Senator Michèle Audette is a well-known Indigenous leader. Daughter of a Québécois father and an Innu mother, Michèle Audette comes from the Innu community of Uashat mak Mani-Utenam in Quebec. She has played a key role in transforming the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Quebec and Canadian society since the 1990s. At only 27 years of age, she was elected president of the association Quebec Native Women. In 2004, she was appointed associate deputy minister to the Secrétariat à ...
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Julia Elvidge (BSc, BASc, ICD.D)brings 30 years of high technology business experience to her work as an adviser, board member and investor. She is the co-founder of SheBoot, a bootcamp for women entrepreneurs of scalable tech and tech-enabled businesses preparing for their first external investment, a critical period for any founder’s journey but especially difficult for women. In addition, Julia works as an advisor at Invest Ottawa and serves on the Capital Angel Network (CAN) andCentre of Ex...
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Dr. Jerome Bickenbach is a professor at the University of Lucerne and professor emeritus at Queen’s University. He is  co-group leader of the Disability Policy and Implementation Research unit at Swiss Paraplegic Research, Nottwil. He has a PhD in political philosophy and a law degree, and was a practising human rights lawyer for several years. Bickenbach’s research interests include disability studies, health sciences, rehabilitation in primary care, and health systems studies focusing ...
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Edith Cloutier, a member of the Anicinabe First Nation, has dedicated herself to building bridges between peoples, improving the well-being of urban Indigenous peoples and advocating for the rights of First Peoples.  She holds a bachelor’s in accounting and has been director of the Val d’Or Native Friendship Centre since 1989. She is known for her warm, dynamic, solution-oriented approach. Under her direction, the centre has become a true hub offering innovative services to First Peoples. ...
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Anne McLellan, PC, OC, AOE, served four terms as the Liberal MP for Edmonton Centre, during which time she served as deputy prime minister of Canada, as well as holding various portfolios including public safety and emergency preparedness, health, justice and attorney general of Canada, and natural resources. McLellan joined Bennett Jones LLP in its Edmonton office in July 2006.  McLellan serves on the boards of Summit REIT and Invest Alberta Corporation.  Among her many community ...
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Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng is vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town. Previously, she served as vice principal for research and innovation at the University of South Africa (Unisa) for five years, after serving three years as executive dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology at Unisa. Phakeng’s  academic career began in 1996 at the University of the Witwatersrand, as a research assistant. She left in December 2007 as an associate professor of mathematics educa...
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In 2006, Michelle Bachelet became the first woman to be elected as president of Chile, despite the country’s staunchly conservative character. After surviving the Pinochet regime, living in exile and fighting successfully to restore democracy in Chile, Michele Bachelet, a physician by profession, was appointed to several high-level positions in the Chilean government. As president, she bolstered Chile’s international relations, reinvigorated the country’s economy and established a sturdy social...
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On October 1, 2017, Dr. Gilles G. Patry was appointed executive director of the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities.  With a long, distinguished career as a consultant, researcher and university administrator, he brings to the U15 a wealth of experience from the private, public and academic sectors. Dr. Patry holds a BASc and an MASc in civil engineering from the University of Ottawa and a PhD from the University of California Davis in environmental engineering. He was an environm...
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Doris Peltier is Anishinaabe from Wikwemikoong, a First Nations community located on the unceded territory of the Odawa, Ojibway and Pottawatami peoples, on Ontario’s Manitoulin Island. She is currently community engagement coordinator with the Feast Centre for Indigenous STBBI Research, a partnership between McMaster University and the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network. Doris is currently completing Visioning Health II, a national study by and for HIV-positive Indigenous women in Canada. ...
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He and his spouse, Lynne Routhier, had four children, including two who died of lactic acidosis, a hereditary disease common in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, but rare elsewhere around the world. Laurie passed away in 1997 at the age of four and Raphaël passed away in 2000 at 20 months. The year Raphaël was born, 1998, 10 other children in the region were born with lactic acidosis. Pierre told himself that he couldn’t let lactic acidosis continue to wreak its devastation. He used all his ...
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