Thomas Berger, lawyer, judge, humanitarian, is among the pre-eminent legal figures in British Columbia. He has a career of impressive accomplishments relating to the constitutional and legal protection of Aboriginal rights, both as a practicing lawyer and as a justice on the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

Mr. Berger will speak about the inquiry he led on the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline in Canada's Northwest Territories in 1974-77. This inquiry determined social, environmental and economic impacts of the proposed Arctic Gas pipeline to be built from Alaska through the Mackenzie Valley to metropolitan centres in Canada and the United States. On Berger’s recommendations, the Government of Canada rejected the proposal, established wilderness parks in the Northern Yukon to protect the Porcupine caribou herd and agreed to a moratorium on major development in the region and the settlement of Aboriginal land claims. The outcome of this injury is still considered a landmark victory today.

Chantal Hébert is a national affairs writer with the Toronto Star, a guest columnist for Le Devoir and L’Actualité, and appears weekly on the political panel At Issue on CBC’s The National. She has served as correspondent for Radio-Canada, bureau chief for Le Devoir and La Presse, and is a senior fellow of Massey College at the University of Toronto.

Ms. Hebert is an influential voice across Canada on major national issues of the day. Published in 2007, her book French Kiss: Stephen Harper's Blind Date with Quebec is acclaimed for exploring how personalities shape politics and public policy. It is with a huge depth of experience that Chantal shares her perspective on public service capacity, with a focus on the role played by the politicians who direct public service.

Heather Landon is the Chief of Administrative Services for the UN Mission in Sudan. Early in her career, Heather worked as a social worker in rural BC, an administrator with the Canadian and International Red Cross, and as a policy analyst and financial consultant with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. More recently, she was a senior manager with the UN departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support in the Congo and Sudan.

Ms. Landon has built partnerships with stakeholders in complex and challenging worlds, including the military, police forces, aid workers, and varying levels of governments - often in the hostile environments in which the UN operates. She will share her story about what it is like to be part of the administration and logistics operations in UN peacekeeping zones.

Heather led the development and delivery of the Senior Mission Administration and Resource Training (SMART) the first attempt by the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations to enhance the capacity of its own managers to move into senior positions in the organization.

Elizabeth May is an environmentalist, writer, activist, lawyer, leader of the Green Party of Canada and Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands. Elizabeth became active in the environmental movement in the 1970s and is the author of seven books, including her most recent Losing Confidence: Power, Politics and the Crisis in Canadian Democracy. She became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2005, was elected Leader of the Green Party in 2006, and in May 2011 became the first Canadian Green Party candidate elected to office. In November 2010, Newsweek Magazine named her “one of the world’s most influential women.” Elizabeth’s home is in Sidney, British Columbia.

Wayne G. Wouters was appointed Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet by the Prime Minister on July 1st, 2009.

From December 2004 to June 30, 2009, Mr. Wouters was Secretary of the Treasury Board.

Prior to this Mr. Wouters was Deputy Minister, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and Chairperson, Canada Employment Insurance Commission and previous to that, Deputy Minister, Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) and Deputy Minister of Labour.

Mr. Wouters was born in Edam, Saskatchewan. He attended the University of Saskatchewan where he received his Bachelor of Commerce (Economics). After graduation, he studied at Queen's University, earning his Master's Degree in Economics.

Denise Amyot is President of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) and is the President and CEO of the Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation in Ottawa. She was most recently the Senior Vice President of the Leadership and Talent Management Sector at the Canada Public Service Agency. Denise brings to the conference a depth of knowledge in the areas of public affairs, corporate management services and ministerial services.

Paul Avender is a Partner with Advisory Services of Grant Thornton LLP, located in Calgary, Alberta, and has fifteen years of consulting experience facilitating organizational wide initiatives through effective change and project management. In particular, he is the Southern Alberta practice lead for a broad range of services including: organizational restructuring and transformation, strategic and business planning, performance measurement and service level definition and implementation, cost of service and rate analysis, and financial modelling and forecasting.

Penny Ballantyne has been Secretary to Cabinet and Deputy Minister, Executive, Government of the Northwest Territories since 2010. She formerly served as Deputy Minister with the GNWT in many portfolios: Executive, Health and Social Services, Education, Culture and Employment, Municipal and Community Affairs, Workers’ Compensation Board of the NWT and Nunavut and the NWT Housing Corporation. Penny was also City Manager for the City of Victoria from 2006 to 2008. 

Erik Bergrud is President of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA). He is Senior Director, Community and Government Relations at Park University, where he holds a unique distinction of having been a student, instructor and administrator at the university. Erik served as Administrator of Park’s Hauptmann School for Public Affairs from 1992-1998 and rejoined Park in 2005. A few years ago, Erik co-edited his first book, Civic Engagement in a Network Society.

Caroline Bonesky is the Chief Executive Officer of the Family Services of Greater Vancouver, a community-based not-for-profit organization providing crucial social services to children, youth, adults, and families across British Columbia's lower mainland. Caroline manages this multi service organization with a focus on making a difference in people’s lives.

Caroline has spent the majority of her career in management positions in non-profit organizations in British Columbia and Alberta and brings a wealth of knowledge with her. As chair of the United Community Service Co-op board, she has the opportunity to explore new innovative collaborative solutions to the challenges facing this sector.

Sandford Borins is Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Toronto and a Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. His current research deals with narrative and innovation. His most recent book is Governing Fables: Learning from Public Sector Narratives, published this summer. His previous books include Political Management in Canada, co-authored with Hon. Allan Blakeney, former premier of Saskatchewan (University of Toronto Press, 1998) and Innovating with Integrity: How Local Heroes are Transforming American Government (Georgetown University Press, 1998, He was the President of the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration from 2003 to 2007.

Ian Bron is a naval officer turned teacher turned evaluation and regulatory specialist for the Government of Canada. Ian has also played a role as a whistleblower who reported serious misconduct at Transport Canada. As a result, he came to know Allan Cutler, the Sponsorship Scandal whistleblower, and joined others to form Canadians for Accountability, an organization with a mandate to help others and provide education on whistleblowers and accountability.

Phil Brown is the General Manager of the Shelter, Support and Housing Administration Division at the City of Toronto. The Division funds and administers about 90,000 social housing units in Toronto and oversees the operation of over 60 shelters and a range of support resources. Prior to joining the Shelter, Support and Housing Administration Division, Phil was senior consultant to the Canadian Home Builder’s Association. He has also held senior management positions at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation over a career spanning 20 plus years.

Andrea Buckley is Assistant Deputy Minister of Corporate Planning and Economic Policy in the Yukon’s Department of Economic Development and is currently acting in a temporary assignment as Director of Intergovernmental Relations in the Executive Council Office. She has 15 years of experience with the Yukon government, with 10 years in the Executive Council Office, including four as the Director of Communications, and three years in Economic Development as the Director of Policy and Planning before becoming ADM in 2006.

John Burdek is Assistant Deputy Minister of the Governance Liaison Capacity Development Branch with the Government of Yukon’s Executive Council Office. Before this he was Director of Governance for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and was responsible for managing First Nation Final and Self-government agreement processes. John is a member of the Ta’an Kwach’an First Nation and served as Chairperson during the transition from an Indian Act band to a Self-governing First Nation.

Bob Chartier is a teleworking federal public servant working with the National Managers Community. He is passionate about bringing a renewed and practical approach to employee and citizen engagement. Bob has authored a number of books, including the Canadian bestseller, Bureaucratically Incorrect...letters to a young public servant. He is currently writing Handcrafted Leadership…seven simple ideas that could change public sector leadership. In 2000, Bob received the Head of the Public Service Award for this work.

Kin Choi is the Assistant Deputy Minister for Corporate Services at Health Canada, and is responsible for leading a dynamic transformation of four large directorates and a $200 million branch involving Human Resources, Information Management and Information Technology, Facilities/Security and Planning/Integration Management. Kin’s commitment to values has resulted in recognition as Canada’s Best Diversity Employer in 2010, National Capital Region's 2009 Top Employers, and recognition by the Canadian Human Rights Council for the department’s work on special needs in the workplace.

Angelo Cocco is the Provincial Statistician and Executive Director of BC Stats, the central statistics agency for British Columbia. Angelo joined the BC Public Service in 2009 as the Director, Demographic Analysis with BC Stats. Previously, he spent 12 years in the Northwest Territories, his last three years as the Territorial (Chief) Statistician with the NWT Bureau of Statistics. He also spent two years working on a Canadian International Development Agency project in Guyana, South America.

Ron Compton is a monitoring and evaluation expert. He has worked in increasingly senior positions in both federal and provincial governments before landing as Assistant Secretary to the Council of Maritime Premiers. Ron was most recently Partner at KPMG Consulting. For the past 20 years, he has managed international development projects focusing on governance, institutional strengthening and capacity building and program monitoring and evaluation.

Jim Copeland is presently the National Managing Partner for Advisory Services in Grant Thornton LLP. Prior to accepting this role, he was a Partner in Nova Scotia, providing practical advice and solutions to clients on a wide range of operational and strategic issues since joining the firm in 1982. Jim has been responsible for the development of several articles, surveys and other thought leadership. He has also been actively involved in several webcasts involving topics ranging from enterprise risk management to succeeding in today's challenging circumstances.

Dr. Stephen Cornell is a professor of both sociology and public administration and policy at the University of Arizona. Stephen has spent much of the last 20 years working with indigenous nations in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand on governance and development issues. He has written extensively on the subject and he will share his experiences, stories and successes.

Allan Cutler is a principled and excellence-driven professional with over 35 years of experience in all aspects of supply chain management in public and private sectors. He is both an ethics and procurement expert. Allan is a member of The Ethics Practitioners Association of Canada, Transparency International and the Algonquin College e-Business Supply Chain Management Advisory Committee. He is President of Canadians for Accountability, the only national organization devoted to helping whistleblowers in public, private and the not-for-profit sectors.

Christine Desloges has been the CEO of Passport Canada since 2009. Having completed a Masters degree in International Relations, she joined the Canadian Foreign Service in 1980 where she first served in Montreal, then abroad in Beijing, Hong Kong. She was appointed Canada's first resident ambassador to Vietnam. Christine has held a number of positions within the federal government and brings a wealth of experience with her to this year’s conference.

Nicky Fried has over 20 years of experience in communications, change, training, and employee engagement. Nicky builds programs that assess client needs and develops strategies that build on strengths. She uses storytelling to engage employees and introduce change in organizations. Nicky’s recent clients include: Metro Vancouver, Ontario Lottery and Gaming, BC Hydro, Central 1, City of Vancouver, Saskatoon Health Region and SaskPower.

David Gourlay is Director of Citibank Canada’s Public Sector Business for Global Transaction Service (GTS) where he focuses on client relationships. David works to leverage GTS’s comprehensive network in more than 100 countries and over 65,000 clients. Previously, David held progressively senior positions within the federal government and at the City of Ottawa. In 2009, he received an Ottawa Business Journal 40Under40 Award that recognizes business leaders in Ottawa for their accomplishments, professional expertise and community involvement.

Andrew Graham researches, teaches and writes on public sector management, financial management, integrated risk management and governance. He teaches at Queens University School of Policy Studies as well as the Canadian Police College and a variety of international and Canadian venues. An author of many publications, he is Series Editor of the Case Study Program of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, Canada’s leading source of public sector case studies and wrote Making the Case: Writing and Teaching Case Studies.

Katy Haire, IPAA Victoria Board Member, works in the Department of Premier and Cabinet, currently as an Executive Director. Her roles have included Director of Social Policy, and Principal Policy Officer in Policy and Strategy Projects Branch. This year she has worked on health reform and the cross-government election preparation. She has been in the Victorian Public Service since 2003, and prior to that worked for a Commonwealth Statutory Authority in the Northern Territory for nine years.

Kim Henderson is now the Deputy Minister for Citizens’ Services and Open Government, but first joined the B.C. public service in 1997 at the Ministry of Children and Family Development. She has held various positions including Assistant Deputy Minister, Transition Services with responsibility for the move to governance authorities; and, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Planning with responsibilities for strategic policy and planning, information technology development, and economic analysis. Kim was born and raised in Victoria and is mother to six-year old twin girls.

Jeanne Holm is the Chief Knowledge Architect at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, driving innovation through social media, virtual worlds, gaming, ontologies, and collaborative systems, including the award-winning NASA public (www.nasa.gov) and internal (“Spacebook”) portals. As the Evangelist for Data.Gov, Jeanne Holm leads collaboration and builds communities. (Data.gov is a flagship open government initiative for the Obama Administration.) She is a Fellow of the United Nations International Academy of Astronautics and instructor at UCLA.

David Hume is Executive Director, Citizen Engagement for the BC government. His small but high impact team helps ministries across government think through and launch better ways to bring British Columbians into the process of improving policy and services that affect them. Previously, David worked in various consulting and project roles with the UN, OECD, the Province of New Brunswick, the federal government and the Government of New Zealand.

Julie Ireton is a CBC news reporter with a focus on investigative stories. Her main specialty is the federal public service. She has been a reporter with the CBC for the past 17 years, working in radio and TV and writing for cbc.ca. In 2010, Julie won the Michener-Deacon Fellowship and spent six months investigating important issues within the federal bureaucracy in Ottawa. She produced many stories out of her research that aired on The National, The Current, The House and other CBC news programs. Julie is a graduate from York University’s Glendon College and holds a Master of Journalism degree from Carleton University. She heads back to the classroom this fall to teach in Carleton's graduate journalism program part-time.

Susan Jessop joined the Intergovernmental Affairs Branch in June 2010 after working on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games file on behalf of Canadian Heritage. Prior to this, Susan was the Director of Security at the Passport Office in Ottawa. Before joining headquarters, Susan’s federal public service career was served in Vancouver and includes leadership positions in management and communications. She has worked on major events such as Expo 86 and international files for the G8 and has a wealth of experience to draw from for this year’s conference.

Sadhu Johnston is deputy city manager for the City of Vancouver and has the huge task of overseeing the City’s environmental, emergency and economic development. One of his accomplishments has been to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from city operations by over 30 per cent since 1990 levels. Before moving to Vancouver, Sadhu served as chief environmental officer for the City of Chicago and helped design and implement Chicago’s blue cart recycling program.

John Langford is a professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria. Dr. Langford has provided advice on public sector ethical issues to Canadian governments at all three levels, national and state governments in Australia, the United Nations and the OECD. He has been actively involved in the design and implementation of standards of conduct, the transformation of ethical cultures in organizations, the development of ethics workshops and the mediation of disputes concerning conflict of interest.

Jacques Leduc is the former Director for the Office of the Auditor General of Canada. He has spent a decade working on capacity building in financial and performance audit and financial management as President & Consultant at Jacque & Angele Leduc Inc. Jacques has used his expertise and experience to develop training and give seminars in Benin, Cuba and Cameroon, provide technical advice on budgets and financial controls to the Ministry of Finance of Gabon, and deliver training for the INTOSAI Development Initiative in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, India, Tunisia, Bulgaria and Lithuania.

Alan Levy is an associate professor of Business Administration at Brandon University. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Winnipeg, a master of industrial relations degree from the University of Toronto, and a master of laws from Osgoode Hall, York University. Alan has more than twenty years of experience in the public and private sectors, and specializes in human resources, labour relations, international mediation transition management and conflict resolution. He is a nationally recognized mediator and arbitrator. Alan is a member of various mediation and arbitration associations including the premier arbitration International organization: The Association for International Arbitration (AIA) base in Brussels, Belgium. He has done lecturing at Universities in Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, USA and Europe on dispute resolutions.

Rolet Loretan is Director General of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS). He began his career in the Swiss Federal Government as a legal expert in the Central Office of General Defence and then as Head of the Army Affairs Section within the General Secretariat of the Swiss Ministry of Defence. Meanwhile, Rolet has also had a parallel career as an officer in the Swiss Army, with the grade of Colonel in both the Mountain Infantry and the Military Court of Appeals, where he sits as a senior judge.

Lana Lougheed is the Assistant Deputy Minister of Homeless Support and Land Development for Housing and Urban Affairs, for the Government of Alberta. Her mission is big, to provide affordable housing options and supports for homeless and low-income Albertans. Lana’s career with the provincial government spans 30 years and includes leadership positions with eight different ministries including Treasury Board, Executive Council and Justice. She is currently a member of the Board of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada for the Edmonton Region.

Dan Mancuso is Vice President of the Customer Experience Group in Ottawa where he is responsible for bringing together people, process and technology to improve the customer experience. Dan has been with Export Development Canada since 1999 where he has held progressively more senior roles in financing, sales and operations. Dan brings a wealth of experience with him as he speaks to how to reinvigorate policy, analysis, operations and customer services.

Rebecca Mellett is Director of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Pacific Regional Office. She is a public servant specializing in public sector and governance in the international context, and has spent the past 10 years managing CIDA field programs and leading policy analysis and strategic planning of Canadian aid. Rebecca’s navigation through the field of public administration includes stints as a student file clerk, evaluation assistant, employment equity officer for Justice Canada, and policy analyst for Indian and Northern Affairs and Health Canada.

Orlando Mercado is Secretary General of the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA), and a former Senator and Secretary of National Defense. He is a veteran broadcaster, and professor of political science, communication, and business management.

In 1998 he became the first civilian head of the military establishment in more than a decade and instituted a reorganization program in the Department of National Defense to assert civilian supremacy over the military. In 2009, Ambassador Orlando Mercado was appointed as the first Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Marcia Nelson is Deputy Minister of Alberta Housing and Urban Affairs. She is responsible for leading the development of 11,000 affordable housing units by 2012, the implementation of Alberta’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness, and ensuring public land is made available for affordable housing purposes. High career points include developing Alberta’s first Immigration Policy and negotiating Ontario’s Early Childhood Development FPT agreements. Marcia is also Vice Chair of the Institute for Public Administration of Canada, Edmonton Regional Group.

Geoff Plant was the Attorney General of British Columbia and Minister Responsible for Treaty Negotiations from 2001 to 2005. He was first elected to the British Columbia Legislature in 1996 and from 1996 to 2001 was Opposition Justice Critic. As Attorney General, Geoff was the Chair of the Legislative Review Committee and the Minister responsible for the creation and oversight of the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.

Dr. Michael J. Prince is the Lansdowne Professor of Social Policy in the Faculty of Human and Social Development at the University of Victoria. Michael’s current research interests include: Indigenous‐Canadian state relations, federal‐provincial relations, psychologically wounded veterans, and disability policy. Among his publications, Michael co-authored Changing Politics of Canadian Social Policy in 2000 and authored Absent Citizens: Disability Politics and Policy in Canada in 2009.

Bill Reid is Director of Advisory Services with Grant Thornton LLP, located in Victoria, British Columbia. Over his consulting career which exceeds fifteen years, Bill has helped entrepreneurial government clients plan, manage and demonstrate greater results. Bill has a broad range of experience with provincial, territorial and local governments covering strategy and governance, reviews of best practices and results-based management processes, performance measurement and reporting, program evaluation, organizational reviews, enterprise risk management, and facilitation including for engagement and collaboration purposes.

Robert J. Reid is perhaps best known for his 33-year career at TransCanada PipeLines, where he served as President, Energy Transmission, and as Senior Vice President, Northern Development. Bob was responsible for implementing a plan to access frontier supplies of natural gas. During his career at TransCanada, he was instrumental in negotiating the first deregulated price for natural gas in Canada, and also consummated the first Incentive Rate Settlement for a natural gas pipeline in North America.

Andrea Reimer is a City of Vancouver council member and a passionate advocate for democratic reforms and civic engagement. The City of Vancouver has led the way with open data with the adoption of a resolution in May 2009 that endorsed open and accessible data, open standards, and open source software. Andrea has been heavily involved in this process and will share her enthusiasm with IPAC conference-goers.

Louis Richardson serves as an IBM Worldwide Social Business Evangelist. In this role, he meets with executives and managers in the public and private sectors who have an interest in leveraging social software in their organizations. Over the span of his career, Louis has gained a broad exposure to the practical and business impacts that social software has on today's businesses. While social business can be complex, Louis' conversational and story-telling style makes it easy to understand.

Hugh Ritchie is Director Industry Solutions. Hugh has worked in information management for over 20 years; working extensively with several document management companies developing solutions for a wide variety of industries including Energy, Government, and Finance. He is a specialist in business processes dealing with various regulations. Currently, Hugh works closely with Open Text’s global customer base, partner channel and staff to develop vertical market solutions focusing on content management technologies, collaboration, social media, and cloud computing. In addition, he has developed expertise in GIS and spatial collaboration.

Philip Steenkamp is Vice-President of External Relations at Simon Fraser University and served as president and CEO of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games Secretariat, co-chair of the finance committee of VANOC (the Vancouver Organizing Committee of the 2010 Winter Olympics in BC) and chair of BC’s deputy ministers’ committee on the games. Philip’s 17 years in public service also includes posts as deputy minister in both B.C. and Ontario.

Terry Stuart is Chief Innovation Officer at Deloitte Canada, a member of the firm’s Global Innovation Network and leader of the firm’s Financial Services Consulting practice. With more than 20 years of experience, he has spent a considerable amount of time working in a variety of industries, including the public sector. From an innovation perspective, Terry has led projects around the world in terms of driving innovation and helping organizations benchmark their innovation capabilities.

Peggy Taillon is a passionate advocate for equality and social justice. She led the Canadian Council on Social Development, Canada’s longest established social policy and research organization, through an unprecedented period of renewal. In 2009, Peggy and her team organized the inaugural Canadian Social Forum in Calgary and most recently are leading the national fight to restore Canada's long form census - an essential tool for social development.

Paul G. Thomas has taught for over 40 years at the University of Manitoba, where he was the Duff Roblin Professor of Government. Recognition for his scholarship and contributions to public policy include induction into the Order of Manitoba and being awarded the Public Service Citation by the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada, both in 2007. In 1994 he was honoured with the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Distinguished public service by the Institute of Public Administration of Canada’s Manitoba chapter.

Allan Tupper is Professor and Head, Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Tupper graduated from Carleton University, and Queen’s University where he received his PhD in Political Studies. From 2002 to 2006, Dr. Tupper was Associate Vice President at UBC. His major teaching and research interests are Canadian politics and public policy and public administration. Also, he was the Editor of Canadian Public Administration, the renowned journal of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada.

Ed van Randen was born and raised in Vancouver where he attended Simon Fraser University and studied insect behaviour. After a brief stint in Yukon’s forest management branch, Ed began to work in the field of policy and spent 12 years working on Yukon’s natural resource and environmental policies, regulations and legislation. Now the Assistant Deputy Minister of Corporate Services and Climate Change at Environment Yukon, Ed focuses on mentoring, teaching, and building capacity from within.

Leah White is the Partner responsible for Governance, Risk and Compliance Services within the Maritime region of Grant Thornton LLP, and resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She provides outsourced and co-sourced internal audit services, facilitates enterprise and business-level risk assessments, and has extensive experience in conducting risk and control advisory services related to value-for-money auditing. Leah also serves as the President of the Maritime Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) for the fourth consecutive year, as well as a member of the Strategic Planning Committee for IIA Canada.