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Opening Speaker
Honourable Jim Watson
Minister of Health Promotion
 Jim
Watson was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 2003
representing the riding of Ottawa West – Nepean.
Shortly thereafter, Mr. Watson was appointed Minister
of Consumer and Business Services by Premier Dalton McGuinty. In
this capacity, he was responsible for improving and modernizing
Ontario’s Liquor License Act, Consumer Protection Act, and
Film Classification Act. He also initiated “ServiceOntario”,
a one-stop concept for government services and information.
In June 2005, Premier McGuinty appointed Mr. Watson
as Ontario’s first Minister of Health Promotion. In this new
and innovative portfolio he is responsible for advancing the government’s
preventative health initiatives including healthy lifestyles, sport,
physical activity, recreation, disease prevention and community
health awareness.
Prior to his election, Mr. Watson served in several
prominent elected and non-elected offices including: President and
CEO of the Canadian Tourism Commission - a federal crown corporation
from 2000-2003; Mayor of the City of Ottawa from 1997-2000; Ottawa
City Councillor from 1991-1997; and as Director of Communications
for the Speaker of the House of Commons.
An active member of his community, Mr. Watson
has also served on the boards or as honourary chair of several community
organizations, including the Riverside Hospital, the National Arts
Centre, the Christmas Exchange of Ottawa and the Forum for Young
Canadians. He served as chair of United Way’s 2002 campaign,
which raised a record $21 million.
An avid volunteer with several groups, he has
helped serve meals at the Shepherds of Good Hope, a local soup kitchen.
His commitment to those less fortunate was evident when, in August
of 2000, he contributed his entire municipal severance payment of
$31,000 to Ottawa’s Union Mission for Men.
His years of active involvement and community
service have made him the recipient of several awards and accolades,
including Maclean’s magazine “100 Young Canadians To Watch”,
Carleton University Honours Award, the City of Ottawa’s highest
civic honour, the Key to the City and, in 2002, the Queen’s
Golden Jubilee Medal.
Mr. Watson is a graduate of the Carleton University
School of Journalism and Communications. In his spare time he stays
active by skiing, swimming, golfing, and walking.
Dr. Suzanne Jackson
Director, Centre for Health Promotion, University of Toronto
 Suzanne
Jackson is the Director of the Centre for Health Promotion at the
University of Toronto. The Centre for Health Promotion is a WHO
Collaborating Centre in Health Promotion and represents a multi-disciplinary
partnership between the University and several non-academic organizations
that delivers high quality training and education, evaluation and
research. She is also Associate Director of the MHSc Health Promotion
program at the University of Toronto and Program Director for the
Global Health Masters in public health sciences at University of
Toronto.
Suzanne has conducted research in community capacity
indicators, empowerment indicators, indicators of health promotion
for international use, and community systems. She specializes in
participatory planning and evaluation consultations with grassroots
community groups and community health organizations. Suzanne was
part of the health goals process spearheaded by the Minister of
Public Health. Along with Connie Clement of the Ontario Prevention
Clearinghouse, she oversees the health promotion affiliate of the
Canadian Health Network. She has been President of the Ontario Public
Health Association, and vice-president of the Canadian Public Health
Association. She has been invited to speak on health promotion topics
around the world.
Suzanne
Schwenger
Health Promotion Consultant, Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse
 Suzanne
Schwenger is a bilingual health promotion consultant with over 20
years of experience in collaborative, multi-sectored work in the
non-profit sector. A member of the Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse's
Prevent Stroke team since 2002, she is co-author of the resource,
Prescribing Prevention: Health Promotion and Stroke Prevention.
With Masters Degrees in Social Work and Education, Suzanne's passions
include community engagement, public policy development and electronic
dialogue.
Keynote Speaker
Charles E. Pascal
Executive Director, Atkinson Charitable Foundation
 Charles
E. Pascal is the Executive Director of the Atkinson Charitable Foundation.
The Foundation's mandate is to promote social and economic justice
through its granting programs. Mr. Pascal has a strong background
in education, leadership and organizational development. He has
been President of Sir Sandford Fleming College, Chair of the Council
of Regents for Ontario's colleges, and has also held deputy ministerial
posts with the Government of Ontario, including the Premier's Council
on Health, Community and Social Services, and Education and Training.
Mr. Pascal has also held professorial and administrative
positions at the University of Toronto and the Ontario Institute
for Studies in Education since 1977. Prior to this he was a faculty
member with the Department of Psychology at McGill University.
Graham R. Clyne
Board Chair, Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse
Managing Partner, Change Collective
Director, Canadian Institute for Economic Evaluation
 Graham
Clyne graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1988 with
a Masters degree in Political Science and joined the United Way
of London and Middlesex as the Director of Planning and Allocations.
While there, he led the research work of the organization and publishing
two significant studies on demographic trends and the policy issues
facing organizations working in the public and not-for-profit sectors.
In 1994, Graham led the development and implementation of KIDS COUNT,
a collaborative cross-sectoral partnership that won the prestigious
1997 Peter F. Drucker Award for Innovation in the Non-Profit Sector.
As Research Director for the Foundation for Learning
and Social Enhancement he launched a national initiative known as
the "Prevention Dividend Project" - an effort to encourage
the understanding and use of economic evaluation in Canada's non-profit
and public sectors. As the leading proponent of economic evaluations,
Graham has published, presented and created multimedia resources
on the subject, founding and creating a training organization -
the Canadian Institute of Economic Evaluation - to sustain the work.
As a private consultant with the Change Collective,
Graham has mentored a broad cross section of public, private and
non-profit organizations, assisting groups with strategic planning,
evaluation planning, organizational change, and a wide variety of
team building, human resource and customer service challenges across
North America. A committed volunteer, Graham has served with organizations
like the Peter F. Drucker Foundation, the Children's Aid Society
and the Province of Ontario's Early Years Task Force. Currently,
Graham serves as the Board Chair of the Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse
(OPC) and is Co-Chair of the Sparrow Lake Alliance.
Connie Clement
Executive Director, Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse (OPC)
 Connie
Clement is Executive Director of the Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse
(OPC). Connie is also chair of the Ontario Chronic Disease Prevention
Alliance, and has a 30-year track record in women's, public and
community health. During her 17 year history with Toronto Public
Health, Connie was Director of Public Health Planning & Policy
during Toronto's amalgamation, managed the Toronto Public Health
Research, Education and Development program, and contributed leadership
to a number of trend-setting programs. Programs included the Toronto's
Food Policy Council, Environmental Protection Office, drug abuse
awareness program, tobacco control and smoking prevention, AIDS
grants and needle exchange, and social marketing campaigns. A co-founder
of Healthsharing magazine, Canada's first feminist health magazine,
Connie is a leader in women's health education and advocacy.
Helen C. Cooper
Board Member, Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse
 Helen
Cooper is currently a Member of the Board of the Ontario Prevention
Clearinghouse. She has a background in community development and
municipal politics in the City of Kingston and South East Ontario.
From 1980 to 1993 she was a Municipal Councillor, then Mayor, of
the City of Kingston, including a term as President of the Association
of Municipalities of Ontario. She then chaired the Ontario Municipal
Board between 1993 and 1996. Helen has also consulted with municipal
councils and other public sector organizations on strategic planning.
She has adjunct appointments at Queen's University in the School
of Policy Studies, the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology
and the School of Urban & Regional Planning. Helen has a B.Sc.
in Chemistry from Queen's and an M.Sc. in Econometrics from the
London School of Economics.
As a volunteer Helen is a member of the Board
of Cancer Care Ontario, Chair of the Regional Cancer Program Committee
(South East), and Chair of the Regional Stroke Steering Committee
(South East). For the past three years she has been a member of
the Advisory Council of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization.
Ruth Grier
Chair of the Environmental and Occupational Working Group of
the Toronto Cancer Prevention Coalition
Member of the Provincial Cancer Prevention and Screening Council
 Ruth
Grier held elected office for twenty-five years. First a councillor
in the former City of Etobicoke, she was elected M.P.P. for Etobicoke-Lakeshore
in 1985. From 1990 to1993 she was Ontario's Minister of the Environment
and from 1993 to 1995 was Minister of Health. As Minister she created
the Trillium Drug Plan, legalized midwifery as a profession, expanded
community health centres and passed Canada's toughest anti-tobacco
legislation. One of her proudest achievements was the creation of
a Task Force on the Primary Prevention of Cancer, which recommended
an action plan dealing with diet, smoking and the elimination of
cancer-causing chemicals from our environment. As a member of the
Toronto Cancer Prevention Coalition and the Provincial Cancer Prevention
and Screening Council, Ruth continues to advocate implementation
of those recommendations. From 1996 to 2003 she was an outspoken
political commentator on TVO's "Fourth Reading".
Ruth was born in Dublin and graduated from the
University of Toronto in 1958. In 1997 she was awarded an Honourary
Diploma from Humber College and in June 2000 a Doctor of Laws (honoris
causa) from Ryerson University and a Doctor of Sacred Letters (honoris
causa) from Trinity College in the University of Toronto.
Doris Grinspun
Executive Director, Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario
 Doris
Grinspun is the Executive Director of the Registered Nurses Association
of Ontario (RNAO), the professional association representing registered
nurses in the province of Ontario. RNAO's mandate is to advocate
for healthy public policy and for the role of registered nurses.
Ms. Grinspun assumed this position in April 1996. From 1990 to 1996,
Ms. Grinspun served as Director of Nursing at Mount Sinai Hospital
in Toronto. She has also worked in practice and administrative capacities
in Israel and the United States.
A native of Chile, Ms. Grinspun has an RN from
Hadassah School of Nursing in Jerusalem, Israel; a baccalaureate
degree from Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; an MSN in nursing
from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and is currently
a PhD candidate in the department of sociology at York University
in North York, Ontario.
Ms. Grinspun is an Assistant Professor in the
Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto; an associate member
of the Centre for Health Promotion at the University of Toronto;
an affiliate member of the Centre for Health Studies at York University;
and an Associate Fellow of the Centre for Latin American and Caribbean
Studies (CERLAC) at York University; and the Regional Editor for
Canada for the International Journal of Nursing Practice. From 1996
to 1999, Ms. Grinspun was the Chair of the Acquired Brain Injury
Network of Metropolitan Toronto, a network representing all publicly
funded agencies. Ms. Grinspun has worked on numerous international
projects funded by the World Health Organization in Latin and Central
America.
Ms. Grinspun has written and spoken extensively
both in Canada and abroad. She has received numerous professional
and scholarly awards. In 2003 Doris was invested with the Order
of Ontario, the highest recognition of excellence and achievement
in the province.
Stephen
Samis
Director, Health Policy, Heart and Stroke Foundation
of Canada
 Stephen
Samis is Director, Health Policy at the Heart and Stroke Foundation
of Canada (HSFC) in Ottawa. Stephen's role at HSFC is to lead the
development of the Foundation's policy positions related to improving
the health of Canadians by preventing and reducing disability and
death from heart disease and stroke. He joined HSFC in March 2004.
Prior to joining HSFC, he was Manager, Research and Analysis at
the Canadian Population Health Initiative, a program of the Canadian
Institute for Health Information in Ottawa and was a research and
policy consultant based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Stephen
has a strong interest in health promotion/population health and
health research and policy development. He holds a Master's degree
in Sociology from Simon Fraser University.
Carmen R. Connolly
President, Carmen R. Connolly Consulting Inc.
Board Member, Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse
Carmen Connolly is President, Carmen R. Connolly
Consulting Inc. Her consulting practice focuses on research and
policy related to health and social issues and is based on her experience
with government, the non-government/voluntary sector and academia.
Carmen has held senior leadership and management positions with
national government and non-government organizations and has extensive
experience leading, developing, directing and promoting strategies
and initiatives. She has worked extensively in the health field,
including health policy and health research, with an emphasis on
identifying knowledge gaps and research priorities, policy analysis
and synthesis, and developing systems and processes for knowledge
synthesis and knowledge translation/exchange. Her areas of interest
include the social determinants of health and health disparities,
nutrition and food security, chronic disease prevention and obesity,
early childhood development, children and youth health, and Aboriginal
peoples' health.
Sandra Laclé
Interim Director, Clinical Services Division, Sudbury & District
Health Unit
 Sandra
Laclé, Board Member of the Sudbury Social Planning Council
and Interim Director Clinical Services for the SDHU has nearly 25
years of experience in the public health field. Her experience includes
working as a PHN and a manager, and for the past 17 years she has
held various director positions, including nursing, health promotion
and clinical services within Ontario's Public Health System.
These experiences have contributed to the development
of her interest in social planning and population health, specifically
the causes of inequalities in health status or the determinants
of health.
Sandra has a Bachelor in Nursing from Memorial
University of Newfoundland, a Masters in Nursing (Administration
and Education) from the University of Western Ontario and a Certificate
in Health Services Administration.
Amanuel Melles
Director, Organizational Capacity Building, United Way of Greater
Toronto
 Amanuel
Melles has been involved in community development both in Canada
and Eritrea since 1982. Currently, he is the Director of Organizational
Capacity Building with the United Way of Greater Toronto. He worked
as the Manager for Community Action Unit at Family Service Association
of Toronto, Resource Development & Project Administrative Coordinator
for the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrant's, Director
of Community Health Promotion Programs at Lawrence Heights Community
Health Centre and as Principal of Aman Consulting.
Amanuel has a wide range of experience and expertise
within the human services sector in management, planning, program
& policy development, especially concerning ethno-racial communities.
He is a past Board member of the Ontario Council for International
Cooperation, Distress Centres Toronto and past vice-president of
the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto. Amanuel was the
President and co-founder of the African Canadian Social Development
Council. A member of the Toronto Community Foundation's Council
of 100, the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council, Amanuel
co-chairs the Toronto Civic Panel of the Inclusive Cities Canada
national initiative, and is an alumnus of the Maytree Foundation
Leaders for Change and the Maytree-York University Management Programs.
He is a trainer and educator in various areas related to the non-profit
sector. In 2001, he received the Skills for Change New Pioneers
Award, and in 2002, the Jane Jacobs Prize.
Dr.
Ronald Colman
Founder and Executive Director, GPI Atlantic
 Dr.
Ronald Colman is founder and executive director of GPI Atlantic,
a non-profit research group that is constructing an index of wellbeing
and sustainable development for Nova Scotia. He is currently co-chairing
a National Working Group of leading indicator practitioners to develop
a new Canadian Index of Wellbeing, in collaboration with Roy Romanow
and the Atkinson Charitable Foundation, and is editor of a national
magazine - Reality Check: The Canadian Review of Wellbeing.
Dr.
Colman previously taught for 20 years at the university level and
was a researcher and speech-writer at the United Nations. He has
researched and written many reports on indicators of population
health, including The Costs of Chronic Disease in Nova Scotia, Women's
Health in Canada, The Economic Impact of Smoke-Free Places, The
Costs of Obesity and Physical Inactivity, and Inequity and Chronic
Disease in Atlantic Canada. This research has spurred several major
health promotion initiatives in Nova Scotia.
Dr.
Colman advises governments and communities in Canada and abroad
on measuring health and wellbeing and on the economic value of disease
prevention. In cooperation with three Nova Scotia communities, Dr.
Colman and GPI Atlantic are also developing measures of wellbeing
at the community level.
Carla Palmer
Executive Director, Barrie Community Health Centre
 Carla
Palmer has been Executive Director at the Barrie Community Health
Centre since November 1990. Prior to that, she was Assistant Executive
Director at St. Mary's General Hospital in Timmins for 5 years.
Carla's entry into health care was as a physiotherapist, in which
capacity she worked in Nigeria for 1-1/2 years on a placement with
CUSO. Carla has a M.Sc. degree in Health Policy and Planning from
the University of British Columbia. She has been an accreditation
reviewer for Community Health Centres, and now sits on the Accreditation
Agency Board, Community Organization Health Inc. Carla completed
training this year in Balanced Scorecard methodology.
Lise Girard
Senior Management Advisor, Renewal of Health Care Services, Department
of Health and Wellness of New Brunswick
 Lise
Girard is Senior Management Advisor/Manager of Primary Health Care
reform for the Department of Health and Wellness of New Brunswick.
She is a member of the National Expert Committee for inter-professional
practice and education for patient centered practice. For the past
few years Lise has developed health care renewal initiatives and
strategies in order to implement change in the NB Primary health
care system. She is also very engaged in the service planning process
for the Francophone communities in NB and in Canada. Lise has a
nursing background and has completed a Master degree in Management
and organizational development with Laval University. Lise previously
worked on the development of Health and Wellness initiatives and
PHC reforms in northern Québec. She contributed to the implementation
of Community Health Centers and she also assisted with the implementation
of the Regional Health and Social Services Authority in Northern
Québec, more precisely the Public Health division. Lise has
implemented and established on a regional and provincial level a
number of the organizational programs pertaining to Health and Wellness,
as well as several prevention and promotional programs.
Antoine Dérose
Program Consultant, Policy, Education and Health Promotion, Centre
of Addiction and Mental Health
 Antoine
Dérose is a Bilingual Project Consultant, for the Centre
of Addiction and Mental Health. He is also a Member of the Board
of Governors of Collège Boréal and President of the
Haitian Cultural Network of Toronto. Previously he has been the
Change Your Future Program Coordinator for The Learning Partnership
in two secondary schools: Étienne-Brûlé and
the Collège français. He was also a member of the
Conseil d'éducation franco-ontarien (CEFO) and a School Board
Trustee with the Conseil des écoles de langue française
de la communauté urbaine de Toronto (CEFCUT), for a period
of 5 years. He was also the Founding President of the Haitian Association
of Toronto. Mr. Dérose is committed to meeting the needs
of Francophone minority groups living in Toronto.
Paul J. A. Chaput
President, Creative Consulting
Board Member, Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse
 Mr.
Chaput has been president of Creative Consulting, since 1993. He
has sixteen years of advisory and related experience spanning a
wide spectrum of professional involvement including: facilitation
and mediation between aboriginal organizations and the federal government,
community consultations, archival and market research and the design
and delivery of training and strategic planning to Aboriginal organizations
and communities.
Mr. Chaput, a Métis artist, is the Artistic
Director of the Métis arts Festival and the Chair of the
Métis Artists' Collective in Toronto. He is one of the co-founders
of the Métis Nation of Ontario, a councillor on the Aboriginal
People's Council of Toronto. He has recently been appointed to the
Board of the Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse.
As a singer songwriter he has created two CD's
both of which were nominated for Best Folk Album at the Canadian
Aboriginal Music Awards. He writes, produces and directs documentaries,
and is the host and narrator in both official languages of APTN's
TV series: Finding Our Talk; A journey through aboriginal languages.
Mr. Chaput was awarded the Star of Courage by
Governor General Romeo Leblanc for rescuing a number of people from
a blaze.
Mary F. Sylver
mfsylver & associates
Board Member, Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse
Mary Sylver has over thirty years experience in
planning and delivery of health and social services at both the
community and provincial level. She has first hand knowledge of
health service delivery in both institutional and community-based
sectors. Since forming her consulting business, mfsylver & associates,
in 1999, she has focused her efforts on primary care, rural service
delivery, integration of services and community development. Mary
has successfully implemented and participated in planning for new
initiatives including Early Years, Best Start, End of Life Care
services and the new Family Health Teams. She also facilitated the
development of a new Children's Alliance in Grey and Bruce Counties,
which brings community leaders together to plan more effectively
for the well-being of children and their families. Mary is a member
of the Board of Directors for the Ontario Prevention Clearing House.
Chris Lowry
Coordinator, Toronto Business Alliance for a Local Living Economy,
BALLE
 Chris
Lowry, M.Ed. is the coordinator of the Toronto Business Alliance
for a Local Living Economy (BALLE), the new green enterprise network
to promote environmentally sustainable and socially responsible
business practices, creating a strong local "living economy"
in the Toronto bioregion. In a Local Living Economy, economic power
resides locally, sustaining healthy community life and natural life,
as well as long-term economic viability.
He is a social entrepreneur has founded and managed both independent
media production businesses and non-profit organizations. As a specialist
in information, education, and communications, he has won many awards
for his work, and has focused on ecology, health and child rights.
He co-founded Street Kids International (SKI) with Peter Dalglish,
and has also worked with agencies such as MSF/Doctors Without Borders
(Canada) promoting the use of nature-based expressive arts with
war-affected children. He has been active in the bioregional movement
for fifteen years.
Donna Morton
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Centre for Integral Economics
(CIE)
 Donna
Morton is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Centre for
Integral Economics (CIE), based in Victoria, BC Canada. CIE is an
enterprising non-profit organization that researches and promotes
market-based solutions to social and environmental sustainability.
She was awarded an Ashoka fellowship in 2003, and the Women and
Spirit of the Crane award for business leadership.
Her core work focuses on bringing together business,
government, youth and social sector interests around catalytic economic
policy. CIE has been instrumental in putting innovative policy tools
like "tax shifting" on the map in Canada to solve problems
from social housing and community economic development to sprawl
abatement and reducing toxic chemicals.
She has more than fifteen years experience in
organizational leadership, communications, and policy and process
design. She has consulted widely with NGO's, governments Aboriginal
and business organizations. Donna is a frequent keynote speaker
and media commentator.
In addition to her work at CIE, she is a principal
in Waterstone Strategies, a boutique policy, process and public
relations company. She also serves on several National and International
boards including The Power of Hope, and Trafford Publishing (Canada's
10th fastest growing company).
Malcolm Shookner
Community Development Project Director, Nova Scotia Voluntary
Planning
 Malcolm
Shookner has over 30 years of experience in prevention, health promotion,
community development and social policy in the public, voluntary,
community and academic sectors. He was the founding President of
the Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse in 1985 and served on its Board
until 1995. He has been an active participant in the social development,
anti-poverty, human rights and healthy communities movements in
Canada and internationally. When he moved to Halifax in 2000, Malcolm
worked at Dalhousie University in population health and health promotion
research. He was the Coordinator for the Rural Communities Impacting
Policy (RCIP) Project, a partnership between the Coastal Communities
Network in Nova Scotia and the Atlantic Health Promotion Research
Centre at Dalhousie. He is also a co-founder of the Atlantic Summer
Institute on Healthy and Safe Communities.
In 2005, Malcolm was appointed to the Voluntary
Planning Board of the Nova Scotia Government, which has a mandate
to advise government on policy. In January 2006, he joined the staff
of Voluntary Planning - Nova Scotia's Citizens' Policy Forum. As
the Community Development Project Director, he is facilitating a
citizen-developed vision for the future of Nova Scotia's communities
that will provide a framework for the province's Community Development
Policy and local community development. Malcolm is a volunteer on
the Halifax Peninsula Community Health Board, where he pursues his
interest in healthy communities.
Liz Rykert
President, Meta Strategies Inc.
 Liz
Rykert is the President of Meta Strategies, a Canadian consulting
firm that works with the non-profit, charitable, and public sectors
to develop online strategies and web sites. Her capacity to understand
how networks thrive both socially and technically drives her instinctive
capacity to help people find efficient, practical solutions to working
together online. Before starting Meta Strategies in 1997, Liz was
the coordinator of an innovative child health program for families
with children, newborn to age six, called Growing Up Healthy Downtown.
Other social service experience includes two years at the Catholic
Children's Aid Society as a protection worker and community development
worker and managing a neighbourhood programs unit at a busy inner
city settlement house. Ms. Rykert sits on the board of the Children's
Aid Society of Toronto and the Plexus Institute, a US based organization
advancing complexity science and organizational change.
Sonia Dong
Program Director, Citizens' Environment Watch (CEW)
 Sonia
is the Program Director at Citizens' Environment Watch where she
is responsible for developing and implementing CEW's community-based
ecological monitoring programs. She is also a jury member of the
Blue Flag Program, bringing expertise in monitoring Toronto's surface
water quality, and a member of the Oak Ridges Corridor Park Advisory
Committee. Her past experience includes a research position at Environmental
Defence Canada and an internship at Credit Valley Conservation,
where she created a manual for monitoring and evaluating watershed
restoration projects. Sonia holds a B.Sc. in Biology (University
of Waterloo) and a post-graduate certificate in Environmental Control
(Sheridan College). She was one of twenty young people who participated
in the inaugural year of the Young Conservation Professionals Career
Development Initiative out of the Centre for Land and Water Stewardship
at the University of Guelph.
Simon Lalande
President, Interim Council, Assemblée de la francophonie
de l'Ontario
 Born
in Ottawa, Simon Lalande is currently completing his bachelor degree
in Finance at the University of Ottawa. He is a laureate of the
Canadian Millennium Scholarships Excellence Award, national level,
and Univeristy of Ottawa's Chancellor's Scholarship. Involved in
the Ontario francophone community for more than five years, he is
the current President of the Interim Council of the Assemblée
de la francophonie de l'Ontario (AFO), the political representative
organization for francophones rights in Ontario. He was president
of the Franco-Ontarian Youth Federation (FESFO), secretary-treasurer
of l'Entente Canada-communauté Ontario (DECCO) and representative
of Ontario on the Board of trustees for the French-Canadian Youth
Federation (FJCF). He has also worked for the federal public service,
for the Treasury Board and Citizenship and Immigration Canada, among
others.
Kehinde Bah
Children and Youth Program Associate, Laidlaw Foundation
 Winner
of the 2005 Canadian Urban Leadership Award, Kehinde Bah is understood
to be youth advocate who is "tuned in... tapped in... and turned
on." Since age 14, Kehinde has been known as a "local
dynamo" for his work as a grassroots social and political activist.
A dynamic speaker, he is impassioned about issues of marginalized
youth. His extensive list of involvement includes serving as Chairperson
on the Toronto Youth Cabinet in 2001-02, sitting on the Social Capital
Partners youth advisory and a board member of For Youth Initiative,
the only youth-led charitable agency in the City of Toronto. More
recently, Kehinde began at the Laidlaw Foundation in 2004, working
to fund youth engagement projects across Ontario and address social
exclusion. At City Hall he serves on the Mayor's Community Safety
Panel, and is developing a youth project aimed at helping at-risk
youth launch careers and start businesses in the urban culture industry.
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