For more than two decades, Kenneth Roth has helped raise awareness of human rights atrocities and given voice to the most vulnerable on our planet. Under his leadership, Human Rights Watch has grown enormously in the causes it defends, in its geographic reach and in its stature. Much of his life has been defined by his commitment to justice, accountability and freedom for all.
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Samantha Nutt, Founder and Executive Director of War Child Canada, is a medical doctor with more than fifteen years of experience working in war zones.  Committed to peace, human rights and social justice, her humanitarian work has benefited hundreds of thousands of war-affected children globally. Dr. Nutt’s work has been widely recognized and she has received many honours, including the Order of Ontario.
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For the past 30 years, Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann has been at the forefront of computer graphics and computer animation. Her laboratory, MIRALab, is one of the most dynamic in Europe and her cutting edge research is distinguished by abundant interdisciplinarity. The vast knowledge and creativity flowing from this scientific pioneer expresses itself in award-winning research at the crossroads between art and science.
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The nomination of the Honourable Louis LeBel to the Supreme Court of Canada, the country’s highest court, capped a stellar career marked by excellence. Perfectly at ease in Canada’s two law traditions and possessing an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law, Justice Louis LeBel has significantly contributed to the advancement of law and jurisprudence in Canada.
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For Nancy Huston, writing is an unlimited well of experimentation that allows the possibility of leading many lives. Gracefully at ease in both English and French, this award-winning author has explored a wide range of styles and the meanderings of the human spirit through 30 or so novels and essays pushing aside traditional styles, conventions or chronology.
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During his 38 year public service career, Robert Fowler was foreign policy advisor to Prime Ministers Trudeau, Turner and Mulroney, deputy minister of national defence and Canada’s longest serving ambassador to the United Nations. He was ambassador to Italy and three UN food agencies, sherpa for the Kananaskis G8 Summit and the personal representative for Africa of Prime Ministers Chrétien, Martin and Harper. He retired from the federal public service in 2006, and is now a senior fellow at the ...
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Madeleine Dion Stout is a pre-eminent force in health care and Aboriginal issues. For more than 40 years she has deftly contributed to health reform activities, health education, the development of public policy and an improved health care system for all Canadians, with a particular focus on First Nations, Inuit and Métis.
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Playwright, novelist, poet, writer and actor, Jean Marc Dalpé is a multi-talented artist who’s fertile and varied work has nourished the development of Franco-Ontarian and French-Canadian literature. Charged with measures of both humour and anger, his texts are delivered in the real and stark language of the dispossessed. His work has garnered a number of awards including three Governor General Awards.
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A business visionary and accomplished corporate leader, Rob Ashe transformed Cognos (now owned by IBM) from a specialized tools provider into a world-leading business intelligence and performance management company. A community-minded influencer, he has used his knowledge and business acumen to champion business analytics, higher education and workforce skills.
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With a career in government and academia that has spanned over 30 years, former President and Vice-Chancellor of Carleton University Richard Van Loon has contributed significantly to public policy and higher education in Canada. His expertise is sought by many, from the Mayor of Ottawa for his task force to streamline the City’s government to the Centre for the Study of Living Standards.
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