Team Category: Presenter

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.

Elizabeth Lim is the Head of Equity,Diversityand Inclusion at Blue Ant Media, where she leads the company’s EDI strategy and works closely with Blue Ant Media’s senior management team to create a diverse,equitableand inclusive organization. She is the executive sponsor of the company’s global Blue Ant Diversity Council and oversees key industry partnerships that support diverse storytelling in the Canadian media industry.

Elizabeth’s journey began at the Race Relations and Policing Unit, Ministry of the SolicitorGeneraland the Employment Equity Commission in Ontario. Over the last 20+ years she has worked across government, banking, education, the non-profit sector,retailand media, using herexpertiseto drive meaningful change for equity-deserving communities.While at the Business Development of Canada (BDC), the bank sponsoredElizabethtoparticipateinNobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus’Grameen Bank Dialogue Program on microcredit, which included fieldwork in Tangail, Bangladesh.

Elizabethholds herCanadian Certified Inclusion Professional (CCIP)designationthrough the Canadian Center for Diversity and Inclusionand is an Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT). Sheis a graduate of theUniversity of Victoria (MBA), University of Toronto, Trinity College (Honors BA History & Political Science), University of Windsor (BA Education) andUniversity of Bergen, Norway(ERASMUS+program inNorwegian Language,Artand Culture). Elizabeth has mentored newcomers to Canada through ACCES Employment and Jumpstart Refugee Talent and currently sits on the Development Committee with the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival.

Karen Mackenzie, MBA, BSc.is a proud Cree-Métis woman, wife, mother of six, and grandmother of two. She is the Co-Founder and President of MacKintosh Canada, an Indigenous owned, international consulting company. Karen brings her traditional knowledge of Indigenous ways into the contemporary workplace as this wisdom and way of being reflect “wise practices of purpose driven individuals, communities and organizations”. Authentic co- creation reflects true diversity and inclusion where all voices have space to be heard in an open, respectful manner. Karen has been recognized as an Albertan SHEInnovates leader under the Global Innovation Coalition for Change (GICC) and is the recipient of the 2023 Esquao Award for Business. Karen is honoured to be part of the Elder in Residence Program for Indigenous Services Canada and sits with the Circle of Elders for Edmonton Catholic Schools and the Circle of Matriarchs for the City of Edmonton. She is also a Senior Advisor and Knowledge Keeper to the Indigenous Women in Community Leadership, Coady Institute, St. Francis Xavier University.

Kelly Lendsay is an entrepreneur who is internationally recognized as one of Canada’s foremost innovators and organizational development experts in workplace inclusion systems, models and corporate/indigenous partnerships. His dynamic communications style and passion for innovation has earned him the reputation as an engaging thought leader and effective bridge-builder fostering trusted partnerships for workforce and economic development across Canada, USA, Australia and abroad.

A proud Canadian Indigenous leader of Cree and Métis ancestry, he moves seamlessly between both worlds fostering economic inclusion, well-being and prosperity for Canada. Kelly is recognized for creating many ‘innovative firsts’; he is currently launching a new initiative called “Luminary: Advancing Indigenous Innovation for Economic Transformation, Employment and Well-Being” with more than 130 Luminary partners from the academic, Indigenous business and NGO communities from Canada, USA and Australia. He was honored by the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) as one of their “100 Alumni of Influence” in the last century whose accomplishments have been recognized for influencing the growth and development of the university, the province, and the world during the last century.

Bio coming soon.

Chief Executive Officer, Community Business

As a Chief Executive Officer, Janet drives the overall strategic direction and the sustainability of Community Business as a not-for-profitorganisation.

Prior to joining Community Business in 2019 as the Chief Operating Officer, Janet built a successful career as a senior leader covering a broad range of disciplines and functions including strategic business planning and performance,programmemanagement and delivery, corporate governance, change management,organisationaleffectivenessand talent development. Originally from Brisbane, Australia, Janet is based in Hong Kong.

Janet believes anorganisationis only as strong as its people. She has helped teams get where they want to be by working with people, opening channels of communication,developingandretainingthe right talent and ensuring an inclusive environment where creativity and collaboration can thrive.

With over 40yearswork experience, Janet holds a Bachelor of Psychological Sciences through Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, and an Advanced Diploma inProgrammeand Project Management. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, alumni of The Women’s Foundation MentoringProgrammeof Hong Kong and a member of the 30% Club of Hong Kong Steering Committee.

Community Traditional Indigenous Elder

Theresa “Corky” Larsen Jonasson is asomewhat flawedlifelong resident of Red Deer (she needs to work on eating more vegetables and getting enough sleep). A proud Cree/Métis Women who is connected to Samson Band,Maskwacîsthrough herKokom(grandmother) Christine Fraser Joseph andChapan(great grandmother) Mary Susan Potts. She is identified as an Elder in her community by her community. As an elder, she tries not to be crabby but succeeds only part of the time. She works alongside her husband ofnearly 45years, Lynn Jonasson who she still loves to hug and smooch.

Corky is passionate about encouraging our youth because she loves kids, passionate about social justice because she demands justice, passionate about encouraging strength in our women because the women are the backbone of the community, and passionate about diversity because people are interesting. She is a writer and loves telling bad jokes, just to hear people laugh because laughter and humour are beautiful

Corky is a member of the National Collective of the WalkingWithOur Sisters missing and murdered indigenous women awareness movement and a founding member of Red Deer’s Red Feather Women, a social action/social justice group that focuses locally on the same issue. She is a member of the Red Deer Urban Indigenous Voices Elders circle, the Women’scircleand Alberta Justice Provincial Elders Advisory Circle. She is most of all, a traditionalIndigenousceremony woman and her life and community work reflects that and is because of that.

Corky is accountable to her traditional teachers and her elders who thankfully give her heck whenshe’sbeing too bossy or laughing when it is notappropriate todo so.Corky received the Alberta ESQUAO (esquaois thecreeword for woman) award in 2016 for Community Development, The Red Deer Native Friendship Centre Turtle Award for communityKokom.Corky has also received the Red Deer Women of Excellence award for Lifetime Achievement.

She is a published author and her books “The Sharing Circle“ and“The Circle of Caring and Sharing” which was written as a reconciliation tool for young people to realize and honour their voice based on the protocols of the talking and sharing circle which then becomes the healing circle. This past Truth and Reconciliation Day, The Sharing Circle was chosen as one of29 must-read books for children and teens by Indigenous writers, curated by PhyllisWebstadto help guide reconciliation conversations ina good way.

As a purpose-driven entrepreneur and a citizen of the Métis Nation, Annie Korver is dedicated to enriching relationships between Indigenous and corporate communities. Annie founded Rise Consulting (“Rise”) in 2013 when she was inspired to respond to the call to Reconciliation and advance Indigenous inclusion.

Championing a values-based approach, Annie creates spaces where clients can realize their strategic visions for inclusion,establishreciprocal relationships and produce impactful outcomes. Annie is a community and industry leader focused on the principles that make those relationships work: respect, relevance, reciprocity,responsibilityand relationships. Under her leadership, Rise has lived up to its name — growing into a national brand over the past decade and becoming certified as a B Corporation in 2023.

Annie holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Calgary and proudly serves as a Director with the Canadian Council of Indigenous Business and Canadian Business for Social Responsibility. She was recognized in 2024, as an EY Entrepreneurof The Year® finalist.

As president and co-founder of n-gen People Performance Inc., Giselle Kovary is dedicated to building strategies and programs that help clients target, motivate and engage employees in order to increase performance and productivity. She is a sought after resource to industry leaders, having worked with 26 of the top Fortune 500 companies. Over 65,000 people globally have experienced an n-gen workshop or presentation. With over 20 years of experience in learning and development, she has devoted more than seventeen years to researching the impact that generational differences have on organizational performance.

Giselle has created solutions and programs in five practice areas – sales & customer service, leadership, team building, Millennials & Gen Zs and HR. She has co-authored two books: Loyalty Unplugged: How to Get, Keep & Grow All Four Generations and Upgrade Now: 9 Advanced Leadership Skills and completed Canada’s first national survey on Gen Zs.

As a human resources expert, Giselle is regularly quoted in national publications and appears on television and radio, including CBC, CTV News Channel “Mind the Gap” and News Talk radio.

Giselle has a Master’s degree in communication studies from the University of Windsor. She is a board member at the Institute for Performance and Learning, she is a member of the Human Resource Management & Organizational Behaviour Advisory Council at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University and Giselle raises money for breast cancer research in her free time.