Speaker and Moderator Line Up

Ron received his Ph.D from Columbia University, taught political science in universities for two decades, worked as a researcher and speech-writer at the United Nations, and has authored numerous studies on measures of population health, social wellbeing, economic security, natural resource health, and environmental quality. From 2001-2005 he served as editor-in-chief of the national magazine, Reality Check: The Canadian Review of Wellbeing.

Ron worked with the Royal Government of Bhutan for more than a decade on its holistic measures of progress, on bringing its integrated Gross National Happiness (GNH) development approach into the education system and national accounts, on the new GNH Centre, and on hosting a major high-level meeting at the United Nations with 800 government, academic, religious, and civil society leaders to launch a new development paradigm. In 2005 Ron and GPI Atlantic hosted the Second International Conference on Gross National Happiness, titled ReThinking Development: Local Pathways to Global Wellbeing in Canada, with 450 leading delegates from 33 countries. He is presently working on the Samdrup Jongkhar Initiative, a civil society-based development project in south-eastern Bhutan.

His experience includes farmers’ markets and economic impact of agriculture in Ontario, greenbelt agriculture, international rural development and project management of large interdisciplinary rural development projects, with specialty areas including economic impact assessment, evaluation, economic impact of agriculture, survey and research methods.

He specializes in monitoring and evaluation and has done assignments with this focus around the world. Recent work in this regard ranges from local food charters in Thunder Bay and Simcoe to decentralization at Unicef in Indonesia and Social Circus among the Inuit in Northern Quebec.

He holds Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Geography from Clark University and is a Registered Professional Planner.

Elliott completed her PhD in medical geography in 1992 and accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in Geography at the University of Victoria. In 1994, she moved to McMaster University as an Assistant Professor in Geography linked to the McMaster Institute of Environment and Health. She left McMaster in 2010 to move to the University of Waterloo as Dean of Applied Health Sciences. In her time at McMaster, she took on a variety of administrative and research leadership roles including Director of the Institute of Environment and Health, Senior Research Fellow in the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health as well as Dean of Social Sciences.

Her primary research focus is on relationships between environment and (public) health, both of which are broadly defined. As such, she explores the role of the built environment, the role of the socially constructed environment, and the role of the physical environment. She recently accepted a lead role in the AllerGen NCE, as a program lead for the theme related to policy, public health and society related to gene-environment interactions around food allergy. As such, she is the Principal Investigator for the development of a National Food Allergy Strategy for Canada. The majority of her research is characterized by science-policy bridging; that is, how can science affect policy and hence human health.

Elliott is an active researcher, both in Canada and in the developing world. She is also Senior Editor (Medical Geography) for Social Science and Medicine, the most frequently cited social sciences journal in the world. She currently supervises an amazing team of research students and staff; see: https://uwaterloo.ca/geographies-of-health-in-place/

In managing complex emergency projects, she has worked directly with victims of conflict and natural disaster in Uganda, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti and Pakistan. Asha has also been involved in the development of high-level training courses for senior humanitarian managers, working with various organizations in Canada, Spain and the Netherlands. Asha began teaching part-time in Humber’s postgraduate International Project Management Program in 2012 while working as Associate Director of Médecins Sans Frontièrs/Doctors Without Borders Canada, and most recently spent two months in Indonesia with Humber’s Sulawesi Economic Development Strategy Project (SEDS). She took over as Manager of the International Development Institute in January of 2014. Asha holds Bachelors in Political Science from Trent University as well as a Masters in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics.

TJ has worked with World Vision for the past 8+ years in a variety of different roles. This has included in Advocacy and Education, in Marketing overseeing the 30 Hour Famine campaign and currently in International Programs covering countries in Southern Africa. TJ has recently returned from Zimbabwe where he worked for one year with the World Vision office there to help strengthen their grants acquisition and management working with donors such as the UN, Global Fund, DFID, etc.

TJ has an Undergraduate degree from the University of Waterloo in English and Religious Studies and a Master’s degree from the University of Guelph in International Development and Capacity Building. He is also a recent graduate of the Arrow Leadership Program.  TJ has been married to his wife Heather for over 12 years and they have two boys, Everest who is 6 and Isaiah who is 4.

Driven by a passion to prove that profit and purpose must go hand in hand to generate large scale social impact, he set out to build a hybrid company – part agency/part social innovation lab – that creates social impact through public engagement, fundraising, advocacy and volunteer engagement programs, campaigns, platforms and businesses. As CEO, he is responsible for overseeing the strategic and creative growth of the business. Phillip is a columnist for Fast Company and the Financial Post writing on “profitable good”. PUBLIC’s clients include: Unilever, Rexall, Indigo, Public Health Agency of Canada, Toronto Public Health, WWF, YMCA, ParticipACTION, Partners for Mental Health, Alzheimer’s Society, and White Ribbon.

His first overseas post was as a young volunteer coordinating infrastructure projects in post-war Central America. His most recent overseas experience has been working with refugee and human rights organizations in the Middle East and Central Africa.

John's areas of interest are primarily the promotion of democracy, good governance, and human rights. Over the years, he has worked with international organizations including the Carter Center and the OSCE as well as grassroots, local agencies. He has served as an elections expert on more than 10 election observation missions around the world including South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Palestinian Territories, and Bangladesh.

Faisal Moola is one of Canada’s most respected environmental scientists and advocates. His research in conservation science and environmental policy has been published in numerous academic journals and award-winning books and he is a regular contributor to the opinion pages of Canada’s leading newspapers. For the past decade Faisal has led an expert team of scientists, policy experts and community organizers at the David Suzuki Foundation, in support of the protection of Canada’s cherished wild spaces and endangered species, as well as the greening of our towns and cities. Faisal has been at the forefront of some of Canada’s most iconic environmental battles, including successful efforts to protect B.C.’s Great Bear Rainforest and efforts to pass a national law to protect endangered species throughout the country. After living for several years on the west coast, Faisal has come back to the Greater Toronto Area, where he was born and raised. He is Director General for the Ontario and Canada’s North Department at the David Suzuki Foundation and has an adjunct faculty appointment at the University of Toronto and York University. He’s an avid cyclist and spends as much time as possible exploring the wonders of nature with his family.

She entered the humanitarian world from the front door doing field work with different organizations around the world. From her travels in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, Nepal, Bosnia and more, she has studied and researched the position of women and girls in different places and the communities surrounding them, using her skills as both an English teacher and humanitarian clown to break through barriers. Marissa has spent extensive time with sex workers in India’s red light districts and survivors of human trafficking in Nepal and Italy.

After a long time away from home, Marissa returned to Canada in 2013 and founded Aura Freedom International (www.aurafreedom.org), plunging head-first into projects in human trafficking and girls’ education. 

Slightly radical and always bold, Marissa’s strengths lie in her unwavering passion for equality and her ability to put power into the hands of women and girls and move people with her strong words and writing. 

She believes in the power of art to advance humanity. Theatre, film and music have always been her outlet, while human rights and gender issues have always kept the rhythm of her heart. And yes, she is still a big clown.

She has worked with national and international organizations in conflict contexts in Colombia, with a focus on education, health, prevention of child soldier recruitment, and early childhood.

Her portfolio includes work at the Colombian National Planning Department, which oversees the country’s social development progress.

Maria Paula holds a double Master’s Degree in Development and Governance from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, and International Relations from the Barcelona Institute of International Studies. She joined Plan Canada two years ago as a Program Manager for the Protecting the Rights of Conflict-Affected and Vulnerable Children in Colombia program.

Along with Murray Klippenstein, he currently represents 13 Mayan Q’eqchi’ in three groundbreaking lawsuits against Canadian company HudBay Minerals regarding human rights abuse in Guatemala. Cory and Murray also recently represented a coalition of human rights organizations in an intervention at the Supreme Court of Canada in the matter of Yaiguaje v Chevron. Cory has appeared at all levels of court in Ontario and Alberta.

Cory is a frequent speaker on the topics of corporate accountability, Canadian mining and human rights, and has guest-lectured at various universities and faculties of law throughout Canada. He is a graduate from the University of Alberta (B.A.) (2004) and the University of Toronto (J.D.) (2008).

He is responsible for business engagement on children’s rights as part of corporate responsibility, government fundraising, liaison with other UNICEF offices, and advising on child protection issues. Prior to his role at UNICEF Canada, Simon served for six years as UK Coordinator for a leading international anti-human trafficking organization in London, England. He oversaw government relations, project management, funding proposals, media commentary and training delivery, and advised on business engagement. He currently lives in Ontario with his wife and two-year-old daughter, and is an avid Manchester United soccer fan.

She spent 12 years based overseas providing direct services to victims of natural disasters and conflict.  She started teaching at Humber part time in 2006 and became the Program Coordinator of the Post Graduate International Development program in 2009.

Susan has worked with a number of agencies including; Air Serv International, the Red Cross, World Vision and UNHCR focusing on the management and logistics of operating in difficult locations.  She has worked in the following countries on a variety of development and relief situations:  Indonesia, Chad, Sudan, DR Congo, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Angola , Mozambique and Liberia.

She continues to remain involved in the field through consultancies with the Red Cross, Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, World Vision, and Air Serv International.  She also serves as a regular guest lecturer at the US Air Force Special Operations University.

Susan holds a Bachelor of Tourism Management, an MBA and a Masters of Disaster and Emergency Management.

Marilyn worked with MSF as a Field Nurse in Uganda, a Training Consultant and Medical Coordinator in Sudan, and a Medical Coordinator and Head of Mission in South Sudan and Liberia. Also, Marilyn served as Operational Director and later as Director of Operations for MSF in Switzerland. She spent six years as the Executive Director of MSF in Canada. Following this, Marilyn led the medical and research organization, Dignitas International. In recognition of her community service, Marilyn received a Queen’s Alumni Humanitarian Award, an Honorary Doctorate degree, and the Order of Ontario.

David Miller was Mayor of Toronto from 2003 to 2010 and Chair of the influential C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group from 2008 – 2010. Under his leadership, Toronto became widely admired internationally for its environmental leadership, economic strength and social integration. He is a leading advocate for the creation of sustainable urban economies, and a strong and forceful champion for the next generation of jobs through sustainability.

Mr. Miller has held a variety of public and private positions and university affiliations. He is currently an adjunct Professor at York University and a member of the Board of Directors for Centennial College. In his former capacity as Counsel, International Business & Sustainability at Aird & Berlis LLP, Mr. Miller advised companies and international organizations on issues surrounding the creation of sustainable urban economies.

David Miller is a Harvard trained economist and professionally a lawyer. He and his wife, lawyer Jill Arthur, are the parents of two children.

Before joining the University of Ottawa, Lauchlan served as Vice-President at Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) from 2008 to 2012. From 2004 to 2009, he was Director of Policy and Planning and Chief of Staff to the President of IDRC. From 2000 to 2003, Lauchlan was Chief of Strategic Planning with UNICEF. Lauchlan also worked for UNICEF in DR Congo, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. From 1985 to 1987, he was a member of the Royal Bhutanese Civil Service. Lauchlan is a two-time graduate of the University of Toronto, and he earned his Ph.D. from the Institute for Development Policy and Management at the University of Manchester.

Katherine currently serves as Vice President of Research at the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD), planning and managing the research agenda and public education activities of the CCSD. She is a founding member of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing’s National Research Advisory Group and played a key role in developing the index through her research on Community Vitality. Katherine lives and works in Ottawa, Canada, with her family. She holds degrees in political science and environmental studies.

He also coordinates Humber's Bachelor of International Development degree program. Kent has over 15 years of experience working on a variety of international development initiatives in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe. He has worked as a project manager, trainer, curriculum designer, researcher and evaluation consultant for projects focused on governance, microfinance, HIV/AIDS, entrepreneurship and community health. He has also managed a governance and capacity building initiative with indigenous peoples in the Canadian arctic. Kent recently completed a major research study focused on the power dynamics surrounding the implementation of Gross National Happiness in Bhutan. He has a PhD in Political Science/International Development Studies from the University of Guelph.

He has lived and worked in South Asia and has developed and implemented multiple peace projects and programs. He has supervised peace training for the South Asian emerging leaders and is a founding member of Peace Initiative Network Nepal, associated with more than 397 NGOs, which was instrumental in establishing the foundation of peace in Nepal.

Mukti is active in teaching peace and has delivered lectures at various universities in Europe and Asia. He is a visiting research fellow at Centre of Religions for Reconciliation and Peace at University of Winchester, UK. As a peace practitioner Mukti also brings extensive experience from the field. He has worked in both supporting conflict affected and displaced people and later in rehabilitation and reconciliation. He also facilitates policy on internally displaced people affected by conflict. As an expert mentor, Mukti has facilitated several trainings focused on peacebuilding, reconciliation, and conflict transformation. He brings hands-on experience on peacebuilding programs from South and South East Asia and Rwanda.

Angela is currently focusing on building the organization’s knowledge and understanding of adolescent and youth programming in diverse contexts. She has been with Save the Children for five years, including several years working in the Pacific and South East Asia for Save the Children New Zealand, and a number of years in Nairobi, Kenya for Save the Children International with a focus on the East Africa region. She has also worked for NZAID, the New Zealand Government’s aid agency, and various organisations in Tanzania, Belgium and India, always with a focus on youth. She has two Masters degrees, the second of which is in Cultures and Development Studies from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in Belgium.