Michael D. DeGagné has been president and CEO of Indspire since 2020. Indspire is an Indigenous national charity that supports and invests in the education of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people across Turtle Island.He was appointed president and vice-chancellor of Nipissing University in 2013, becoming one of the first Indigenous presidents of a Canadian public university. While president of Nipissing, Dr. DeGagné dedicated much of his work to Indigenous issues, ensuring that Nipissing Univ...
More about Mike DeGagné C.M., O.Ont., PhD, L.L.D. (Hon)

Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer was born in Germany in 1928. At the age of 10 she was sent to a children’s home in Switzerland to escape the Holocaust. At 17, she went to Israel, where she fought for Israel’s independence as a member of the Haganah and was severely wounded in a bomb blast. She moved to Paris, where she studied at the Sorbonne and taught kindergarten, and then went to the U.S. in 1956 where she received a master’s in sociology from the New School of Social Research. In 1970, she received...
More about Ruth K. Westheimer

Albert Dumont is Ottawa’s former English Poet Laureate. He is serving his community as a member of the Grandparents Counsel for Well Living House, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto. He has worked as an Elder for the Parole Board of Canada at elder-assisted hearings and was employed by Correctional Services Canada as a spiritual advisor for the Indigenous men incarcerated at Millhaven Institution’s J Unit near Kingston, Ontario.He is an activist, a volunteer and a poet who has published six books ...
More about Elder Albert Dumont Algonquin, Kitigan Zibi

Alexandra Szacka was born into a family of scholars who survived the Holocaust. When Alexandra was 15, she and her family were forced to flee their native Poland to find refuge in France. Shortly afterwards, they left that country to settle in Canada, specifically in Quebec.She began her post-secondary education in the pure science program at the Cégep de Trois-Rivières, before going on to study biochemistry, and then anthropology, at Laval University, where she earned a master’s degree.After w...
More about Alexandra Szacka

Daniel Alfredsson was born on December 11, 1972, in Göteborg, Sweden, where he grew up playing ice hockey. He played 82 professional games with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League for three seasons in the early 1990’s, which led him to be picked in the sixth round of the 1994 NHL draft (133rd overall) by the Ottawa Senators. This pick would culminated in an NHL career spanning 18 seasons.Although Alfredsson had raised few expectations when he was drafted into the NHL, he proved to be a deligh...
More about Daniel Alfredsson

Sam Tsemberis, PhD, is a clinical-community psychologist who originated the Housing First model, an evidence-based program for effectively ending homelessness for individuals diagnosed with mental illness and addiction. Housing First programs have been successfully implemented across the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Professor Tsemberis has decades of experience in program operations, training, consultation, and research. He currently serves as CEO of the Pathways Housing Firs...
More about Sam Tsemberis

André Picard is the health columnist at The Globe and Mail, where he has been a staff writer since 1987. He is also the author of six books, including “Neglected No More: The Urgent Need To Improve The Lives of Canada’s Elders” and “The Gift of Death: Confronting Canada’s Tainted Blood Tragedy.” He has received much acclaim for his writing and dedication to improving health care, including the Michener Prize for Meritorious Public Service Journalism, the National Newspaper Award as Canada’s to...
More about André Picard

Perry Dellelce is founder and managing partner of Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, one of Canada’s leading corporate finance and transactional law firms. Mr. Dellelce practises in the areas of securities, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. His expertise in the areas of securities, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions has made him a trusted advisor to numerous entrepreneurs, executives, and corporations. He has been named to the Common Law Honour Society, recognized in The Best La...
More about Perry Dellelce

Marie Lemay is the President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint.   Ms. Lemay has served in senior leadership positions for 25 years. Prior to joining the Mint in 2019, she served as Deputy Minister and Deputy Receiver General for Canada at Public Services and Procurement Canada. Ms. Lemay also served as President of the Canada Economic Development Agency for Quebec Regions, which promotes the long-term Economic development of the regions of Quebec, and was Associate Deputy Minister at Inf...
More about Marie Lemay

Makhtar Diop is the Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, and the largest global development institution focused on the private sector.  As the head of IFC, Mr. Diop is focused on mobilizing investments and private sector development in emerging and developing economies to ensure a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable future. His priorities include addressing the intertwined issues of poverty and climate change, promot...
More about Makhtar Diop