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Presenters |
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Dave Wallace dwwallace@toronto.ca Dave Wallace became the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the City of Toronto in May 2007. He is responsible for overseeing the City’s Information and Technology (I&T) services, working closely with the City’s divisions in support of their services to the public. He is also focusing on establishing a new organizational structure with an emphasis on strategies and business services functional responsibility. The result will be a new level of I&T services in the City that will transform the way I&T is delivered to meet both the City strategic and program specific needs now and into the future. Prior to joining the City, Dave was Vice-President of the National Public Sector Program at Chartwell Inc., where he provided advisory services, leadership and support to all three levels of government. He has completed many successful projects across the country in the areas of enterprise architecture, project portfolio management, applications development life cycle, IT service catalogue and business architecture. Dave has held many key roles in more than 20 years of service with the Ontario Government. He served for three years as the first Corporate Chief Technology Officer (CTO) within the OPS, reporting to the Office of the Corporate Chief Information Officer. In establishing the CTO’s Office, Dave created a flexible, agile team that provided strategic guidance to business areas on technology and information management trends, architecture methods, and standards. Dave was also Head Architect in the Office of the Corporate Chief Strategist, Manager of the Technology Architecture Management Office (Ministry of Transportation), and Senior Business Analyst (Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations). Dave has a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Business Management from Ryerson University (Computer Science and Accounting/Finance majors). He has been a member of the Canadian Information Processing Society and received the Information Systems Professional (ISP) designation.
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Sue Corke scorke@toronto.ca Sue Corke has been with the City of Toronto as a Deputy City Manager since May 2005. Prior to this, she was a member of the Ontario Public Service, joining as a housing policy analyst in 1981 and leaving as Deputy Minister of Consumer and Business Services (MCBS) in 2005. During those 24 years, Sue gradually increased her scope and understanding of public policy and service delivery through such positions as Director, Housing Advocacy Task Force; Director, Strategic Alliance (MCCR - Teranet); Director, Provincial Facilitator’s Office (MMAH); Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy & Consumer Protection Services (MCBS); culminating in her leadership role as Deputy Minister (MCBS). Of particular interest has been her work with the new Affordable Housing Office, 3-1-1, and an inter-governmental team focussed on strategies to mitigate guns and gang violence in Toronto’s at risk neighbourhoods. More recently she established of the Toronto Office of Partnership (TOP). Sue has lived in Canada for over 30 years, completing a B.A in Economics and Sociology and an M.Sc in urban and regional planning at the University of Toronto. She has a special interest in dispute resolution, conflict management and intergovernmental collaboration.
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Marj akerley makerley@NRCan.gc.ca As the Chief Information Officer at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Marj Akerley is dedicated to finding innovative solutions to age old information management challenges. Her leadership in the implementation of collaborative technologies at NRCan coupled with her bold new approaches to addressing the science-based knowledge needs of the department have resulted in accessible tools, like the NRCan Resource Wiki. Launched to all employees in October 2007, the Wiki not only provided a collaborative platform for employees, it initiated a cultural change in the department. With a focus on increasing collaboration and integrating departmental knowledge, Marj developed a Collaborative Technologies Business Case for NRCan which lays out a three tiered plan to roll out a number of technologies over four years. Marj joined NRCan in June 2005 as the Director General of Information Management Branch. She is a recent Queen’s University Executive MBA graduate. |
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Dominic Bortolussi dominic@theworkinggroup.ca Dominic Bortolussi is founder of The Working Group, a web development agency that focuses on creating better ways for people to interact, collaborate and be productive through the web. With projects ranging from social network tools for investors to next-generation fundraising systems for charities and community agencies, Dominic brings a breadth of experiences and know-how to discussions about how to best harness web technology for day to day problems.
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Richard Butts rbutts@toronto.ca Richard Butts was appointed Deputy City Manager for the City of Toronto in February 2007. He is responsible for corporate oversight, administrative governance and coordinating the collective expertise of the City on major city-wide initiatives and projects. Previously, Richard was General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services, responsible for collecting, transporting, processing, composting and disposal of municipal and private sector solid waste, organics and recyclables as well as household hazardous waste for the City of Toronto. Richard started with the City in 1999. Over the last nine years, he has held progressively responsible positions including Director of Solid Waste Management Transfer, Processing and Disposal Operations, Director of Solid Waste Management Collections; and Acting Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards. Before coming to the City, he spent 12 years with Laidlaw Waste System and Waste Management Inc. in multiple capacities. He has been involved extensively in Residential Collection, Diversion, Processing and Transfer Station Operations since 1988.
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Colin Chan colin.chan@ontario.ca Colin Chan is Web Specialist, e-Government Branch, for the Government of Ontario, where he advises and works on web projects and policies for government websites. Colin began his career in the private sector, working for companies such as Telesat Canada and Nortel Networks. He has completed his degree in Electrical Engineering. |
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Sacha Chua sachac@ca.ibm.com Sacha Chua is a Web 2.0 evangelist with IBM Canada. She helps organizations and people learn more about emerging topics such as Web 2.0 and social computing: what it is, how to incorporate it into business strategies, how to design and implement solutions, and how to use these tools effectively and bring them into the workplace culture. Her personal blog is at http://sachachua.com |
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Martin Cleaver martin@cleaver.org Martin is principal of Toronto-based Blended Perspectives Inc., which provides collaboration strategy and solutions to the insurance, transportation and healthcare industries. Martin has been consulting on open methods since 2001 and now has a chair position at WikiSym, the international conference on wikis. He holds an M.Sc. Computing Science, and an MBA from Melbourne Business School in Australia. Martin runs Toronto Wiki Tuesdays, a monthly event dedicated to Internet, Intranet and Extranet deployments of wikis. |
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Ken Cochrane ken.cochrane@tbs-sct.gc.ca Ken Cochrane is Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Government of Canada, responsible for setting strategic directions for information management (IM), information technology (IT) and service delivery. He is also responsible for developing and implementing strategies, policies, standards and key performance indicators to improve service delivery, IM, IT, privacy and security in departments and agencies.
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Saul Colt saul@freshbooks.com Saul Colt likes to build stuff, but since he isn't that handy he chooses to assist in growing great companies. As Zipcar Inc's first international employee, Saul launched the company's first foray into the Canadian market and was instrumental in getting the Toronto operation off the ground. Saul is an accomplished marketing professional, with more than a decade of diverse high-level experience. He is also a respected publisher, having led his company SSS Comics to infamy, super-hero style. He is currently As “Head of Magic” for FreshBooks, When Saul is not working he can be found watching TV or playing spin the bottle. |
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Peter Cowan pcowan@NRCan.gc.ca Peter Cowan is Director of Enterprise Information Management at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). He has been instrumental in implementing social and collaborative technologies in the department, the first of which was a wiki for use by all employees in October 2007. Peter continues to champion the use of social collaboration tools at NRCan as a way to change the culture of the department to a more open, collaborative and integrated knowledge organization. Peter has been involved in building websites and implementing information management solutions for the past 12 years. He played a key role in the launch of the Canada site - business component. He also led the acquisition of the Government of Canada's portal, content management, and search solutions. Peter has a Bachelors degree in Philosophy and a Masters in Public Administration.
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Matthew Cowley mcowley@toronto.ca Matthew Cowley has worked for the City of Toronto's Public Consultation Unit since June 2006. In that time he has worked on numerous environmental assessments, from local watermain projects to the Transit City studies. He has facilitated consultation for the Toronto Walking Strategy and was coordinator of the seventh international Walk21 conference. Previous to working at the City he completed a Masters in Environmental Studies and Planning from York University. |
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Nick Dawson ndawson@rim.com As Manager, Public Sector for Research In Motion (RIM), Nick Dawson is responsible for the direct strategic public sector team in Canada and the northern US. He has over 13 years of experience in the IT industry and is particularly focused on helping customers unleash their backend IT systems, business processes, and organizational knowledge for better delivery of services where these are required.
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Robert Davis bdavis@toronto.ca Robert Davis has been practicing public consultation for over 20 years with the private sector, Metro and the City of Toronto. He is the Supervisor - Public Consultation overseeing the Public Consultation Unit as it designs, plans, facilitates and documents over 100 projects and facilitates over 200 events yearly for Solid Waste Management Services, Toronto Water, Transportation Services, Toronto Environment Office and the TTC. Robert has a degree in Urban Studies/Sociology from York University. |
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Councillor Mike Del Grande mdelgra@toronto.ca As a 23 year resident of Ward 39, Scarborough Agincourt, Mike Del Grande has been active in many local groups, including everything from Community Association President, Neighbourhood Watch, Block Parent, Boy Scouts, Church Treasurer and Religious Instructor. These activities led to Municipal and Federal recognition as an active volunteer. From 1993-2003 he served as the Catholic School Board Trustee for Ward 7 and in 2003 was elected as the Chair of the Board. A chartered accountant by profession, Mike holds a B. Comm., degree, a Masters in Theological Studies and a Bachelor of Education degree. He has held senior positions at Shoppers Drug Mart, from where he retired in 2000. Past stints have also included The Office of the Provincial Auditor and Westinghouse Canada.
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John Elvidge jelvidge@toronto.ca John Elvidge is Director, Secretariat for the City Clerk's Office. His office stages more than 450 meetings of City Council, committees and boards annually and maintains all of the legislative documents. Already a major contributor of content to the City's website, the City Clerk's Office is looking to develop new online tools such as the Meeting Monitor to improve public engagement in the City's official decision-making process. |
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Maryantonett Flumian maryantonett.flumian@uottawa.ca Maryantonett Flumian is a senior executive at the Deputy Minister level in the Canadian federal public service with more than 20 years of large-scale operational experience in the economic, social and federal/provincial domains, and is internationally recognized for her work as a transformational leader across many complex areas of public policy and administration. She was executive-in-residence, Jarislowsky Chair in Public Management in 2006 and became Senior Research Fellow, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, at the University of Ottawa in 2007. Maryantonett holds degrees from the University of Toronto, the University of Ottawa and is completing her doctoral studies at the University of Ottawa on the administrative history of the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada. Her current research focuses on leadership, collaboration and governance primarily in the area of citizen-centered social services. Maryantonett sits on the advisory board of the Harvard Policy Group, John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the advisory group of nGenera Government 2.0: Wikinomics, Government and Democracy research program.
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Elizabeth glass eglass@torontopubliclibrary.ca Elizabeth Glass is Manager of Planning and Development at Toronto Public Library. Her responsibilities include policy development, strategic and service planning as well as staff training. Her most recent project was developing Toronto Public Library’s new strategic plan: Our Shared Stories: Writing the Future of Toronto Libraries 2008-2011 created with consultation with over 2,000 stakeholders, staff and residents. Other recent projects include coordinating of staff training for Web 2.0 and the development of a policy on staff participation in online communities.
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Eion Gomes eion.gomes@ontario.ca Eion joined the Ontario Public Service (OPS) in 1973. He has held a broad range of management positions and accountabilities in information technology, application & security architecture, breakthrough initiatives, application development, information management, and I&IT planning areas. Eion is currently the Head of the Technology Adoption Branch in the Office of the Corporate Chief Technology Officer (OCCTO) in the Ministry of Government Services. The branch is responsible for researching, piloting and recommending emerging technologies, management of provincial IT standards, management of ITSM standards and IT industry liaison.
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Linda Hazzan lhazzan@torontopubliclibrary.ca As the Toronto Public Library’s Director, Marketing & Communications, Linda is responsible for all aspects of the Library’s customer and corporate communications and system-wide programming and special events, including: media and public relations, marketing communications and promotion, library publications, and online programs and communications. Prior to joining the Library, Linda held numerous marketing and production management positions in the high tech sector, helping to develop, deliver and promote new and emerging technologies throughout North America. |
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Robert Hilts rhilts@gmail.com Robert created the Junctioneer blog with the aim of linking the residents of this community together. The intent is for it to thread together the wide variety of people living in the Junction by exploring the community from street level to the aspirations that so many residents have for the Junction. It provides viewpoints from several contributors, including Louis Marrone, Junction Residents Association chair. Robert is also the chair of the Junction Communities in Bloom committee.
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David Hume dbhume@yahoo.com David Hume is recently returned from New Zealand, where he helped lead development of the national government's handbook for citizen engagement, the Guide to Online Participation, and worked with NZ Members of Parliament to think through how technology could improve their work as representatives. He has been active in New Brunswick, where he worked on one of that province's Public Engagement Initiative pilots, the Skills Summit Process. An experienced leader of engagement processes, he spent five years working with the Crossing Boundaries National Council and the KTA Centre for Collaborative Governance on multi-stakeholder and citizen-based policy development projects, and has assisted international organizations like the UN and the OECD on issues related to technology and governance. Now based in Ottawa, David is an Associate of MASS LBP (www.masslbp.com), a new kind of company that works with visionary corporations and government to deepen and improve consultation and public engagement. He is principal of his own firm, CoCreative Services (www.cocreative.ca).
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Sabrina Kandasamy skandasamy@torcvb.com Director, Online Marketing, Tourism Toronto Tourism Toronto is the official destination-marketing organization for Toronto’s tourism industry. Tourism Toronto focuses on promoting and selling the greater Toronto region as a remarkable destination for tourists, convention delegates and business travelers. Officially operating as a not-for-profit agency; Tourism Toronto has over 1,000 members and is a partnership of public and private sectors. Its mission is to be the authoritative source for greater Toronto region tourism knowledge, providing unparalleled industry insight and opportunities to our members and visitors, resulting in a rich destination experience for all concerned.
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Melissa Lackan mlackan@hotmail.com Student, Centennial College
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Maura Lawless maura@the519.org Maura Lawless has over 17 years of experience working in the housing and homeless sectors in senior non-profit positions, as well as in the public service for the City of Toronto. Maura’s expertise and passion is in organizational development, financial and systems management, strategic planning, and ensuring that community services are accessible and responsive, and create genuine opportunities that transform people’s lives. Maura joined The 519 Community Centre as the executive director in December 2007. The Centre responds creatively and passionately to the needs of the local neighbourhood and the broader LGBT communities by providing resources and opportunities to foster self-determination, civic engagement, community enrichment through the arts and culture, and community participation.
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Louis Marrone louis@baamproductions.com Louis Marrone has been a Junction resident for five years. Interested in community organization and participation, he has sat on the Junction Forum for Art and Culture (JFAC), since 2007. JFAC is the organization created by the Junction Business Improvement Area (BIA), and is responsible for the annual Junction Arts Festival. His involvement in JFAC introduced him to many members of the BIA, the Councillor and active community members. He also chaired the BIA banner committee, responsible for designing and installing the utility pole banners on Dundas St. West. When friend Robert Hilts created the Junctioneer eight months ago, Louis readily agreed to be a contributor, intrigued by the potential for the blog to be a vehicle for the community to define itself and keep informed about its neighbourhood. He has been the chair of the newly-formed Junction Residents Association (JRA) as of September, and since that time has been working with Robert to make the Junctioneer a vibrant platform for relating JRA information and encouraging community discussion, as well as making it the main resource for all West Toronto RAs and community groups. Louis is employed as a Project Manager for BaAM Productions and holds an honours BA in Philosophy from the University of Guelph.
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Steve Mast smast@delvinia.com Steve has been referred to as the "digital architect." He was in fact educated as an architect, toured the Northwest Territories with geologists and was a video game producer for a 20-person firm which quickly grew to 400 strong. His keen eye for design, innovation and understanding of technology stem from this uniquely diverse background. Steve has also directed and produced TV spots, music videos and special effects for feature films. Steve joined Delvinia Group of Companies in 2000 to build its interactive design and digital marketing practice and is now a partner and Vice President-Managing Director with the growing firm. His focus on strategy, creativity and superior client service has been pivotal in creating Delvinia’s current list of distinguished clientele, including RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank International, and Random House. When he has a minute or two away from his busy work schedule he can be found blogging, twittering, chairing councils and committees and speaking at various industry events. Currently he is the Vice-Chair of the Marketing and Customer Experience Council for the Canadian Marketing Association and is the Co-Chair of the Digital Marketing Conference which is Canada’s largest two-day digital conference.
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Derek Matthew dmatthe@toronto.ca Derek began his career as a freelance graphic designer creating innovative and new ideas and marketing materials for companies like Big Shot Media and Best Western. He is currently the chief designer for the City of Toronto Web Centre team. Derek is responsible for the redesign and development of toronto.ca. He provides ideas for developing web and Internet strategies that provide new direction for the development for the City of Toronto websites. |
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Chris McCreery info@lin.ca Chris McCreery is Senior Technology Specialist for the Lifestyle Information Network, which he joined in February 2002. He has experience in web design and development, software and technical support. Chris has a diploma in Business Information Systems from Fanshawe College and now resides in London.
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Eric Meerkamper eric@decode.net Eric Meerkamper is a partner at DECODE, a company devoted to building stronger relationships between organizations and youth, young adults and young families.
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Councillor Joe Mihevc
councillor_mihevc@toronto.ca
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Councillor Peter Milczyn councillor_milczyn@toronto.ca A lifelong passion for architecture and urban design coupled with his interest in municipal affairs convinced Peter to seek elected office and in 1994 he was elected to serve as a Councillor with the former City of Etobicoke.
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Councillor Ron Moeser councillor_moeser@toronto.ca Prior to the current session, Ron Moeser brought 15 years of experience to City Council, nine years as Councillor for Scarborough. Ron has been involved and he accomplished many important objectives during his tenure as Councillor for Ward 44. Among other achievements, he organized and fought for the preservation of the Rouge Valley by bringing together all the Community Associations in Scarborough (C.O.S.C.A.) to help create Canada's largest urban park. He secured funding and approvals for the Port Union Waterfront and Village Common including the tunnel to the waterfront and was instrumental in the rebuilding of Heron Park Community Centre and the restoration of the swimming pool and children's play park. He secured and maintained funding for the 43 Division Police Station, and was instrumental in securing the funds for the Bill Dempsey EcoPark located at the head waters of the Centennial Creek in Highland Creek. He obtained funding for the purchase and restoration of the Morrish Store in Highland Creek. During his year tenure not one creek system was buried in Ward 44.
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Judy Morgan jmorgan1@toronto.ca Judy Morgan is Director, Program Support, a recently created section in the City’s Economic Development, Culture and Tourism Division. The section is responsible for the division’s marketing and communications activities. While the division already is using electronic and web-based technologies extensively, there are plans to do much more in this area in the future. Judy has more than 30 years experience working for the City of Toronto as a professional planner and in economic development. Her background includes extensive work in downtown and commercial revitalization, strategic planning and tourism development. She has a Masters Degree in Urban & Regional Planning and a B.A. in Geography, both from the University of Toronto.
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Anil Patel apatel@timeraiser.ca Anil has been leading Framework from its inception in 2002. He was instrumental in the development of the Timeraiser program and is a passionate advocate for civic engagement, healthier communities and capacity building in the non-profit sector.
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Brenda Patterson bpatter2@toronto.ca Brenda Patterson is General Manager of the Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division in Toronto, where she has responsibility for the management of Our Common Grounds, a strategic plan that guides the work of the division. The division delivers leisure and recreation programs and stewards the City’s parks and urban forest. Prior to her recent move to Parks, Forestry and Recreation, Brenda spent 22 years with the Children’s Services Division, most recently as the General Manager. Brenda is currently the President of the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association.
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Rick Powers rpowers@toronto.ca Rick is currently the Statistical and Research Consultant for the City of Toronto’s Children’s Services Division. He has more than 15 years experience developing innovative applications, survey tools and information products for decision support, community engagement and citizen access. He was an early adopter and proponent of first generation interactive web technologies including bulletin boards and collaboration suites, team intranets and portals. In 1997 Rick led his Informatics Centre team to develop the “Connected City” CNE Festival of the Future exhibit including prototype kiosks, online payments, streaming council video, discussion forums, remote deputations and more. He continues to seek innovative solutions for government to business and citizen communication and interaction.
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Jane Pyper citylibrarian@torontopubliclibrary.ca Jane Pyper has an accomplished career as a public librarian. A member of Toronto Public Library senior management team since the City of Toronto was amalgamated in 1998, Jane was appointed Chief Librarian in September 2008. Ms. Pyper brings 25 years of library service to her role as leader of the world’s busiest urban public library system – including assignments at the Fort McMurray Public Library, University of Toronto Libraries, and even a short stint at New York Public Library. Just prior to her appointment as Toronto’s Chief Librarian, Jane was Director, Planning, Policy and City-Wide Services for Toronto Public Library. In this role, she worked with successive library boards to develop three strategic plans, which have provided focus and direction for the library over the past decade. At the core of Jane’s library service is her commitment to, and strong belief in the importance of the library to individuals, families and communities. Her recent work in developing extensive public consultation processes attests to her determination to keep Toronto Public Library inclusive, transparent and accountable. And her efforts to keep the library vibrant and relevant in Toronto’s increasingly diverse communities is reflected, in part, in her extensive work building and enabling successful partnerships at community, city, provincial and even federal levels. Jane holds a diploma in public administration and a masters of library science from the University of Western Ontario, and is active in her profession through numerous library associations including CLA, CULC, OLA, ALA and IFLA. Toronto Public Library is the world’s busiest urban library.
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Omar Rashid omar.rashid@microsoft.com As Industry Director for Government, Omar Rashid is responsible for leading Microsoft Canada’s strategic engagement with local and regional governments across Canada. Omar is also the lead for Microsoft Canada's solutions efforts in emergency response and public safety.
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Christine Raissis craissis@toronto.ca As Director, Economic Research & Business Information with the City of Toronto, Christine Raissis is responsible for economic research, policy and long term planning in the Economic Development, Culture and Tourism Division. Christine's team supports the Mayor's Economic Competitiveness Advisory Committee and is guiding the development of Toronto's new Agenda for Prosperity. This builds on her previous work as lead for Toronto's Economic Development Strategy (2000), a Toronto Region Labour Force Readiness Plan and supporting cluster benchmarking, which was awarded the International Economic Development Council's International Award in 2001. She also was a team member on an international research project, "Imagine a Toronto," which identified strategies to enhance and leverage Toronto's creative advantage.
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Gary Schlee gary.schlee@gmail.com Gary Schlee operates Gary Schlee Communications. He recently retired as a communications professor at Centennial College, where he was one of the first instructors to integrate Web 2.0 into the curriculum. An accredited business communicator through the International Association of Business Communicators, Gary has worked in corporate communication and journalism. He blogs about public relations education in Canada and also has a blog about the history of Toronto's Bedford Park community. |
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Tim Shore tim@blogto.com Tim Shore is the founder and publisher of blogto.com, a web site about Toronto news, arts and culture. It was recently ranked number 11 in Backbone Magazine and KPMG's PICK 20 roundup of Canada's Web 2.0 pioneers. blogTO also publishes a growing series of Toronto neighbourhood maps, details of which can be viewed at blogto.com/torontomaps |
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Mark Surman mark@mozillafoundation.org Mark Surman is in the business of connecting things: people, ideas, everything. A community technology activist for almost 20 years, Mark is currently the executive director of the Mozilla Foundation, with a focus on inventing new ways to promote openness and opportunity on the Internet. On the side, Mark convenes conversations about ‘open everything‘ in his home town of Toronto and around the world.
Before joining Mozilla, Mark was an open philanthropy fellow at the Shuttleworth Foundation in South Africa, he invented new ways to apply open source thinking to social innovation. Earlier, he was the founding director of telecentre.org, a $26 million effort to network community technology activists in countries around the world. Mark has also served as president of the Commons Group, Director of Content and Community at Web Networks and senior advisor to the Volunteer @ction Online grants program team. Mark’s first real job was training social activists to make their own documentaries in the early 1990s.
Mark’s biggest fetishes are community, conversation and collaboration. He has facilitated over three dozen participatory workshops and unconferences, including Open Everything, Hollyhock’s Web of Change, CopyCamp, PenguinDay.ca and countless telecentre.org events. “Passionate conversation,” says Mark, “is an essential fuel for building successful networks and communities.”
In his years as an activist, consultant and funder, Mark has worked closely with some amazing people and organizations. His favourites include: Sarvodaya, Aspiration, the Association for Progressive Communications, the International Development Research Centre, Communicopia, Mary Helen Spence, rabble.ca, the Shuttleworth Foundation, Zhaba, and the Centre for Social Innovation. “I wouldn’t be me had I not worked with these folks,” says Mark. When he finds time, Mark likes to write about community, technology and changing the world. He’s proud to have written things like From the Ground Up (a nice picture book about why telecentres matter), Commonspace (FT.com book about web 2.0, written before there was web 2.0) and Appropriating Technology for Social Change (SSRC research paper about activism on the Internet). When he was still an idealistic student, he wrote From VTR to Cyberspace, an illustrated essay about Gramsci, community television and the Internet. Now his idealistic ramblings appear on his blog.
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Margaret Szots mszots@toronto.ca Margaret Szots began her career with the City of Toronto in the Social Service Division, over 18 years ago. She is now embarking on a new path, transitioning to the City’s Human Resources group. Margaret’s initial interest in pursuing employment with the City was inspired by her studies in political science and her passion for public service. This passion led her to participate in the Toronto Professional Network, of which she is now co-chair. This grass-roots network promotes excellence in public service and professional development driven by its membership. As a self-confessed technophile, Margaret wholeheartedly supports the City’s efforts to leverage technology to foster democratized communication, create collaborative environments and realize efficiencies in the stewardship of public resources.
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David Tallan david.tallan@ontario.ca David Tallan is manager of e-Government Stewardship and the Web for the Ontario government, and is responsible for the Ontario.ca website and for providing standards and guidance to the Ontario public service web community. An important part of that is guidance on how best to leverage emerging web technologies. When he first tried the web, it was limited to the CERN server and the “www” browser. He’s been providing access to government information and services over the Internet since 1993. While he may not be a “digital native” he’s certainly an “early settler on the web frontier.” |
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Kevin von Appen kevin.vonappen@osc.on.ca Kevin von Appen directs operations for the Ontario Science Centre’s Weston Family Innovation Centre, the KidSpark children’s museum, exhibit floor hosts and volunteers. He also oversees the Centre’s internet initiatives, publications, science writing and translation, and knowledge management/library operations. He has developed creative web-based projects for AOL Canada, Sympatico.ca, MSN – Microsoft Network, Bell Emergis and Canoe.ca. As Senior Communications Specialist at Cyberplex Interactive Media, he created a usability lab and user-centred design process to serve business clients ranging from Airmiles and ING Bank to Chapters.ca. He began his career as a crime reporter at The Hamilton Spectator.
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John Weigelt john.weigelt@microsoft.com As the National Technology Officer for Microsoft Canada, John Weigelt is responsible for driving Microsoft Canada’s strategic policy and technology efforts. In this role, John is the lead public advocate within the company on key issues such as the development of national technology policy and the use of technology by government, education and academia. John is also responsible for the development and implementation of strategies that strengthen the company’s relationships with the Canadian technology industry at large. |
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Anthony D. Williams awilliams@ngenera.com Anthony D. Williams is vice president of Government 2.0 at the nGenera Innovation Network and co-author of Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. An avid researcher and writer, Anthony has pursued his interests in the wide-ranging impacts of new technologies on social and economic life for over a decade. Anthony’s work has been featured in publications such as BusinessWeek, The Globe and Mail and Optimize and widely circulated in proprietary syndicated research programs. Anthony was previously research director with Digital 4Sight and has consulted for Fortune 500 firms and international institutions, including the World Bank. Anthony holds a Masters degree in Research in Political Science from the London School of Economics and is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Government.
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Geoff Whitlock geoff@lifecaptureinc.com Geoff has led Lifecapture Incorporated since its inception, building a skilled team that has rapidly gained a reputation for its innovative new media projects.
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Michael Williams mhwilliams@trra.ca As Senior VP, Investment Attraction, Toronto Region Research Alliance (TRAA), Mike Williams is responsible for TRRA's program to attract research-intensive companies and investment to the region. A highly respected management consultant, he has conducted comprehensive economic development projects for an impressive portfolio of government, non-profit and private sector clients. Mike was previously Senior Vice President with RL Polk & Co where he successfully led their international strategy to become one of the pre-eminent suppliers of market information services to the worldwide auto industry.
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