Speaker Information

Miguel Aguayo, Ministry of Community and Social Services
Toronto, ON

Miguel Aguayo is the Manager of the Employer Outreach Secretariat in the Ontario Disability Support Program Branch (ODSP) and is responsible for engaging employers in finding solutions to real and perceived barriers to hiring people with disabilities.

Emily Arrowsmith, Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF-FCA)
Ottawa, ON

Emily Arrowsmith is a researcher at CAF-FCA who managed the organization's Workplace Accommodations Project.

Len Baker, CNIB
St. John’s, NL

Len Baker has almost 20 years of experience working with people living with Vision Loss. He is currently the CNIB Managing Director of Services and Operations for Eastern Canada.

Kathy Bruens, Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW)
Moncton, NB

Kathy began her career in disability management during the 1980’s. Her specific and targeted outreach to employers over the years has lead her to the development of the CCRW trademarked diversity planning tool; Inclusion by Design TM. Kathy is currently the Manager of Employment Services at the CCRW office in Moncton, NB.

Jacki Challenger, Royal Bank of Canada
Toronto, ON

As Vice President Personal Banking Operations for RBC, Ms. Challenger is responsible for all operations and fulfillment in support of the bank’s personal banking business in Canada. She encourages managers and recruitment specialists in RBC to ensure they actively recruit candidates from the persons with disabilities community. She currently chairs the Board of the Canadian Council of Rehabilitation and Work.

Prior to this role she was the Vice President Personal Markets for RBC in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Her 31 year career with RBC has provided a variety of business line positions including, sales, risk management, operations, human resources, treasury and business banking. While working in Human Resources, her main responsibility was to deliver Awareness Training and conducting outreach to organizations involved with persons with disabilities. She has served as the Chair of the Canadian Bankers Association Employment Equity Committee for three years and was invited to sit on the Premier’s Advisory Council for Persons with Disabilities – the first able-bodied member in the group’s history. When she resided in Vancouver, Jacki was a member of the Board of the Canadian Cancer Society, the Credit Counseling Society of B.C. and the ORW (Opportunities through Rehabilitation and Work). She recently completed her Masters of Business Administration at Dalhousie University.

Heather Churchill, Learning Disabilities Association of Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John’s, NL

Heather Churchill brings a diverse educational and practical background as Project Coordinator with the Learning Disabilities Association of Newfoundland. She received her Masters of Education degree in 2007.

Lesley Cowan, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
St. John’s, NL

Lesley Cowan is a Communications Advisor with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and is a member of AAFC's Inclusiveness Management Committee (IMC). She has been working with AAFC since 2000 and has been a member of the IMC for 3 years.

Michel David, Canadian Hard of Hearing Association
Ottawa, ON

Michel David is National Project Officer for the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association's "Creating Successful Partnerships: Services and Training, for Hard of Hearing Persons in the Workplace".

Jennifer Dillon, National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS)
Ottawa, ON

Jennifer Dillon is the NEADS Job Search Strategies Project Consultant, working on the development and organization of the national series of JSS Forums

Don Gallant, British Columbia Association for Community Living
New Westminster, BC

Don Gallant is Senior Policy Consultant to the Canadian Association for Community Living and National Coordinator for the Community Inclusion Initiative.

Chris Hornberger, Halifax Global Inc.
Halifax, NS

Christa (Chris) Hornberger brings thirteen years professional consulting and project management experience in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors together with senior level executive experience in public and private sector organizations in Canada and the USA. Strategic and operational planning and implementation; Stakeholder consultations; workshop and meeting facilitation; organizational redesign; change management and communication are her strengths. BA (Political Science), University of Western Ontario.

Alice Lam, Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work
Toronto, ON

Alice Lam is a Job Accommodation Specialist with CCRW. She has a diverse background working with people of all abilities in numerous settings and providing the necessary supports and accommodations. Alice is very passionate about issues around inclusion and is committed towards achieving a fully accessible environment. She is working towards her graduate degree in Critical Disability Studies.

Kathy Marshall, Independent Living Resource Centre (ILRC)
St. John’s, NL

Kathy Marshall is currently the Program Coordinator of the ILRC Internship Program and has over twenty-five years experience in promoting disability awareness, education, and equality.

Debra McAllister, ARCH Disability Law Centre
Toronto, ON

Debra McAllister is a litigation lawyer currently working at the ARCH Disability Law Centre, where her practice focuses on test case appellate litigation to advance and protect the rights of persons with disabilities. She has conducted many complex cases on behalf of diverse clients before various administrative tribunals, trial and appellate courts and was counsel on behalf of the intervener, Ontario Network of Injured Workers' Groups, at the Supreme Court of Canada on the Keays v. Honda case. Ms. McAllister has done advisory work on constitutional and public law issues for the Aboriginal Self-Government Group, and she has served as an expert contact on Charter issues.

In addition to her litigation practice, Debra has been actively involved in legal education throughout her career and has written extensively on Charter of Rights and litigation issues. She has spoken widely on legal issues at programs organized by the Department of Justice, the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian and Ontario Bar Associations, the Association for Canadian Studies and the Faculties of Law at Osgoode, the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario.

Eileen McKee, Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation
Toronto, ON

The Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation (CWGHR) promotes quality of life through research, education and cross-sector partnerships. Eileen McKee, Manager, Episodic Disabilities Initiatives has extensive clinical and administrative background in addictions and gerontology.

Janice McNamara, Canadian Hard of Hearing Association
Ottawa, ON

Janice McNamara is the Executive Director of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association. Janice is an active participant in many government and private industry advisory committees.

Carrie Morgan, Wood Manufacturing Council
Ottawa, ON

Carrie Morgan is a graduate of the Wood Products Processing Program at UBC and is currently employed with the Wood Manufacturing Council, Canada's Human Resource Sector Council for the Advanced Wood Manufacturing Industry.

Donna O'Brien, Government of Newfoundland & Labrador
St. John's, NL

Donna O'Brien is the Regional Director(A) for the Department of Human Resources Labour and Employment, Avalon Region. She is a registered Social Worker who has been employed within the provincial public service since 1989 in a variety of roles including front- line service provider, social worker in disability support services and in recent years in policy development and project management.

Valerie Penton, Learning Disability Association of Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's, NL

Valerie Penton has been working as a Program Assistant for the Learning Disabilities Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (LDANL)'s Assist me - Please! Awareness Campaign since spring 2008. She is currently completing a Masters in Applied Health Services Research in Disability Services.

Norma Ricker, Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work
Moncton, NB

Norma Ricker, Sussex, NB brings over 30 years of experience working in the field of disability management. She has been working with CCRW since 2002 and has assumed various roles in the organization including Youth Initiatives support, Disability Awareness Coordinator, Director of Employment Partnerships and currently Director of Project Development.

Norma brings an extensive background to CCRW both in the not for profit sector and private business with her skills in proposal writing, program development, negotiating skills, recruiting practices with results driven.

She is presently attending University as a part-time student completing her degree in Organizational Management.

Iris M. Saunders, EmployAbilities
Edmonton, AB

Iris Saunders is the Executive Director of EmployAbilities, a charitable organization dedicated to providing employment services to individuals with disabilities. She has an extensive background in supplying community based consultation and training workshops on issues related to the hiring of people with disabilities. Iris is a respected authority on employment issues of the disabled and is committed to fostering change and developing equality in the labour force. Currently, Iris continues to be involved in many volunteer activities. She is the recipient of awards from the University of Alberta - in support of the Chair for Deafness, Outstanding Services Award from National Access Awareness Week, the first recipient of the Lumina Award from the Learning Link in recognition of her contribution to excellence to learning and was awarded Woman of Vision Award in 2004. Iris was also nominated to YMCA's Women of Distinction Award and has received the Excellence in Innovation Award for the Call Centre Training Program. Iris also played an active role in the community's various professional organizations including: Glenora Rotary Club; Alberta Association of Fundraising Executives and CASE (Canadian Association Society of Executives).

Lori Seay, British Columbia Association for Community Living
New Westminster, BC

Lori Seay has worked for 15 years as a community developer and employment advocate with people with disabilities and currently works at the BC Association for Community Living.

Georgia Whalen, Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work
Toronto, ON

Georgia Whalen, MCSE, MCPD, Director, Information Technology and Standards, has been with the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work for ten years. In this capacity, she has guided and managed the groundbreaking WORKink portal for eight years, completing the redesign and its content. WORKink was awarded by the Showcase Ontario Voluntary Sector as 2004 Technology Award of Excellence. Georgia has over sixteen years’ experience in creating technology-based employment solutions for persons with disabilities including working with the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Association for the Deaf. Through the CCRW WORKink, Georgia continues to develop technology-based employment solutions for persons with disabilities.