Profils des conférenciers

Les conférenciers des séances plénières  

Darcy Rezac
Dimanche 6 juin – 9 h – 10 h 15

Darcy Rezac is managing director and chief engagement officer of The Vancouver Board of Trade. Prior to that he held executive positions with the federal government, Alcan and General Motors. He also writes, speaks and consults on public policy, social capital, leadership, networking and corporate engagement.

Darcy is the author of the best seller, Work the Pond! (Prentice Hall NY, 2005), dubbed “The Connector’s Handbook” by Town & Country magazine. It features his trademarked ethos of positive networking. In its book review, The Financial Post credits Rezac with “taking networking to a new level.” It has also been published in China, Korea and Russia. He is also author of The Engaged Leadership Matrix™, a corporate leadership capacity model.

He did graduate work at the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser and York universities and holds B.Sc. in psychology from McGill and MBA from the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montreal. He was awarded an army commission in the Royal Canadian Engineers, and a naval commission in 1996 as honorary captain (N), Fleet Pacific. He holds the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, the Canada 125 medal and the Canadian Forces Decoration (CD).

Darcy was a founding director of Vancouver International Airport Authority (YVR) in. He is a director of B.C. Bearing Engineers Ltd., and The Vancouver Board of Trade and ARA Safety, Inc. He is on the International Academic Advisory Board of Quest University, Garibaldi, British Columbia, and the advisory board of Recipco, Inc—the capacity exchange. He has been an active member of World Economic Forum since 1989, and a member of the “Davos Circle.” He is a 2005 graduate of the Corporate Governance College of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD). He has served as a volunteer for a number of academic and community organizations. He is an Ambassador for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Darcy was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and has resided in Vancouver, British Columbia, since 1975.

Lesra Martin
Lundi 7 juin – 9 h – 10 h 15

Lesra Martin earned his law degree from Dalhousie Law School. He is currently the Vice President of a national computer software and technology company. Lesra is also a lawyer and an inspirational speaker. His life has been chronicled in a best selling book, Lazarus and the Hurricane, and he was one of the subjects in a major Hollywood motion picture, "The Hurricane", starring Denzel Washington and directed by Norman Jewison. He has made a guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, appeared on Larry King Live, and spoke before the United Nations. Most recently, he is the subject of a National Film Board of Canada documentary, "The Journey of Lesra Martin".

It is hard to imagine that Lesra grew up in Bedford Stuyvesant - a ghetto community in New York City. It is hard to imagine that he was functionally illiterate, unable to read or write at the age of 15. As fate would have it, at 15 years old Lesra left his home in New York to live with a family in Toronto, Canada. While there, he was given access to a proper education. He took full advantage of the opportunity.

Hardest of all to imagine: the first book Lesra purchased and read on his own was the autobiography of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, The Sixteenth Round. Lesra pledged to do everything in his power to prove Rubin's innocence. After enlisting the help of his Canadian family and uniting with attorneys, Rubin Carter was exonerated. Because of Lesra Martin, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter is a free man.

Lesra Martin is an example of dogged determination. Anyone who says that impossible dreams can never materialize has yet to meet this "kid" from New York City. Humble and passionate, he tells audiences everywhere that "limits" exists only in the mind. Through his inspiring presentations, Lesra shows audiences that the power to make a difference exists in each of us.

La conversation thématique

Lucinda Chodan, Mike Harcourt, and Martha Piper
Lundi 7 juin – 13 h 45 – 15 h

Lucinda Chodan

Lucinda Chodan is editor-in-chief of the Victoria Times Colonist. Before that, she spent 20 years at the Montreal Gazette, occupying positions that included deputy editor, readership development editor and senior news editor.

While she was at The Gazette, she was also involved in the startup of several new sections, including Woman News, a section of particular interest to female readers; eXpress, for young people; and Weekender, a Saturday leisure and lifestyles section.

She began her daily newspaper career at the Edmonton Sun, where she worked as an entertainment reporter.

Lucinda received a National Newspaper Award for feature writing in 1986 and was awarded a certificate of merit the same year for enterprise reporting.

She has done extensive freelance work for such music publications as Country Magazine and Canadian Musician. She has also taught writing and reporting at Concordia University in Montreal.

Lucinda is a native of north-central Alberta.

Mike Harcourt

As former Premier of British Columbia, Mayor of Vancouver and city councillor, Mike Harcourt helped British Columbia earn its reputation as one of the most livable places in the world. His focus on conservation and sustainable development - and his resolve to contribute to the transformation of cities and communities around the world - has played a significant role in promoting quality of life for those in Canada and abroad.

After stepping down from politics, he was appointed by the Prime Minister to serve as a member of the National Round Table on the Environment and Economy, where he served on the Executive Committee and Chaired the Urban Sustainability Program. He was a Federally appointed B.C. Treaty Commissioner and was chair of the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee for Cities and Communities. He co-chaired the National Advisory Committee on the UN-HABITAT World Urban Forum, held in Vancouver in 2006.

Harcourt is honorary co-chair of the University of British Columbia's President's Advisory Council on sustainability, as well as Associate Director at the Centre for Sustainability Continuing Studies at U.B.C. In addition to acting as Chairman of Quality Urban Energy Systems for Tomorrow (QUEST), he chairs the Canadian Electricity Association's Sustainable Electricity Program Advisory Panel and Sustainable Cities' International. Mike Harcourt is a member of City of Vancouver's Greenest City Action Team.

Harcourt's exemplary career as lawyer, community activist, and politician has been honoured with the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service and the Canadian Urban Institute's Jane Jacobs Lifetime Achievement Award. He was awarded the U.B.C. Alumni Achievement Award of Distinction for contributions to British Columbia, Canada and the global community in November 2008.

He is the author of A Measure of Defiance and co-author of Plan B: One Man's Journey from Tragedy to Triumph and co-author of City Making in Paradise.  

Martha Piper

From 1997 to 2006, Martha C. Piper served as the eleventh president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia, one of Canada's largest and most prestigious research universities.

Born in Lorain, Ohio, Piper received her B.Sc. in Physical Therapy from the University of Michigan, her M.A. in Child Development from the University of Connecticut, and her Ph.D. in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from McGill University. Upon completion of her Ph.D., Piper was appointed director of the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill University. In 1985, she joined the University of Alberta as Dean of the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, and was appointed Vice-President, Research in 1993. The portfolio was expanded in 1995 to include external affairs.

Through her commitment to advancing research, Piper has been established as a leader in the research community. She has served as a board member of the Alberta Research Council, the Canada Israel Industrial Research Foundation, the Edmonton Economic Development Board, Telecommunications Research Labs, the Centre for Frontier Engineering Research, and the Interim Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. Prime Minister Chrétien appointed Piper to the National Advisory Board on Science and Technology in 1994 and, in 1996, to the board of the Advisory Council on Science and Technology, a position she held until 2004.

In 1997, Piper was appointed as a member of the Canada Foundation for Innovation. In 1998, she was appointed to the board of directors of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, and became a member of the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation. In 2001, Piper was appointed by the premier of British Columbia to the BC Progress Board. In 2002, Piper was appointed a member of the board of directors for the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation, and the Singapore Minister of Education appointed her to the National University of Singapore Council. Piper was appointed a public governor of the board for the Canadian Academies of Science in 2005 and became a member of the board of directors for PrioNet Canada in the same year.

Piper has been awarded 16 honorary degrees, and in 2003, Piper was named an officer of the Order of Canada. She was named Educator of the Year by The Learning Partnership in 2004. In 2005, Piper was named a recipient of the Order of British Columbia. In Mexico in 2006, The Instituto Technologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey held a special ceremony to recognize Piper for her contributions to higher education, which marked the first time that a non-Mexican has received such an honour. The Martha C. Piper Research Prize is awarded annually to a faculty member at the University of Alberta.

Séances concomitantes et Séances de réseautage

Sharon Aitken est directrice des relations avec les diplômés et de la campagne annuelle au Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. Après avoir obtenu un baccalauréat spécialisé en sciences politiques de la McMaster University, Mme Aitken est entrée chez Bell Canada où elle a entrepris une carrière de 20 ans dans les domaines des ventes, de la gestion du marketing, de la gestion de produits et du service à la clientèle. Elle gérait un personnel de 45 employés, avec l'obligation de rendre compte sur les revenus générés par la Division des communications publiques de Bell Ontario, des revenus totalisant plus de 110 millions de dollars.  

En 2000, après plusieurs années de bénévolat et de consultation en éducation dans sa communauté, elle est entrée au Service du développement commercial du Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, où elle gérait les importants partenariats d’affaires établis avec les principaux fournisseurs de produits.  

En 2003, Mme Aitken était chef de projet lors de la création d’une pépinière d’entreprises pour les médias numériques sur le campus du Sheridan Collège, qui abrite aujourd’hui l’un des principaux studios d’animation du Canada. En 2004, elle s’est jointe à l’équipe de collecte de fonds du Collège et a dirigé de nombreuses nouvelles initiatives, incluant les initiatives de sensibilisation et d’établissement de relations avec les diplômés en animation de l’établissement vivant en Californie. Elle est responsable des relations avec les 105 000 diplômés du Collège, de la campagne annuelle, des prix, des campagnes de sollicitation et du gala Big Picture annuel. 

Sharon Aitken était présidente du comité organisateur du congrès national annuel 2009 du CCAE. Elle siège présentement au conseil d’administration de la Chambre de commerce d’Oakville et elle a reçu le Prix d’appréciation de l’Alliance de développement économique d’Oakville. 

James Allan, Ph.D., est directeur principal des relations avec les diplômés à la York University. M. Allan, qui possède de l’expérience dans le milieu universitaire, les communications et la recherche, travaille au Bureau des relations avec les diplômés de York depuis 6 ans, et en est directeur depuis 2005. Après l’obtention de son Ph.D. en communications, il a enseigné comme chargé de cours dans plusieurs universités du Massachusetts et de New York avant de se joindre à l’équipe de York. En plus de son expérience dans le milieu universitaire, il a également travaillé dans la publicité chez GreyInteractive, à Toronto, et l’édition chez AdventureHouse, à New York.  

Titulaire de diplômes de la University of Toronto, de l’Université McGill et de la University of Massachusetts, campus d’Amherst, James Allan se dit que ce serait peut-être une bonne idée d’en obtenir un de la York University également.  

Nathalie Benoit est titulaire d'un baccalauréat en communications de l'Université du Québec à Montréal. 

Après avoir œuvré comme journaliste pigiste, puis attachée de presse dans le domaine de l’édition, elle est entrée au service de la Fondation de l’UQAM où elle a coordonné des campagnes de sollicitation et dirigé les activités de communications. 

Depuis 2002, elle dirige la Division de la promotion institutionnelle de l’UQAM. À ce titre, elle est notamment responsable des campagnes promotionnelles de l’Université, de la stratégie et du positionnement de marque ainsi que du développement du site Web et des médias sociaux institutionnels. Elle et son équipe ont remporté plusieurs distinctions pour leurs réalisations, dont des Prix d’excellence remis par le Conseil canadien pour l’avancement de l’éducation (CCAE) dans les catégories campagne de promotion, site Web et événement spécial. Elle a œuvré au sein de plusieurs comités et conseils d’administration dont le CCAE et le comité organisateur du Gala Femmes de mérite de la Fondation du YWCA. Elle siège actuellement au sein du conseil d’administration de la Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau et en préside le comité Communications, développement, partenariat et programmation. 

Cynthia Bettcher, M.Serv.Soc., est directrice du projet U50 à la York University. En 2009, elle a dirigé avec brio la réalisation des célébrations sans précédent organisées tout au long de l’année pour souligner le 50e anniversaire de l’établissement. Elle a assuré la direction du lancement du projet The York Circle (un programme de sensibilisation du public) et elle a été directrice des initiatives stratégiques au Bureau des événements universitaires et des relations avec la communauté pendant les deux années qui ont suivi sa création.  

Avant d&