 |
   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Keynotes
Kati Haycock
She currently serves as director of the Education Trust. Established in 1992, the Trust does what no other Washington-based education organization seeks to do—speaks up for what’s right for young people, especially those who are poor or members of minority groups. The Trust also provides hands-on assistance to educators who want to work together to improve student achievement, pre-kindergarten through post-secondary. Prior to coming to the Education Trust, Haycock served as Executive Vice-President of the Children’s Defense Fund, the largest child advocacy organization in the US. A native Californian, Haycock founded and served as president of The Achievement Council, a state-wide organization that provides assistance to teachers and principals in predominately minority schools in improving student achievement. Before that, she served as director of the Outreach and Student Affirmative Action programs for the nine-campus University of California system.
Jamie P. Merisotis
Merisotis, 43, is an expert on a wide range of higher-education issues. He is well versed in domestic and international issues related to higher-education opportunity and access, including student financial aid, minority-serving colleges and universities, global higher-education policy strategies, and social and economic benefits of higher education. He is recognized as an authority on college and university financing and has published major studies and reports on topics ranging from higher-education rankings to technology-based learning. Before joining Lumina Foundation, Merisotis was founding president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, an independent, non-partisan Washington, D.C.-based organization regarded as one of the world’s premier research and policy centers, concerned with higher-education policy development. After establishing the Institute in 1993, Merisotis contributed to the Institute's research while overseeing a staff of 30 professionals. A champion of the idea that higher education reaps rich rewards for both society and individuals, Merisotis has focused his work on improving access to higher education for low-income, minority and other historically underrepresented populations. This commitment to equality of opportunity was a major factor in the establishment of the Alliance for Equity in Higher Education, an unprecedented coalition of national associations whose members represent more than 350 minority-serving institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, American Indian Tribal Colleges and Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Merisotis worked to foster the 1999 alliance by leaders from the minority-serving institutions. The Alliance serves as a leading voice for the interests of these institutions and has become a model of collaboration, unity and innovation among communities of color. Merisotis oversaw the Alliance’s numerous initiatives, including the National Articulation and Transfer Network, as well as programs that support leadership development, increased capacity in the STEM disciplines and other issues of national importance. Merisotis also managed the Institute’s global portfolio, working to advance the effect educational opportunities can have on economic, social and cultural development, especially in southern Africa, the former Soviet Union and other regions of the world in transition. In 2006, he helped establish the Global Center on Private Financing of Higher Education, an Institute initiative to address the growing role of private financing as an avenue for expanding access to postsecondary education around the world. This international center serves as a repository of comprehensive data and trends analysis concerning private student loans, scholarships, and other philanthropic aid and public-private partnerships. Additionally, Merisotis oversaw the Institute’s work on college and university ranking systems, policy leadership development and other areas with cross-national implications. Prior to founding the Institute, Merisotis had served as executive director of the National Commission on Responsibilities for Financing Postsecondary Education, a bipartisan commission appointed by the U.S. president and congressional leaders. He authored the Commission’s final report, Making College Affordable Again, and many of the Commission’s recommendations became national policy during the 1990s. Merisotis also assisted in the creation of the Corporation for National and Community Service (AmeriCorps), serving as an advisor to senior management on issues related to the quality and effectiveness of national-service initiatives. From 1993 to 1997, Merisotis coordinated site-based evaluations of more than 100 AmeriCorps projects. Merisotis’ work has been published extensively in the higher-education field. He has written and edited several books and monographs, and he is a frequent contributor to magazines, journals and newspapers. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, the Times Higher Education Supplement (London), The Chronicle of Higher Education, Higher Education in Europe, The Review of Higher Education and other periodicals. Merisotis is a member of the executive committee of the European Access Network, headquartered in London. He also is a member of the board of trustees of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and previously served as the College's alumni association president. Merisotis' previous board service included chairman of the board for Scholarship America, the nation’s largest private-sector scholarship and educational-support organization; vice chairman of the board of directors for the Washington Internship Institute; and member of the board of directors of the National College Access Network. Merisotis has received numerous awards and honors, including the 2002 Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and the 2001 Community College Government Relations Award presented by the American Association of Community Colleges and the Association of Community College Trustees. He was a 2005 finalist for the Brock International Prize in Education, and in 1998 he was named one of the top young leaders (under the age of 45) in American higher education by Change magazine. Lumina Foundation for Education is an Indianapolis-based, private foundation that strives to help people achieve their potential by expanding access to and success in education beyond high school. Through grants for research, innovation, communication and evaluation, as well as policy education and leadership development, Lumina Foundation addresses issues that affect access and educational attainment among all students, particularly underserved student groups such as minorities, first-generation college-goers, students from low-income families and working adults. The Foundation bases its mission on the belief that postsecondary education remains one of the most beneficial investments that individuals can make in themselves and that a society can make in its people. Leaders PanelRandall Gossen Dr. Gossen was elected President of the World Petroleum Council in September 2005. He is past Chairman (2000-2004) of the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA). He is an active participant in the United Nations Global Compact and was appointed as Special Advisor to the Global Compact in July 2006.
George E. Lafond
For the past number of years, George has been the Special Advisor to President Peter MacKinnon on Aboriginal Initiatives at the University of Saskatchewan. He serves on several Boards, community organizations and sporting initiatives. Recently he and his wife, Hon. Judge Mary Ellen Lafond, and their four children, have moved to Victoria, B.C. where she was appointed the first Representative for Children and Youth. George’s passion for education spans his career, from his early work as a teacher encouraging school attachment for success for First Nations and Metis students, through to his recent work on post-secondary education and academic excellence. George’s touchstones for his career have been learning from kinship, community development and striving for excellence by encouraging First Nations and Metis peoples to take their rightful place in all sectors of Canadian society. Uzma Shakir
Uzma was born in Karachi, the youngest of three children, and raised by parents who had both settled in Pakistan after Partition. Although she was raised in a traditional, religious household she speaks of her parents as uniquely progressive in their emphasis on equal education and opportunities for both her brothers and herself. She received a B.A. in English Literature from Karachi University, a B.A. in International Relations from Sussex University, and a Master's Degree from the Fletcher School of law and Diplomacy, an international training school for career diplomats.
Paul Wells
Fresh, funny and authoritative, his first book, Right Side Up: The Fall of Paul Martin and the Rise of Stephen Harper’s New Conservatism was a national bestseller. He has written for Time magazine, the National Post, La Presse and the Literary Review of Canada. His blog, Inkless Wells, is required reading in Ottawa and wherever people spend too much time worrying about politics. A veteran television and radio commentator whose insights have educated and entertained audiences in French and English, Wells is returning from a year in Paris as Maclean’s Europe correspondent, where he reported from Germany, Poland, the U.K., Afghanistan and Pakistan. Born in Sarnia, Ontario, Paul studied at the University of Western Ontario and the Institut d’Etudes politiques de Paris. He is on the advisory committee of the new Glendon School of Public Affairs.
contact us | back to top | cette page en français
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kati Haycock is a leading child advocate in the field of education.
Jamie P. Merisotis joined Lumina Foundation for Education as president and CEO on Jan. 1, 2008. 
Dr. Randall Gossen is Vice President, Health, Safety, Environment & Social Responsibility for Nexen Inc. in Calgary. Dr. Gossen holds a Ph.D. in Soil Microbiology from the University of Calgary and has 35 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry both in Canada and internationally. He is considered an industry leader in the area of corporate social responsibility, and led development of the International Code of Ethics for Canadian Business. The Code addresses key values and principles relative to human rights, community participation and environmental protection, business conduct and employee rights, and health and safety.
George E. Lafond is a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, Treaty 6 territory, Saskatchewan. George received his Education Degree from the University of Saskatchewan and has been involved in First Nations education, community development and leadership for over 20 years in Saskatchewan and nationally. Through many leadership roles in business, politics, education and community service, George counts as his successes coalition building with Metis, non-Aboriginal and other community representatives leading to successes like Wanuskewin Heritage Park, Treaty Land Entitlement, the White Buffalo Youth Lodge in downtown Saskatoon, and other lasting partnerships for change. 
Uzma Shakir is Executive Director of the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA), a position she has held since 1997. She believes passionately that "democracy is something we live and that Canada is a country worth fighting for". She is an advocate for greater representation for all immigrant communities in policy, institutions, service delivery and societal participation on the principles of access and equity. Although CASSA focuses particularly on issues within the South Asian community, Uzma has worked extensively to create alliances among many of the Toronto newcomer communities and is particularly proud of the recent partnership which has been created among the Asian, Hispanic, Chinese and African communities to co-ordinate joint events, strategic planning and research. She believes passionately that one works from one's differences in background and culture through to negotiated agreements.
As senior columnist for Maclean’s magazine, Paul Wells is one of Canada’s foremost political commentators.