Speakers
Speakers at a Glance
Stay tuned for MORE speakers, plenary sessions and workshops in the coming weeks…
Mistress of Ceremonies
Pamela Martin
Trailblazing, award-winning news anchor and journalist. Public catalyst for change throughout British Columbia.
Special Guests & Keynotes
AHSIA
Singer / Songwriter, The Sarah McLachlan School of Music
Amanda Nahanee (Shamantsut)
Senior Cultural Ambassador, Chinook SongCatchers
Dr. Timothy Shriver
Chairman Of Special Olympics International, Co-Founder, Unite, Co-Author of “The Call to Unite: Voices of Hope and Wakening”
Honourable Janet Austin
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
Seven Taviss
Singer / Songwriter, The Sarah McLachlan School of Music
Plenary Sessions
Alyse Nelson
Co-Founder, President & CEO
Vital Voices Global Partnership
Amanda Ellis
Executive Director, Hawaii and Asia-Pacific, Arizona State University
Ashifa Jumani
Director of Procurement, TELUS
Barbara Mowat
President & Founder
GroYourBiz Ltd.
Bessie Schwarz
Co-Founder
Cloud to Street
Betty Hines
President and Founder, Betty Hines Business Strategist
and Women Elevating Women (W.E.W.)
Carmi Levy
Canadian Technology Analyst and Journalist
Carol Attak
Senior Manager of Global Supplier Diversity and Sustainability,
BMO Harris Bank
Carolyn Cross
Chairman & CEO,
Ondine Biomedical Inc.
Cassandra Dorrington
President & CEO
Canadian Aboriginal & Minority Supplier Council (CAMSC)
Catherine Grosz
Manager, Corporate Membership,
WBE Canada
Celso Afonseca
Manager, Account Services & Program Operations,
Staples Promotional Products
Dale McDermott
COO, Canada’s LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce
Dan Lutkenhouse Jr.
President & Executive Director, Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
Deidre Guy
Founder, Inclusive Workplace & Supply Council of Canada (IWSCC)
Dr. Alex Mihailidis
Associate Vice President – International Partnerships, University of Toronto
Dr. Angela Marshall
President & CEO,
Comprehensive Women’s Health
Dr. Antoinette Farmer-Thompson
Co-Founder, Foundation for Female Equity & Inclusion
Dr. Darryl Plecas
Former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
Dr. Martha Dow
Director, Community Health & Social Innovation Hub (Chasi)
Dr. Maymunah Kadiri
CEO & Founder,
Pinnacle Medical Services
Dr. Tai Neilson
Author of “Journalism and Digital Labor: Experiences of Online News Production”
Hadeel Mustafa Anabtawi
Founder, The Alchemist Lab
Hülya Kurt
Co-Founder, InnKick, President, OWIT Lake Geneva
Jennifer Sloan
Vice President, Public Policy – Canada, Mastercard
Julie Hansen
Global Executive Advisor,
Office of the CEO, Salesforce
Laura Reinholz
Director,
BMO for Women
Laura Tamblyn Watts
President & CEO, Canada’s National Seniors’ Advocacy Organization (CanAge)
Lisa Milburn
Chief Marketing & Communication Officer, BMO for Women
Susan Beharriell
Lieutenant Colonel (ret’d)
O.M.M., CD.
Lisa Siragusa
President, NRG TeleResources
and WBE Supplier
Suzanne P.
Vares-Lum
Major General,
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
Monique Maissan
Founder & CEO
Vision Textiles and Waste2Wear
Ritesh Kotak
Tech Entrepreneur and Digital Strategist
Ron Beleno
Caregiver, AGE-WELL
Seher Shafiq
Co-Founder, Cardamom & Co.
Sheri Griffiths
Senior Vice President & Head of Greater Ontario Canadian Commercial Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal
Silvia Pencak
President, WBE Canada
Sophie Pierre
OBC, OOC & Ktunaxa Hereditary Chief
Susan Crawford
Telecommunications Policy & Law Expert, & Professor, Harvard Law
Tara Hartley
Regional Director, Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Pacific Region at PWGSC
Valrie Grant
Founder, GeoTechVision
Whitney McWade
Director, Sustainability Strategy, Disclosure and Impact, BMO Financial Group
Meet The Experts
Addie Greco-Sanchez
President, AGS Rehab
Angela Heit
Founder & CEO,
Crysalis Consulting Group Inc.
Angela Marshall Hofmann
President, World Strategies, LLC,
and USMCA
Anne Freedman
CEO & President
Speakout Inc.
Bill Erichson
Owner,
William Erichson Business Solutions
Brandy Ferrer
President & CEO, Pathfinder Strategies
Camelia Mazard
Esquire, Doyle, Barlow & Mazard PLLC
Carol Schulte
Founder, Living Big
Chala Dincoy
Founder & CEO, Coachtactics
Dr. Dionne Laslo-Baker
Founder, DeeBee’s Organics
Faizun Kamal
Author, and CEO,
The Franchise Consulting Company
Frida Owinga
Founder, PassionProfit Ltd.
Kim Ades
President and Founder, Frame of Mind Coaching & JournalEngine
Lorna McLaren
Founder, McLaren Formula Training
Marty Britton
President & CEO
Britton Management Profile Inc.
Michèle Soregaroli
Co-Founder, Master Certified Coach
Transformation Catalyst
Norma Biln
CEO, Augurex
Trish Tonaj
Founder, Owner of Phaze2inc. and shareyourstories.online
Vania Sakelaris
Principal, VAS & Associates Inc. and Markham & Toronto Chair, GroYourBiz
Moderators
Catherine Gardiner
President,
CG Marketing & Communications
Crystal D’Cunha
Chief Experience Officer,
The INSIDE View Inc.
Holly Sorgen
Owner, EmPower Up! &
GroYourBiz Grande Prairie Chair
Jennifer Cooke
Manager, Inclusive Trade and National Lead,
Women in Trade, Export Development Canada
Marg Hachey
Managing Director, Ontario and Eastern Canada, GroYourBiz Ltd.
Patricia Ross
Councillor,
City of Abbotsford
Petra Mayer
Founder, Petra Mayer & Associates Consulting.
Susan Baka
President, Bay Communications & Marketing Inc.
Susan Kabani
CEO, Ugenie.io & Co-Chair,
GroYourBiz London, UK
Susi Graf
Owner, SusAble Consulting
Victoria Eastwood
Founder, InSync Executive Coaching
Entertainment
Olivia Dennis
Chef, Cookology
