Dr. Kayode Alawonde has over 26 years of experience successfully managing cybersecurity operations and processes. Dr. Alawonde has been extensively involved in designing and implementing information security architecture and projects and programs, which covers various aspects of Information Technology (Cloud & on Premise) and multiple technologies. He has a proven ability to align technology to deliver business strategies within differing sectors using appropriate standards and frameworks. He holds the ISC2 CISSP & CCSP certification, TOGAF, ISACA CRISC, ISACA CDPSE, ISO 27001, and PMP certifications. Dr. Alawonde is very conversant with cybersecurity-related standards: NIST cybersecurity framework, NIST SP 800 sets of standards relating to cybersecurity controls and risk management, CIS 18 standards, and ISO 27001, to mention a few. His deep experience covers IT & OT security in financial, public and mining environments. He is an industry leader and regularly speaks at conferences and seminars. Dr. Alawonde is the first-ever Cybersecurity Lead for the City of Saskatoon, Canada. He has taught computer forensics and project management at a University in Africa. He currently leads Cybersecurity for BHP Canada operations as Cybersecurity Principal, Minerals Americas.

Jeff currently works as a Ministry Information Security Officer (MISO) for the Social Sector in the Government of BC that supports 2 ministries: Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) & Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction (SDPR). He is passionate about all things information security and risk management; always looking to find ways to improve risk assessments that is both a great stakeholder experience and provides enough context to identify security risks. In his spare time, you can find him on a journey to discover the best shawarma in Canada.

Tanya Knight is what’s referred to at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada as a “lifer”.  She has been with the Department since 2001 and has worked in many different areas of the Department throughout her career.  She is currently the Director of the Permanent Residents: Integrity Management Authority Division of the Integrity Risk Management Branch of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Program.  Her team works to ensure that program integrity risks for permanent resident lines of business are identified and then well-managed across the Operations Sector.  Ms. Knight also has the privilege of leading a horizontal team (the Operations Sector Integrity Management Authority or OSIMA) that has as its mandate the strategic alignment of risk management for the Operations Sector, the embedding of risk management and program integrity principles into modernized approaches to processing, and the identification of racism and bias in risk management and decision making.  On the latter, her team has led the Department in its efforts to answer the Government’s Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion through its thorough and very introspective research and analysis, which she is excited to share with you all.  In her spare time, Ms. Knight enjoys travel, theatre, and trivia (in that order)!

John Lark is an accomplished manager with broad experience in the management of staff, budgets and deliverables. He has managed research teams, chaired federal-provincial committees, and facilitated workshops at the Board level of large-scale organizations with domestic and international operations. He is a leader in risk management whose skills have been recognized internationally. He has worked with Canadian federal and provincial governments as well as the OECD, the US EPA, the Canadian Standards Association, the Risk Management Institution of Australasia and ISO, the International Organization for Standards. Mr. Lark has also been an invited speaker on Enterprise Risk Management, Operational Risk, Risk for Boards of Directors, and Internal Audit Control and convened an invited session of global leaders in risk management. He was awarded the global certification in risk management, CPRM in 2010.

He is a highly regarded global expert and has been an invited keynote speaker at international conferences in Washington D.C., Biel Switzerland and, Sydney, Canberra and Cairns Australia. Mr. Lark was one of Canada’s delegates to the ISO risk management Committee and was a Team Leader of several ISO Working Groups and Subcommittees. Mr. Lark was the sole author of the international ISO Guide to implementing ISO 31000:2009 released in January of 2016.

Mr. Lark also has extensive Board experience and is Chair of two Not For Profit Boards and sits on the board of several major charities. He recently completed the Director’s Education Program that is jointly offered by the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Rotman School of Management. After completing the course he successfully passed the qualifying exams and earned the ICD.D designation confirming his knowledge of Board obligations, structures and functions as well as all legal and regulatory obligations.

Denley is currently an I&IT Resource Manager for IT Source in the Treasury Board Secretariat within the Ontario Government. Denley is known as an organizational change agent who brings over 15 years in the space of people development and inclusive workplace. This includes over his 10 years of experience of building workplace communities in the public, private and not-for profit sectors.

Denley’s seasoned experience in delivering executive coaching, strategic planning, culture change workshops and listening sessions has positively impacted companies, government, not for-profits, and schools in diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging (DEI&B) spaces. He is a captivating and charismatic speaker who regales audiences of thousands with his passion on creating workplaces of belonging, which he calls workplace communities.

He’s the Founder and Executive Director of Connect Ontario Professional Development Group. Connect Ontario is a workplace community for public sector professionals in Canada who are looking to grow both professionally and personally in a safe space of belonging, care and empathy. These professionals come from all walks of life, from interns to senior executives of government, to do life in the workplace. His executive work and leadership has allowed Connect Ontario to be the winner of 2020 Championing Equality in the public sector globally by Apolitical.

Denley has a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Toronto Metropolitan University and Master of Theological Studies at McMaster University, Divinity College (outside of Toronto, Ontario Canada) – specializing in worldviews and culture. He has rounded out his academic knowledge with a professional certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP) to go along with his unique experience.

As an author on Amazon and professional speaker globally, Denley combines his unique insights, timely wisdom and lived experience on his growing podcast, The Coach’s Corner on both Apple and Spotify. The podcast is simply about having a coach to help you be your best, which goes along toward healthy relationships with others.

Denley partners with his wife, Tajé for over 18 years. They raise their three children: Makayla (14 years old) , Micah (11 years old), and Mateo (6 years old) in Brampton, ON. Together, they believe they can change the world one workplace at a time.

Emerson Rajaram is a highly accomplished and experienced professional in the field of Information Technology and Security. He currently serves as the Chief Information Security Officer at Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, where he is responsible for leading the organization’s efforts to protect its information and systems from cyber threats. With more than 15 years in the industry, he has a proven track record of success in driving change, creating value and solving complex organizational problems.

Emerson holds an MBA from the Lazaridis School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of West Indies. He is a certified professional with both the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Project Management Professional (PMP) designations, which further showcase his expertise and commitment to this field.

In addition to his professional pursuits, he also serves as a board director at the Waldorf Academy in Toronto, where he uses his expertise to help guide the school’s operations and strategy. With his unique combination of technical knowledge and leadership skills, Emerson is a highly valued leader in his field who is known for his ability to inspire trust, confidence and respect among his peers and colleagues.

Information Security Professional for the last 5+ years with a background in Information Technology and Customer Service. Currently the Information Security Officer at Social Development, a department for the Government of New Brunswick. Father of 4, love of hockey, music, the outdoors and being part of the community

Alex has been with the Region of Durham’s IT team for about 6 years. Currently, he works as the Manager of GIS, Data Analytics and Application Services. His past experiences cover different industries such as Education, Telecommunications and Banking. Technology and business relationship management are some of his passions, challenging him to provide a great user experience, improve security and keep an eye on risks when enabling solutions for stakeholders. In his spare time, you can see him trying to play the guitar and learning new tunes.

Rosemary is a financial crime risk analyst with 12+ years’ experience in the financial services industry.  Areas of experience include Know Your Client Due Diligence, Financial Crime Risk Mitigation, Anti-Money Laundering, Sanctions and Anti-Bribery & Corruption Risk assessments. Rosemary currently works as a Principal for the Compliance & Ethics, Financial Crime team at Export Development Canada.

Mr. Kelly Walsh (Kel) started his information security career in highschool via the Ferris Bueller method. After receiving a mandatory 3-day “vacation” for showing someone else how to hack the school computers Kel redirected his computer and network savvy into more productive efforts. After highschool Kel became a father at 19, and with a newly developed sense of responsibility Kel found work at a small software development company. Over the course of 3-years he rose to the position of Manager of Information Systems and eventually started his own consulting company with his initial employer as his first client. Kel obtained multiple technical certifications along the way, but never gave up his love for hacking. Kel went back to school and completed a computer network diploma and eventually joined the military as a reserve Signals Officer all while continuing to grow his consulting practice. Over the years Kel has worked with many public and private sector clients, usually on the topics of technical risk assessment and vulnerability exploitation. Kel lives in Ottawa with his very patient wife (and prom date) Jennifer where they will be celebrating their 28th anniversary in March.

Karen Zarrouki is currently working as Manager of Professional Practices, in the Internal Audit and Evaluation Bureau, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS). Karen entered into internal auditing in the Summer of 2014, and has undertaken several internal audit engagements ranging from audits to reviews to risk and control self-assessments at TBS. She has worked in TBS since 2006 and occupied the positions of Manager/Senior Auditor, Internal Audit Sector, Office of the Comptroller General; Special Advisor, Security and Identity Management, Chief Information Officer Branch; acting Director, Centre of Excellence for Risk Management and Regional Federal Councils in the Priorities and Planning Sector; Manager, Office of the Auditor General Liaison; and Senior Policy Analyst, Cabinet Operations, Regulatory Affairs Sector. Her 32-year federal public service career also includes working at the Privy Council Office, Industry Canada (Broadband Access program) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Karen holds a Master of Arts Degree in German Linguistics, and a Bachelor of Arts Honors Degree in French and German Language. Her area of specialization for internal audit is risk management, and holds both the Certification in Risk Management Assurance and Certified Government Auditing Professional designations from The Institute of Internal Auditors. She is also certified in change management (Prosci).