The SHARE Investor Summit brings together industry leaders and experts to offer solutions and facilitate discussion for responsible investors ready to help build a more sustainable and inclusive economy.
SPEAKERS
Demond Drummer is Co-Founder and Executive Director of New Consensus
Demond Drummer is an organizer and civic innovator whose grassroots work in Chicago has been recognized by the Obama White House, Code for America and the Aspen Institute. He is currently Co-Founder and Executive Director of New Consensus, a think tank developing and promoting comprehensive policy solutions to America’s urgent economic, societal and climate crises.
Prior to New Consensus, Drummer led several transformative technology initiatives on Chicago’s South Side, including LargeLots.org, a community-driven effort to reclaim city-owned vacant lots, and CoderSpace, a computer science learning lab where youth develop leadership skills for a changing world.
An alumnus of Morehouse College, Demond is a founding board member of the Resident Association of Greater Englewood (R.A.G.E.) and also serves on the board of South Shore Works. He lives in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood with his wife and two children.
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Faith Ward
Chief Responsible Investment Officer, Brunel Pension Partnership
SPEAKERS
Faith Ward is Chief Responsible Investment Officer at Brunel Pension Partnership
Faith’s career has been dedicated to integrating and reporting on environmental, social and governance risks in finance and investment. Faith leads engagement with the fund management industry and is involved in industry-wide initiatives to improve standards in responsible investment, corporate engagement and fund governance and reporting.
Faith’s roles include Chair of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, Co-chair of the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI), Chair of the Reporting and Assessment Advisory Committee for the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), Member of the Ethics Investment Advisory Group for the Church of England National Investing Bodies, Vice-chair of the Investment Innovation Benchmark Assessment Committee, and member of the Future-Fit Expert Council.
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Tamara Herman
Senior Program Officer, SHARE and CWC
SPEAKERS
Tamara Herman is a Senior Program Officer at SHARE and CWC
Tamara works with the Global Unions Committee on Workers’ Capital (CWC), providing support to trade unions and their pension decision-makers on issues related to worker capital stewardship and responsible investment. She is also a member of SHARE’s Responsible Investment Leadership Team.
Prior to joining the CWC, Tamara worked nationally and internationally on environmental and social issues. Her experience includes working on social policy at the Carnegie Community Action Project and the Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group, as well as trade and human rights issues at Rights & Democracy.
Tamara holds a Master’s Degree in Studies in Policy and Practice from the University of Victoria, where her research focused on mining, corporate social responsibility and land acquisition in Mexico.
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Mritunjay (MJ) Sinha
Director of Finance & Investment, The Catherine Donnelly Foundation
SPEAKERS
Mritunjay Sinha is Director of Finance & Investment at The Catherine Donnelly Foundation
A social entrepreneur-operator and an investor, Mritunjay (MJ) helped build a multi-million-dollar micro-loan portfolio in rural India and helped create a co-operative that served over 200 entrepreneurs. For the last few years MJ has worked in impact and responsible investing. He has helped deploy over C$30M through private-market impact investing, and over C$100M through responsible investment strategies for several family offices, foundations, and other investors in North America, Europe, and Asia. Currently, as the Director of Finance & Investment, MJ manages the Catherine Donnelly Foundation’s endowment including the impact investing portfolio. MJ is the Treasurer for Computers for Success Canada, and a Board Director for The Helderleigh Foundation. MJ’s passion for social change is complemented by his experience in Capital Markets and Corporate Strategy, and his degrees in Engineering and M.B.A
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SPEAKERS
Susheela Peres Da Costa is Head of Advisory at Regnag
Susheela has advised domestic and international institutions on responsible investment since 2006.
She was instrumental in the development of Regnan’s research products, stewardship strategies and advisory programs, and has led or overseen much of this work in her previous roles.
As Head of Advisory, she has assisted small foundations through to the world’s largest institutions, including successfully establishing responsible investment leadership for a global full-service bank (based in Zurich) and advice on stewardship strategies to the London-based, UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment.
Susheela chairs the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia and is special adviser to the co-chair of the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of Sydney, a Master’s Degree in Communication Management and is a licenced Certified Investment Management Analyst professional.
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Sylvia Poniecki
Director of Positive Social Purpose Lending Program, Wespath Institutional Investments
SPEAKERS
Sylvia Poniecki is Director of the Positive Social Purpose Lending Program at Wespath Institutional Investments
Sylvia Poniecki has been with Wespath since September 2011 and provides managerial oversight for all aspects of the Positive Social Purpose (PSP) Lending Program for Wespath and its subsidiaries. The PSP Lending program celebrated its 30-year anniversary in 2020 and focuses on financing affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families around the U.S.
Prior to Wespath, Sylvia worked at the Illinois Housing Development Authority where she oversaw the state’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit and Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credit programs and also managed a wide range of complex affordable housing projects and programs.
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SPEAKERS
Mike Thiessen is Partner & Director of Sustainable Investments at Genus Capital
Mike provides leadership at Genus Capital for all Fossil Free® and impact investing disciplines, including research, portfolio construction, and strategy. Genus Capital is an innovator in sustainable investing and manages $1.6 billion for families, foundations, and institutions.
Prior to joining Genus, he was a strategic consultant working in London, UK focusing on projects in sustainability, finance, and technology. Mike also led an equity research firm and worked for a quantitative hedge fund. He holds an MBA from the University of Cambridge concentrating in Social Innovation and is a CFA Charterholder.
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Tom Powdrill
Head of Stewardship, PIRC Limited
SPEAKERS
Tom Powdrill is Head of Stewardship at PIRC Limited
Tom is a leading responsible investment practitioner with over 18 years’ experience of shareholder engagement, working with both pension funds and civil society. He has particular expertise in the S in ESG, focusing primarily on labour and workplace issues. He has played a central role in numerous high-profile shareholder engagements on social issues with companies around the world.
He rejoined PIRC in 2019, having previously worked on engagement, policy and communications from 2007 to 2013. During this period he worked with the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum on its engagement programme, including its successful resolutions seeking corporate governance reform at Marks & Spencer and News Corp.
Tom has extensive knowledge and experience of labour issues, and was Responsible Investment Coordinator at the International Transport Workers’ Federation. In this role he led global shareholder engagement initiatives, and undertook research into pension fund policies on labour issues, and investment in infrastructure. He was also formerly a senior policy officer at the Trades Union Congress, working on pension and investment issues, trustee training and fund manager research.
In a previous life, he was an award-winning financial journalist.
Tom is an associate of the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research.
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SPEAKERS
Kevin Thomas is CEO of the Shareholder Association for Research and Education
Kevin joined SHARE in 2013 as a Senior Analyst on social issues and became Executive Director in 2018. Prior to working with SHARE Kevin was the Director of Advocacy for the Maquila Solidarity Network, a labour and women’s rights organization, where he advised companies, governments, and public institutions on the development and implementation of policies and practices to improve respect for worker rights in global supply chains.
From 1998 to 2009 Kevin served as a political advisor to the Chief and Governing Council of the Lubicon Lake First Nation in Alberta, Canada, and as Chief Negotiator for treaty negotiations with the Federal and Provincial governments. He also negotiated land use, environmental protection and economic benefit agreements with oil, gas and forestry corporations.
Kevin holds an LLM in international business law (with a focus on securities law, corporate governance, taxation, trade, and arbitration) and an Honours BA in Environment and Resource Management from the University of Toronto.
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Lenore Palladino
Assistant Professor, UMass Amherst
SPEAKERS
Lenore Palladino is an assistant professor at UMass Amherst
Lenore Palladino is an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy and the Department of Economics and a research associate at the UMass Amherst Political Economy Research Institute, as well as a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute. She holds a PhD from the New School University in economics and a JD from Fordham Law School. She is also a contributing editor at the Boston Review and a fellow at the Rutgers Institute for Employee Ownership.
Palladino’s research centers on corporate power, stakeholder corporations, shareholder primacy, and the relationship between corporate governance and the labor market. She has also written on financial transaction taxes, employee ownership, and the rise of fintech. She has testified on the impacts of stock buybacks before the House Financial Services Committee.
Prior to joining UMass, Palladino was senior economist and policy counsel at the Roosevelt Institute and a lecturer in economics at Smith College. She was previously vice president for advocacy at Demos and a lecturer in economics at New York University. Earlier in her career, she was campaign director at MoveOn, a lead organizer with the labor union CSEA-AFSCME, and national director of United Students Against Sweatshops.
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Shannon Rohan
Chief Strategy Officer, SHARE
SPEAKERS
Shannon Rohan is Chief Strategy Officer at SHARE
Shannon has helped to build SHARE’s investor network to include foundations, Indigenous trusts, universities, pension funds and faith-based investors representing over $50 billion in assets under management. Shannon advises asset owner boards in their implementation of responsible investment policies and practices and leads strategic projects for SHARE including the Valuing Decent Work Initiative, the Reconciliation and Responsible Investment Initiative, and Foundation Investing 2.0. She has 20 years of experience in the areas of responsible investment, sustainable finance, cooperative development and sustainability in Canada, South Africa and Latin America.
Shannon has a Masters of Arts degree in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Simon Fraser University.
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Stephanie Bertels
Director, Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability, Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University
SPEAKERS
Stephanie Bertels is Director of SFU Beedie’s Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability
She is also the founder of the Embedding Project www.embeddingproject.org – a unique public-benefit research project that brings together leading global firms to help them embed sustainability across their operations and decision-making as well as to contribute to positive systems change. She is a regular thought partner for the executive teams and boards of global companies interested in improving their sustainability performance.
Her research examines how companies transition to more sustainable operations, embed sustainability, and generate sustainable innovation. She teaches courses in managing innovation and change; sustainable operations; and managing for sustainability.
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SPEAKERS
Murray Gold is a Partner at Koskie Minsky
Murray Gold is a senior partner with a nationally-recognized pension and employee benefits practice. He is top ranked in the Chambers, Lexpert and Best Lawyers directories. He currently serves as one of three members of Pension Asset Expert Advisory Panel that is examining public sector pension accounting issues. In 2014, he was appointed by the Premier of Ontario to Ontario’s Technical Advisory Group on Retirement Security in February 2014 and then served as an initial Director of the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan in 2015-16. In 2008 he served as an expert advisor to the Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions.
Mr. Gold advises governing boards of public sector and jointly trusteed pension and benefits plans across Canada in regard to compliance and best-practice issues. He represents pension boards, as well as plan sponsors, retiree groups and active members in pension litigation in pension regulatory and judicial proceedings.
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SPEAKERS
Paul Lacerte is Managing Partner at Raven Indigenous Capital Partners
Paul Lacerte is a member of the Nadleh Whut’en Band and belongs to the Carrier First Nation in northern BC. He served as the Provincial CEO for the BC Assn of Aboriginal Friendship Centres for 20 years. In 2011, Paul and his daughter Raven co-founded the Moose Hide Campaign, a grassroots movement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous men working to end violence against women and children. Since then, over 2 Million Moose Hide pins have been distributed and the Campaign has spread to over 2,000 communities and organizations across Canada.
Paul is a Managing Partner with Raven Indigenous Capital Partners (the first Indigenous-owned financial intermediary in Canada), the former Vice-Chair of the Vancouver Foundation Board of Directors, the former Board Chair for Reconciliation Canada, and a former representative to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. He was awarded the Order of British Columbia in 2014.
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SPEAKERS
Garth Davis is Managing Partner at New Market Funds
New Market Funds is a multi-fund manager based in Vancouver and Toronto that delivers investment opportunities with financial returns and lasting community benefit.
It manages capital from numerous foundations, financial and other institutions, family offices and accredited individuals through its own proprietary funds and as a third-party fund manager.
It creates unique investment opportunities that optimize positive community impact while delivering investors market-rate risk-adjusted returns or disciplined concessionary returns. Its investments are focused on affordable housing, non-profit development, social enterprises and co-operative enterprises.
Garth is a member of New Market Funds management committee and is responsible for the New Market Funds platform. He has more than 25 years of experience in capital deployment including Vancity, Turtle Creek and Scotia. He holds Masters degrees from Johns Hopkins University and London School of Economics and a BA from Simon Fraser University.
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SPEAKERS
Fredric Nystrom is Head of Responsible Investment at Öhman Fonder
With 17 years of experience practicing responsible investing, Fredric brings a wealth of experience to his role at Öhman Funds, where he has worked wince 2014.
Prior to that Fredric worked at GES, a Swedish ESG-research and engagement service provider, supporting investors in developing and implementing responsible investment policies.
His studies focused on development economics at the Gothenburg School of Economics. He has also been active in the Amnesty Business Group.
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James Infantino
National Pensions and Disability Insurance Officer, Public Service Alliance of Canada
SPEAKERS
James Infantino is the National Pensions and Disability Insurance Officer at PSAC
For the last 28 years, he has held this position at the National Pensions and Disability Insurance Officer for the Public Service Alliance of Canada. Previously, he was a local activist with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers for 15 years.
James is the PSAC representative to the Canadian Capital Stewardship Network and has held research officer positions with the Canadian Labour Congress and Canadian Union of Public Employees.
He holds certification for Public Service Pension Plan Retirement Planning from Public Works and Government Services Canada and an Honours B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of Waterloo and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Carleton University.
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SPEAKERS
Michael Toulch works at SHARE as a Senior Analyst, Shareholder Engagement and Policy.
Prior to joining SHARE, Mike worked for an international corporate sustainability ratings provider as a sustainability analyst, specializing in supply chain human rights and business ethics. Mike has also practiced as a civil litigator in Vancouver, with a focus on administrative, commercial and insurance law, and as a corporate sustainability consultant in Europe.
Mike holds a JD in law from the University of British Columbia, an MSc in Environmental Economics from the University of Lund in Sweden, and a Bcomm in Finance and International Business from McGill University.
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SPEAKERS
Martine August is an Assistant Professor in the School of Planning at the University of Waterloo
Her research focuses on the political economy of housing and the pursuit of urban social justice, exploring themes related to gentrification, displacement, community organizing, public housing redevelopment, and the politics of social mix.
She is an alumnus of the University of Winnipeg and the University of Toronto, holding degrees in Physics (BSc), Urban Studies (BA), and Urban Planning (M.Sc.Pl., PhD). Her current research examines the financialization of rental housing and seniors housing, and the ways that inclusionary zoning paradoxically promotes displacement. At Waterloo she teaches “Planning for Social Justice in the Capitalist City.”
Martine is a former Trudeau Foundation Scholar, and past recipient of the Urban Affairs Association Alma H. Young Emerging Scholar Award. She has worked as a housing policy advisor at the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, in the Housing Policy Branch and Homelessness Secretariat.
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SPEAKERS
Emma Pullman is the Capital Stewardship Officer for BCGEU
Emma helped built the capital stewardship program at one of B.C.’s largest and fastest-growing unions to leverage its fully-divested $110 million general and strike fund to push for stronger investments that protect both workers and the planet.
Prior to the BCGEU, Emma worked at a corporate accountability watchdog as their Lead Campaign Strategist where she led the Canadian campaigns team and shareholder work. Emma has worked as a journalist, writer and researcher, and as a policy analyst for the B.C. and federal public services.
She holds a Masters of Art in Political Science.
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SPEAKERS
Hugues Letourneau is the Manager of Responsible Investment Leadership at SHARE
Hugues manages the Global Unions Committee on Workers’ Capital (CWC), whose Secretariat is based at SHARE. In this role, he works with trade unions and trade union-nominated pension board members to drive strong, responsible investment policies that have an impact on the ground. He is also a member of the shareholder engagement team and a lead corporate researcher for international clients.
Hugues has successfully completed the level II exam of the CFA Program. He holds a Master of Arts degree in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto. He is a contributing author to the Routledge Handbook on Responsible Investment (2015) with research focusing on responsible investing at the world’s largest government-sponsored investment funds. Prior to joining SHARE, Hugues worked at the Library of Parliament and the Mission of Canada to the European Union. He was also a research assistant at the North South Institute and the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation.
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SPEAKERS
Anthony Mallott is President and CEO of Sealaska
Anthony guides the investment decisions that directly impact Sealaska’s people, communities, and the natural environment, all while focusing on increasing profits and
benefits for shareholders. He is also a passionate community advocate and works closely with organizations and partners throughout the region to bring people together for the benefit of all Southeast Alaska.
He is Tlingit, Eagle, Tsaagweidí (Killerwhale) Clan, as well as Koyukon Athabascan, Caribou Clan. His Tlingit name is Gunnuk.
Mallott earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University. He came to Sealaska in 2006 to serve as Sealaska’s chief investment officer and treasurer. As a result, he has deep experience in financial and investment management.
Prior to Sealaska, Mallott was a vice president within Bank of America’s capital markets, working in the portfolio and risk strategy group for 10 years.
Mallott is a trustee of the Kootznoowoo Permanent Fund Settlement Trust and held the chair position from 2010-2020, which benefits Kootznoowoo, Inc. shareholders. He has served as a board member of the Rasmuson Foundation, a $600 million private foundation that promotes a better life for all Alaskans; a Board director and investment committee member of the Alaska Community Foundation, a $100 million+ philanthropic fund; and a past Board Director of the Native American Bank (2009-2017).
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SPEAKERS
Sarah Couturier-Tanoh is a Senior Shareholder Engagement and Policy Analyst at SHARE
Sarah provides analysis and engages on issues such as decent work, human rights, corporate lobbying and supply chain due diligence. With a background in non-financial auditing, she also publishes issue briefs on current shareholder and policy topics.
Before joining SHARE in 2019, Sarah researched transparency in the extractive industry and climate change-related disclosure at Université Laval.
Sarah holds a master’s degree in environmental law from Université Laval, a master’s degree in sustainable development and corporate social responsibility from Université Paris-Dauphine, France, and a master’s degree in comparative public law from Université Pantheon-Assas, France.
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SPEAKERS
Leslee White-Eye is a trustee with Wasauksing First Nation’s M’tigo Min Trust
Leslee White-Eye is the former Chief of the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation during which she could see the role responsible investing could have on the economy to solve global issues of concern to First Nations people. She has served as a trustee on Chippewa’s Thunderbird Trust for eight years, serving four of the eight years as Chair of the Board. It was during that time, she gained first hand experience as a trustee navigating a trade market within the parameters of a trust investment policy that valued portfolios made up of socially responsible companies who place value on Indigenous treaty relations, the environment and other socially just principles of conduct. Currently, she sits as corporate trustee on Wasauksing First Nation’s M’tigo Min Trust and as a Board member of Kings’ University College in London, Ontario. She currently works in Indigenous education and governance for eight First Nations in Ontario seeking jurisdiction over education called the First Nations with Schools Collective.
Leslee is also a member of the SHARE Board of Directors
Prior to being Chief, Leslee was an Education Officer for the Ontario Ministry of Education for nine years. Leslee was recently honoured to receive an Honourary Doctorate of Laws from Western University. She earned her Political Science and Master of Education degrees at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and her teaching degree at Nipissing University in North Bay.
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SPEAKERS
Kelly Gauthier is Managing Director and Partner at Rally Assets
Kelly Gauthier is the Managing Director of Impact Advisory at Rally Assets, leading and advising on Rally’s portfolio of responsible and impact investment projects. She works with a range of asset owners to design and implement their approach to responsible and impact investing, strategically integrating responsible and impact investing into their existing investment and portfolio strategies. Kelly has advised more than 50 market-leading foundation, corporate and private investors, contributing to over $250M of capital invested in high-impact solutions.
Prior to joining the Rally Assets, Kelly worked for Mercer Investment Consulting on the Responsible Investment team, where she advised global institutional investors on aligning responsible investment goals to financial objectives. Kelly also draws on her experiences in international development, social venture capital, and as a management consultant.
Kelly is an active member of the Responsible and Impact Investing industries, speaking frequently and working on market building initiatives. Kelly serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Responsible Investment Association (RIA) and of Access Community Capital Fund, where she chairs the Investment Committee. Kelly has an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a B.Sc. in Engineering from Queen’s University.
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SPEAKERS
Gagandeep Kaur is an Organizer for the Warehouse Workers Centre Peel
Gagandeep is a strong believer in the power of organizing, supporting and strengthening workers through education and training. Since the inception of the Warehouse Workers Centre Peel, Gagandeep has strived to create safer workplaces and to help implement proper health and safety conditions for workers.
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SPEAKERS
Mark Fattedad is Director & Portfolio Manager of Institutional Management at Jarislowsky Fraser
Mark joined Jarislowsky Fraser in 2006, and is Director & Portfolio Manager, Institutional Management, focusing on managing institutional client portfolios and sustainable investment solutions.
He is a member of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Council and is Co-Chair of the Sustainable Investment Committee, which supports the implementation of the JFL Sustainable Investment Policy through the development of ESG-related research tools, portfolio solutions, transparency, as well as external collaborations. In this capacity, he contributed to the firm’s early adoption of TCFD-aligned climate reporting.
He is a registered portfolio manager and advises his clients on investment policy design, risk management, and portfolio strategy. Mark’s clients include pension funds, private and public foundations, university endowments, not-for-profit organizations, and family offices. He is a regular contributor to a number of sustainability-focused publications, including the firm’s own The ESG Files.
Mark is also actively involved in the community. He serves on the Finance Committee of the Verna J. Kirkness Education Foundation, a Canadian registered charity with the goal of increasing the number of First Nations, Métis and Inuit students graduating from science and engineering programs in Canada. He is also Co-Chair of the Up the Down Market Dinner, a charity event that helps individuals with Down syndrome to reach their full potential.
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SPEAKERS
Stephen Dunne is the chair of the investment committee of the Australian pension fund Cbus.
Cbus is a member of the UN-convened Net-zero asset owner alliance.
Prior to joining Cbus, Stephen spent over 30 years working in investment management, culminating in his appointment as CEO of AMP Capital Investors in 2004. His experience extends both domestically and internationally.
Stephen is a Chartered Financial Analyst, is a Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (Finsia) and is also a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
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SPEAKERS
Anthony Schein is Director of Shareholder Advocacy at SHARE
Anthony Schein’s career has been dedicated to social and political change through civic engagement, community development and trade unionism.
Prior to joining SHARE, Anthony spent almost a decade in senior roles at an Ontario public sector trade union, where he worked with senior leadership on advocacy, governance, campaigns and negotiations. Anthony has also worked extensively in municipal, provincial and federal politics, both in government and on election campaigns.
Anthony is committed to fairness and inclusion, and building a democratic economy that works for everyone. His years working in politics and in the labour movement have taught Anthony that building alliances and the ability to find common ground and compromise are essential, but that principles matter.
Anthony earned an honours BA in political theory and cultural studies from Marlboro College, a small, rural college that is self-governed by students, faculty and staff, using a traditional New England-style town meeting. He has also pursued graduate studies in communication and cultural studies at York and Ryerson Universities.
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SPEAKERS
Mark Sevestre is a Founding Member and Senior Advisor at NATOA
In 2006, Mark became one of three founding members of the National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association. Serving in several roles, including Board Member, Committee Chairman and President, Mark is currently serving as Founding Member and Senior Advisor to NATOA. NATOA is a Charitable organization, dedicated to providing knowledge and capacity building on trust funds and investment for Indigenous communities. Mark is leading the Reconciliation and Responsible Investment Initiative in partnership with Share Canada which is linking Indigenous Values to Indigenous Investing as well as helping Non-Indigenous Investors utilize their portfolios to achieve the goals of Reconciliation in Canada. Mark is an Advisory Board Member of First Peoples Worldwide at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Mark also currently serves as the General Manager of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation Community Trust since 1999. Mark has served as a Branch/Financial Services Manager with the Bank of Montreal opening a branch within the Onyota’aka (Oneida) First Nation near London, Ontario. Mark is a graduate of Mount Allison University (1991) and began his working career within the Federal Government.
Mark is Mohawk and resides in the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Mark volunteers his time coaching as an Assistant Coach with the McKinnon Park Secondary School Blue Devil Football team in Caledonia, Ontario.
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SPEAKERS
Pat Miguel Tomaino is Director of Socially Responsible Investing at Zevin Asset Management
Pat leads environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research and engagement at Zevin Asset Management.
On behalf of Zevin’s clients, Pat negotiates with portfolio companies; connects with experts, NGOs and activists; and challenges firms to improve using shareholder proposals. After graduating from Harvard College, Pat worked for several years as a senior analyst on the responsible investment team of F&C Asset Management, a large London-based sustainable investment firm. He has held research roles for several progressive groups, including Senator Elizabeth Warren’s 2012 campaign and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Pat serves on the Socially Responsible Investing Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Investment Committee of Boston Ujima Project.
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SPEAKERS
Andrew Coward is the Treasurer at the University of Victoria
Andrew is responsible for investments including working capital funds and endowments, and providing advice on LTD and pension plan investment management. He is also responsible for risk management and insurance, as well as tuition fees.
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SPEAKERS
Katherine Wheatley is Program Manager for the RRII program of the Reconciliation and Responsible Investment Initiative (RRII)
The Reconciliation and Responsible Investment Initiative is a partnership between SHARE and the National Aboriginal Trust Officers’ Association (NATOA) that aims to promote responsible investment policies and practices that include reconciliation goals.
Prior to joining SHARE in 2019, Katie worked in intergovernmental affairs with various First Nations to protect their Aboriginal rights and title and enhance environmental conservation through government relations, negotiation with industry, and international advocacy. She has previously worked to advance social development and reconciliation through conducting research and furthering grassroots community initiatives at several non-profit organizations, a private family foundation, and a municipal government in Eastern Canada.
Katie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Joint Honours International Development and Anthropology from McGill University, as well as a Master of Arts in Environmental Anthropology from the University of Saskatchewan.
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SPEAKERS
Claudia Hepburn is CEO of Windmill Microlending
Claudia Hepburn became Windmill Microlending’s first Chief Executive Officer in February 2017, when it was known as Immigrant Access Fund Canada. She was hired to lead the national scale-up of this innovative microlending organization supporting the financial inclusion of skilled newcomers from coast to coast. Since then, new loan acquisition has more than doubled, repayment rates and client income growth have remained high, and the organization has embraced numerous efficiencies and innovations to enable scaling. Windmill was named one of Canada’s ten most innovative non-profits by The Logic in August 2019.
Before joining Windmill, Ms. Hepburn was co-founder and founding executive director of The Next 36, now Next Canada, a national charity devoted to the development of high impact entrepreneurs. Before that, she spent ten years working on education policy and building innovative education programs at The Fraser Institute. Children First: School Choice Trust, which she founded to improve educational opportunities for children living in poverty, was the only Canadian program ever to win the international Templeton Award; her first book was shortlisted for the international Fisher Award for public policy writing, both from the Atlas Institute.
Claudia has been named one of Canada’s Top 25 Women of Influence and is a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. She serves on several boards and councils including Kids & Company, Canada’s largest private childcare company, the C.D. Howe Institute’s Human Capital Council, and is a strategic advisor of Impression Ventures. Claudia earned a BA from Amherst College and an MA and B.Ed from the University of Toronto.
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Dr Janis Sarra, BA, MA, LLB, LLM, SJD
Professor of Law, University of British Columbia Peter A Allard School of Law
SPEAKERS
Dr Janis Sarra is Professor of Law at the UBC Peter A Allard School of Law.
Dr Sarra held the position of the UBC Presidential Distinguished Professor for two terms, 2014 to 2019. She was previously Director of the Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, UBC and served as Associate Dean of the Faculty of Law for a number of years. She was founding Director of the National Centre for Business Law, and a Senator of the University. She has researched and taught in the areas of corporate and securities law, banking and finance law, climate change governance, fiduciary obligation, insolvency law, economics and contract law. She is a member in good standing of the Ontario Bar.
She is a director of the International Insolvency Institute and Assuris, is on the Canadian Delegation to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Working Group V; is Principal Co-Investigator of the Canada Climate Law Initiative; and the Canadian scholar and a director of the global Commonwealth and Climate Law Initiative, Oxford University Smith School of Business. Among her more than 100 publications, her most recent publications include her book, From Ideas to Action: Governance Paths to Net Zero (Oxford University Press, 2020), and Audit Committees and Effective Climate Governance, A Guide for Boards of Directors (December 2020, CCLI).
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Jonathan Fowlie
Vice President, Government Relations, Public Affairs and Community Investment, Vancity
SPEAKERS
Jonathan Fowlie is Vice President of Government Relations, Public Affairs and Community Investment at Vancity
Jonathan leads the credit union’s engagement with governments and the community, including the credit union’s climate crisis and economic inclusion strategies. He also oversees a variety of teams responsible for Vancity’s community economic development focused on impact real estate, Indigenous partnerships, and environmental sustainability. Jonathan is a board member of the Vancity Community Foundation, which deploys funds and supports to promote healthier, more environmentally sustainable, and more equitable communities.
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SPEAKERS
Shalini Ramgoolam is a Program Officer at SHARE
Shalini joined SHARE in May 2018 and currently holds the position of Program Officer in support of the Responsible Investment Leadership program, specifically the Canadian Capital Stewardship Network (CCSN) and the Committee on Workers’ Capital (CWC). She is also a member of the shareholder engagement team and supports corporate research for clients.
Prior to joining SHARE, Shalini held various positions within the Government of Canada on international trade and human rights issues. She has supported stakeholder engagement and policy development for Global Affairs Canada, Public Safety Canada, and the Privy Office of Canada.
Shalini holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Ottawa with a specialization in Conflict Studies and Human Rights.
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SPEAKERS
Kathy Smail is the Executive Director of the Glasswaters Foundation
Kathy has been with glasswaters since it began in 2007. She is deeply committed to the shared values of social justice and community-determined social change. Kathy came to her current role from work as a constituency assistant for the local MLA in Campbell River, BC and a long history as the Executive Director of the Friends of Cortes Island, an environmental community-based charity. Her community work, volunteerism and activism while raising her children on Cortes honed her passion for facilitating social change from the ground up.
Glasswaters foundation is a small family charity with international project work in poverty alleviation, health and education, and grants for environment, arts and social change projects in Western Canada. Since our beginnings, glasswaters has endeavoured to align endowment investments with strong social justice values. Our investment manager, Stephen Whipp, and our long-standing relationship with SHARE have facilitated that journey.
Kathy lives and works in Campbell River, BC on the unceded territories of the Xwémalhkwu Nation, the K’ómoks First Nation and the Laich-kwil-tach Peoples.
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Merle Craig Alexander is a Principal at
Indigenous Law Group Miller Titerle
He is a hereditary chief of the Tsimshian Nation and a member of the Kitasoo Xai’xais First Nation. He is recognized for making exceptional contributions to Indigenous reconciliation and the advancement of Indigenous lawyers and students. His practice focuses on Indigenous resource law and legal reform initiatives. He is a frequent media commentator on Indigenous legal matters. Merle is an appointee of Queens Counsel (2019), recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from UVic (2017) and Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 under 40 (2009).
Interesting files that he is working on that are timely given the topic today: Co-development / implementation team for the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, equity negotiation for the TransMountain Expansion Project and redevelopment of a major mine moving from a consultation based IBA to a FPIC based agreement.
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Colin Baines is the Investment Engagement Manager at Friends Provident Foundation
Colin is responsible for the integration of the Friends Provident Foundation’s endowment with its charitable objectives, including via investment policy, asset manager engagement, direct shareholder engagement, and impact investing.
Previously, Colin worked for the Co-operative Bank and Group for 20 years, during which time he was responsible for the Co-op Bank Ethical Policy, Co-op Asset Management Ethical Engagement Policy, and Co-op Group Social Goals campaigns.
Colin sits on the board of multi-asset impact fund Snowball, is on advisory committees to the LSE Grantham Institute and University of Manchester Tyndall Centre, and is vice-chair of the climate charity Possible.
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Terri Lynn Morrison is Director of Strategic Partnerships & Communications at Indigenous Clean Energy
Terri Lynn is a proud First Nations Mi’gmaq woman from Listuguj, in the province of Quebec where was born and raised. Terri Lynn brings many qualities to her work, including her understanding of First Nations realities, and passion for Indigenous involvement in a just transition.
In July of 2019, Terri Lynn joined the ICE Team as the Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships. Her role focuses on building relationships with key partners to help amplify the impact of Indigenous clean energy in Canada.
Her clean energy journey began in 2014, when she became the Project Director for a 150MW Wind Farm that was owned, and developed with 3 Mi’gmaq communities and their partner, Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. from Longueil, QC. This project was recognized by the Quebec Wind Industry, where it received Excellence in Human Resources Award, and Terri Lynn was recognized as the Rising Star for her contribution in fostering social acceptability for the project.
As a mother, grandmother and auntie, Terri Lynn enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with her family in her free time.
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Shante Little is Research and Content Lead at Transform Finance
Shante is a New England native who has since found her way back home to the American South. She has spent the last six years largely experimenting with her involvement in the worlds of education and social change. Her passion for access to education and racial equity began as an undergrad at Wheaton College (MA) where she majored in African Diaspora Studies and addressed the academic and economic exploitation of DI student-athletes of color in her senior capstone. Since completing a M.Ed program and serving as an educator in the New Orleans public charter school system, Shante has seen her commitment to social justice evolve and expand to include broader systems change.
She most recently worked at Criterion Institute where she helped to develop and implement the research methodology in a way that allowed for the disruption of power dynamics across projects within the Financial Imagination Program. Shante also contributed to project management, stakeholder engagement, research and ideation around how to build a more equitable world for women and girls. As the Research and Content Lead at Transform Finance, she develops content for and supports research initiatives across the organization, with a special focus on Transform Finance’s work in Racial Justice. This includes co-authoring the recent briefing “Addressing Capital’s Effects on Racial Justice: How investments drive injustice and what investors can do about it”.
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Kate R. Finn is Executive Director of First Peoples Worldwide
Her expertise concerns articulating how the impacts of development in Indigenous communities must be addressed at all levels of business and investment in order to build healthy Native economies and communities for generations.
Among several papers, she co-authored Social Cost and Material Loss: The Dakota Access Pipeline, Harnessing Private Equity for Indigenous Peoples and Responsible Resource Development and Prevention of Sex Trafficking: Safeguarding Native Women and Children on the Fort Berthold Reservation. Her article “Recalibrating Risk Assessment for Indigenous Women” appeared in the March 2020 issue of Green Money Journal. Prior to her directorship, Kate served as Staff Attorney for First Peoples.
Kate holds a J.D. and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Colorado, and a B.A. from Princeton University. She was the inaugural American Indian Law Program Fellow at the University of Colorado Law, where she worked directly with Tribes and Native communities. She serves on the boards of the First Nations Community Financial and Unified Solutions Tribal Community Development Group. Prior to her work with First Peoples, she served as a Program Coordinator with the Denver Victim Services Network, working on the local level to connect service agencies and advocated at the federal level for adequate protections for victims of crime. Kate is an enrolled citizen of the Osage Nation.
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Poonam Datar is CEO of the Cleaning Accountability Framework
The Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF) is a multi-stakeholder initiative that promotes ethical labour practices in the cleaning industry. Poonam has been with the organisation since May 2018 and overseen the development and launch of the CAF Certification Scheme.
With expertise in social compliance schemes and stakeholder engagement, Poonam has worked with a range of actors to complete the CAF Certification process, combining a desk-based audit with a social audit that relies on meaningful worker engagement. Poonam’s expertise in responsible business conduct and supply chain due diligence draws from experience negotiating progressive policies on labour rights as a Political Advisor in the European Parliament, and working with businesses to achieve accreditation at Ethical Clothing Australia.
Poonam holds a Master of International and European Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts (Politics, Journalism) from Monash University.
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Ellen Quigly
Research Associate, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (University of Cambridge, UK),
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Ellen Quigly is a Research Associate in Climate Risk & Sustainable Finance at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (University of Cambridge, UK)
She is also the Advisor to the Chief Financial Officer (Responsible Investment) at the University of Cambridge. At CSER her work centers on the mitigation of climate change and inequality through the investment policies and practices of institutional investors. She is from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and holds an A.B. in English literature from Harvard College, an MSc in Nature, Society, and Environmental Policy from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in economics education from the University of Cambridge. In 2020, Ellen won the Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment (GRASFI) Paper Prize for Best Paper for Potential Impact on Sustainable Finance Practices for Universal Ownership in Practice: A practical positive investment framework for asset owners.
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Sussanne Skidmore is Secretary-Treasurer at BCFED
Sussanne was re-elected BCFED Secretary-Treasurer in November 2020. A well-known human rights, social justice and queer rights activist, Sussanne served as executive vice-president of BCGEU for 5 years.
She has also served as co-chair of the BCFED’s Human Rights Committee, and is active in the Women’s Rights Committee. Sussanne also is the national Treasurer for the New Democratic Party of Canada and a Vice President of the New Democratic Party of BC.
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Mario Tremblay
Senior Vice-President, Public and Corporate Affairs and Marketing, Solidarity Fund QFL
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Mario Tremblay has been Senior Vice-President, Public and Corporate Affairs and Marketing, at the Solidarity Fund QFL since September 2020
Before being appointed to this position, Mr. Tremblay was Vice-President, Public Affairs and Communications for two years. Mr. Tremblay joined the Fund in 2001 as Corporate Business Director and Assistant Corporate Secretary. Thanks to his extensive skills and professionalism, Mr. Tremblay has played a key role in the Fund’s strategic planning.
Mr. Tremblay serves on the boards of the Fondation du Maire de Montréal pour la jeunesse and the Agora de la danse.
Called to the Barreau du Québec in 1996, Mr. Tremblay practiced corporate and international business law, first as an attorney and subsequently as a partner at Goodrich Riquelme y Associados in Mexico from 1997 to 2001, where he advised many Québec and Canadian firms.
In 2020 he was named Chair of SHARE’s Board of Directors.
He also acted as an international observer during the 1997 Mexican elections for the Canadian Embassy and worked with the Québec Delegation, notably, during the economic mission led by Premier Lucien Bouchard in 1999.
Mr. Tremblay received his law degree, magna cum laude from the University of Ottawa.
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Mackenzie Smith is a Pension Specialist at the UNITE HERE International Union
UNITE HERE is a union representing 300,000 workers in the hotel, food service, laundry and gaming industries in the U.S. and Canada. Mackenzie is a third-generation Union activist raised in the overlapping Catholic social justice and Labor movements of the 1980’s. After graduation from the University of Pittsburgh, she joined UNITE HERE (formerly H.E.R.E.) as an organizer. For over twenty years, Mackenzie focused on developing and training staff and member-organizers for new organizing fights, contract negotiations and political campaigns. She has led bargaining in the Union’s key industries in both the U.S. and Canada.
Through these efforts, Mackenzie developed a keen appreciation for the necessity of strategic and comprehensive campaigning. She joined UNITE HERE’s pension and private equity team in 2019.
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Christie Stephenson
Executive Director, Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics, UBC Sauder School of Business
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Christie Stephenson is the Executive Director of the Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics at UBC Sauder School of Business.
Before joining UBC Sauder in 2016, Christie spent more than 15 years at socially responsible and impact investing firms Sustainalytics (then Jantzi Research Associates), NEI Investments (Ethical Funds) and Rally Assets (formerly Purpose Capital).
Christie is a frequent speaker and regular media commentator on topics related to responsible business and ESG investing. She is a climate governance expert with the Canadian Climate Law Initiative, a member of the BC Securities Commission Corporate Finance Stakeholder Forum and serves on the boards of the UBC Staff Pension Plan and Vancity financial cooperative.
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