Programming & events

Technologies of togetherness: Shaping an equitable future with AI  

Date: June 1, 12:15 – 13:15

As technology rapidly transforms how we live, work, and connect, how can we ensure equitable, transparent, and inclusive innovation? This Big Thinking panel will examine the intersection of evolving technologies, like artificial intelligence, with ethics and equity. Through a cross-sector discussion, panelists will explore how we can mobilize technology to generate collaborative solutions for enduring issues —both for ourselves and the environment— while sustaining collective well-being and emphasizing the need for shared leadership in shaping future outcomes. This session will demonstrate real-world examples of how technologies can model and facilitate togetherness by democratizing data and decision-making and highlight our shared role in building a more just digital era. 

This lecture is made possible thanks to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Meet the panelists

Heather Krause

Heather Krause, PStat, is a data scientist and the founder of We All Count, a project for equity in data. We All Count works with teams across the globe to embed a lens of equity into their data products. Heather is a data scientist with over 20 years of experience building tools that improve practices and systems. Her cutting-edge approach to project design, data collection, analysis, reporting and visualization have placed her in high demand as a project lead, a crisis consultant and a speaker on the subject of data equity.  

As the founder of two successful data science companies, she attacks the largest questions facing societies today, working with both civic and corporate organizations to improve outcomes and lives. Her clients include PayPal, Pinterest, The Gates Foundation, the United Nations, Feeding America, and the Parliament of Canada. 

Debra Lam

Debra Lam is the Founding Executive Director for Partnership for Inclusive Innovation. Prior to this, she served as Pittsburgh's first Chief of Innovation & Performance where she oversaw all technology, sustainability, performance and innovation functions of city government. Prior to that, she was a management consultant at a global engineering and design firm, Arup. She has been the recipient of various awards, including one of the top 100 most influential people in digital government by Apolitcal. She has worked and lived in the UK, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and University of California, Berkeley. 

Ryan Morrison (moderator)

Ryan Morrison is a faculty member within George Brown College’s Centre for Preparatory and Liberal Studies, as well as an Associate within the college’s Teaching and Learning Exchange. Since 2019, his research interests have focused on the intersection of education and large language models. He holds an Master’s of Education with a focus on Information Technology, and in his spare time, he experiments with finding ways to support learning through newly available technology.

Environments of togetherness: Collaborating at the climate crossroads 

Date: June 2, 12:15 – 13:15

At a pivotal moment for the climate, how does Indigenous leadership offer collaborative pathways for rethinking our relationship with and responsibilities to the environment, thus guiding our efforts towards equitable, sustainable, and innovative solutions? This Big Thinking panel will centre Indigenous approaches for addressing the crisis, through climate activism and sustainable energy, rooted in land back movements, decolonization, and energy literacy. Setting forth diverse models of togetherness, panelists will examine how visionary climate approaches informed by Indigenous ways of knowing can drive systemic change and foster collective action that addresses the climate crisis in personally, societally, culturally, and politically healthy ways. 

Meet the panelists

Eriel Tchekwie Deranger

Eriel Tchekwie Deranger is a Dënesųłiné member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN)  and Executive Director and founder of Indigenous Climate Action (ICA) and 2024 Winner of the Climate Breakthrough Global award. Deranger is an active member of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change, and sits on various boards including  Bioneers, It Takes Roots Leadership Council, Climate Justice Resiliency Fund Council of Advisors,  and was a founding member of the Global  Indigenous Youth Caucus.  

Deranger is recognized for her role as the spokespersons for her community (ACFN) in the international Indigenous Tar Sands Campaign nd for spearheading the Tar Sands Healing Walk.  This work  included developing one of the first Indigenous rights-based divest movements; lobbying government officials in Canada, the US, the UK and the EU; supporting and leading mass mobilizations against the fossil fuel industry & climate change; and bringing international recognition to issues in her territory with celebrities and politicians alike.  Eriel has worked alongside Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Gabor Mate, Noam Chomsky, Bill McKibbon, Al Gore, Clayton Thomas Muller, Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Jade Begay, Janene Yazzie, Kyle Whyte, Winona LaDuke, Tom Goldtooth, Neil Young, Leonardo DiCaprio and many more.

Deranger has written for the Guardian, Yellowhead Institute, The National Observer, and has been featured in podcasts and documentary films including Elemental (2012); is regularly keynoting high level conferences and events, and is regularly  interviewed for national and international media outlets including Democracy Now!, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), and CBC. 

Melina Laboucan-Massimo

Melina Laboucan-Massimo is Lubicon Cree. She was born in her community of Little Buffalo, Northern Alberta. Melina has worked on social, environmental and climate justice issues for the past 20 years. Melina is the founder of Sacred Earth, co-founder of Indigenous Climate Action, and the inaugural Indigenous research fellow at the David Suzuki Foundation where her research focused on Climate Change, Indigenous Knowledge and Renewable Energy. She is the host of a TV series called Power to the People which profiles sustainable climate solutions from renewable energy, food security to eco-housing in Indigenous communities across Canada which is currently airing on in Canada on The Weather Network, the Knowledge Network, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, SBS Australia and FNX in the United States. 

Melina holds a Master’s degree in Indigenous Governance with a focus energy transition at the University of Victoria. Melina has written for a variety of publications and produced numerous short films on climate change, environmental justice, just transition, water issues, energy sovereignty, MMIWG2S and Indigenous cultural revitalization. Melina’s most recent publication of her research and work is The Just Transition Guide - Indigenous-led Pathways Toward Equitable Climate Solutions and Resiliency in the Climate Crisis. 

Melina has studied, campaigned and worked in Brazil, Australia, Mexico, Canada and across Europe focusing on environmental justice, resource extraction, climate change impacts, media literacy and Indigenous rights & responsibilities. Melina has been involved in Indigenous media making since 2004. 

In 2021, Melina was named one of the 26 Climate Champions in Canada by the Canada Climate Law Initiative. She received the Canadian Eco-Hero Award in 2019 by Planet in Focus. She has also been profiled and recognized for her work throughout the years in Elle Magazine, CNN, Global Citizen, Chatelaine, Flare, CBC, Earth.org, 350.org and Refinery29.  

Melina has campaigned to build sustainable futures alongside icons like Jane Fonda, Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Klein, David Suzuki, and Bill McKibben. She has been invited to speak before hundreds of audiences over the years including in the US Congress, the Harvard Law Forum, British Parliament, CTV’s The Social, National Geographic, Sustainable Production Forum and numerous universities and international organizations like Friends of the Earth and Amnesty International while campaigning globally for environmental and climate justice. 

Melina has also worked on the issue of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women since 2013 after the suspicious death of her sister Bella whose case still remains unsolved in Toronto. Melina has served as a board of director with NDN Collective, David Suzuki Foundation, 350.org and the national steering committee of Indigenous Clean Energy and advisory panels with Canadian Climate Institute and the Indigenous Leadership Fund with Environmental Climate Change Canada. 

Kay-Ann Williams (moderator)

Dr. Kay-Ann Williams is an academic and educator with approximately 14 years of experience in teaching at post-secondary institutions in Ontario, Canada. Since 2019, she has served as a full-time faculty member at George Brown College, Toronto, where she instructs courses in environment and sustainability at both the diploma and degree levels. Dr. Williams’ more recent focus on understanding the complexities of environmental challenges, compels her to seek innovative methods to engage students. She places a strong emphasis on critical thinking and encourages students to analyze solutions while considering the potential ramifications of their proposals. In addition, Dr. Williams endeavors to cultivate an understanding of environmental ethics among her students believing that this will also foster interest and hope in working together for future generations. 

Dr. Williams holds a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Infrastructure from Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden and a Doctor of Philosophy in Geography from Queen’s University, Canada. 

On a personal note, Dr. Williams enjoys taking long walks with her dog, listening to podcasts, and maintaining connections with friends and family. 

Care of togetherness: From social isolation to collective well-being

Date: June 3, 17:15 – 18:15

In an era of climate crises, humanitarian disasters, and rapid technological change, how can togetherness move us from social isolation and increasing polarization to collective well-being? This Big Thinking panel will explore the role of research, knowledge-sharing, and community building in strengthening social resilience and resistance. Panelists will share insights for diverse knowledge dissemination for community and societal impact, offering both fundamental and applied approaches to deepening our care for each other, our communities, and the world—putting into practice actions that foster healthier, more connected societies. 

Meet the panelists

Billy-Ray Belcourt

Billy-Ray Belcourt is from the Driftpile Cree Nation in northwest Alberta. He won the Griffin Poetry Prize for his debut collection This Wound is a World. He has twice been nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award -- once in poetry and in non-fiction for his memoir, A History of My Brief Body. Both his works of fiction, A Minor Chorus and Coexistence, were national bestsellers. He is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in the School of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. 

Jael Richardson

Jael Richardson is the founder and Executive Director of the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD). Her debut novel, Gutter Child was a finalist for the Amazon First Novel Award and the White Pine Award. She has three children’s picture books, and her first middle grade title, Today I Am was a finalist for the 2025 Forest of Reading Red Maple Award. Richardson holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph and lives in Brampton, Ontario.

Kisha Supernant

Dr. Kisha Supernant (Métis/British) is the Director of the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology and a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta. Her research interests include the use of digital technologies in archaeology, Indigenous archaeology, community-driven research, and heart-centered archaeological practice. Over the past several years, she has been helping Indigenous communities in western Canada use technology to locate and protect unmarked graves.  

She leads the Exploring Métis Identity Through Archaeology (EMITA), a collaborative research project which takes a relational approach to exploring the material past of Métis communities, including her own family, in western Canada.  

She is on the National Advisory Committee on Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and chairs the Canadian Archaeological Association Working Group on Unmarked Graves, which was recently recognized with a Governor General’s Innovation Award. She is also President of the Indigenous Heritage Circle. 

Kai Cheng Thom (moderator)

Kai Cheng Thom, MSW, MSc, Qualified Mediator, and Certified Professional Coach is an author, performer, and noted expert in the fields of trauma healing, professional coaching, somatics, dialogue facilitation, and conflict transformation. As a theorist and practitioner, she has made significant contributions in the area of trauma-informed, social change-oriented approaches to pursuing individual and collective healing and transformation, particularly in her work on Transformative Justice and conflict resolution in activist communities. A widely published author in multiple genres, Kai Cheng's non-fiction essay collection I HOPE WE CHOOSE LOVE: A Trans Girl's Notes From the End of the World was a Stonewall Honor Award book, and her poetry collection Falling Back In Love With Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls was an instant Canadian bestseller. She also wrote 100 editions of the popular advice column Ask Kai: Advice for the Apocalypse for Xtra Magazine. As a Senior Teacher at The Embody Lab and a Faculty Member of the Institute for the Study of Somatic Sex Education, Kai Cheng has trained hundreds of coaches, therapists, counselors, and other health and wellness professionals in body-based, anti-oppressive methods to working with people over the world. 

Pedagogies of togetherness: Practices for inclusive learning 

Date: June 4, 12:15 – 13:15

How can we foster post-secondary environments that embrace collaborative and accessible approaches to teaching and learning while encouraging more just and responsive educational systems? This Big Thinking panel will explore pedagogies of togetherness, including student-centred teaching practices and the integration of research and community engagement that challenge traditional knowledge hierarchies and transcend institutional divides. Panelists will identify methodologies for inclusion and engagement in education to create step changes across the post-secondary landscape —empowering students, educators, and the wider community to shape a better learning ecosystem for all. 

Meet the panelists

Paul Turcotte

Paul Turcotte is a professor in the Department of Philosophy at Cégep du Vieux Montréal and an associate researcher at the Centre de recherche pour l’inclusion des personnes en situation de handicap (CRISPESH). His work focuses on fostering inclusive pedagogical practices, both in response to the diversity of the student body and within the broader framework of college-level education. His research explores the adaptation of Universal Design for Learning to the Quebec college system, as well as the relationship between anxiety and information and communication technologies in education. More recently, his work has turned to outdoor teaching in an interdisciplinary context, always with the same objective: making the reflective rigor of higher education accessible to the widest possible audience. Beyond his work with students, he has collaborated with numerous higher education institutions in Quebec and France, advising them on their transition toward more inclusive learning environments. 

Jessica Riddell

Dr. Jessica Riddell is a Full Professor of Early Modern Literature at Bishop’s University and holds the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair of Undergraduate Teaching Excellence. As founder of the Hope Circuits Institute (HCI), she drives systems-change in higher education, focusing on governance, leadership, and student success. In a landscape rife with indictments of broken systems, her work invites people across the post-secondary ecosystem to co-create blueprints for meaningful rewiring that centers justice, equity, and access. Her 2024 book, Hope Circuits: Rewiring Universities and Other Organizations for Human Flourishing (McGill-Queen's Press), offers a roadmap for this transformation. A recognized leader, scholar, and educator, she serves on multiple boards and has received numerous awards and grants for teaching and leadership, including the 3M National Teaching Fellowship (Canada's highest recognition of educational leadership), the D2L Innovation Award (the highest recognition of innovation in partnerships), and the Forces Avenir award (Quebec's highest recognition of teaching excellence in higher education). 

Normand Labrie (moderator)

Normand Labrie has been President and Vice-Chancellor of the Université de l’Ontario français (UOF) since May 2024. He is also Vice-President and Chair of Council of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.  An expert in bilingualism and language policy with a PhD in linguistics from Université Laval, he has published over 150 scientific works.  A professor at the University of Toronto for more than three decades, he directed the Centre de recherches en éducation franco-ontarienne and served as Associate Dean and Interim Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Toronto (OISE), as well as Scientific Director of the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et culture.  He has also taught as a visiting professor at prestigious universities around the world. His leadership and commitment have been recognized by numerous awards, including Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.