Speakers


Speakers at a Glance

Stay tuned for MORE speakers, plenary sessions and workshops in the coming weeks…

Mistress of Ceremonies

pamela martin

Pamela Martin

Trailblazing, award-winning news anchor and journalist. Public catalyst for change throughout British Columbia.

Special Guests & Keynotes

Ahsia Photo

AHSIA

Singer / Songwriter, The Sarah McLachlan School of Music

Amanda Nahanee (Shamantsut)

Senior Cultural Ambassador, Chinook SongCatchers
Dr. Timothy Shriver, Author, The Call to Unite: Voices of Hope and Awakening,

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

Honourable Janet Austin

Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
Seven Taviss Photo

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

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

Carmi Levy

Canadian Technology Analyst and Journalist
Carol Attak

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

Catherine Grosz

Manager, Corporate Membership,
WBE Canada
Celso Afonseca

Celso Afonseca

Manager, Account Services & Program Operations,
Staples Promotional Products
Dale Mcdermott

Dale McDermott

COO, Canada’s LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce
Dan Lutkenhouse Jr Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Dan Lutkenhouse Jr.

President & Executive Director, Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Deidre Guy

Founder, Inclusive Workplace & Supply Council of Canada (IWSCC)
Dr. Alex Mihailidis

Dr. Alex Mihailidis

Associate Vice President – International Partnerships, University of Toronto
Dr. Angela Marshall

Dr. Angela Marshall

President & CEO,
Comprehensive Women’s Health
Dr. Antoinette Farmer-Thompson

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

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"

Dr. Tai Neilson

Author of “Journalism and Digital Labor: Experiences of Online News Production”

Hadeel Mustafa Anabtawi

Founder, The Alchemist Lab
Hülya Kurt

Hülya Kurt

Co-Founder, InnKick, President, OWIT Lake Geneva
Jennifer Sloan headshot

Jennifer Sloan

Vice President, Public Policy – Canada, Mastercard
Julie Hansen Salesforce

Julie Hansen

Global Executive Advisor,
Office of the CEO, Salesforce
Laura Reinholz BMO For Women

Laura Reinholz

Director,
BMO for Women
Laura Tamblyn Watts

Laura Tamblyn Watts

President & CEO, Canada’s National Seniors’ Advocacy Organization (CanAge)
Lisa Milburn

Lisa Milburn

Chief Marketing & Communication Officer, BMO for Women

Susan Beharriell

Lieutenant Colonel (ret’d)
O.M.M., CD.
Lisa Siragusa

Lisa Siragusa

 President, NRG TeleResources
and WBE Supplier

Suzanne P.
Vares-Lum

Major General,
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
Monique Maissan Waste2Wear

Monique Maissan

Founder & CEO
Vision Textiles and Waste2Wear
Ritesh Kotak

Ritesh Kotak

Tech Entrepreneur and Digital Strategist
Ron Beleno

Ron Beleno

Caregiver, AGE-WELL
Seher Shafiq

Seher Shafiq

Co-Founder, Cardamom & Co.
Sheri Griffiths

Sheri Griffiths

Senior Vice President & Head of Greater Ontario Canadian Commercial Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal

Silvia Pencak

President, WBE Canada
Sophie Pierre

Sophie Pierre

OBC, OOC & Ktunaxa Hereditary Chief
Susan Crawford Telecommunications Policy & Law Expert, & Professor, Harvard Law

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 GeoTechVision

Valrie Grant

Founder, GeoTechVision
Whitney McWade BMO Financial Group

Whitney McWade

Director, Sustainability Strategy, Disclosure and Impact, BMO Financial Group

Meet The Experts

Addie Greco-Sanchez

President, AGS Rehab
Angela Heit

Angela Heit

Founder & CEO,
Crysalis Consulting Group Inc.
ngela Marshall Hofmann EXCELerate 2020

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

Camelia Mazard

Esquire, Doyle, Barlow & Mazard PLLC

Carol Schulte

Founder, Living Big

Chala Dincoy

Founder & CEO, Coachtactics
Dr. Dionne Laslo-Baker

Dr. Dionne Laslo-Baker

Founder, DeeBee’s Organics

Faizun Kamal

Author, and CEO,
The Franchise Consulting Company
Frida Owinga

Frida Owinga

Founder, PassionProfit Ltd.
Kim Ades

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 Augurex CEO

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

Catherine Gardiner

President,
CG Marketing & Communications
Crystal D'Cunha

Crystal D’Cunha

Chief Experience Officer,
The INSIDE View Inc.
Holly Sorgen

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

Marg Hachey

Managing Director, Ontario and Eastern Canada, GroYourBiz Ltd.
Patricia Ross

Patricia Ross

Councillor,
City of Abbotsford
Petra Mayer

Petra Mayer

Founder, Petra Mayer & Associates Consulting.

Susan Baka

President, Bay Communications & Marketing Inc.
Susan Kabani

Susan Kabani

CEO, Ugenie.io & Co-Chair,
GroYourBiz London, UK
Susi Graf

Susi Graf

Owner, SusAble Consulting
Victoria Eastwood

Victoria Eastwood

Founder, InSync Executive Coaching

Entertainment

Chef Olivia Dennis Cookology

Olivia Dennis

Chef, Cookology

Sajedeh Zaki 

Poet & Director
Fresh Voices