The Path: Panels
Dive into compelling discussions on public service topics with our expert panels. Gain new insights and explore innovative solutions to today’s challenges.
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Panelists
Honoured Guests & Speakers
Hear from distinguished leaders and trailblazers, including the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and Mayor Olivia Chow, as they share their insights and vision for equity, inclusion, and public service.
Friday, March 7, 2025
Sponsored by belairdirect
Toronto Reference Library and Online
2025 - Applauding Women in Public Service
The Honourable
Edith Dumont
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
Mayor of Toronto
Olivia Chow
City of Toronto
Sonia Brar
Chief Technology Officer
City of Toronto
Selina Young
Director of the Indigenous Affairs Office
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
Fatouma Ahmed
Director of Special Projects
Technology Services Division, City of Toronto
Rheana Lye
Chair of TOnow & Business Systems Consultant & Architect
Vice President, Philanthropy at The Canadian Women's Foundation
Suzanne Duncan
Panelists
Applauding Women Role Models
Our panelists inspired attendees as they reflected on pivotal moments that had shaped their careers and offered invaluable advice on personal and professional development. The discussion delved into the importance of female role models, mentors, and women’s networks, as well as explored the differences between men’s and women’s career trajectories.
The conversation also touched upon the pressing issue of equity in the workplace and the state of mentorship and professional networks for the younger generation. Attendees left with a deeper understanding of these topics and insights on how to overcome challenges and excel in their personal and professional lives.
The conversation also touched upon the pressing issue of equity in the workplace and the state of mentorship and professional networks for the younger generation. Attendees left with a deeper understanding of these topics and insights on how to overcome challenges and excel in their personal and professional lives.
Wednesday, March 8, 2025
Sponsored by: Johnson Insurance
Online Webinar
2023 – Applauding Women Role Models
Special Guest
Elizabeth Dowdeswell
29th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
Moderator
Nam Kiwanuka
Co-host,
TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin
Panelist
Priscilla Manful
CEO,
Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto
Panelist
Seher Shafiq
Program Manager,
Mozilla
Panelist
Margaret Eaton
National CEO,
Canadian Mental Health Association
Panelist
Gillian O'Connell
Vice President,
Travel & Group Benefits Strategy,
Johnson Insurance
Travel & Group Benefits Strategy,
Johnson Insurance
The Hidden Heroes of Public Service
April 22nd, 2021 | 12:00-1:30 PM
A Year of battling COVID-19
Serving the public during a time of crisis. Stories of collaboration, adaptability, and resilience
Serving the public during a time of crisis. Stories of collaboration, adaptability, and resilience
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”. Looking back at a year of battling the pandemic, public servants across Canada have proven the famous quote of Hellen Keller right.
The disruption caused by the pandemic put everyone in unchartered territories and forced us to find new ways to continue our everyday lives. In this time of crisis, public servants stood up to the challenge and worked continuously to keep communities afloat: adapting to new procedures and pivoting cross-functional and jurisdictional collaboration like we have never seen before.
The pandemic has proven the essential role of public servants. The efforts of these ‘Hidden Heroes’ often happen behind the scenes, where they are working tirelessly to ensure the support of citizens.
In honour of the resilience of our ‘Hidden Heroes’, Applaud is pleased to provide a virtual panel discussion looking back at a year battling Covid-19.
The disruption caused by the pandemic put everyone in unchartered territories and forced us to find new ways to continue our everyday lives. In this time of crisis, public servants stood up to the challenge and worked continuously to keep communities afloat: adapting to new procedures and pivoting cross-functional and jurisdictional collaboration like we have never seen before.
The pandemic has proven the essential role of public servants. The efforts of these ‘Hidden Heroes’ often happen behind the scenes, where they are working tirelessly to ensure the support of citizens.
In honour of the resilience of our ‘Hidden Heroes’, Applaud is pleased to provide a virtual panel discussion looking back at a year battling Covid-19.
Honouring our Hidden Heroes
Earlier in the year, The Honourable Lieutenant General Elizabeth Dowdeswell released an article to members of Applaud featuring insightful conversations with members of Ontario’s public service. Applaud was inspired to continue to showcase these stories and lift the curtain to highlight these public servants whose efforts often go unnoticed. Thus, ‘The Hidden Heroes of Public Service’ virtual panel was born. The event welcomed over 320+ live attendees and the conversation proved to be extremely fruitful.
The webinar was moderated by TVO’s Steve Paikin and welcomed members of Ontario’s public service including Barb Simmons, Ron Kelusky, Christopher Gonsalves, Emily Tamfo and Spencer Daniels and special guest, The Honourable Lieutenant General Elizabeth Dowdeswell. From the work that was done to create the COVID-19 self assessment app to how this pandemic has affected women and immigrants in our communities, no topic was left untouched.
As the pandemic rages on, public servants have been asked to redefine their roles and adjust quickly and seamlessly to a situation that is constantly changing. The stories of our panelists are just some of many stories. We believe the stories are worth telling and want to hear from you. Send us an email on communications@ontario25.ca
Interested in reading our features on ‘Hidden Heroes of The Public Service’ so far? Click here to read about the Times Change Women’s Employment Centre and click here to learn about the Fleet, Supply and Weapon Services Bureau at the Ontario Provincial Police.
The webinar was moderated by TVO’s Steve Paikin and welcomed members of Ontario’s public service including Barb Simmons, Ron Kelusky, Christopher Gonsalves, Emily Tamfo and Spencer Daniels and special guest, The Honourable Lieutenant General Elizabeth Dowdeswell. From the work that was done to create the COVID-19 self assessment app to how this pandemic has affected women and immigrants in our communities, no topic was left untouched.
As the pandemic rages on, public servants have been asked to redefine their roles and adjust quickly and seamlessly to a situation that is constantly changing. The stories of our panelists are just some of many stories. We believe the stories are worth telling and want to hear from you. Send us an email on communications@ontario25.ca
Interested in reading our features on ‘Hidden Heroes of The Public Service’ so far? Click here to read about the Times Change Women’s Employment Centre and click here to learn about the Fleet, Supply and Weapon Services Bureau at the Ontario Provincial Police.
Spencer Daniels
Senior Product Manager, TBS, Spencer Daniels and his team are the masterminds behind the COVID-19 self assessment app and other tools to help Ontarians.
“For the last month, my team has been hard at work building Ontario.ca/bookvaccine that gets people where they need to go to get vaccinated, whether that’s a local health centre or a mass vaccination clinic. We’ve had 10 million eligibility checks performed in just the last 10 days, so it’s been nonstop for us since last March”
Emily Tamfo
Working in tandem with Daniels and his team, was Emily Tamfo, former Senior Product Manager for The Ontario Cabinet Office, who along with her team, was the visionairy behind covid-19.ontario.ca
“We have built a variety of features that have been accessed over 60 million times across Ontario, one of our most popular features is our data visualization where you can see really easy to use graphs and tables of COVID-19 data”
Christopher Gonsalves
Director of Strategy and Delivery, Ministry of Consumer Services, Christopher Gonsalves and his team, along with cross government teams, had to pivot from the work that they were doing and establish a brand new centralized coordinated function that had to plan, procure, warehouse and distribute PPE to support workers performing critical services across Ontario.
“We did this at a time when the global market was very disrupted and when there were thousands of organizations across Ontario competing with each other and with the rest of the world for the same supplies. We were very dependant on foreign sources of supply. In the past year we have built something that has acquired over a billion dollars worth of PPE and distributed over 400 million pieces of PPE to tens of thousands of locations across the province to help keep the health sector, education workers, and other critical sector workers safe to perform their essential functions.”
Barb Simmons
Director, Policy, Citizenship and Immigration Division & Office of Women’s Issues, Barb Simmons and her team have had a full plate when it comes to adapting to the age of the pandemic.
“What we’ve been focused on for immigration is working very closely with the federal government to implement border restrictions and fundamentally shut down immigration into Canada for the duration of the emergency. Then we had to swiftly work on rule changes to allow people who are already here, and people who must come in, like temporary foreign works or for agricultural purposes, to allow them to come in safely and work safely and change the rules of immigration and work permits to enable that. And then on women’s issues, we are working on the economic recovery from the she-session, which really reflects the disproportionate economic impact on women from the pandemic. Also I’ve been working closely with a number of First Nations, Metis and Inuit organizations to develop Ontario’s response to the national inquiry on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. We’ve had a very front row seat on the impact that the pandemic has had on our First Nations partners as well.”
Ron Kelusky
Chief Prevention Officer, ADM, Labour, Training and Skills Development, Ron Kelusky and his team normally help manage the health and safety of workers in Ontario. Due to COVID-19, they have had to quickly adjust to a new health and safety concern.
“In Covid times, we became what I would characterize as the ‘translator of information’ for essential businesses on what their responsibilities are to keep their workers safe while they remained open as an essential business, as a business that was reopening after the first phase, through the period of colour coding, now into the third wave. We have produced probably 250 or more guidance documents, videos on infectious prevention and control, tip sheets, safety plans. You name it, we’ve produced it.”
Special Guest
The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell
29th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell is the 29th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. As the representative of His Majesty The King, Ms. Dowdeswell carries out constitutional and ceremonial duties and facilitates healthy citizen and community engagement.
Ms. Dowdeswell has served the public interest at all orders of government and in the private sector. She contributed globally as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. In Canada, her diverse portfolios ranged from education and culture to environment and the management of complex public enquiries. She was the founding president and CEO of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, and later the president and CEO of the Council of Canadian Academies. She has served on the boards of Canadian and international corporate and non-profit organizations.
Since taking office in late 2014, Ms. Dowdeswell has challenged Ontarians to think deeply about their role not just as residents of a province, but as global citizens. Building resilience and sustainability through inclusive economic prosperity, environmental stewardship, and social cohesion, as well as safeguarding democracy, has been the focus of her mandate.
Ms. Dowdeswell has a Bachelor of Science in home economics, a teaching certificate from the University of Saskatchewan, and a master of science in behavioural sciences from Utah State University. She is an officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Ontario, and the recipient of numerous distinctions and fellowships. She holds 11 honorary doctorates.
Ms. Dowdeswell has served the public interest at all orders of government and in the private sector. She contributed globally as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. In Canada, her diverse portfolios ranged from education and culture to environment and the management of complex public enquiries. She was the founding president and CEO of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, and later the president and CEO of the Council of Canadian Academies. She has served on the boards of Canadian and international corporate and non-profit organizations.
Since taking office in late 2014, Ms. Dowdeswell has challenged Ontarians to think deeply about their role not just as residents of a province, but as global citizens. Building resilience and sustainability through inclusive economic prosperity, environmental stewardship, and social cohesion, as well as safeguarding democracy, has been the focus of her mandate.
Ms. Dowdeswell has a Bachelor of Science in home economics, a teaching certificate from the University of Saskatchewan, and a master of science in behavioural sciences from Utah State University. She is an officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Ontario, and the recipient of numerous distinctions and fellowships. She holds 11 honorary doctorates.
Moderator
Nam Kiwanuka
Co-host,
TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin
Nam Kiwanuka is co-host of TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin, Ontario’s leading daily primetime current affairs show, the host of The Thread, TVO’s multi-platform show on current affairs issues, and host of The Agenda in the Summer.
Prior to this, she was a MuchMusic VJ and Videographer; worked with the NBA, Sportsnet; and was a columnist for the BBC’s Focus on Africa magazine. Nam has interviewed many high-profile personalities, including Salman Rushdie, Roberta Bondar, Masai Ujiri, Britney Spears and Magic Johnson. Connect with Nam and her upcoming projects on Twitter.
Prior to this, she was a MuchMusic VJ and Videographer; worked with the NBA, Sportsnet; and was a columnist for the BBC’s Focus on Africa magazine. Nam has interviewed many high-profile personalities, including Salman Rushdie, Roberta Bondar, Masai Ujiri, Britney Spears and Magic Johnson. Connect with Nam and her upcoming projects on Twitter.
Panelist
Priscilla Manful
CEO,
Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto
Priscilla Manful was appointed Chief Executive Officer at the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (CCAS) in 2022. She is the first Black CEO of CCAS and brings a wealth of knowledge to the role from her 20 years of experience in the social services sector. Throughout her career, Priscilla has cultivated a leadership style that is based on collaboration and inclusiveness. She is committed to bringing culturally responsive supports and services to children, youth and families in the Catholic community of Toronto. Priscilla prides herself in asking tough questions and challenging the status quo.
“As the first Black African CEO at CCAS, I am conscious of the substantial role that the organization, in concert with other systems, play in the lives of children, youth and their families in influencing their well-being,” says Ms. Manful. “I also understand the social locations, social identities, disadvantages and the lived experiences of the marginalized groups and individuals that we serve.”
Priscilla joined CCAS as a student in 2007. Since then, she’s held various positions in child welfare service delivery, with a focus on developing stronger community partnerships to better meet the needs of children, youth and families in Toronto’s Catholic community. She is interested in how the legal profession, law enforcement, the education system and child welfare can work better together to empower families. She is passionate about equal and equitable educational opportunities for children and young people in care so they can achieve their hopes, dreams and goals.
Under her leadership, CCAS implemented the Africentric Wraparound model. This approach to service delivery examines the service system’s collective response to supporting Black families to disrupt Anti-Black racism and provide identity-affirming services to children, youth and families of African-descent. This model has reduced the number of Black children and youth coming into CCAS care.
“As the first Black African CEO at CCAS, I am conscious of the substantial role that the organization, in concert with other systems, play in the lives of children, youth and their families in influencing their well-being,” says Ms. Manful. “I also understand the social locations, social identities, disadvantages and the lived experiences of the marginalized groups and individuals that we serve.”
Priscilla joined CCAS as a student in 2007. Since then, she’s held various positions in child welfare service delivery, with a focus on developing stronger community partnerships to better meet the needs of children, youth and families in Toronto’s Catholic community. She is interested in how the legal profession, law enforcement, the education system and child welfare can work better together to empower families. She is passionate about equal and equitable educational opportunities for children and young people in care so they can achieve their hopes, dreams and goals.
Under her leadership, CCAS implemented the Africentric Wraparound model. This approach to service delivery examines the service system’s collective response to supporting Black families to disrupt Anti-Black racism and provide identity-affirming services to children, youth and families of African-descent. This model has reduced the number of Black children and youth coming into CCAS care.
Panelist
Seher Shafiq
Program Manager,
Mozilla
Seher is a national civic leader with over 10 years of experience working on some of Canada’s most pressing civic challenges. Seher is also an experienced writer, speaker, and consultant whose commentary has been featured in radio, print, and TV with CBC, TVO, Global News, CTV CP24, Toronto Star, Al Jazeera, and more.
Currently, Seher works for the Mozilla Foundation where she runs a global program on ethical and trustworthy AI.
Prior to this, Seher led the Active Citizenship Project at North York Community House, where she co-designed new civic engagement programming for settlement agencies across Canada.
In 2019, Seher led the country’s very first national non-partisan voter engagement campaign out of TMU’s Democratic Engagement Exchange. As part of this campaign, Seher travelled coast-to-coast to deliver voter engagement trainings to community-based organizations across the country and convened the Canadian Vote Coalition, the first campaign of its kind.
From 2017-2019, Seher was a Program Manager for the flagship DiverseCity Fellows program at CivicAction. Seher also has experience working in the refugee and resettlement sector at Lifeline Syria, as well as at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
Currently, Seher works for the Mozilla Foundation where she runs a global program on ethical and trustworthy AI.
Prior to this, Seher led the Active Citizenship Project at North York Community House, where she co-designed new civic engagement programming for settlement agencies across Canada.
In 2019, Seher led the country’s very first national non-partisan voter engagement campaign out of TMU’s Democratic Engagement Exchange. As part of this campaign, Seher travelled coast-to-coast to deliver voter engagement trainings to community-based organizations across the country and convened the Canadian Vote Coalition, the first campaign of its kind.
From 2017-2019, Seher was a Program Manager for the flagship DiverseCity Fellows program at CivicAction. Seher also has experience working in the refugee and resettlement sector at Lifeline Syria, as well as at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
Panelist
Margaret Eaton
National CEO,
Canadian Mental Health Association
Since January 2020, Margaret has served as National CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Associations—at 104 years old, CMHA is the most extensive and established community mental health organization in the country.
Prior to joining CMHA, Margaret served for seven years as Executive Director of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC), a multi-stakeholder council that brings leaders together to create and champion solutions to better integrate immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) labour market.
Previously, she served as President of ABC Life Literacy and held leadership roles with the Association of Canadian Publishers and Magazines Canada. She has also worked in marketing and fundraising roles for arts organizations including Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Stratford Festival. She has volunteered as a mentor for the Canadian Marketing Hall of Legends and as a board member and advisor for many not-for-profit organizations in immigration, literacy and the arts.
In 2012, she was awarded a Diamond Jubilee medal for contributions to literacy and culture. In 2021, Margaret was named one of the Hill Times’ Top 100 Lobbyists and CMHA ranked sixth on the Forbes’ list of Canada’s Best Employers.
Prior to joining CMHA, Margaret served for seven years as Executive Director of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC), a multi-stakeholder council that brings leaders together to create and champion solutions to better integrate immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) labour market.
Previously, she served as President of ABC Life Literacy and held leadership roles with the Association of Canadian Publishers and Magazines Canada. She has also worked in marketing and fundraising roles for arts organizations including Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Stratford Festival. She has volunteered as a mentor for the Canadian Marketing Hall of Legends and as a board member and advisor for many not-for-profit organizations in immigration, literacy and the arts.
In 2012, she was awarded a Diamond Jubilee medal for contributions to literacy and culture. In 2021, Margaret was named one of the Hill Times’ Top 100 Lobbyists and CMHA ranked sixth on the Forbes’ list of Canada’s Best Employers.
Panelist
Gillian O'Connell
Vice President, Travel & Group Benefits Strategy, Johnson Insurance
Gillian is an experienced insurance leader with a focus on finance, travel and group benefits. She began her career as a CA with PWC before being appointed Controller of Johnson Insurance. She has held various finance and P&L roles during her nearly 20 year career with Johnson.
Gillian holds a BComm from Memorial University of Newfoundland and has studied internationally. Gillian is an avid volunteer with minor hockey and when not working can generally be found in a rink, gym or on a soccer field watching her two active boys in their various sporting events.
Gillian holds a BComm from Memorial University of Newfoundland and has studied internationally. Gillian is an avid volunteer with minor hockey and when not working can generally be found in a rink, gym or on a soccer field watching her two active boys in their various sporting events.