Team Category: Presenter

To be updated.

Christen is on the Board of Directors for the African Caribbean Council of Halton (ACCH) and is passionate about the dismantling of Racism within Canada and abroad and believes that Racism is not only violence – it is differences in rights, privileges and opportunity baked into institutions over generations to oppress BIPOC. Christen believes that defeating racism is an active process of unlearning and re-educating, of facing the problem head-on and remaking our society in the true idea of equality.

Kirk Merrett is a senior HR executive with 20+ years leading HR teams in Canada including his current role with Hyundai Canada and previously with Mitsubishi Canada and Eddie Bauer of Canada. He has a passion for employee experience and engagement as a business driver and has led Hyundai Canada to a regular spot on the list of the Top 50 Best Workplaces in Canada. Working with company leaders to provide an incredible employee experience gives Kirk an even bigger high than the ones he experienced running with the bulls in Pamplona, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and solo skydiving.

Christine worked in the private sector for two years with a large accounting firm before returning to work in the federal public service in Nova Scotia as an Employment Counsellor with HRDC. Christine eventually took on progressively challenging roles until venturing into management as the Manager of a Service Canada Centre in Digby, a coastal community in Nova Scotia. After becoming the Director of Citizen Services for Nova Scotia in 2007 and the Executive Director for Citizen Services in 2009, Christine has provided leadership to a number of business lines in the Atlantic Region as the Executive Director for Strategic Services and for Integrity and National Services. And after taking on the role of Director General for Strategic Services she took on the Director General role for Citizen Service and Program Delivery in January of 2018.

Christine is the Regional Champion for Atlantic Region Mental Health and Wellness Committee and the ESDC Champion for Gender-Based Analysis+. Most recently, Christine has assumed the role of co-chair for Integrated Operations Committee.

Broadcast Journalist and Media Expert

Ginella Massa is an award-winning Canadian broadcaster, mediaconsultantand soughtafter public speaker. Ginella graduated with anHonoursBA in Communication Studiesat York University and has a diploma in Broadcast Journalism from Seneca College. Shehas worked in both TV and radio, behind the scenes and on air, at many of Canada’smajor networks, including CTV, CBC, and CityNews. Most recently, she was theprimetime host of “Canada Tonight with Ginella Massa”, on the country’s national publicbroadcaster, making history as North America’s first hijab-wearing national TV newsanchor. As amediaconsultantand CEO of her own PR Firm, Massa Media&Communication, Ginella helps her clients build strong communications plans throughboth traditional and social media. She also has a passion for working with localcommunity groups and nonprofits, helping bridge the media literacy gap, and changethe narrative of marginalized communities.

With over a decade of international work in Community organizing, Communications, Events and Project Management, Marina Mathieu is an experience enhancer. She holds aBachelor in Communicationfrom the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), a Certificate in Sexual Health from Laval University, and is currentlyfinalizinga Masters in Gender, Feminist and Women’s Studies at York University. Passionate about issues related to discrimination, human rights, and the status of women internationally, she hosted and moderated conversations and events with pillars like Michaëlle Jean and Dominique Anglade. As a filmmaker, she wrote,directedand produced three short films with subject matters ranging from denouncing police brutality against racialized people in Canada to addressing the problem of uterine fibroids in women of African descent. Her latest production, which features two young women displaced by natural disasters, was awarded Best Documentary Short at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF). Marina believes in care, empowerment, equity and solidarity for all livingbeingsand she abides by these values in all the projects she leads or gets involved in.

Laetitia Martin is an analyst at the Centre for Ethnocultural, Language and Immigration Statistics at Statistics Canada. She completed a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in sociology from the Université de Montréal. She has been working in the field of immigration statistics for more than 12 years. She’s currently working on a broad project to improve the relevance of current inclusion measures of Canadian ethnic minority groups. Within the broad frame of immigration and ethnocultural statistics, her fields of interest are, among others, data relevance, categorization and social inequities.

Manager of Communications, Engagement, and Partnerships

Eileen is a member of the Lutselke Dene First Nation in the Northwest Territories, but she currently resides in Yellowknife. She holds a Master’s in Communication Management from McMaster University. Eileen is keenly aware of the importance of strategic communications, public relations, Indigenous relations, and public and Indigenous engagement on projects and other significant initiatives involving various people coming together. She has researched How and to What Extent do Government Communications Impact Trust and Indigenous Relations: Recommendations to Build Strategic Relationships.

Melissa Magder is the Advisor of Strategic Initiatives within the Office of Culture and Inclusion at the Regional Municipality of Peel. The Office of Culture and Inclusion leads work in the areas of organizational culture change, accessibility planning and diversity, equity and inclusion. Most recently, the team has elevated its focus on addressing anti-black racism and systemic discrimination both in the workplace and in the community.

Melissa began her career in Human Resources working for organizations such as BMW Group Canada and PricewaterhouseCoopers. It was during that time she noticed the individual and organizational biases which seemed to be advancing some, while disadvantaging others. For the past 12 years Melissa has been working in the field of Diversity & Inclusion, driven by the desire to create an inclusive environment where individual differences are embraced and valued, and where everyone has the ability and support to develop to their full potential.

The Region of Peel is on a journey to becoming a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace where every person is respected, valued and has opportunity to grow and develop. As a municipal government, the Region is committed to ensuring its programs and services meet the diverse needs of its diverse community.

Melissa is also a Career Coach with the Rotman School of Management, working with Internationally Educated Professionals to help them navigate the Canadian workplace and achieve their professional goals in Canada.

Melissa has a Master’s Degree and Honours B.A. in Psychology, has traveled to 40 countries and has worked internationally in Melbourne, Australia.