Speaker

Jessica Janzen

In 2017, Janzen founded The Love for Lewiston Foundation, a charity that has raised nearly $2 million in support of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation and families across Canada living with SMA (spinal muscular atrophy). Her passion, drive, and philanthropic mission have created life changing impact.

Janzen is the recipient of The Doc Seaman Individual Philanthropist 2021 Generosity of Spirit Award, winner of the best documentary at the Okotoks Film Festival, and recipient of Muscular Dystrophy Canada’s Dr. Katie Mander’s Courage to Inspire Award.

Moderator

Connor Curran, Local Laundry

Connor started Local Laundry back in 2015 after losing a fight with his washing machine. From then he's been on a mission to make everyone's laundry local. Now years later, Local Laundry is all about Canadian-made garments for social good. Having collaborated with organizations like the Calgary Flames, the CBC, Shaw Communications and many others. Local Laundry is on a mission to make clothing better and donate over $1 Million to local charities across Canada by 2030.

Panelist

Jill Dewes, Daughter Creative 

After graduating with a BSC in Psychology and a BA Honours in Classical Studies, Jill dreamed of working at Sotheby's. Instead, she fell into the world of advertising, spending the first 10 years of her career at BBDO in Wellington, New Zealand. A suit with a love for the creative process, Jill soon found her happy place was helping creatives and clients produce award-winning, effective campaigns. Moving to Canada in 2010, Jill is now a proud partner at Daughter, helping make the agency into the kind of place she has always wanted to work. Jill has a special place in her heart for packaging and brand identity, managing clients like Annex Ale Project, Cabin Brewing, The Establishment, Foothills Creamery and GroundUp eco-Ventures alongside advertising clients like TransAlta and Tenaris. In her spare time, Jill loves to travel, has a tendency to doom-scroll social media when she should be sleeping, is an avid consumer of craft beer, a voracious reader, and a (sometimes overwhelmed) mother of two young children and a high-energy spaniel. 

Panelist

Mackenzie Naylor, Confluence Dental

Mackenzie Naylor is a practicing General Dentist and owner of Confluence Dental. After graduating from University of Saskatchewan College of Dentistry in 2018, she moved to Calgary where she began practicing as an associate dentist. In early 2020 she began plans to open her own start-up dental clinic and officially opened her doors in July 2021. With an aim to redefine the dental experience, she has grown her patient pool from zero to nearly 700 patients in just over a year by utilizing organic marketing across social media platforms.

Speaker

Doug van Spronsen, Versett

Mr. van Spronsen is the CEO and co-founder of Versett, a technology consulting firm that works with high-growth companies to capitalize on emerging behaviours, markets and technologies. Established in 2012, Versett’s global team of over 350 consultants bring together rigorous research, exceptional design and software engineering to create and scale world-class digital platforms and interfaces. In the past year, the company has worked extensively with clients like American Express, TD Bank, Visa and Getty Images across a variety of global projects. Versett is headquartered in Calgary and has offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Paris, Brussels, and Ho Chi Minh City. He also serves on the board of True North Water. Doug was EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year (Prairies) for Technology in 2019 and was named one of Avenue’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2018. Doug sits on the board of the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation. 

Speaker

Deborah Yedlin, Calgary Chamber of Commerce

Deborah Yedlin joined the Calgary Chamber of Commerce in July, 2021 with a background that includes experience on Wall Street and Bay Street, and more than two decades as a business columnist for various media outlets, commenting on the nexus of business and politics since 1996.

Since moving to Calgary in 1992, Yedlin has been very active in the Calgary community - as a board member on a number of not-for-profit organizations including serving as the co-chair of the 2016 United Way Campaign. Yedlin served as the 14th Chancellor of the University of Calgary and is currently one of three co-chairs of the $250 million Calgary Cancer Centre fundraising campaign.

A first-generation Canadian, born and raised in Edmonton, Deborah is a graduate of the University of Alberta and Queen’s University. She also completed her ICD.D designation through the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary.

Moderator

Ed Straw, connectFirst Credit Union

Ed has a passion and a sense of ownership and accountability to help Alberta companies grow and become globally competitive to ensure the future success of our province.

People might be surprised to learn that Ed wasn't always a banker. He spent 13 years as a Naval Officer before changing career paths. Then, his banking career began at CIBC in commercial banking before moving to BDC where he held a number of senior management roles including VP, Corporate Financing and VP, Enterprise Risk Management. As the VP, Corporate Financing, he created BDC’s syndication desk and led the national corporate finance team that originated, structured, and managed the portfolio of its largest complex relationships.

Panelist

Jim Dewald, Haskayne School of Business

Jim holds a BSc in civil engineering and MBA from the University of Alberta, and a PhD in strategy and global management from the University of Calgary. Jim has several research and teaching awards, three books, two book chapters, over 20 academic papers, and over 60 newspaper and practitioner articles to his credit.

Since his appointment as dean on April 1, 2013, Jim has led the establishment of the Creative Destruction Lab (Rockies); six new Centres (leadership, entrepreneurship, real estate, corporate sustainability, business futures, and social entrepreneurship); a 30% increase in faculty; a 36% increase in school funding, and a 50% increase in graduate students. The Haskayne School has moved from 11th to 5th in national research ratings, attracted over $100 million in philanthropy, and commenced construction on Mathison Hall, a 100,000 square foot state-of-the-art student learning centre for the school’s growing student body.

Panelist

Judy Fairburn, The51 Ventures Inc.

Judy is Co-CEO of The51 - a financial platform and women-led venture fund for investors, entrepreneurs and those that aspire. A change-maker, energy and tech board director, Creative Destruction Lab Fellow, innovation community builder and early-stage investor, she has been at the vanguard of environmental sustainability, corporate / entrepreneurial partnerships, digital integration and diversity as critical to future-proof business. Along with her experience as a former C-suite corporate executive, Judy co-founded a $100 million digital/cleantech venture fund, and led substantial change as the first Board Chair of the consolidated Alberta Innovates.

Panelist

George Tai, Dentons Canada LLP

George Tai is the Managing Partner of Dentons Canada’s Calgary office, co-lead of Dentons' Canada's China Services Desk, and co-Lead of Dentons Calgary’s Venture Technology and Emerging Growth Companies practice group. George is a former member of Dentons Canada National Board and Former Chair of the National Board’s Audit Committee. George has practiced law for three decades, assisting clients with their business needs in Mergers and Acquisitions, Securities, Corporate Finance, and Corporate/Commercial transactions. He’s had the pleasure of working with Canadian clients in many licensing transactions with international Fortune 100 companies and is committed to helping small to medium size enterprises in their directive to grow, protect, operate and finance their businesses.

Panelist

Sean Crump, Included by Design

Sean is a universal design and disability inclusion industry expert, while priding himself as a social entrepreneur using his voice, lived experience, and passion for building barrier-free communities. As Founder & CEO of Included by Design, Sean’s new focus is to create digital solutions and revolutionary accessibility tools focusing on creating equal opportunities for people living with disabilities. Providing full-time employment opportunities to people of all abilities, Included by Design ensures they “practice what they preach” by proudly exemplifying that 40% of their employees live with a significant long-term disability. Sean currently sits on multiple boards and committees, as well as providing workshops and speaking at different engagements on accessibility and inclusion, most notably speaking about disability inclusion in his TEDx talk.

Panelist

Alex Gysen, 2SLGBTQ+ Business Development, Prairies region

Alex joined TD Bank in early 2022 as Regional Manager 2SLGBTQ+ Business Development in the Prairies region, covering Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories in their role. They have over 8 years of banking industry experience across several segments including Retail Banking, Process Engineering, Treasury Operations, Business Banking Operations, DEI Strategy, and Business Development. Before joining TD Alex served as a Senior Team Lead in CIBC's Business Banking Operations department, and voluntarily took on the role of Co-Lead of the organizations Intersectionality Committee, where they focused on aligning strategy between internal DEI stakeholders. Prior to Alex's career in banking he studied Business Administration at Mount Royal University in Calgary, where he also volunteered as a peer counsellor for the student association's Pride resource center. Alex is a passionate advocate for the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and is proud to volunteer and partner with many non-profits across the Prairies who do amazing work for members of the community.

Moderator

Sean McEwen (He/Him), RealEyes Capacity Consultants

As a Director at RealEyes Capacity Consultants, Sean engages with organizations across Canada to help build diverse and inclusive workplaces. Sean is also the Director of Alberta’s first Employer Resource Centre for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion - the GEDI-HubFor over two decades, Sean has been designing Employment Inclusion services - while providing leadership and coaching to teams of professionals serving jobseekers and employers. Sean has developed and facilitated training across Canada and has helped develop regional, provincial, and national networks dedicated to Employment Inclusion. Sean is based out of Calgary and collaborates extensively with Community Futures Treaty Seven.

Panelist

Kylie Woods, Chic Geek

Kylie is the founder of Chic Geek, a non-profit committed to building gender diversity in technology. Through its Career Pathing initiative, Chic Geek helps intermediate women in technology achieve greater career visibility and invest in their strategic professional networks. An avid-learner and tenacious question-asker, Kylie believes work should be something that challenges and excites you. As a mom of twin girls, Lily and Mae, she's committed to the intentional design of work and life. Kylie's passion lies in technology, women's rights and creating spaces where everyone feels like they belong. In support of this, Kylie sits on a variety of advisory committees ranging from the government, education and non-profit.

Moderator

Melissa From, JA Southern Alberta

Melissa has worked as a leader and advocate in the non-profit sector for over 15 years. In her current role as CEO of Junior Achievement (JA) Southern Alberta, Melissa has led the organization to double its annual revenue and student reach, impacting the lives of over 40,000 students each year.

In addition to a Bachelor of Business Administration, Melissa holds a Certificate in Non-profit Management from Mount Royal University and the CFRE designation. She is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Public Administration at the University of Saskatchewan.

Melissa currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Alberta Mentoring Partnership and serves as a subject matter expert for the Alberta Education curriculum design. She is an avid volunteer in her community and enjoys the organized chaos of life with her husband and two children.

Panelist

Jackson McDonough, Upwardly Careers

Born and raised in Calgary, Jackson is a fourth-generation entrepreneur and passionate Calgarian. Jackson started his career in Austin, Texas where he worked for a successful software company that went public on the NYSE. In April 2021, Jackson moved back to Calgary and launched Upwardly Careers, a Next-Generation talent recruitment agency. As the Co-founder and CEO, Jackson is on a mission to advocate for the power skills that people bring to both businesses and the community. Additionally, He is a founder of The Beacons of Hope and holds several community board positions. 

Panelist

Jessie Hurd, Versett Inc

Jessie Hurd is the Vice President of People and Culture at Versett Inc – a leading digital consultancy firm with offices across Canada and Europe. She leads the Human Resources, Recruitment & DEI functions at Versett, and helps drive the vision and strategy (with a P&C lens) as a member of the senior leadership team.

 Jessie attended UofC’s Haskayne School of Business and majored in Human Resources and Organizational Dynamics. Since graduating, she’s had 10 years’ HR experience in industries such as Recruitment & Staffing, Oil & Gas, Business Consulting and Technology. Jessie is a fitness and animal lover, has both a dog and a cat at home, and is a Board Member on the Board of Directors for the Cochrane and Area Humane Society.

Panelist

Tiffany Petite, Virtuous Circle Counselling

As a Therapist, Tiffany became the co-founder and Clinic Director of Virtuous Circle Counselling in 2020. As a born and raised Calgarian, Tiffany was inspired to become an entrepreneur after practicing as a Registered Social Worker in the Calgary not-for-profit sector for over 15 years.

Tiffany’s unconventional and innovative views on Social Work and business have inspired her to weave evidence-based research, her own experiences, and her vision to create a safe and empowering counselling space for her clients. Tiffany founded Virtuous Circle Counselling as a space where individuals can promote their own healing, and take back control of their lives with the support of a trusting ally, their therapist.

Tiffany has aimed to create a business model where other therapists such as herself, can grow their practice as entrepreneurs within Virtuous Circle Counselling.

Tiffany is committed to seeing counselling as a form of prevention and aims to eliminate barriers to high-quality mental health treatment.

Panelist

Mairi Serpas, YW Calgary

Mairi joined YW Calgary in early 2021 and is thrilled to be leading the organization’s exciting new social venture, Mindfulicity.

Mairi Serpas, is a senior leader who has spearheaded strategic projects and development initiatives in North America, Europe and Latin America. She has broad industry experience, holding positions in education, petrochemicals, and alternative fueling systems.

Mairi understands the unique challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurs and solopreneurs having acted as Managing Partner of a small firm from 2006 through 2020 and been an independent consultant. She is passionate about small business and start ups and brings proven business acumen, strategic planning and relationship building skills to growing new ventures.

Moderator

Deborah Yedlin, Calgary Chamber of Commerce

Deborah Yedlin joined the Calgary Chamber of Commerce in July, 2021 with a background that includes experience on Wall Street and Bay Street, and more than two decades as a business columnist for various media outlets, commenting on the nexus of business and politics since 1996.

Since moving to Calgary in 1992, Yedlin has been very active in the Calgary community - as a board member on a number of not-for-profit organizations including serving as the co-chair of the 2016 United Way Campaign. Yedlin served as the 14th Chancellor of the University of Calgary and is currently one of three co-chairs of the $250 million Calgary Cancer Centre fundraising campaign.

A first-generation Canadian, born and raised in Edmonton, Deborah is a graduate of the University of Alberta and Queen’s University. She also completed her ICD.D designation through the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary.