Speakers

KEYNOTE
Dr. David Suzuki – Opening keynote Co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, award-winning scientist, environmentalist, broadcaster, and author of 42 books, he is renowned for his radio and television programs exploring a range of natural science topics. He is the recipient of UNESCO’s Kalinga Prize for Science, the United Nation’s Environment Program Medal and the Global 500. He is recognized as a world leader in sustainable ecology.
.
Peter Schiefke – National Manager of The Climate Project Canada – Closing remarks Co-founder and former Director of Concordia Volunteer Abroad Program. Co-founder of Youth Action Montreal, an organisation whose 2007 “Less Talk, More Action” summit on climate change drew over 5,000 participants and featured for the first time together Nobel Laureate, Al Gore, and Dr. David Suzuki. Former Director of the Students for Sustainability Tour and now National Manager of The Climate Project Canada, Peter’s dedication to sustainability and outstanding work in the field has garnered him various public service commendations and awards including the Forces Avenir Award for Peace, Justice and Humanitarian Aid in 2008.
.

PANELISTS
Farouk Jiwa – Poverty Named one of the world’s “Most Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs” at the 2005 World Economic Forum in Davos, Farouk is now the Senior Regional Technical Advisor, Economic Development Unit, CARE USA, and provides technical support and program quality advice to a number of economic and value chain development projects being implemented by CARE in Africa and Asia. Previously, Farouk served as Director of CARE Enterprise Partners, a social venture capital unit of CARE Canada that applies market-based approaches to poverty reduction in the developing world, as well as Techincal Advisor for Economic Development in CARE Canada’s Strategic Programs Team.He is also Co-founder and Director of Honey Care Africa, a social enterprise promoting sustainable community-based beekeeping in eastern Africa. He is the recipient of numerous international awards including: the Equator Initiative Prize at the World Summit on Sustainable Development for his contributions to poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation; the International Development Marketplace Innovation Award from the World Bank and Soros Open Societies Institute; the Ismaili Youth Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship from His Highness Prince Amyn Aga Khan; and the World Business Award from the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum and UNDP in recognition of his contribution toward UN Millenium Goals.
.
Nancy Neamtan – Community Engagement Nancy Neamtan is President/Executive Director of the Chantier de l’économie sociale, a Quebec-wide organisation whose mission is the promotion and development of collective entrepreneurship. Since 1999, Ms. Neamtan has been Co-Director of ARUC-ÉS (Community University Research Alliance on the Social Economy). She was the founder and President of the Board of Directors of RISQ (Réseau d’investissement social du Québec), a $10 million investment fund dedicated to non-profit and cooperative enterprises. Since November 2006, she is President of the Fiducie du Chantier de l’économie sociale, a new $53 million investment fund for collective enterprises.In 1996, she was named by the Quebec government as representative of the community sector at the Commission des partenaires du marché du travail (Labour force partnership commission) and participated actively as member of the executive committee until 2008.She is the author or co-author of numerous articles, conferences and memoires on the subjects of social economy, solidarity financing and community economic development.
.
Peter Schiefke – Climate Change Peter is the National Manager of The Climate Project Canada and, as evidenced by his bio above, has an extensive background in grassroots mobilization in the field of sustainable development. Not only will he contribute to our issues pannel, he will attend the entire conference and provide the closing address.

.
Bob Willard – HR/ People Management A leading expert on the business value of corporate sustainability strategies, Bob applies business and leadership development experience from his 34-year career at IBM Canada to engage the business community in proactively avoiding risks and capturing opportunities associated with sustainability issues. He is the author of The Sustainability Advantage which quantifies potential bottom-line benefits from using sustainability strategies, and The Next Sustainability Wave which shows how to convince senior executives to commit to sustainability strategies. His most recent venture is a DVD presentation of The Business Case for Sustainability. Used in webinars and videoconferences, it helps reduce his carbon footprint from global speaking trips.
.
SECTOR EXPERTS
Kathy Bardswick, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Co-operators Group Ltd.Kathy began her career with The Co-operators in 1978. Prior to her appointment as President and CEO in 2002, Kathy served as Chief Operating Officer of The Sovereign General and L’Union Canadienne. From 1998-2002 she led these companies and their subsidiaries under the umbrella of The Co-operators Group Limited. Current chairperson of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, she is equally active in the co-operative sector, serving as the chairperson of the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation and as a member of the Credit Union Central of Canada’s CEO committee.A graduate of McMaster University’s M.B.A. program, Kathy also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Manitoba. She is also on the Board of Governors of the University of Guelph.
.

Martin-Éric Tremblay, Sr.VP and President Quebec Operations, The Co-operators Group Ltd. – MartinÉric has been part of the Canadian insurance industry for over 26 years. Within The Co-operators Group his career has included roles as General Manager and COO of L’Union Canadienne; Sr. VP Insurance Operations, Co-operators General Insurance Company; and now, Sr. VP Co-operators Group Ltd and President, Quebec Operations. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Insurance Institute of Canada. Martin-Éric holds a Bachelor in Actuarial Sciences from Laval University.
.
Karen Farbridge, Mayor City of Guelph – Karen Farbridge was re-elected as Mayor of the City of Guelph in 2006. First elected to Guelph City Council in 1994, she became the first female Mayor of Guelph in 2000 – a position she held until 2003.During her tenure in municipal politics, she has championned sustainabile approaches to community planning, waste management, water and waste management, transportation planning and natural area protection. Prior to entering municipal politics, Karen worked for 10 years as the Director of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (Guelph). She also worked on strategic initiatives in the Office of VP Research and taught courses on sustainability, democracy and environmental policy at the University of Guelph. Karen has an M.Sc and Ph.D in Biology from the University of Guelph. Recently, Karen obtained a Chartered Director designation from The Directors College, a joint venture of McMaster University and the Conference Board of Canada
.
Roger Eacock – President, SunOpta Canada – Roger joined SunOpta in March 2006 and brings over 20 years of global supply chain management, process engineering, business development, logistics, operations, and systems development. Prior to joining SunOpta, he held numerous senior leadership roles in supply chain, process engineering, and systems at Dell Computer, Levi Strauss, and Canadian Pacific. He holds degrees in Business and Sociology from the University of Windsor and is a certified Six-Sigma Black Belt.Roger is regularly sought out as a keynote and content expert speaker at numerous trade conferences and Canadian universities. He is also one of a select group of individuals who are trained and certified by Nobel Laureate Mr.Al Gore as a presenter of An Inconvenient Truth.
.
Peter MacConnachie, Manager of Environmental Issues, Suncor Energy Inc. – Peter has worked in technical, marketing and business development including financial and economic analysis roles over his career. Prior to joining Suncor, he worked for DuPont Canada in a variety of roles working with the automotive and pulp & paper industries. He has worked extensively in the fields of alternate fuels and the assessment of emerging energy technologies. In his current position, Peter plays a key role in developing and implementing Suncor’s strategies for minimizing environmental impact, identifying future issues and ensuring the sustainability of the current and future operations. Peter has a M.Sc. in Chemistry from Queen’s, and MBA from U. of Alberta and a B.Sc. from U. of Victoria.
.
Esther Speck, Director of Sustainability and Community for Mountain Equipment Co-op – Prior to joining MEC, Esther was the principal of a sustainability consulting business that collaborated with organizations such as the Resort Municipality of Whistler, the Vancity Credit Union and Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. She has been involved with The Natural Step Canada for many years and was one of the early implementers of the framework both for decision making and capacity building. Esther was the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Mountain Equipment Co-op, director of the Aurora Institute and Net Impact Chapter Founder. She is currently on the Board of the Whistler Centre for Sustainability and Bridgehead Coffee. Esther holds an MBA and a Masters of Resource and Environmental Management.
.
Frances Edmonds, Director Environmental Programs, Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. – Frances’ background includes work as a UK Government enforcer of environmental health and safety requirements and in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. During her tenure with HP, she has worked in a number of areas including environmental health and safety and has assisted HP Canada in launching its hardware takeback program, its inkjet recycling program and is now working with many Canadian jurisdictions and stakeholders to develop effective end-of-life management systems for electronics.Frances has worked with Electronic Product Stewardship Canada (EPSC) from its first meeting more than six years ago. Today she represents the electronics industry on Alberta’s industry advisory council and sits on the boards of Electronics Stewardship British Columbia and Ontario Electonics Stewardship.
.
Neil Labatte, Principal, Global Dimension Capital – Neil has been in the real estate business since 1982. He led the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts acquisition, development and real estate activities until 2004 when he became full time CEO of Legacy Hotels, Canada’s largest REIT. At both Fairmont and Legacy,, he was responsible for over $6 billion of real estate assets and transacted financing both in the capital markets and project specific level.
.
Scott Richardson, Plant Manager McNeil Consumer Healthcare – Scott joined McNeil Consumer Healthcare in 1984 as a Chemist in Quality Control. Subsequent roles in the production, logistics and systems areas led to a senior leadership position when Scott was promoted to Vice President, Operations in 2002. Scott was named Plant Manager for the McNeil Consumer Healthcare facility in Guelph in 2007. McNeil Consumer Healthcare is the worlds largest over the counter drug company and a member of the global Johnson and Johnson organization.

LEARNING SESSIONS
Ethics of Sustainability & Ethical Consumerism – Led by Tom Ewart, Managing Director of the Research Network for Business Sustainability which uses evidence-based knowledge to foster collaboration between research and practice. Tom has worked at the Network since its inception, helping to conceive the idea, develop funding proposals, recruit over 500 members, and manage its activities from funding research to hosting dialogue events. Tom has taught business sustainability courses in the University of Western Ontario’s Masters of Environment and Sustainability program, and in the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Environment and Business.
.
Creative Tension to Produce Innovation – Tim Coates is a co-founder and Executive Director of 21 inc., an action tank that develops and inspires Atlantic Canada’s emerging young leaders.In 2007, Tim completed a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F.Kennedy School of Government. His experience includes: community development in post-Katrina New Orleans; regional economic development with ACOA; refugee policy; and a CIDA internship in India evaulating micro-finance projects. In 2005, Tim was named one of New Brunswick’s 21 leaders for the 21st Century and an Action Canada Fellow (2007/2008).He received his B.A. in economics from St.Thomas University where he now lectures in economics.Moonlighting as an occasional print journalist, his work has been published in The Boston Globe, Progress Magazine, The Daily Gleaner and the Telegraph Journal.
.
Using your Leadership Style for Change – Led by Françoise Morisette, a Fellow at Queen’s University’s Industrial Relations Centre and co-author of Made in Canada Leadership, a Canadian top 10 best selling business book (2007). As a consultant, Françoise is a major national and international contributor to the field of Organisational Development. In 2008, she was made a Fellow of the Wallace McCain Institute for business leadership, whose mission is to expand the leadership capacity New Brunswick’s most promising entrepreneurs. This initiative contitutes a cornerstone of the province’s vision and strategic plan for an autonomous, sustainable and prosperous future. Françoise regularly presents at major conferences in Canada and abroad.
.
On-line Activism & Networking- This workshop will be led by Elijah van der Giessen, Creative Services Coordinator for the David Suzuki Foundation in Vancouver. Eli shepherds web projects at the Foundation and leads online outreach activities. With a background in festival production and volunteer management, he uses his on-the-ground experience with community-building to build online constituencies. Eli’s recent accomplishments include nearly doubling the Foundation’s supporter base through social networking sites and successfully moving DSF supporters up the engagement ladder into more active participants. Eli is also an active volunteer in the social change and new media spheres. Current projects include organizing Vancouver’s Change Camp conference, Net Tuesday, where nonprofits are partnered and trained in social media, and local Us Now film showings.
.
Analyzing Public Trends to Create Action Plans- Tove Malmqvist has been with GlobeScan since 2005. She is an expert on global societal views of corporate behaviour and is a member of the team of researchers responsible for the CSR Monitor Research Program, an annual 30+ country survey on the changing public expectations of the private sector since 1999. She has been involved in a large number of syndicated and custom studies on public and stakeholder perceptions of corporate responsibility and sustainability. Originally from Sweden, Tove is based in Toronto.
.
Framing your Message for Government & Media – Dominique O’Rourke will facilitate this workshop. A former Parliamentary Intern, lobbyist and Director of Public Affairs for The Co-operators Group, she has spent over a decade coaching senior executives on how to achieve business goals by communicating via media, federal and provincial governments and public relations. An expert in issues management and crisis communications, Dominique is now owner and Principal of Accolade Communications, a Guelph-based strategic communications consulting firm.