequences of the first relationship between an infant and his or her mother. Greg, with his graduate students and collaborators, has been involved in a series of diverse but interrelated programs of research, including: studies of adolescent mothers and their children; intervention for families with infants at high risk for poor developmental outcomes; comparative study of the development of siblings within a family; and studies of the neurobiological, genetic, and psychophysiological correlates of early social interaction and relationships. His research has been generously supported by several national granting agencies throughout his career and has been published regularly in leading journals in the field. Greg co-authored a book on the state and future of higher education in Ontario, Academic Transformation: The Forces Reshaping Higher Education.

Ry Moran

Associate University Librarian University of Victoria

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.

Mette Morsing

Head of PRME Principles Responsible Management Education

Dr Mette Morsing is the Mistra Chair of Sustainable Markets and Scientific Director at Misum. She has been a professor at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) since 2007, where she was Founding Director of the CBS Center for Corporate Social Responsibility for 10 years. She also served as an Academic Director of the CBS Sustainability Platform.

Mette teaches sustainability management and corporate social responsibility in Executive Education at SSE and at PhD level.

Her research work is positioned in research traditions of governance, management scholarship and communication/media studies in the context of CSR and sustainability, drawing from research traditions of sociology, communication studies and management scholarship as well as other areas.

She is a Member of the Board of Directors of the LEGO Foundation; the Claus Meyer Foundation: Melting Pot; Copenhagen Business School; and the International Advisory Board of the Amsterdam School of Communication Research at Amsterdam University.

Her PhD in organization theory at Copenhagen Business School was awarded the Tietgen Gold Medal in 1993.

Sudhir Nair

Associate Professor University of Victoria

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.

Shaheen Nanji

Executive Director SFU International, Simon Fraser University

Shaheen Nanji (MA, International Studies) is the Executive Director, SFU International at Simon Fraser University and is responsible for the collaborative development and implementation of the University’s international engagement.

As a convener and facilitator of partnerships, engagement and dialogue on global issues, she is committed to collaboration between diverse disciplines, sectors, cultures, perspectives and interests for deeper impact. Her areas of work have included international development; the Sustainable Development Goals; refugees and migration; equity, diversity and inclusion; education; and diaspora. She serves on the Boards of Academics Without Borders and the Proteknon Foundation for Innovation and Learning. She is also an Associate of the SFU Centre for Dialogue.

Jeff Nankivell

President & Chief Executive Officer Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

Jeff Nankivell joined APF Canada as President and CEO on September 7, 2021.

Prior to this, he had a 33-year career in Canada’s Foreign Service. He held various positions at the Canadian International Development Agency between 1988 and 2008, working on programs related to China, Russia, strategic policy, and international financial institutions. A fluent Mandarin speaker, he was posted three times to Canada’s embassy in Beijing – in the development assistance section 1991-95 and 2000-04, and as Deputy Head of Mission 2008-11.

From 2011 to 2016, Jeff served in Ottawa/Gatineau as Director General responsible for Canada’s official development assistance programs across Asia, first with the Canadian International Development Agency and then with Global Affairs Canada. In 2016 he was appointed Consul General of Canada in Hong Kong and Macao, serving in Hong Kong until May 2021.

Jeff holds a Master’s degree in political sociology from the London School of Economics, BA in international relations from the University of Toronto and Université Laval, and certificate (one-year program) in Chinese language and culture from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Kim Pate

Senator Senate of Canada

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.

Simon Pek

Associate Professor University of Victoria

Simon Pek is an associate professor at the Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria. Simon teaches and researches in the area of sustainability and organization theory. His research explores how organizations and the individuals within them embed social and environmental sustainability into their cultures, strategies, and daily operations.

His primary research interests centre on helping democratic organizations like co-operatives, schools, and unions achieve their social and environmental objectives through the use of democratic innovations. He is particularly interested in collaborating with organizations on joint action research projects. He currently serves as the Steering Committee Lead for the Ontario Assembly on Workplace Democracy and was the Project Lead on the 2020 Uvic Students’ Dialogue on Democratic Engagement.

Alice Pepper

Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Traditional Owners

Alice Pepper is a member and employee of Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Traditional Owners whose lands cover the Latrobe Valley, Gippsland. Alice is also an influential member of the Victorian First Peoples Assembly which is currently negotiating a Treaty Framework with the Victorian Government.

 

Richard Powers

President Commonwealth Sport Canada

After receiving his MBA and LLB from Queen’s University, Powers began his legal career in Toronto with Smith, Lyons, Torrance, Stevenson and Mayer (now Gowlings) before serving as Corporate Counsel for Honda Canada Inc. He joined the University of Toronto in 1992 where he currently holds the position of National Academic Director, Governance Programs at The Rotman School of Management at the University.

Prior to teaching in Rotman’s MBA, Executive MBA, OMNIUM, and Executive Education Programs, Rick was deeply involved with U of T’s Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Business Administration. His areas of expertise include corporate governance, ethics, business and corporate law, and sports marketing, for which he’s received numerous teaching awards.

In addition to providing frequent commentary on legal and governance issues in various media across Canada, Rick is an Academic Director of The Directors Education Program, the Governance Essentials Program (in partnership with the Institute of Corporate Directors – ICD), and currently sits on the Boards of several not-for-profit organizations including:

• Rugby Canada (Representative to Canadian Olympic Committee and Past Vice-Chair)
• Rugby Ontario (Past President)
• Childhood Cancer Canada (Director)
• eLearning Consortium Canada (Director)
• Powers has been the Team Leader for the Canadian Maple Leafs Rugby 7s team at the World Games in Cali, Columbia (2013), and was also a representative of CSC at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Prior to being elected President of Commonwealth Sport Canada, Powers served as CSC Treasurer of from 2006-2014 and currently resides in Toronto.

Jacqueline Quinless

Adjunct Professor University of Victoria

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.

Bob Rae

Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations

The Honourable Bob Rae, P.C., C.C., O.Ont., Q.C., former Premier of Ontario, and former interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, was born in 1948, in Ottawa.

Mr. Rae received his Honours Bachelor of Arts in Modern History in 1969 from the University of Toronto, a Master of Philosophy as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in 1971, and graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 1977. Mr. Rae’s passion for social justice dates back to his early days in student politics and community service. Between 1978 and 2013, he was elected 11 times to federal and provincial parliaments, and served as the Premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995.

Returning to the practice of law in 1996 as a partner at Goodmans LLP, Mr. Rae led the restructuring of the Canadian Red Cross, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and also chaired the board of the Royal Conservatory of Music. He also wrote Lessons to be Learned on the Air India bombing, and Ontario: A Leader in Learning, a study of the higher education system for the Government of Ontario. Mr. Rae stepped down as a Member of Parliament in 2013 to return to legal practice and, in particular, to work with Indigenous communities and continue his work in education, governance, and human rights. He currently serves as senior counsel at Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP. In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Rae is a Fellow of the Forum of Federations, Massey College, and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. He teaches at the University of Toronto in the School of Public Policy and Governance, the Faculty of Law, Massey College, and Victoria University. He is also a mediator and arbitrator with ADR Chambers. He is the author of five books. In October 2017, Mr. Rae was appointed as Canada’s Special Envoy to Myanmar. In this role, he engaged in diplomatic efforts to address the crisis in the country’s Rakhine State and wrote the report Tell Them We’re Human in 2018. In March 2020, he was named Canada’s Special Envoy on Humanitarian and Refugee Issues to continue the important work he started as Special Envoy to Myanmar, while also addressing other pressing humanitarian and refugee issues around the world. Bob Rae is a Privy Councillor, a Companion of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Ontario, and has numerous awards and honorary degrees from institutions in Canada and around the world. Along with music, reading, and writing, he loves tennis, golf, and fishing. He is married to Arlene Perly Rae. They have three daughters and five grandchildren and live in Toronto.

 

David Ranson

Executive Director BC Parks

David Ranson is Executive Director of the BC Parks Provincial Services Branch in the BC Ministry of Environment. David is responsible for ensuring we maintain a world class provincial parks and protected area system here in BC. He manages seven departments responsible for: planning and land administration; Indigenous relations; conservation; facilities management; recreation policy and services; visitor information and marketing; and community engagement and education.

David has worked for BC Parks twice in his career: in his current role for the last five years and as the planning department head from 2003-2007. Over his career, David has held a variety of senior management positions throughout the ministry and other provincial agencies including as an environmental regulator with the Environmental Protection Division, directing business development for the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC; and handling regulatory development and case administration for the Human Rights Council of BC. Before joining the public sector in 1994, David worked in private practice as a lawyer.

Alexander Rekik

Chief Executive Officer Charcolive International SA (Tunisia)

Alexander Rekik has 30 years of entrepreneurial, management, consulting, training and NGO service experience both in the US and in the emerging markets.

After getting his Bachelor and Master degree in Engineering (Cum Laude) and after finishing his postgraduate studies in Business Administration and Management from the US, Alexander has contributed in setting up many successful ventures in the US, Europe and the Middle East.

• He is International consultant with many investment institutions in Europe and the Middle East as well as the United Nations Development Program of some Arab Gulf state.
• He carried out numerous Advisory projects in in Business Development, Investments, and Strategic Planning with several governments in the Gulf region.
• He is now a managing partner of a large-scale agriculture operation in Mozambique that is benefiting both people and the planet by providing quality farming, promoting skills development trough vocational training and uplifting rural communities to reduce poverty and improve food security.
• Founding member of the Gulf Excellence Forum in Kuwait, and the World of Knowledge Foundation in the USA, and member of many civil society organization in Tunisia.

Ronald W. Rice

Executive Director Victoria Native Friendship Centre

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.

Miles Richardson

Indigenous Leader National Consortium for Indigenous Economic Development

Miles Richardson, a prominent Indigenous leader, brings an extensive background in Indigenous and Canadian government relations.

After graduating in 1979 from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Arts in economics, he served as administrator for the Skidegate Band Council and directed the establishment of the Haida Gwaii Watchmen program.

In 1984 Miles was the youngest person to be elected President of the Council of the Haida Nation, a position he held until 1996.

During his tenure, Miles led the drafting of the constitution of the Haida Nation and protected the Gwaii Haanas area of Haida Gwaii with the Gwaii Haanas Agreement, the first modern nation-to-nation agreement between the Haida Nation and Canada.

Miles was a member of the former BC Claims Task Force that made recommendations to the Government of Canada, Government of BC and First Nations in BC regarding the framework for negotiations to build new relationships.

From 1991-1993, Miles was a delegate of the First Nations Summit Task Group, an executive body that represents First Nations in BC. In 1995, he was nominated by the summit and appointed as commissioner of the BC Treaty Commission, a position he held for two terms.

In November 1998, Miles was chosen as Chief Commissioner by agreement of Canada, BC and the First Nations Summit, and remained in the position until 2004.

In 2007, Miles was named an Officer of the Order of Canada. From 2010-2013 he was co-chair of the Indigenous Advisory Circle for the Institute on Governance.

Currently Miles operates his own strategy and advisory firm, is on the board of directors for Canadians for a New Partnership, the advisory board for the Indigenous Leaders Initiative and the steering committee for the BC Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative.

Shireen Salti

The Former Executive Director The Canadian Arab Institute

Shireen Salti has worked at the intersection of higher education, governments, and the nonprofit sector in Canada over the last 8 years. She is the former Executive Director of the Canadian Arab Institute where she amplified the policy priorities of Arab-Canadians at the federal level of government during a global pandemic.

Shireen has been recently featured as one of 40 influential and diverse Canadians in a book called Inspiring Canadians by acclaimed CBC journalist Mark Bulgutch. She has previously worked at Queen’s Park for Members of Provincial Parliament and advised Ontario university presidents on Indigenous, cannabis, mental health, and accessibility policies on campus at Council of Ontario Universities.

Shireen has recently been appointed as Advancement Lead at Windsor Law, reporting to the first Arab woman Dean of Law in Canada, Reem Bahdi.

She holds a Master’s in Public Policy, Administration, and Law, Graduate Diploma in Judicial Administration and a BA Honours in Business & Society from York University. She was named the School of Public Policy and Administration’s emerging leader and is a regular public commentator in Canadian and international media. She is a firm believer of centering community needs in cross sectoral approaches to advocacy and governance.

Oliver Schmidtke

Professor University of Victoria

Dr. Oliver Schmidtke is a Professor in Political Science and History at the University of Victoria where he has also served as the director of the Centre for Global Studies in Victoria since 2011.

He received his PhD from the European University Institute in Florence and has been a JF Kennedy Fellow at Harvard University, a visiting scholar at Humboldt University Berlin, a F. Braudel Senior Fellow at the European University Institute, a Marie Curie Fellow at Hamburg University, and a research fellow at the Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study.

His research interests are in the fields of the politics and governance of migration, citizenship, nationalism, democracy, and populism. Oliver Schmidtke is a regular contributor to national and international media. He has published 15 authored & edited volumes and over 80 journal articles/ chapters.

 

Jill Schnarr

Chief Social Innovation and Communications Officer TELUS

As TELUS’ Chief Communications Officer with more than 29 years of telecommunications experience and communications expertise, Jill Schnarr leads the corporate citizenship and communications team. Jill brings our social purpose to life to drive social change, leveraging our world-leading technology and compassion to enable remarkable human outcomes, while amplifying internal and external campaigns, bolstering TELUS’ storytelling impact, and fostering strong, positive relationships with customers and all Canadians. Jill is a dynamic, engaging and authentic leader with a natural ability to build integrated, multi-platform strategies that pair bold marketing with creative storytelling to convey our narratives to varying audiences in unique and memorable ways.

At the helm of corporate communications, media relations, government advocacy, social media, community investment, cause marketing, team member giving, volunteerism, humanitarian relief, sponsorships, brand office, brand marketing, TELUS Studios, and corporate events, Jill has significantly influenced, built upon and safeguarded TELUS’ reputation as a global leader, enabling TELUS to be the most trusted telco brand in Canada.

Enabling the hearts, hands and voices of TELUS to strengthen the communities where we live, work and serve, Jill leads our annual TELUS Days of Giving, facilitating over 40,000 volunteers globally in 2019 alone, and our Team TELUS Cares programs, enabling over $736 million in giving and 10 million volunteer hours from TELUS since 2000. She oversaw and continues to evolve and expand our innovative Connecting for Good programs including Health for Good, Internet for Good and Mobility for Good, as well as TELUS Wise, building Canada’s digital economy and connecting Canadians despite social, or geographical divides, while promoting safe and responsible use of technology.

She has also led award-winning marketing campaigns including We Give Where We Live, Go Pink, Rise Above, Share Love, All Connected, Million Hours, Most Giving Company in the World, as well as the launch of the $120 million TELUS Friendly Future Foundation through a forward-thinking creative campaign that set a new standard of corporate giving marketing. Jill is recognized as one of Canada’s Distinctive Women, as one of the Most Influential Women in Vancouver, and as the Most Innovative Leader by the Canadian Women in Communications. Under Jill’s leadership, TELUS was acknowledged as the Most Philanthropic Corporation in the World by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and #ShareLove, TELUS’ 2017 pride platform won an Experience Design & Technology Award, the world’s largest recognition program celebrating the best live experiences around the globe, for the best integrated digital & live campaign.

Furthering her dedication to giving where she lives, Jill serves on several boards and associations including a founding board member of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, and previously served as a director on the B.C. Women’s Hospital Foundation for seven years, and as a TELUS Vancouver Community Board member for six years. She was also a Board Director and Chair of the Women’s Leadership Circle on the Vancouver Board of Trade, served on the fundraising cabinet for B.C. Women’s Health Foundation (formerly B.C. Women’s Hospital Foundation) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and was Co-Chair of Glow, the inaugural B.C. Women’s Hospital Gala.

Jill holds her Masters of Business Administration from the Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria, Honours in Business Administration degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business, and a Graduate Diploma in Social Innovation from the University of Waterloo.

Don Shafer

Veteran Broadcaster/Podcaster University of British Columbia

Don Shafer is a veteran broadcaster/podcaster, settler scholar, and community activist. He served as a cryptologist in the US Army, studied Psychology and English at the University of Texas and Communications and Journalism at the University of Southern California. As a lifetime learner he completed his master’s degree in the Humanities at Simon Fraser University in 2018, and is currently a PhD student with the Social Justice Institute at UBC, a sessional instructor at BCIT, City University, and UBC’s Climate Hub.

Don is the recipient of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Lifetime Achievement Award for 2015 and was recognized for his work in media and in his community. His leadership was responsible for developing iconic radio brands across Canada such as CHOM FM, CHUM FM, Q107, CFOX FM, ROCK 101 as well as Roundhouse Radio. He was a pioneer in developing online interactive branding platforms and webcasting for the Toronto Star Newspaper Group. Don is strong supporter of community organizations promoting the important work that they do on and off the air. He has served on the boards of Variety the Children’s Charity, PFLAG, the Kelowna General Hospital Foundation, the Canadian, Ontario, and British Columbia Association of Broadcasters, and Advisory Boards of the University of British Columbia and The British Columbia Institute of Technology. He volunteers with Vancouver Co-op Radio and the Downtown Eastside Community Coordinated Response Network.

Don’s research at UBC explores the words we use and how people talk about climate change and its interconnectedness with settler colonialism, white supremacy, and other intersecting social justice issues. His work explores these intersections and how these conversational ecosystems influence our thinking and meaning-making. He argues that many of these issues sit on the same foundations and that there are tipping points in conversations that open up or shut down how we talk across difference, which include race, gender, culture, politics and climate. He wants to find out if we can learn to speak to individuals and communities from different social, economic, religious, political or cultural backgrounds and fill structural holes where we can build trust and bridges of understanding.

Sohaib Shahid

Director of Economic Innovation The Conference Board of Canada

Sohaib Shahid is the Director, Economic Innovation at The Conference Board of Canada. As part of CBoC’s Economic Forecasting Knowledge Area, Sohaib leads the Economic Innovation Team and their new economic product research and development initiatives.

Sohaib is an economic thought leader with experience in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining the Board, he was a Senior Economist at TD Bank leading TD’s global economic forecast. He also worked as an Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, DC. At both organizations, Sohaib worked on a wide variety of economic issues for a diverse set of countries.

When asked about what’s important to him in his role as Director of Economic Innovation, Sohaib didn’t hesitate:

“I’m very passionate about coaching my fellow colleagues and helping them enhance their skillset, so they can become Canada’s future leaders. By mentoring and training the next generation, we’ll continue to help solve some of the toughest problems Canadians face and make a difference in Canadians’ lives.”

Sohaib holds a MA and a PhD in Economics from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

Gerri Sinclair

Innovation Commissioner Government of British Columbia

Gerri Sinclair was first appointed as B.C.’s Innovation Commissioner in July 2020. She has a breadth of experience in senior leadership positions in the investment capital, digital media, and information technology fields. She is also an Associate with the non-profit Creative Destruction Lab.

Sinclair is the former Managing Director at Kensington Capital in Vancouver. In this role, she led the $100M B.C. Technology Fund. She was the founder of SFU’s ExCITE Media lab, a Visiting Scientist at IBM Research, the founder/CEO of NCompass (acquired by Microsoft), a past President of the B.C. Premier’s Technology Council and Chair of Canada’s National Telecom Policy Panel.

Sinclair was the Founding Director of the Centre for Digital Media’s Master of Digital Media program in Vancouver. She has served as Innovation Strategy Advisor at Vancity and Telefonica in Barcelona.

She has served on many government and corporate boards. Including the Toronto Montreal Stock Exchange, the Vancouver Airport Authority, Telus Corporation, BC Telecom and Ballard Power, as well as Canada’s Information Highway Advisory Council and the National Broadband Taskforce.

Sinclair is the recipient of many awards as a leading woman in technology. She has received the prestigious Canadian Public Policy Forum Testimonial Award. Additionally, Sinclair was named a member of “Vancouver Power 50”, a BC Business “Woman of Influence” and among the Top 150 Women in Canada. She is the 2018 recipient of the BC Technology Association’s Bill Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award. Recently, Sinclair was awarded the 2020 Business in Vancouver Women in Business Lifetime Achievement Award.

Natalie Slawinski

Director, Centre for Social and Sustainable Innovation University of Victoria

Natalie Slawinski is Professor of Sustainability and Director of the Centre for Social and Sustainable Innovation at the Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria.  She earned her PhD from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario. Her research focuses on understanding sustainability, temporality and paradoxes in organizations, and has been published in such journals as Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal and Organization Studies.  Her most recent research examines these themes in the context of social enterprise. Natalie serves as an Advisor to Memorial University’s Centre for Social Enterprise and is a Research Fellow at the Cambridge University Judge Business School’s Centre for Social Innovation. She is also a member of the editorial review board at Organization & Environment.

Deondre Smiles

Assistant Professor University of Victoria

I joined the Department of Geography in 2021, and currently serve as an Assistant Professor of Geography. I am Black/Ojibwe/settler, and am a citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. I am a geographer whose research interests are multifaceted, including Indigenous geographies/epistemologies, human-environmental interaction, political ecology, and tribal cultural resource preservation/protection. I currently serve as the Chair of the Indigenous Peoples Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers (AAG); I am also a member of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA), and the Canadian Association of Geographers. (CAG). I also serve as a member of the editorial board of the journal Native American and Indigenous Studies.

Merran Smith

Founder & Chief Innovation Officer Clean Energy Canada

Merran Smith is a fellow at the Simon Fraser University Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, and the founder and executive director of Clean Energy Canada—a leading think tank advancing clean energy and climate solutions. Merran serves as co-chair of the B.C. government’s Climate Solutions Council, a member of the independent Task Force for a Resilient Recovery, and a Canadian representative of the C3E International Ambassador Corps. For most of her career, Merran has worked to unite industry, government, and civil society organizations to solve pressing social and ecological challenges.

Wendy Smith

Professor University of Delaware

Wendy Smith earned her Ph.D. in organizational behavior at Harvard Business School, and is currently a professor of management at the Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics and Co-director of the Women’s Leadership Initiative at the University of Delaware.

Wendy’s research focuses on strategic paradoxes – how leaders and senior teams effectively respond to contradictory agendas. She studies how organizations and their leaders simultaneously explore new possibilities while exploiting existing competencies, and how social enterprises simultaneously attend to social missions and financial goals. Her research has been published in journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, Harvard Business Review, Organization Science and Management Science. In 2018, she won the University of Delaware’s first Mid-Career Excellence in Scholarship Award. In 2015, she won the Lerner College Outstanding Scholar Award.

Wendy teaches leadership, organizational behavior and business ethics. She has taught MBAs and undergraduates at University of Delaware, Harvard and University of Pennsylvania – Wharton. Wendy was awarded the University of Delaware MBA Teaching Award in 2016. Wendy has also taught executive and senior leadership teams how to manage interpersonal dynamics, emotional intelligence, high performing teams, organizational change and innovation, managing in times of crisis, and managing strategic paradoxes.

Atsushi Sunami

President Sasakawa Peace Foundation

Atsushi Sunami is the President of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and the President of the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. He is also Director of the SciREX Center and Executive Advisor to the President at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) and Guest Professor at the Research Organization for Nano & Life Innovation at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.

Mr. Sunami is currently serving as a member of the Basic Policy Group under the Committee on National Space Policy in the Cabinet Office and Chair of the Space Utilization Promotion Round-table under the Minister for Space Policy in the Cabinet Office. In addition, he is a member of the Innovation Strategy for Security and Safety at the Cabinet Office and on the Advisory Board for the Promotion of Science and Technology Diplomacy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan. He holds a BSFS from Georgetown University and an MIA and Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University.

Rajesh Tandon

Founder-President Participatory Research in Asia

Dr. Tandon is an internationally acclaimed leader and practitioner of participatory research and development. He is Founder-President of Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), a global centre for participatory research & training. He is also Co-Chair of the UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education since 2012. The UNESCO Chair grows out of and supports UNESCO’s global lead to play ‘a key role in assisting countries to build knowledge societies’. Dr. Tandon also heads the Forum for Indian Development Corporation (FIDC) as its Chairperson. He is Chairperson of the Committee to carry out appraisal of the UGC scheme under ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ and Member of Expert Group for Development of Educational Framework for Global Citizenship in Higher Education Institutions, constituted by the University Grants Commission.

Engineering in Electronics from IIT, Kanpur, MBA from IIM Calcutta and PhD in Management from Case Western Reserve University, USA, Dr. Tandon left his teaching job at IIM Calcutta to support & champion the cause of building organisations and capacities of the marginalised through their knowledge, learning and empowerment. A pioneer of participatory research, Dr. Tandon has given new meaning to academic research by redefining the relationship between the researcher and the researched. He has been contributing to the emergence of several local, national and international initiatives to promote authentic and participatory development of societies.

Dr. Tandon has taught courses on participatory research & democratic governance in South Africa, UK, Canada, Italy, USA, Colombia, Malaysia, Philippines and Cambodia, in addition to several universities in India. He has written more than 100 books, articles and training manuals on participatory research, social responsibility of higher education, civil society & local governance.

Dr. Tandon has served on numerous Expert Committees of Govt. of India, UGC, UN, Commonwealth and World Bank. In 2015, the Indian Adult Education Association (IAEA) awarded Dr. Tandon the Nehru Literacy Award. For his distinguished work on gender issues, the Government of India honoured him with the prestigious Award in ‘Social Justice’ in March 2007. The University of Victoria, Canada, awarded Dr. Tandon the degree of Doctor of Law (Honoris Causa) in June 2008. He is the first Indian to be inducted to the International Adult and Continuing Education (IACE) Hall of Fame (class of 2011). He is also the first Indian scholar to be inducted in Academy of Engagement Scholarship in 2019.

Peter Taylor

Director of Research Institute of Development Studies (IDS)

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.

Tricia Thomas

Indigenous Entrepreneur Salish Eye Productions

Tricia Thomas is an Indigenous entrepreneur, facilitator, business coach, speaker, and a proud member of the Halalt (Xeláltxw) Nation. A mother of two children, Tricia strives to support her community and strengthen culture and language while living and working on Halalt territory near Chemainus BC.

Her personal mission is to create positive change for Indigenous People and build cross-cultural relationships that will inspire Reconciliation and hope for future generations.

As the award-winning Creative Director and founder of Salish Eye Productions, Tricia’s goal has been to provide a voice for her People and empower economic self-sufficiency in Indigenous communities through facilitation, storytelling, media and technology tools. She also serves as an Indigenous Relations Consultant with organizations wanting to build meaningful relationships with the First Nations in whose territories they live and work.

Since 2018, Tricia has been an Indigenous Entrepreneurship Facilitator and Program Manager for Indigenous Advancement of Cultural Entrepreneurship (I-ACE) for the Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria, guiding and supporting over 100 business start-ups and expansions.

A sought-after speaker, Tricia loves to share her insightful stories with others to foster awareness and equality of all people. In 2021, she gave the keynote address at the Deloitte National Executive Services Conference, sharing her perspective on the Truth of how Indigenous people experience colonialism today, and ways to incorporate Reconciliation into business practices.

Tricia recently completed her MBA in Sustainable Innovation at the University of Victoria, with a focus on Cultivating Indigenous Sovereignty through Solar Energy. She is an Instructor in the Bachelor of Commerce Program, and a founding Board member and Chair for the WISE (Wellness in Indigenous Sustainable Economies) Centre.

Recognition of Tricia’s efforts include Award Winner at the BC Achievement Foundation’s Indigenous Business Awards 2017; and Indigenous Innovator in Canada – “Indigenous people who are making a difference with bold ideas that have big impact.”  (Reporting in Indigenous Communities, led by CBC’s Duncan McCue in 2019).

Rosemary Thompson

Founding Executive Director Coalition for a Better Future

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.

Samir Trabelsi

Professor of Accounting and Governance Goodman School of Business

Samir Trabelsi is a Professor of Accounting and Governance at the Goodman School of Business. Professor Trabelsi began teaching at Goodman School of Business in 2004. He holds a Ph.D. in Accounting from HEC Montreal and a CPA designation. He has taught courses in corporate governance, external reporting, and research methodology. Prior to his academic career, Trabelsi practiced public accounting at KPMG Tunisia. Trabelsi’s research interests are in the area of corporate governance, sustainability, Corruption, and risk management. Trabelsi’s research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He won the best paper award at several conferences. He has also been the recipient of the Brock University Award for Excellence in Teaching (2017) and the Departmental Researcher of the Year Award (2019).

As the founding director of the CPA (formerly CGA) Ontario Research Excellence Centre and even prior to its establishment, Dr. Trabelsi has organized many international conferences, globally as well as on the Brock University campus. These events have brought together academics and practitioners from across the province, Canada and internationally.

Crystal Tremblay

Director of CIFAL Victoria University of Victoria

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.

Neil Turok

Founder African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

Professor Neil Turok (Chair) is the Higgs Chair of Theoretical Physics at the University of Edinburgh, at the School of Physics and Astronomy.

Prof Neil is a former Director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and former Chair of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge University. He is also the Founder of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, and Chair of the AIMS International Governing Board (IGB) and present Chair of the AIMS South Africa Council.

Born in South Africa, Neil Turok founded the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), a pan-African network of centres for education and research in 2003. AIMS was the subject of a TED talk for which Turok received the TED prize in 2008. “My wish is that you help us unlock and nurture scientific talent across Africa, so that within our lifetimes we are celebrating an African Einstein.”

Turok has also been recognised with awards from the World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WSIE) and the World Innovation Summit on Education (WISE). He is one of the world’s leading physicists, and a renowned educational innovator. He is currently the director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and holder of the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Niels Bohr Chair at the institute. He was a professor of physics at Princeton and held a Chair of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge. With Stephen Hawking, he developed the Hawking-Turok instanton solutions describing the birth of inflationary universes. He is the co-author, with Paul J. Steinhardt, of the critically acclaimed book Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang – Rewriting Cosmic History. Turok was awarded the 1992 James Clerk Maxwell medal of the UK Institute of Physics.

Leslie Varley

Executive Director British Columbia Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres

Leslie Varley is a committed social justice advocate with over 30 years working for and with Indigenous peoples. Since 2016 she has been the Executive Director of British Columbia Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, an umbrella agency supporting 25 Indigenous social services centres. Within this role Leslie is working with the larger social services sector and with provincial government agencies to lead reconciliation focussed initiatives aimed to make all social services culturally safe, appropriate and accessible to Indigenous people.

Previously Leslie held the Indigenous health portfolio at Provincial Health Services Authority where she led the development of San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety, a cutting edge decolonizing anti-racism training program offered to the health, social and justice sectors in Canada.

She is a board member of Central City Foundation, Vancouver’s oldest foundation, which invests in social impact real estate. She is a founding member of Honouring Nations Canada’s Circle of Advisors – an Indigenous committee of Fulbright Canada.

Her education includes a Masters in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University. Living as a guest at Musqueam First Nation in Vancouver, Leslie belongs to the Gisk’aast (Killer Whale) house of the Nisga’a Nation, and holds the name, Tan de-entqwl allugigat, (One who leads Indigenous people).

Ricardo Visinho

Head of Student Voice LSE Students' Union (LSESU)

Ricardo is the Head of Student Voice at LSE Students’ Union (LSESU) and a former Parliamentary Assistant to Keir Starmer MP, Frank Dobson MP and Glenda Jackson MP.

His current role includes, among other things, oversight of LSESU’s democratic activities, and most recently, he was responsible for project managing a wide-ranging review of the organization’s democratic setup.

Jennifer Vornbrock

Executive Director University of Victoria

Jennifer Vornbrock joined the University of Victoria as its Executive Director, Community and Government Relations in April 2016. The Community and Government Relations department in UVic’s External Relations division provides strategic direction and advice on all community and government relations for the university. Jennifer also sits on the board of the South Island Prosperity Project where she serves as Vice-Chair.

Previously, Jennifer held the position of Vice President, Knowledge and Innovation at the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Prior to joining the Mental Health Commission in 2013, Jennifer worked for more than a decade at Vancouver Coastal Health in various operational and strategic roles.

Strongly committed to public service, Jennifer has led a number of value driven, innovative strategic plans and projects on important social issues such as homelessness, mental health and addiction, primary care, early childhood and seniors. Jennifer holds a degree in political science from Simon Fraser University.

Kresse Wesling

Entrepreneur Elvis and Kresse

Kresse Wesling MBE is a Canadian-born, Kent-based, multi-award winning environmental entrepreneur and Young Global Leader with a background in venture capital and significant start-up experience.

Kresse founded her first business, an environmental packaging alternatives company, in Hong Kong in 2002. By 2004 she launched this business in the UK and has since helped to build two other sustainable businesses; Babaloo, a mother and baby business and Yew Clothing, a line of eco-sports and casual wear.Then in 2005, Kresse and her partner James Henrit (Elvis) had a chance encounter with the London Fire Brigade where they learned that all of London’s damaged and decommissioned fire hoses were destined for landfill. Seeing the potential in the pillar box red heavy-duty material that the hoses were made from, the duo cut a deal with London Fire Brigade and set up Elvis & Kresse and started turning London’s fire hoses into luxury handbags. To give back they pledged to donate 50% of all profits from the Fire-hose Collection to The Fire Fighters Charity.

Kresse has also served as a Social Enterprise Ambassador for the UK Government and as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.

Sarah Marie Wiebe

Assistant Professor University of Victoria

Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe grew up on unceded Coast Salish territory in British Columbia, BC. She is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Hawai’i, Mānoa with a focus on community development and environmental sustainability. She is a Co-Founder of the FERN (Feminist Environmental Research Network) Collaborative and has published in journals including New Political Science, Citizenship Studies and Studies in Social Justice. Her book Everyday Exposure: Indigenous Mobilization and Environmental Justice in Canada’s Chemical Valley (2016) with UBC Press won the Charles Taylor Book Award (2017) and examines policy responses to the impact of pollution on the Aamjiwnaang First Nation’s environmental health. Alongside Dr. Jennifer Lawrence (Virginia Tech), she is the Co-Editor of Biopolitical Disaster and along with Dr. Leah Levac (Guelph), the Co-Editor of Creating Spaces of Engagement: Policy Justice and the Practical Craft of Deliberative Democracy.

At the intersections of environmental justice and citizen engagement, her teaching and research interests emphasize political ecology, policy justice, and deliberative dialogue. As a collaborative researcher and filmmaker, she worked with Indigenous communities on sustainability-themed films including  To Fish as Formerly. She is currently collaborating with artists from Attawapiskat on a project entitled Reimagining Attawapiskat funded through an SSHRC Insight Development Grant. Sarah is also a Co-Director for the Seascape Indigenous Storytelling Studio, funded through an SSHRC Insight Grant with research partners from the University of Victoria, the University of British Columbia, and coastal Indigenous communities. For more see: www.sarahmariewiebe.com and follower her on Twitter @smwiebe.

Bruce Williams

Chief Executive Officer Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce

Bruce Williams, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, is one of Vancouver Island’s most recognizable faces. As a public figure and former broadcaster, he is known for his integrity, altruism and unique ability to create successful partnerships and collaborations. 

Williams is well known for his impeccable communication skills. His in-depth knowledge of economic development and strong connections to leaders and decision makers have made him an effective engagement and development strategist for business, non-profits and First Nations. Williams’ background includes experience as a CEO, as well as diverse roles on senior management teams. He has chaired non-profit boards and spearheaded fund-raising campaigns.

 Career Highlights:

• Interim CEO, South Island Prosperity Partnership
• On air host and producer for TV and Radio in Ontario and British Columbia
• Senior Management Team member (client and community relations, facility manager – CTV Vancouver Island)
• Strategic Mentor, Leadership Victoria and Leadership Vancouver Island
• Greater Victoria United Way Campaign Cabinet Chair (three terms)
• Fundraising Chair for Jeneece Place, a Children’s Health Foundation Vancouver Island project

Board Member:

• College of Chiropractors of BC
• Vancouver Island University Foundation (two years as Chair)
• United Way of Greater Victoria
• Greater Victoria Economic Development Agency (now South Island Prosperity Partnership)
• Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation
• CFAX Santas Anonymous

Accolades

• Named one of the Top 20 Influencers on Vancouver Island by Douglas magazine
• Named one of the region’s 20 Most Powerful People by the Nanaimo Daily News
• Recipient, Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service
• Recipient, Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce Award as Citizen of the Year
• Chairs Award of Distinction, United Way Centraide of Canada

Yuen Pau Woo

Senator Senate Of Canada

Appointed to the Senate of Canada in November 2016, the Honourable Yuen Pau Woo sits as an independent representing British Columbia. He has been the Facilitator of the Independent Senators Group since 2017, and was re-elected for a second term in December 2019.

Senator Woo has worked on public policy issues related to Canada’s relations with Asian countries for more than 30 years. From 2005-2014, he was President and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and on the Standing Committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Committee. He is also Senior Fellow at Simon Fraser University’s Graduate School of Business, and at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia. He is a member of the Trilateral Commission and on the board of the Vancouver Academy of Music. He also serves on the Advisory Boards of the Mosaic Institute, the Canadian Ditchley Foundation, the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, and the York Centre for Asian Research. Senator Woo has been a member of the following Senate Standing Committees: Foreign Affairs and International Trade; National Finance; Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources; Selection; Transport and Communications; and Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament.

Kresse has also served as a Social Enterprise Ambassador for the UK Government and as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.