National Mission.
Local Impact.

A highly accomplished CEO, senior executive, and board member, John has recently retired from the position of President – CEO for the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA). In this role, John provided the overall strategy and execution of the CMA mandate and champions the fundraising and product development of a new Chartered Marketer designation. Prior to this role, John spent over 20 years as a senior executive in the financial industry. His core strengths include product design, branding, promotions and communication.

Sartaj Sarkaria is a dynamic, fact based, and progressive leader with 10+ years of leadership experience in corporate business planning, DE&I, and Human Resources on a national scale. She is known for her collaborative approach of developing and implementing innovative DE&I, HR programming and strategic business plans aligned with the organizational goals and support-centric values. Sartaj’s creative, authentic and collaborative style is integral to a strong collaborative culture. She is passionate about team member engagement, professional development, board governance and the importance of creating inclusive best practices, reflective of Canada’s diverse population.

Ira Goldstein is a Canadian entrepreneur and cybersecurity expert; he advises on business growth, risk and cybersecurity to public and private sector leaders in his role as CEO of Kernel Advisory. Before his career in technology, Ira earned degrees at Queen’s University and the London School of Economics. He served as a volunteer tutor in Canadian penitentiaries and on the leadership team of Queen’s Students for Literacy (QSL), the Kingston chapter of Frontier College. Ira went on to pursue a career in cybersecurity, leading complex security programs, mergers and acquisitions and technical projects across a wide range of sectors with companies around the world. He previously served as the Chief Operating Officer of Herjavec Group, a global cybersecurity provider. Ira is a published thought leader specializing in emerging business trends in security, privacy and identity. He is a lifelong learner, a proud father and husband who resides in Toronto.

Natalie is a People & Culture (HR) executive in the tech industry with a 20+ year career that traverses the public, private and non-profit sectors, including working as a clinical counsellor, executive coach, tech executive and non-profit leader. Natalie is fueled by her passion for social purpose-oriented work, activism, values-led leadership and catalyzing people potential. Natalie holds a master’s degree in counselling psychology, and is near completion of a Doctorate degree in leadership studies. She is a public speaker, community activist, non-profit volunteer and angel investor, supporting female/non-binary led social impact ventures. She originally became connected with UFL as a volunteer when she was an undergraduate student and eventually became the Chairperson of the Prison Literacy Initiative in partnership with UFL and Queen’s University. She is proud to now ambassador UFL’s work as a Board member. Outside of her work, Natalie lives in North Vancouver with her husband and two children and enjoys hiking, being a baseball mom and cooking for family and friends.

Julia is a board member and volunteer reading tutor who sees literacy as key to the future of Canada and Canadians. With degrees from Queen’s University, Columbia University, and Osgoode Hall Law School, Julia practiced law with Torys LLP in Toronto and Hong Kong and built a business in Singapore before becoming CEO of CivicAction, Futurpreneur Canada, the Canadian Children’s Literacy Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity Canada, and Chair of Ontario’s Expert Roundtable on Immigration. She has been named one of WXN’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, a YWCA Toronto Woman of Distinction, and a Woman of Influence Canadian Diversity Champion, and received the Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy Leadership Award, the Goodman School of Business Distinguished Leader Award, and le Prix Hommage RelèveON 2020. Julia has her ICD.D, and is also a director of InvestEco Capital, the Canada Post Community Foundation, and the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) Foundation.

Ed maintains a general practice with an emphasis on corporate commercial securities and municipal law. He has worked with a number of clients in corporate reorganizations, restructurings, sales, and purchases of businesses. His experience extends to real estate transactions (commercial and residential), incorporations, foreclosures, municipal issues and acquisitions.

Ed’s clients are from many sectors of the northern business community including developers, municipalities, small businesses, and individuals. He has acted for a variety of banks and private lenders in placing and enforcing security. Clients benefit from Ed’s substantial courtroom experience. A skilled litigator, he has represented corporate and individual clients at all levels of court in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. A valued resource for municipal councils, Ed regularly provides advice and training concerning governance and general business issues for several municipalities in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Given his broad knowledge base, Ed is often called upon to relay general advice for many practice areas. He takes a creative approach to handling legal issues and explains complicated legal concepts in a straightforward manner. Clients know they can rely on his practical, relevant advice to effectively address their concerns.

An active member of the Yellowknife community, Ed is a Yellowknife Co-op board member, a member of the Condo Board, and the Former Regional Director of the Canadian Cancer Society.

Cam has a wide variety of professional and lived experience that has helped to not only inform his work but mould his experience and unique perspective. For the past 15 years, Cam has used that experience to stand up for his community, neighbours, and clients.

He spent nine years working on Parliament Hill, working for three different Members of Parliament. He has extensive experience working in the Natural Resources, Education, Foreign Affairs, and Indigenous Rights portfolios. He also has extensive experience working with parliamentary processes, an expertise in parliamentary procedure and the development of legislation.

Since leaving Parliament Hill in 2018, Cam has been working in the government relations and public affairs space. He has supported clients in a range of sectors, including agricultural, fintech, natural resources, information technology, Indigenous governments, post-secondary education, labour, and not-for-profits. In June of 2022, Cam founded “Niipaawi Strategies”, an Indigenous owned and operated public affairs firm based in the National Capital Region.

Cam is proudly Red River Métis, born and raised in Treaty 3 Territory. He is a trusted voice and a sought-after political pundit, appearing regularly on local and national media on radio, TV and print. He has worked on over a dozen political campaigns at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels, including involvement in the development of campaign platforms for three Federal elections. He is a graduate of Lakehead University, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in French and a minor in History, and a Bachelor of Education. He is married to his better half, Allison, and is father to their daughter Lorraine.

Goshka Folda serves as President and CEO of Investor Economics and Global Head of Research for the ISS Market Intelligence division, formed through the recent acquisition of Strategic Insight by Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. (ISS). With more than 20 years’ experience leading research initiatives for a wide variety of product and distribution topics, Goshka’s areas of focus include the household balance sheet, the future of the asset management business, investment funds industry, and financial services industry distribution models.

Goshka has executive responsibility for a wide range of research initiatives and publications, databases, information gathering, and client service at Investor Economics. As a subject-matter expert, she is a frequent speaker at industry seminars and conferences and is regularly quoted in the media. She graduated with distinction from the Warsaw School of Economics’ Master’s Program and holds a Baccalaureate designation from the Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia.

Kristen Miller taught Kindergarten in the inner city of Edmonton for eight years which sparked her passion for understanding the resiliency of children and families who faced a plethora of challenges. This led to a variety of employment opportunities with the Government of Alberta which included being a Child Protection Investigator, a Child Protection Provincial Trainer and an Indigenous Manager with the Ministry of Human Services. Throughout this journey Kristen was able to travel throughout Alberta and met Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers who taught her about their beautiful cultures and ceremonies. The Elders also shared the impact the residential schools had on their people as most of them had to attend the schools. Although Kristen is a member of Nacho Nyak Dun First Nation which is located in the Yukon territory, she was not raised within her community as she was a part of the Sixties Scoop. All of her Indigenous teachings come from Elders and Knowledge Keepers who are from the Cree, Dene, and Blackfoot communities. Kristen has been employed with the Edmonton Public School Board for eight years as an Indigenous Cultural Consultant and Indigenous Graduation Coach.

Lindsay Sauder is a senior banking executive with more than 20 years of experience in treasury, funding, liquidity management, risk management, and capital markets. In her role as Senior Vice President, Funding and Liquidity at CIBC, she leads the bank’s funding strategy and liquidity management activities and is recognized for her expertise in balance sheet management, wholesale funding, and financial resilience.

Prior to joining CIBC in 2015, Lindsay held a variety of roles in Capital Markets, Risk Management, and Treasury at another major North American financial institution. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce with a double major in Finance and Economics from Western University and is a certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM).

Linda Tchombé is the director of the Fondation at La rue des Femmes. She uses her expertise to mobilize philanthropic support for the organization, which helps homeless women rebuild their lives and reintegrate into society. Previously, she spent nine years at the Foundation of Greater Montreal, where she supported numerous individuals and organizations in establishing philanthropic funds and contributed to landmark projects, including the Vital Signs report on philanthropy in Quebec’s Black communities.

She is particularly interested in issues related to women and immigrant communities. Prior to coming to philanthropy, she worked in a variety of roles in diverse industries (including insurance, online sales and fundraising). Linda loves to talk about diversity, science and cooking! She holds a PhD in Applied Health Sciences, a DESS in Bioinformatics from UQÀM, and an MBA from HEC Montréal.

Meron is a strategy and investment professional with over a decade of experience across finance, consulting, and technology. As a Principal on the Strategic Asset Allocation team within Total Fund Management at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, he works at the intersection of quantitative analysis and long-term investment strategy, contributing to the top-down decisions that shape how over $280 billion is allocated across asset classes and markets globally on behalf of Ontario’s teachers. At Ontario Teachers’, he also has experience engaging with public market portfolio companies on matters of governance. Before joining Ontario Teachers’, he was a Senior Strategy Consultant at Deloitte Canada, advising clients across the full M&A lifecycle.

Meron holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, as well as a Bachelor of Commerce (w. Hons.). He has served on the United for Literacy Foundation Board since 2022 and is currently in his second term, and he also serves on the Charity Board in his first term.

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, James Morrison completed his PH.D. at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in African Oral Tradition and Oral History. Since returning to Canada (1976), he has worked for Parks Canada and Saint Mary’s University with visiting appointments in Japan, India, Gambia and Singapore. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Dalhousie University and UNB. He was named Historian of Frontier College in 2000 and has written/edited 4 books about the organization. He has also written/ edited over 50 articles, 15 books and several book reviews on oral history, local history and military history.

A respected authority on oral history and African history, James Morrison has made lasting contributions to his province and to the field of historical research. He has had an enduring impact on Nova Scotia’s multicultural heritage through his volunteer work with the Pier 21 Society and Museum. There, he contributed to the development of educational programming and exhibitions, many of which are based on the stories of families and individuals who emigrated to Canada, landing at Pier 21 in the Halifax port. He also developed the first Canadian university courses in oral history, Black History of the Maritimes and Ethnic Groups in Nova Scotia and has written many books chronicling Nova Scotia’s history. For his contribution to the field of Oral History and his work with immigrant communities and Pier 21, he was named to the Order of Canada in 2009, received the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013 and made Professor Emeritus at Saint Mary’s University in 2016 and the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal 2022.

Peter led CIBC’s (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) Treasury division from August 2012 to October 2022. In this role, Mr. Levitt was responsible for all aspects of CIBC’s treasury functions, including asset liability management, structural balance sheet risk hedging, liquidity risk management, capital management and optimization, funding, cash management, treasury analytics, funds transfer pricing, and pension and treasury investment management. Also responsible for external Treasury-related stakeholder management, including investor relations, regulatory relations, central bank relationship management and worked actively to promote financial stability through sound legislation, regulation and public policy.

Mr. Levitt was Executive Vice-President and Treasurer at Manulife Financial (John Hancock in the U.S.) from 2007 to 2012. Prior to this, he led capital finance in TD Bank Treasury, was head of treasury and Global Controller for TD Securities, and Chief Financial Officer of the wealth management group at Canada Trust up to and including integration with TD in 2000. Mr. Levitt held a number of roles in technology, treasury and finance at Canada Trust from 1982 to 2000.

Mr. Levitt was on the Board of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 2001 to 2016, was appointed to the Board of Frontier College (now United for Literacy) and the Sinai Hospital Foundation Investment Committee, both in 2016, and the University of Toronto Faculty of Music Advisory Council in 2018. Mr. Levitt was appointed to the Advisory Committee of Novacap Financial Services private equity fund in 2019, and to the board of E-L Financial Corporation (TSX:ELF) in May 2022.

Mr. Levitt leads a number of inclusion and diversity initiatives, commits time to several organizations including GRI (Global Risk Institute), C.D. Howe (leading Canadian thinktank), the Rotman School of Business (University of Toronto), supports numerous arts organizations (principally classical music), and holds an Executive MBA from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Elizabeth is Head of Private Markets for the CIBC Pension Plan. She has significant experience and knowledge in private markets investing and providing strategic investment advice from a 30-year career in private markets and M&A at firms including HOOPP, TD Securities and Lancaster Financial. At CIBC Pension Plan she is responsible for developing and executing the private market investment strategy and portfolio construction. The role includes diligencing, executing and monitoring private market investments in infrastructure, real estate, private equity and private credit in order to create long-term value for the pensioners. Elizabeth is a member of the Board of Directors of E-L Financial Corp Ltd and serves on the Audit Committee. She graduated from Queen’s University with an Hons. B.A. in economics and holds a MBA from The Rotman School of Management at The University of Toronto.

Goshka Folda serves as President and CEO of Investor Economics and Global Head of Research for the ISS Market Intelligence division, formed through the recent acquisition of Strategic Insight by Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. (ISS). With more than 20 years’ experience leading research initiatives for a wide variety of product and distribution topics, Goshka’s areas of focus include the household balance sheet, the future of the asset management business, investment funds industry, and financial services industry distribution models.

Goshka has executive responsibility for a wide range of research initiatives and publications, databases, information gathering, and client service at Investor Economics. As a subject-matter expert, she is a frequent speaker at industry seminars and conferences and is regularly quoted in the media. She graduated with distinction from the Warsaw School of Economics’ Master’s Program and holds a Baccalaureate designation from the Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia.

Matthew Latimer is Executive Director at the Federation of Independent Dealers, leveraging 18 years of industry experience. At the Federation, Matthew drives strategic initiatives, organizes industry events, and champions member firms’ interests, focusing on navigating regulatory changes, aligning diverse interests, and mitigating cost impacts for securities and mutual fund dealerships and their advisors, as well as fostering growth. His career spans various aspects of the financial industry. Matthew holds a degree in Illustration from OCAD University, supplemented by specialized courses in finance-related fields. Beyond his professional role, Matthew dedicates time raising funds for canine rescues and shelters.

Meron is a strategy and investment professional with over a decade of experience across finance, consulting, and technology. As a Principal on the Strategic Asset Allocation team within Total Fund Management at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, he works at the intersection of quantitative analysis and long-term investment strategy, contributing to the top-down decisions that shape how over $280 billion is allocated across asset classes and markets globally on behalf of Ontario’s teachers. At Ontario Teachers’, he also has experience engaging with public market portfolio companies on matters of governance. Before joining Ontario Teachers’, he was a Senior Strategy Consultant at Deloitte Canada, advising clients across the full M&A lifecycle.

Meron holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, as well as a Bachelor of Commerce (w. Hons.). He has served on the United for Literacy Foundation Board since 2022 and is currently in his second term, and he also serves on the Charity Board in his first term.

A highly accomplished CEO, senior executive, and board member, John has recently retired from the position of President – CEO for the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA). In this role, John provided the overall strategy and execution of the CMA mandate and champions the fundraising and product development of a new Chartered Marketer designation. Prior to this role, John spent over 20 years as a senior executive in the financial industry. His core strengths include product design, branding, promotions and communication.