Hasmik Asmaryan is the Director of Business, Employment, and Training Services (BETS) at the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS). With over a decade of experience at CCIS, Hasmik leads the design and development of equitable programs that address the complex needs of newcomers to Canada while aligning with the evolving demands of the local labour market. An immigrant herself, Hasmik holds three Master of Science degrees in Geosciences, Environmental Sciences, and Sustainability from universities in Armenia, the Netherlands, and Canada. She brings over 15 years of research and project management experience and has cultivated a deep understanding of Alberta’s labour market and employer networks. Hasmik’s extensive training in organizational psychology, communication, Indigenous relations, and crisis intervention, combined with her active community involvement, reflects her commitment to fostering equity and inclusion in all aspects of her work.

Jelena Atanackovic (PhD) is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Ottawa and member of the Canadian Health Workforce Network (CHWN). Her research interests focus primarily on health and healthcare policy and gender. Most recently, she has been engaged in many projects related to workplace mental health and safety.

Dr. Wendy Cukier is a professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Ted Rogers School of Management and the co-author of the bestseller, Innovation Nation: Canadian Leadership From Java to Jurassic Park. She is also the founder and Academic Director of the Diversity Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University, which has 100 full-time staff, 100 research associates from around the world and more than 200 industry partners focused on dimensions of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, future skills and entrepreneurship. She leads a number of large projects including Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub as well as projects for the Future Skills Centre and 50-30 Challenge.

Wendy is an active volunteer and serves on many boards including the Federation for African Canadian Economics (FACE), and the Lifelong Leadership Institute. Wendy has worked internationally on a range of projects and represented Canada in many regional and global fora. She was recently part of Canada’s W-20 delegation to the UN and has worked with governments of the U.K., Mexico, U.S., South Africa, France, Australia and New Zealand, as well as on projects in the global south. She is the founder of several startups, social enterprises and nonprofits. She holds a PhD in Information Systems from the Schulich School of Business, an MBA, an MA, and honourary doctorates from Laval and Concordia universities. Among her many awards, she is the recipient of the Meritorious Service Cross, one of Canada’s highest civilian honours.

Olena Hankivsky’s contributions to GBA Plus have influenced not only Canada but also international frameworks for gender and intersectional analysis, broadening the impact of GBA Plus-like methodologies worldwide. Ms. Hankivsky is a leading scholar on intersectionality. Her work has provided a strong theoretical foundation for expanding traditional gender-based analysis to include multiple identity factors, aligning directly with the “Plus” in GBA Plus.

Olena has authored influential publications, such as Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis (IBPA), which serves as a guide for applying intersectionality in policy contexts. Her work has been instrumental in shaping how GBA Plus is conceptualized and operationalized in Canada and beyond. .Professor Hankivsky has engaged with policymakers, academics, and civil society organizations including UN agencies and in particular, UN Women, UNESCO, FAO AND OECD to advocate for and integrate intersectional approaches into policy analysis. Olena offers critical insights into how GBA Plus can evolve to address complex social realities more effectively.

Dr.Hankivsky is currently the Mayor of the City of Port Hope

Alana Livesey is a dedicated gender equality expert with significant experience providing technical programmatic advice, program management, research, partnership, advocacy, and resource mobilization support in development and humanitarian settings, with 17 years of experience working at various UN and international development organisations, including Plan International, Save the Children, UN Women, UNICEF, UNESCO, and Amref Health Africa. Thematic focus areas include gender transformative programming, inclusion, gender-based analysis, humanitarian and emergencies, education, gender-based violence, women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights, child early and forced marriage, social protection, economic justice, urban development, feminist principles and partnerships, and youth centred and participatory approached. She has an MSc in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto.

Nancy Mitchell is Director, Research – Special Projects at the Diversity Institute. She holds a masters degree in political science with a graduate collaborative specialization in Women and Gender Studies from the University of Toronto. Her professional background is in gender equality and diversity, equity, and inclusion. She previously worked as a consultant with UN Women supporting numerous initiatives including gender equality in the workplace and women entrepreneurs. She has also published multiple editions of the State of the Industry report with the Unstereotype Alliance on diversity and inclusion in advertising. At the Diversity Institute, Nancy works with individuals and organizations across the public sector, private sector and civil society to develop research and strategies to embed diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility within organizational processes. The Diversity Institute has more than 100 research staff, 100 research associates from around the world, 200 industry partners and focuses on dimensions of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, future skills, and entrepreneurship and innovation with hubs across the country. Nancy has published the City of Markham’s Diversity Action Plan and Eliminating Anti-Black Racism Action Plan, The Socio-Economic Review of the Black Muslim Population in Canada, the Micropedia of Microaggressions and manages work as part of the 50 – 30 Challenge, among others.

Evaluation, Monitoring & Learning, Movember.

Anita has been conducting Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning for Work to Give (W2G) since the fall of 2022. This program is aimed at improving the mental health and well-being among federally-incarcerated Indigenous men in 5 institutions in the Kingston ON area. She has been in policy development research for the National Indigenous Circle Against Family Violence (NICAFV), a federally-funded organization whose membership is the on-reserve violence againstwomen (VAW) shelters in Canada. She authored a position paper, “The RCMP: Cultural transformation and reconciliation,” advising the national police force on addressing reconciliation with the First Peoples, including with Indigenous women and girls. She evaluated Hands of Mother Earth (HOME, in Manitoba), an Indigenous centre for recovery and healing of human trafficked Indigenous girls and was contracted by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) on human trafficking among Indigenous girls and women in northwestern Ontario—a picture much different from that of a non-Indigenous population. Anita is Anishinaawpe from Namekoosibiing in NW ON and a member of the Lac Seul First Nation. She is the mother of 4 (1 deceased) and grandmother of 5 and lives in the country’s capital Ottawa.

Sonya Shorey, President and CEO, for Invest Ottawa, Bayview Yards, and Area X.O, is a strategy executive and management consultant with more than 22 years of leadership experience with private and public organizations. With expertise in regional, national, and global technology, entrepreneurial, economic development, and innovation-based organizations, she specializes in corporate and communications strategy development and execution. This includes investment strategies that secure new cash and in-kind contributions from public and private sources. Since 2005, Sonya has led, strategized, authored and/or made a significant contribution to successful multi-year funding proposals and initiatives valued at more than $203 million from municipal, provincial, federal, and international governments.
Within her executive leadership role with Invest Ottawa, Bayview Yards and Area X.O, Sonya plays a pivotal role in developing, leading, and executing strategy for all three organizations. This includes:

• Area X.O, the futureplex of innovation and collaboration for next-generation smart mobility,
  connectivity and autonomy technologies;
• The Women Founders and Owners Strategy and Action Plan. This includes co-founding SheBoot, the investment-ready bootcamp for women tech founders designed and delivered by women entrepreneurs and investors, and founding International Women’s Week in Canada’s Capital; and International Women’s Week.
• The first Pan-Ontario Scale-Up Platform of its kind aimed at enabling and accelerating the growth, scaleup and commercial success of more $100 million revenue-generating tech companies in Canada.

Sonya launched her career as the Manager of Communications and Member of the Vice-Presidential Cabinet with the 10G Organization of Optical Networks for Nortel from 1999 to 2002, and then served as the Director of Marketing Communications for CMC Microsystems until 2007. Building on a decade of experience, Sonya launched her own strategy company in 2008, addressing the needs of S&T organizations, innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development agencies across Canada, and their partners around the world. She currently serves Vice President of Strategy, Marketing and Communications for Invest Ottawa, lead economic development agency for knowledge-based industries in Canada’s Capital.

Sonya is a Director of the Institute of Mental Health Research of the Royal Ottawa Hospital, Elevate International, and Mindtrust Leadership. She also serves as mentor and pitch coach with Women in Cloud, AI North America, and Technovation. She holds a Combined Honours in English and Political Science from Carleton University and has won 10+ international awards for communications, leadership, and women’s economic empowerment.