It’s time to #BuildBackBetter.
Income inequality, collective mental trauma, weak elder care, online bullying, food insecurity, systemic racism. These problems, and many more, are exposed and amplified by the coronavirus pandemic. They are problems that aren’t simple to solve. But — the pandemic also illuminated a new breed of problem-solver. Let’s bring them all together in a first-of-its-kind digital experience on November 25+26, 2020.
Stay in the knowFrequently Asked QuestionsSpeakers
Alex Ryan
Alex Ryan leads partner solutions at MaRS, helping government and corporate partners accelerate the adoption of innovation in their organizations, markets and cities.
Alison Cretney
Alison oversees the strategic direction and operations of the Energy Futures Lab, supporting energy system innovators and leaders in generating opportunities to identify, test and scale new initiatives and collaborations.
Andrew Chunilall
Andrew joined Community Foundations Canada in 2013 and became CEO in 2017, following a six-year tenure as Vice-President of Finance for the London Community Foundation and his long-standing service as a finance and regulatory expert for Canada’s philanthropic milieu.
Antonio Zappulla
Antonio Zappulla is Chief Executive Officer of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, which works to advance media freedom, foster more inclusive economies and promote human rights. He is also the founder of Openly.
Bianca Wylie
Bianca Wylie is an open government advocate with a dual background in technology and public engagement.
Brennan Doherty
Brennan is the News and Features Writer at Future of Good. He covers all kinds of social impact work, from social policy to the future of philanthropy to climate action. He's previously written for The Toronto Star, The Canadian Press, CTV News, and the Ryerson Review of Journalism.
Bridget Zhang
Bridget is a Manager at SVX, a registered Exempt Market Dealer incubated at the Centre for Impact Investing at MaRS. SVX focuses on advisory and capital raising, specifically for start-ups, investment funds, and scaleable non-profits which map across the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Bridget leads SVX’s Advisory practice, specializing in structuring novel social financing mechanisms. She led the development of a $5M bond series to fund re-certification microloans to skilled new immigrants and refugees, and was part of the team which launched Canada’s first 100% impact portfolio which is fully managed across asset classes.
Cassie Robinson
Cassie Robinson is Senior Head of the UK Portfolio for the National Lottery Community Fund, a Co-founder of the Point People, Co-founder of Foundation Design Lab, Co-founder of Stewarding Loss, Co-founder of the Community Tech Fellowship, and a Fellow at The Institute of Innovation and Public Purpose at UCL.
Dale Beugin
Dale Beugin is VP Research at the Canadian Institute of Climate Choices, an independent research institute that provides policy advice on how to achieve a low-carbon, resilient, prosperous future.
Dana Decent
Dana Decent leads Partnerships at Community Foundations of Canada. Her background is in sustainability management and climate adaptation - in the last 10 years she has worked across multiple sectors to advance sustainable and resilient communities. She currently calls the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq home in Nova Scotia.
Dana Stephenson
Dana Stephenson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Riipen, a future of work platform specialized in scaling experiential learning opportunities for learners of all backgrounds.
Daniela Restrepo-Ortiz
As Senior Community Specialist for OpenIDEO, Daniela manages the global network of 34 Chapters across the globe. She creates digital experiences and facilitates connections to empower the more than 135 active volunteers in America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia and conducts local research to build bridges between offline communities and OpenIDEO’s global initiatives pushing the edges of diversity and inclusion and creating pathways to accelerate impact.
.png)
Diane Roussin
Diane Roussin is the Project Director for The Winnipeg Boldness Project, a research and development project focusing on improving outcomes for children in the North End of Winnipeg, through social innovation and social lab processes.
Dr. Sarah Schulman
Dr. Sarah Schulman has spent her career in buses, bingo halls, and back alleyways as a social scientist focused on the experiences of people living on the margins. She is a founding partner of InWithForward, an international social design organization whose teams have produced award-winning and scalable interventions. InWithForward is her fourth organization; she started her first in elementary school.
Fiona McKean
Fiona is a social enterprise entrepreneur, philanthropist, and community-builder. She and her husband, Tobias Lütke, recently founded the Thistledown Foundation, seeding it with a $150 million endowment to accelerate frontier carbon removal technology and curtail the worst impacts of climate change. She also led a world-class restoration of The Opinicon Resort, re-establishing it as a cultural heritage destination and helping to renew the surrounding Rideau Lakes region.
Gabriella Gomez-Mont
Gabriella was Chief Creative Officer of Mexico City. She founded and directed Laboratorio para la Ciudad, the award-winning experimental and creative office of the Mexico City government, reporting to the Mayor. While there, she crowdsourced the Mexico City Constitution. Today she directs Experimentalista, a novel type of creative studio specialised in cities, public imagination and system change.
Gladys Okine-Ahovi
Gladys is a master connector who thrives on leading complex change processes. Her career spans 18 years of guiding organizations to scale and enhance services for vulnerable populations. She is currently the Executive Lead at the Canadian Council for Youth Prosperity, a Pan-Canadian non-profit, advisory formed to lead the development of a robust youth workforce development system for Canada.
Jack Graham
Jack is a freelance journalist covering social finance for Future of Good. He's also written for The New York Times, The Economist, The Toronto Star, and The Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Jacky Habib
Jacky is a freelance journalist who covers humanitarian work and inclusion for Future of Good. Jacky has reported from a dozen countries on issues including famine in Ethiopia, refugee policy in Uganda, and the state of emergency with regard to sexual violence in Sierra Leone.
James Chan
James is the Manager of VERGE Capital at Pillar Nonprofit Network and is also a member of London Community Foundation's social finance committee. He works with people, places, and programs to foster civic participation, promote equitable urbanism, and grow our social economy.
Jane Porter
Jane is a facilitator, management consultant, and entrepreneur focused on solving sustainability challenges - big and small. She's passionate about building bridges between diverse groups to move towards a future of good. Jane is a co-founder of the Future of Good Summit.
Jason Pearman
Jason has a mild obsession with helping the public sector keep up with the pace of change. This usually looks like working with executive teams on the implementation of innovation agendas, crafting and managing public innovation portfolios, reading books and finding time to jam with other nerds. Jason is one of the co-founders of Future of Good Summit.
Jason Rissman
Jason Rissman leads OpenIDEO—IDEO’s open innovation practice—which changes the way the world addresses tough societal issues by enabling people everywhere to come together and innovate through design.
Jen Roynon
Jen Roynon leads IBM Canada's Corporate Social Responsibility work that is focused on education and skills development and building an inclusive workforce. She is passionate about working collectively across sectors to address deep social and environmental issues and has brought that perspective to her work at the United Nations, international NGOs, Green Shield Canada, Ontario Trillium Foundation and now at IBM.
Jess Bolduc
Jess Bolduc is Anishinaabe-French from Baawating (Sault Ste. Marie, ON) and a member of the Batchewana First Nation. As the Executive Director of the 4Rs Youth Movement, Jess has travelled across Turtle Island and internationally, in order to learn about the conditions that might be necessary for communities to shift and transform complex systems through dialogue and strategic action.
Jill Schnarr
As TELUS’ Chief Social Innovation Officer with more than 28 years of telecommunications experience and communications expertise, Jill Schnarr leads its Corporate Citizenship & Communications team. At the helm of communications, public relations, brand marketing, sponsorship and community investment, Jill brings TELUS’ social purpose to life to drive social change, leveraging TELUS’ world-leading technology and compassion to enable remarkable human outcomes.
.png)
Kamau Bobb
Kamau Bobb is the Global Lead for Diversity Strategy and Research at Google and the founding Senior Director of the Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at Georgia Tech. He is an engineer and science and technology policy scholar whose work focuses on the relationship between equity in the STEM enterprise, large educational systems, and the structural conditions that influence contemporary American life.
Katherine Hay
As President and CEO of Kids Help Phone, Katherine (Kathy) Hay drives the strategic direction, innovation imperative and culture of Canada’s only national, 24/7 bilingual e-mental health service for young people.
Keren Perla
Keren directs and stewards the Energy Futures Policy Collaborative - a multi-leader partnership driving into the future of energy attraction and investment. Keren's career and specialities have focused on pioneering new ways to solve messy challenges through the use of disciplines such as systemic design, foresight, and design facilitation. She is Co-founder and former Director of the Alberta CoLab - the first public sector innovation lab to launch at the provincial level - and an alumni of Avenue Magazineès Top 40 under 40.
Kylie Adair
Kylie Adair is the Content Editor at Future of Good. Her background is in journalism and human rights, and she's previously written about gender equity, social enterprise and non-profit work.
Laura Tribe
Laura Tribe is the Executive Director of OpenMedia. She is a digital policy expert and grassroots activist whose work has helped make the digital divide and internet affordability key election issues in Canada.
Maureen James
Maureen James manages the Community Investment Program at the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), which funds innovative community internet projects to build a resilient, trusted and secure internet for all Canadians. Her background is in fundraising, grantmaking and strategy development with non-profits internationally and here in Canada.
Maya Roy
Maya is a diversity specialist with 22 years of experience in a variety of sectors in public policy development, public health, adult education and social work. Maya was a member of the Gender Equality Advisory Council for Canada’s G7 Presidency. She is currently part of Young Global Leaders with the World Economic Forum and sits on the board of Women’s College Hospital.
Meghan Johnston
As a wellness educator, yoga teacher and entrepreneur, Meghan helps creative people find heart-centered wellness practices that inspire and uplift
Michelle Baldwin
Michelle is the Senior Advisor, Transformation of Community Foundations of Canada. She is a social innovator whose personal mission is to be a community connector and believes in the collective power of networks and cross sector collaboration to create change.
Panthea Lee
Panthea Lee is the co-founder and Executive Director of Reboot. Panthea is passionate about facilitating unlikely but effective collaborations between communities, activists, movements, and institutions to tackle structural inequity—and working with cultural institutions to build momentum for courageous change.
Pia Andrews
Pia Andrews is an open government and data ninja who has been working in making the world a better place for 20 years. She currently works within the (public sector) machine to transform public services through greater transparency, democratic engagement, citizen-centric design, open data, emerging technologies and real, pragmatic actual innovation in the public sector and beyond.
Poya Kherghehpoush
Poya Kherghehpoush provides leadership and support to the development of United Way Centraide Canada’s strategic direction. He is also responsible for UWCC’s network modernization and performance programs. In this capacity, he provides leadership and advisory support to national and regional transformation initiatives designed for long term growth and impact.
Regional Chief Kluane Adamek
Kluane Adamek, she/her/hers (traditional name in"Aagé"), has served as the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Yukon Regional Chief since January 2018. She is a proud northerner and citizen of Kluane First Nation.
Robert Opp
Robert Opp is currently the Chief Digital Officer of UNDP, the United Nations' global sustainable development organization working across 170 countries globally with more than 17,000 staff. He leads the agency’s digital transformation, an organization-wide effort, to harness the power of new technology to improve the lives of those furthest behind.
Sagal Dualeh
Sagal Dualeh joined the Canadian Women’s Foundation as Director of Investment Readiness and has over ten years experience in the field working with non-profit organizations, charities, government, as well as with social enterprise and entrepreneurs.
Sara Lyons
Sara has been with Canada’s community foundation movement, locally and with Community Foundations of Canada for almost 15 years, working before that in politics and urban issues. Sara was a founding Board member of The Circle on Philanthropy and was previously on the Board of Ottawa’s Centretown Community Health Centre. She is currently a Board member of Montreal-based Exeko.
Shirlee Sharkey
Shirlee Sharkey is the CEO of SE Health, a not-for-profit social enterprise that applies its knowledge, vision and drive to forever impact how people live and age at home. Under Shirlee’s leadership, the 110-year old Canadian organization has enjoyed exponential growth and facilitated transformative solutions in areas such as Indigenous health, end of life care and family caregiver wellness. Active in public service, Shirlee serves on many boards and has gained and shared health system insights through her experiences in Canada, the Middle East, Australia and northern Europe.
Shona Fulcher
Shona Fulcher is the Chief Community Officer at Centre for Social Innovation Toronto. The Centre for Social Innovation is coworking space, community and Launchpad for people and organizations who are putting people and planet first, co-creating the next economy and changing the world.
Steve Beauchesne
Steve Beauchesne is the co-founder (along with his father, Tim) of Beau’s, a family run, employee owned, Canadian craft brewery. Since its start-up in 2006, Beau’s has won more than 125 national and international awards for beer-making, marketing and packaging design, sustainability and business practices, and has raised more than $2 million for charity, community, and the independent arts. Steve certified Beau’s as Canada's first-ever B-Corp brewery.
Tim Fox
Tim Fox is the Vice President of Indigenous Relations with Calgary Foundation where he hopes to strengthen, enhance and shift the culture and practice at the foundation while incorporating work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission both internally and in the broader community. Tim is a proud member of the Blackfoot Confederacy from the Kainai (Blood) reserve.
Trish Nixon
Having spent her career working to accelerate impact investing in Canada, Trish now leads the team responsible for product and funding strategies for VCIB and its subsidiary, CoPower Inc. As an early member of CoPower’s executive team, she was instrumental in the development of the firm’s clean energy investment products, in building a client base of over 800 mission-aligned investors, and in facilitating the firm’s acquisition.
Verna McGregor
Elder Verna McGregor is from the Algonquin Community of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, which is approximately 120 kilometres north of Ottawa. Ottawa is part of the Algonquin Nation’s traditional lands. Verna works at Minwaashin Lodge, the Aboriginal Women’s Support Centre located in Ottawa. Services and resources provided by Minwaashin Lodge assist in the empowerment of Aboriginal Women leaving violence. Verna has remained firmly grounded in her community and nation by also being part of the group of traditional Grandmothers (Kokomisag) and Elders. This includes promoting the retention of the Algonquin language and culture, which is so important when addressing issues and connection to the land.
Vinod Rajasekaran
Vinod Rajasekaran is the Publisher and CEO of Future of Good, and a co-founder of the Future of Good Summit. Vinod is a seasoned entrepreneur and leader with 10+ years experience in innovation, organizational strategy, strategic partnerships, and future-proofing including extensive work leading teams and developing products, platforms and programs in philanthropic, not-for-profit, private, and cross-sector contexts.
Zita Cobb
Zita Cobb is Founder and CEO of Shorefast and Innkeeper of the Fogo Island Inn. A registered Canadian charity, Shorefast uses business-minded means to help secure economic and cultural resilience for Fogo Island, Newfoundland: one of Canada’s oldest settlements.
.png)
.png)
.png){kind=logo}
.png)
.png)
.png)
