Mitzie Hunter is a dynamic, community-grounded leader and President and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation. Her 30 years of leadership spans the nonprofit sector, private sector, and government. Mitzie has a trailblazing track record and many successes championing infrastructure and community improvements. She was the first Black woman to serve as Ontario’s Minister of Education. She also served as Ontario’s Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development and Associate Minister of Finance. 

Mitzie is a respected advocate for diverse women, girls, and Two Spirit, trans, and nonbinary people across Canada. She is known for her expertise in an array of issues, from women’s leadership to inclusive economies to sustainable neighbourhood and city building.

Mitzie is a founding visionary of the Prosperity Project. She served as Chief Administrative Officer of Toronto Community Housing Corporation, CEO of CivicAction, Vice President of External Relations and Corporate Secretary at Goodwill Industries, and President of SMART Toronto, a technology hub. She is a Senior Fellow with the C.D. Howe Institute and a Canadian Urban Leader at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities. Mitzie has also served in several board leadership positions in nonprofit and public service bodies, including United Way Greater Toronto and TVO. In 2023, Mitzie ran for mayor in the City of Toronto by-election.

As The Globe and Mail’s generations reporter, Ann Hui writes on how Canadians of different generations appear to be experiencing the world differently. She's particularly interested in the challenges Canada faces from its rapidly aging population, on the effects of Millennials outnumbering other demographic groups in the workplace, and the mental health of younger cohorts.

Previously, she covered food, Toronto city politics and national news at The Globe and Mail. As the Globe’s food reporter, she and colleague Ivy Knight were behind a 2018 investigation that revealed a wide pattern of sexual harassment and misconduct at one of the country’s most renowned wineries.

Her reporting on the economic (and animal welfare) realities of cage-free egg production was nominated for a 2016 National Newspaper Award. And, from 2013-2015, she was part of the Globe and Mail's Toronto City Hall Bureau, where she covered the turmoil of Rob Ford's mayoralty.

In 2019, Ann expanded a Globe feature on the lives of small-town Chinese restaurant owners into the bestselling book Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada's Chinese Restaurants, published by Douglas & McIntyre. Chop Suey Nation was named one of the best books of 2019 by the Globe, The Walrus, and the CBC, and won the 2020 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Shari has been passionate about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) long before it became a widely recognized focus.

With over 13 years of experience at The Globe and Mail, and prior experience at The National Post and Rogers Publishing she brings a wealth of knowledge to her role.

In her role as an HR and DEI Advisor at The Globe and Mail, Shari works on Training and Development and Employee Engagement initiatives , all through a DEI lens. Shari is also the lead for Black Voices, The Globe’s first Employee Resource Group for staff who self-identify as Black or biracial.

Shari is passionate about creating inclusive environments and has developed relationships with several organizations including The Black North Initiative, ACESS Employment and The Canadian Association for Black Journalists. Shari’s ultimate goal is to have a workforce that is reflective of Canada’s diverse population and one where everyone can be their true authentic self.

Candace Laing is an executive leader with progressive leadership experience in multiple sectors, including mining, manufacturing, agriculture, education, and healthcare.

Candace's career spans over two decades, encompassing roles in both private and public sector organizations. She also has a strong entrepreneurial background with a focus on strategic business initiatives that foster long-term value and high-performance cultures. Most notably, Candace worked for more than ten years with Nutrien, leading both the Sustainability and Human Resources functions and serving as a member of the Executive Leadership Team. She played a pivotal role in launching Nutrien’s environment, social, and governance (ESG) efforts and, through her most recent role as the organization’s Chief Human Resources Officer, focused on ensuring people strategies and inclusion initiatives were aligned with business strategy.

She first joined the Canadian Chamber’s Board of Directors in 2019 and served as Vice-Chair from 2021 to 2022, assuming the role of Chair of the Board of Directors in 2022. She was on the Board when the Chamber developed its Chamber 2025 Strategic Plan—a transformational mandate to create a reimagined and renewed Canadian Chamber.

Candace is passionate about ensuring healthy organizations support a strong economy that can serve societal needs. She is proud to have grown up in Saskatchewan, where her family maintains a longstanding farming operation.

Candace is a Fellow of Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (FCPHR). She holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Distinction and a Graduate Certificate in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Saskatchewan. Additionally, she has a Graduate Certificate in Corporate Sustainability and Innovation from Harvard University and a Master of Arts in Leadership from Royal Roads University.

Paula Allen leads Research, Insights and Strategic Communications at TELUS Health. Her team includes data-scientists, researchers and experts in organizational health, communication, and behaviour change. Her focus is informing data-driven strategy and communicating insights in a manner that is accessible and drives productive action. This includes discovering, defining and sharing industry trends and health needs; working with customers to provide integrated analytics and data-driven decision guidance; driving productive innovation and change management; and supporting TELUS Health with insights to inform our products and customer experience.

Paula is a well-recognized expert in all areas of workplace mental health, total health and wellbeing, learning strategies, disability management, and service design. She is a sought-after speaker by media, organizations, and conferences for her knowledge and expertise in current issues and the future direction of health, wellbeing, productivity, and related risk management.

Paula’s workplace expertise builds on a clinical background, having completed undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Toronto in neuropsychological assessment, clinical intervention, and psychological research. She has more than 20 years of experience relating to workplace research and innovation, senior leadership in product development, consulting and operational management that spans the range of Individual and Population Mental Health, Workplace Learning and Leadership Development, Attendance and Disability Management and Health and Benefits Strategy.

She served as a member of the Women’s College Hospital’s Board of Directors and Quality, Academics and Equity Committee Chair, is part of the Technical Committee for the update to the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, is Vice Chair of the Kerry’s Place Autism Services Board of Directors and Marketing Co-Chair on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Club of Toronto. Paula is also the former Co-Chair of Civic Action’s Champions Council on Workplace Mental Health and has a long history of governance and advisory board membership related to government and employer policy and practice.

Harriet is the Vice President People Success and Transformation at GreenShield, a not-for-profit social enterprise passionate about creating better health for all Canadians. In her role, she is instrumental in enhancing and transforming the employee experience in key areas of the organization.

Prior to this role, she was the VP of Mental Health at GreenShield, responsible for the delivery of the organization’s mental health services where she supported the growth of the business by 400% in 3 years.

Harriet has held several transformative roles in the private and public sector, including with Ontario Telemedicine Network, KPMG, eHealth Ontario and Haldimand County. As the Health Senior Lead for Virtual Mental Health at the Ontario Telemedicine Network and Ontario Health, she was responsible for introducing, implementing and driving virtual mental health services for the people of Ontario. Harriet oversaw the dramatic growth of Ontario’s virtual mental health program – from a pilot project to Canada’s first province-wide, fully-funded internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy program. Of note, this program supported over 120,000 Ontarians during the COVID pandemic.

She began her career as a mental health nurse in the U.K. and moved to Canada in 2001 to work at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health, where she held several roles, including Manager of the Mood and Anxiety outpatient program. In this role, she was responsible for inspiring a centralized intake process that led to a 40 percent reduction in wait times.

Harriet’s life’s work is the provision of high-quality mental health services for patients and their families. She believes that virtual care is a vital tool and that its widespread adoption is long-overdue. Harriet values collaborative stakeholder engagements and has extensive experience in building meaningful partnerships aimed at planning and delivering evidence-based, affordable and accessible care. She currently serves as Chair of the board of Directors for Connex Ontario.

Harriet holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing, a Master of Business Administration, and is Project Management Professional Certified