Dr. David Posen graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School in 1967.
He was involved in a research project in San Francisco before interning in Edmonton, Alberta. After a year of general practice in the Canadian Arctic he spent a year practicing in Jerusalem. In 1971 he started a family practice in Oakville, Ontario.
Daniel Burrus is considered one of the World’s Leading Futurists on Global Trends and Innovation. The New York Times has referred to him as one of the top three business gurus in the highest demand as a speaker.
Cyndi Desjardins was a successful business manager, working in product development and sales management, as well as being a new mom when necrotizing fasciitis (otherwise known as flesh eating disease) entered her life and altered it forever. After five weeks of battling this disease, she awoke to find her hands and feet had been amputated in an effort to save her life.
Craig Forrest is one of the most successful Canadian soccer players of all time. Born in Coquitlam, B.C., he left home at the tender age of 16 to begin a new life overseas in the first step of a rewarding soccer career.
In the span of four years, he went from trainee to starter with Ipswich Town, a club on a tremendous rise in the English ranks. In the 1991/92 campaign, the club earned a Division Two crown and a berth in the English Premiership. The kick-off to the 1992/93 Premiership season included only 11 foreign players at starting positions, and as you can imagine, Craig was thrilled to be counted among them as Canada’s first representative in the league.
Chantal Vallée is the Head Coach of the University of two-time Canadian University Champion Windsor Lancers Women’s Basketball.
She has been selected “Coach of the Year” 9 times in the last four years with a winning percentage of 90%.
Chantal was hired by the University of Windsor in 2005 even though she had never before coached a university team. At the time, they were ranked second-last in Canada; in the 2 years prior to Chantal’s arrival, the team had won only 8 of their 60+ games and were known as the “doormat of women’s basketball.”
Carole Bertuzzi Luciani is a dynamic speaker with a unique style guaranteed to keep audiences engaged, enthused and energized. Luciani counsels people on balancing their lives, coping with difficult others and revitalizing their workplaces. She sprinkles each session with her infectious brand of humour, relying on the everyday trials and tribulations of her own life. Listeners love her, leaving her sessions with a little more spring in their steps and always smiles on their faces!
Bill Carr is an actor, award winning satirist, writer, speaker and coach. For over twenty-‐five years, Bill has been making people laugh at what’s trivial while helping them think deeply about what counts. Bill helps people see their world in new and exciting ways. His unique blend of humour and insight inspires laughter and consideration. He works with audiences from 12 to 1200 and beyond and offers them a fresh perspective on what they face everyday.
Ben Saunders is a record-breaking long-distance skier with four North Pole expeditions under his belt. He is the youngest person to ski solo to the North Pole and holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton. Since 2001, Saunders has skied more than 2,500km (1,500 miles) in the high Arctic and is currently preparing for three groundbreaking expeditions between 2009 and 2012.
They don’t call her “The Mother of All” for nothing. Ann Douglas has been Canada’s go-to guide to all things parenting since the publication of her now-classic The Mother of All Pregnancy Books over a decade ago. And with the publication of her most book, Parenting Through the Storm, she has established herself as a passionate advocate for mental health and wellbeing.
Alison Griffiths is an award winning financial journalist, bestselling author and experienced broadcaster. She brings to her work a formidable array of skills including investigative research, financial expertise and accomplished writing.
On February 14, Alexandre Bilodeau wrote a page in history by becoming the first Olympic gold medalist on Canadian soil. A model of perseverance and a source of inspiration to many, he is proving to be one of Canada’s most talented young athletes.
Wendel Clark, former team captain and one of the most beloved players in Toronto Maple Leafs history, retired from the National Hockey League following the 1999/2000 season. Clark’s rambunctious style of play endeared him to the fans during the 13 seasons he spent with the Leafs.
