Policy Community Conference 2023: Speaker Directory

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John Hannaford
		John Hannaford was named the 25th Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet on June 24, 2023. Prior to becoming Clerk, John served as Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Canada, from 2022 to 2023, where he helped advance some of the government’s signature clean energy initiatives. He contributed to the public service for the preceding two decades representing the Canadian government on key international files, from free trade to foreign and defence policy. After graduating from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in history, he earned a Master of Science in international relations at the London School of Economics, before completing a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Toronto. John joined the federal public service’s Department of Foreign Affairs as a newly minted lawyer in 1995, working on a range of issues including maritime jurisdictions, environmental law and trade. His following career included being Deputy Minister of International Trade at Global Affairs Canada from 2019–2022, after having served in several high-profile senior leadership positions in the public service, including: Foreign and Defence Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister (2015–2019); Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet of Foreign and Defence Policy in the Privy Council Office (2012–2015); and Ambassador of Canada to Norway (2009–2012).
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Serge Bijimine
		Serge Bijimine is Assistant Deputy Minister of Policy at Transport Canada and has taken on a critical leadership role in the development of policy, economic and environmental advice. In this capacity, Serge is responsible for developing and managing the transportation sector policy framework as well as oversight of the department’s portfolio of crown corporations and international and intergovernmental relations. Mr. Bijimine is also responsible for managing relationships with stakeholders in the air, marine and surface transportation sector. Serge has a strong track record of delivering results, driving innovation and problem-solving.    Before this, Serge was Associate Secretary General for a brief period and then Secretary General at the National Research Council (NRC). Previously, Serge held various senior executive positions, including at Environment and Climate Change Canada, where he oversaw a number of grants and contributions programs, mainly directed at incentivizing private sector companies to help address climate change. After joining the federal public service in 2005, Serge became an executive at the Treasury Board Secretariat and worked in the Economic as well as International Affairs, Security and Justice sectors.     He holds a Bachelor in Economics and Social Sciences from the University of Ottawa and a Master’s in Project Management from the Université du Québec en Outaouais.
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Pablo Sobrino
		Pablo Sobrino retired from the Public Service of Canada in 2015 after 38 years of service. He began his public service career with the Canadian Coast Guard as a navigation officer and hovercraft pilot, working his way through a number of positions in regions and headquarters to eventually become Director of Marine Programs.  In 2000, Pablo changed career paths. Executive positions at Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Canadian Heritage helped him build expertise in policy, finance and leadership. After five years as an Assistant Deputy Minister, he spent his last year in the public service as an advisor and lecturer at the Canada School of Public Service. Since his retirement, Pablo has continued to contribute his experience and insight to the public service as an occasional consultant.
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Jesse Wente
		Jesse Wente is a husband and father, as well as an award-winning writer and speaker. Born and raised in Toronto, his family comes from Chicago and Genaabaajing Anishinaabek and he is an off-reserve member of the Serpent River First Nation. Jesse is best known for more than two decades spent as a columnist for CBC Radio’s Metro Morning. Jesse spent a decade with the Toronto International Film Festival as a curator, including leading the film programming at the Tiff Bell Lightbox. In 2018, Jesse was named the founding director of the Indigenous Screen Office and in summer 2020 he was appointed Chair of the Canada Council for the Arts. Jesse received the Arbor Award from the University of Toronto in 2021 for his volunteer contributions and was recently appointed a Senior Fellow of Massey College. His first book “Unreconciled: Family, Truth and Indigenous Resistance” is a national bestseller and was picked as one of best books of 2021 by Chapters-Indigo, Apple Books and The Globe and Mail. Last year, Jesse won the Kobo Emerging Writers Prize in Non-Fiction and most recently, he has been named the Communicator of the Year for 2022 by the International Association of Business Communicators.
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Bryce Conrad
		Bryce Conrad has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Hydro Ottawa since 2011. Under his leadership, Hydro Ottawa has become one of the most profitable, innovative, and customer-oriented utilities in Canada, regularly winning awards and accolades for customer service and innovation. Since 2012, Hydro Ottawa has tripled its renewable generation, making it the largest municipally owned generator of clean, green energy in Ontario.   Prior to joining Hydro Ottawa, Mr. Conrad served as Assistant Deputy Minister - Program Operations at Infrastructure Canada, where he managed the implementation of the $4 billion Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, overseeing the selection and management of 4,000 projects that created more than $10 billion in economic activity. He was also responsible for the oversight and administration of the Building Canada Fund, the Green Infrastructure Fund and the Gas Tax agreements with provinces and municipalities.
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Deborah Richardson
		Deborah Richardson is the Deputy Minister at Treasury Board Secretariat and Secretary of Treasury Board and Management Board of Cabinet at Ontario Treasury Board Secretariat. She is a proud Mi'gmaq woman and a member of the Pabineau First Nation. She has served at the highest levels of public service in Canada, being the first Indigenous woman to serve as a Deputy Minister within the Ontario public service. A seasoned executive and a business-savvy lawyer with almost three decades of private, not-for-profit, and public experience, Ms. Richardson is known as a change-maker and visionary leader. A forward-thinking, fiscally responsible leader, Deborah is known for her caring, collaborative style, and ability to nurture relationships. This has contributed to her reputation as an authentic leader and humanitarian.
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Dr. Nadia Ferrera
		Dr. Nadia Ferrara is a dedicated public servant and a passionate humanitarian. She is currently the Ombudsperson at Indigenous Services Canada. Prior to this, she was Senior Director at Parks Canada where she established the Values, Ethics, Diversity and Inclusion Directorate. Nadia gained ombuds experience when she was the Executive Director at the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime, Department of Justice. Nadia also worked at Women and Gender Equality Canada, and before that, at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada for over a decade, where she worked closely with First Nations and Inuit Health Branch and developed policies and frameworks in collaboration with Indigenous partners.      Nadia remains on Faculty at McGill University as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anthropology where she supervises graduate and undergraduate students in her spare time. Dr. Nadia is also the author of 'In Pursuit of Impact: Trauma and Resilience-Informed Policy Development.' Through a multidisciplinary lens, Nadia Ferrara, draws on research, clinical, and policy experience to show how we can engage in learning, and building more effective relationships to better support the development of responsive policies.   Before entering the Government of Canada in 2003, Nadia worked as an art therapist for 16 years, specializing in cross-cultural psychotherapy with Indigenous peoples in Quebec and Ontario, Canada. Her education includes a Master of Arts in Art Therapy, a Master of Science in Transcultural Psychiatry, and a Doctorate in Medical Anthropology.
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Dr. Alika Lafontaine
		Dr. Alika Lafontaine, named Maclean’s top Health Care Innovator of 2023, has been at the epicenter of healthcare system change for almost two decades. He is the first Indigenous physician and the youngest doctor to lead the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) in its 156-year history, and the first Indigenous physician to be listed on The Medical Post’s 50 Most Powerful Doctors. Among several successes during his presidency year at the CMA, Lafontaine was the driving force that brought pan-Canadian credential recognition from a non-priority to a necessary feature of health system change - accelerating the implementation of the Atlantic physician registry, emboldening changes in provincial legislation and securing its place as a current top 5 policy priority of Health Ministers. From 2013-2017, Lafontaine co-led the Indigenous Health Alliance, growing it into one of the most ambitious Indigenous health transformation projects in Canadian history. At its peak, the Alliance represented more than 150 First Nations and successfully advocated for $68 million in funding.  Lafontaine is also the co-founder of Safespace Networks, an anonymous learning platform for reporting racism and healthcare harm with networks in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. He continues to practice Anesthesia in rural Alberta.
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Vanessa Vermette
		Vanessa Vermette is currently the Vice-President of Innovation and Skills Development at the Canada School of Public Service. She has also served as its Director General of Communications and Engagement, and has served in other executive positions at the School and at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. In addition, she has worked at the Public Health Agency of Canada, Transport Canada, and Infrastructure Canada in both policy and communications and has over 20 years of experience in the public service. In her current role, Vanessa actively supports the Government of Canada’s digital and data mandate and its digital and data communities, and leads efforts to advance digital government and public sector innovation through learning. She is also the first Chair of the Digital Governance Standards Institute, Canada's only accredited standards development body focused exclusively on setting and managing digital technology governance standards. Vanessa holds a Master’s of Public Health from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and is passionate about equipping public servants with the skills and tools they need to succeed in meeting the needs of Canadians.
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Richard D. Sharpe
		Richard D. Sharpe has been a human rights advocate for 30 years, both at the community and institutional levels. Until the beginning of this year, he worked within the Canadian Federal Public Service where he held several national positions representing employees as both a union representative and as a leader in employee-led organizations. He held the position of Director of Equity, Anti-racism, Diversity and Inclusion at the Department of Justice Canada, where he spearheaded department and enterprise-wide initiatives to address long-standing discriminatory practices in the federal government. He is currently the Director of the Black Equity Branch, Treasury Board Secretariat, in the Ontario Public Service.
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Terry Irwin
		Terry Irwin is a Professor in the School of Design and Director of the Transition Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. From 2009 - 2019, she served as Head of School, leading a multi-year process to place ‘design for society and the environment’ at the heart of all programs and curricula. Along with Gideon Kossoff and Cameron Tonkinwise, she is one of the co-originators of Transition Design, a transdisciplinary approach for addressing the many complex, wicked problems confronting 21st century societies. Terry has been teaching design at the university level since 1986 and has held faculty positions at Otis Parsons College of Art and Design, Los Angeles (1986-1989), California College of Arts, San Francisco (1989-2003), and the University of Dundee, Scotland (2007-2009). She has also been a practicing designer for more than 50 years and was one of the founding partners of MetaDesign, an international design firm with offices in Berlin, London, San Francisco and Zurich. She served as the Creative Director of the San Francisco office from 1992 to 2002, working with Fortune 500 clients such as Nike, Apple Computer, Hewlett-Packard, Barclay's Bank, Ernst and Young (EY), Nissan, Sony, and Berlin's Transport company, BVG.
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Lydia Laflamme
		Lydia Laflamme, one of two winners of the 10th National Student Paper Competition, is a master's student in political science at Université Laval in Québec. She is a member of the Research Chair on Democracy and Parliamentary Institutions, the Université Laval Research Group in Politics and Cognition, and the Leadership Chair in the Teaching of Digital Social Sciences. Her main areas of research are political psychology and electoral politics in Quebec and the rest of Canada. More specifically, she studies intergroup conflict, the impact of identity on political attitudes, and the connections between voter well-being and behaviour. Visit the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration (CAPPA) to read the paper written by Lydia Laflamme.
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David Jones
		David Jones, one of two winners of the 10th National Student Paper Competition, is a policy analyst and advisor, specializing in economics, healthcare and public policy. Currently, David is midway through the Master of Public Policy degree at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. He also studied Economics at the University of Cambridge. David is passionate about providing high-quality research, analysis and advice that both supports efficient policymaking and improves the welfare of society. Visit the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration (CAPPA) to read the paper written by David Jones.
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Jutta Treviranus
		Jutta Treviranus is the Director of the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) and professor in the faculty of Design at OCAD University in Toronto (http://idrc.ocadu.ca ).  Jutta established the IDRC in 1993 as the nexus of a growing global community that proactively works to ensure that our digitally transformed and globally connected society is designed inclusively.  Dr. Treviranus also founded an innovative graduate program in inclusive design at OCAD University.  Jutta is credited with developing an inclusive design methodology that has been adopted by large enterprise companies such as Microsoft, as well as public sector organizations internationally. In 2022 Jutta was recognized for her work in AI by Women in AI with the AI for Good - DEI AI Leader of the Year award.
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Roda Muse
		Roda Muse is the Deputy Minister of Francophone Affairs for the Government of Ontario. Prior to this appointment, she was the Secretary-General of the Canadian Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).   Roda has served as a senior public servant for over 20 years. She was also the first BIPOC elected as a school board trustee in the Francophone system in Ottawa, among other board of director roles for various organizations. Roda also served as a Board Member at the Montfort Hospital, ACEPO and Consortium of Centre Jules-Léger.   Some of her awards and recognitions include being:  Recipient of the 2022 Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award.  Named one of the 10 most influential Francophones in Canada in 2022.  Recipient 2017 Deputy Minister Merit Award for instituting a Mental Health Innovation Centre and leading the development of a mental health strategy.  Winner of the 2012 Industry Canada Excellence in Leadership Award for promoting Official Languages.  Roda holds a Master of Public Administration, a Master of Education, and a Bachelor of Literature.
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Darren Swanson
		Darren Swanson is Director of the Winnipeg-based Novel Futures Corporation and a Senior Associate of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). He has over two decades of experience assisting United Nations agencies, governments, businesses and community organizations around the world in the arenas of strategic foresight, risk assessment and resilience, and sustainable development. In 2009, he co-authored the book Creating Adaptive Policies: A Guide for Policy-making in an Uncertain World. Mr. Swanson will unpack the seven principles of adaptive policies and provide an overview of the Adaptive Design and Assessment Policy Tool (ADAPTool) – a practical policy analysis tool developed to help policy practitioners translate the principles into tangible recommendations – along with lessons learned from applications in Canada.  With master's degrees in public administration and international development from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and geo-environmental engineering from the University of Saskatchewan, Darren draws from a diverse science-policy knowledge base when assisting organizations in the collective pursuit of sustainability, accountability, and adaptability. Mr. Swanson is a registered professional engineer in Canada and the United States and a certified Infrastructure Resilience Professional (IRP).
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Gail Mitchell
		Gail Mitchell joined the public service in 1997 and has worked in the areas of program policy and delivery, strategic policy and corporate services across several departments.  Gail recently joined Women and Gender Equality as the Assistant Deputy Minister of Departmental Programs and Operations.    Previously, Gail Mitchell was the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Strategic Policy and Partnerships (SPP) sector at Indigenous Services Canada from March 2019. Prior to this Gail was Director General of Intergovernmental Relations at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). In that role, Gail was responsible for providing strategic advice on key social policy issues, and she represented Canada at various international meetings, including the G7, the G20, the OECD and the United Nations, on issues related to labour and employment. Gail also co-chaired the Canada–Mexico Partnership Labour Mobility Working Group, and the European Union and Canada Bilateral Dialogue on Employment, Social Affairs and Decent Work. Gail led the engagement on the domestic and international implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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Heather Sheehy
		Heather Sheehy was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Government Operations Sector in the Treasury Board Secretariat in November 2020. In this role she supports Treasury Board Ministers on numerous issues of importance in advancing the government's agenda – including real property, procurement, and policies and programs which regulate how the federal public service operates.  Throughout much of 2020, Heather worked on the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the delivery of benefits to Canadians. Prior to this, she was Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Service Policy Branch at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) since September 2017. She previously spent three years as the Director of Operations, Machinery of Government at the Privy Council Office. Prior to this, she was Chief of Staff to the Deputy Minister at ESDC. Earlier in her career she worked in various departments including Health Canada and (then) Citizenship and Immigration Canada as well as working for two years with the Canadian Medical Association. Heather obtained her undergraduate in politics from Queen’s University and has a master’s in public administration from Dalhousie University.
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Eric Bélair
		Eric Bélair is Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet at the Privy Council Office of Canada.  He is responsible for the Priorities and Planning Secretariat, as well as the Results and Delivery Unit. In his role, he supports the advancement of the government’s overall policy agenda. Eric previously occupied senior executive positions at Health Canada and Natural Resources Canada, where he led policy priorities in the areas of pharmaceuticals, mental health and energy.
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Samuel Millar
		Samuel Millar is the Associate ADM of Economic Development Branch at the Department of Finance Canada. In this capacity, Sam supports the Minister of Finance on fiscal federal policy matters related to the government’s economic departments and agencies. Prior to joining Finance Canada, Sam worked in a range of federal economic departments on innovation, natural resources and indigenous policy matters. Prior to joining the Government of Canada, Sam worked at Bain & Company. He holds degrees from INSEAD, Harvard University and Mount Allison University.
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Mark Schaan
		Mark Schaan is the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister for Strategy and Innovation Policy at the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED). In this role he is responsible for advancing the government's microeconomic policy agenda; supporting the development of the department's horizontal policy and strategic priorities, including by ensuring robust marketplace frameworks telecommunications policy, and the deepening of external relations; and, providing support to regional economic development. Prior to becoming an ADM, Mark was the Director General, Marketplace Framework Policy Branch at ISED. In this role, Mark advised on the policy, legislative, and stakeholder issues relating to laws of general economic application, including privacy and data protection, patents, trademarks, copyright, competitions and insolvency, all in support of an innovative and high-functioning Canadian economy.
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Catherine Charbonneau
		Catherine Charbonneau is a designer, organizational development specialist, and experienced facilitator leading multi-year projects in multiorganizational contexts. She is driven to bring new insights into the changing nature of policymaking and complex problem discovery. Catherine understands the relationship between experimentation, innovation and policymaking in a government context. She understands the paradox to work differently in a controlled environment, to plan strategically while staying prospectively open to stewarding emergent opportunities and working in transforming multi stakeholder systems. She leads teams and initiatives with a high degree of comfort, resilience and clarity through transition and uncertainty. She has carried the Policy Community Initiative through two departmental transfers between June 2021 and December 2022, reorienting the organization with digital transformation to accelerate policy community development and better harvest community analytics. Catherine is PCPO’s primary relationship broker between the PCPO team, ADM champion, the ADM Steering Committee, funding partners, service providers, community volunteers, and external community partners.
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Tamara Girard
		Tamara Girard is a policy innovation practitioner who has over twenty years professional experience across the public, private and non-profit sectors, working in policy positions with the Government of Canada; as Director of the London Arts Council; as a freelance writer; and in the investment industry. Throughout her career she also returned to academia, receiving an MA, and working toward a PhD. She is a problem solver who loves to delve deeply into the complex issues our world faces today, engage in research and critical thinking, and find new ways of moving forward. She is interested in using foresight, design thinking and creative problem-solving techniques to look at these issues in new ways and develop innovative policy approaches and solutions. Her experience in and knowledge of the public, private and non-profit sectors and how they function, combined with her academic background, provide her with a unique perspective and understanding of key issues. In today’s increasingly interconnected world, and with the complex issues we are facing, this multidisciplinary experience and expertise is a great asset. Tamara brings this expertise to PCPO’s Community Research and Outreach Team, managing a unit responsible for participatory research projects and facilitated workshops aimed to provide community insights to inform learning events and future projects, and design practical solutions tailored to policy practitioners' needs, expectations, perspectives and behaviors.
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Daniel Villate
		Daniel Villate’s keen interest is to elevate the capacity for design alongside traditional policy competencies in the Government of Canada. He believes research is the foundation of any great design.  Excited to put his inquisitive and collaborative nature to work for PCPO, Daniel is looking to better understand and highlight the experiences and behaviors of policy practitioners. He will propose content generation experiences to gather intel, analyze and curate evidence on complex issues. His projects will generate community insights and model novel approaches in experimentation that translate abstract and fuzzy ideas into tangible and engaging models - learning through doing. Through visual and digestible mediums of research, Daniel also demonstrates how he distills communities’ insights to support and nurture the community.  He also enjoys developing creative confidence in others and pushing towards alternative scenario thinking. Daniel has expertise in user research, service design, graphic design, advertising and project management. He will lead the New Models for Cross-functional Learning (XfN 2.0) research project, participate to outreach activities, and contribute to the Annual Policy Community Conference.
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