Dr. Victor S Blanchette FRCP, FRCP(C)

Dr. Victor S Blanchette FRCP, FRCP(C)

Dr Victor Blanchette is Medical Director of the Pediatric Thrombosis and Hemostasis Program in the Division of Haematology/Oncology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto, Canada. He is the McCaig Magee Family Medical Director of the SickKids-Caribbean Cancer and Blood Disorders Initiative in the Centre for Global Child Health at the Hospital for Sick Children.

After completing his medical training at the University of Cambridge and St Bartholomew's Hospital in the United Kingdom, Dr Blanchette pursued subspecialty training in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, USA followed by fellowship training in pediatric hematology/oncology at McMaster University Medical Centre in Hamilton, Canada.

Dr Blanchette's research interests are in the area of the congenital and acquired bleeding disorders of children. He is Director of the Pediatric Comprehensive Care Hemophilia Program at the Hospital for Sick Children, and Chair of the International Prophylaxis Study Group (IPSG). Dr. Blanchette is recipient of the Canadian Pediatric Society 2009 Alan Ross Award, the Canadian Blood Services 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award, and the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology 2012 Distinguished Career Award. Dr Blanchette is an elected Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of the United Kingdom.

Dr. Avis Glaze

Dr. Avis Glaze

International Education Adviser for the Government of Scotland

Dr. Avis Glaze is one of Canada's outstanding educators and a recognized international leader in education. From classroom teacher to Superintendent of Schools and Director of Education, this award-winning educator has experience at all levels of the school system. She was one of five Commissioners on Ontario's landmark Royal Commission on Learning, setting directions for the future of the education system. As the Province's first Chief Student Achievement Officer and Founding CEO of the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, she played a pivotal role in working with educators to improve student learning, achievement and wellbeing. She served as Ontario's Education Commissioner and Senior Adviser to the Minister of Education. She taught in faculties of education (York and University of Toronto), and was appointed Professor in Residence at the Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa. Currently, she is President of Edu-quest International Inc., offering a wide range of educational services and speaking engagements across the globe. A highlight of her career was an invitation from Queen Sonya of Norway to address the issue of 'Can schools build better societies' with principals at her awards ceremony.

Dr. Glaze is a consummate capacity builder and inveterate learner who continues to take courses at every opportunity, for example, training in Visible Learning (Certified Trainer), Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and the assessment of emotional intelligence. She co-authored Breaking Barriers: Excellence and Equity for All, High School Graduation: K-12 Strategies that Work, and a series titled, Class Interrupted - strategies for system, school and classroom improvement. Her most recent book, Reaching the Heart of Leadership (2017) is a testament to her people-oriented and outcomes-focussed approach to educational leadership.

Avis has worked with educators in over 50 countries and (U.S.) states, receiving several honorary doctorates some 40 awards for international contributions, including the Robert Owen Award, the first of its kind offered in Scotland. She has served as International Education Adviser to organizations such as Curriculum Services Canada, Learning Forward, and to governments such as South Africa, New Zealand and Scotland.

Avis believes that this is the Golden Age of Education and that educators are strategically placed to enhance life chances and to work, with indefatigable zeal, to build upon their current successes. She encourages all those engaged in this noble enterprise to intensify their efforts to improve their schools with a sense of urgency. As engaged citizens, we have a responsibility to ensure that all students achieve to the maximum of their potential, regardless of background or personal circumstances. For her, students must become solution finders who are prepared to contribute to nation building and prosperity.

Masai Ujiri

Masai Ujiri

On May 31, 2013, Masai Ujiri was named President and General Manager of Basketball Operations of the Toronto Raptors. He returned to the Raptors organization where he had received his first front office position back in 2007.

Ujiri had spent the past three seasons as Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Denver Nuggets. He was named 2012-13 NBA Executive of the Year after leading the Nuggets to a team-record 57 wins and a league-best 38-3 home court mark. Considered one of the most proactive executives in the NBA, Ujiri kept the Nuggets among the Western Conference elite through numerous trades and draft picks. He is best known for a 12-player deal on February 22, 2011 that sent All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks. That trade is heralded as a textbook example of how to receive high value in exchange for a pending free agent.

Ujiri got his NBA front office start in Toronto in 2007, joining the franchise as Director of Global Scouting. He was elevated to Assistant General Manager, Player Personnel in 2008 and worked closely with previous President Bryan Colangelo. His duties included overseeing the scouting and personnel departments, talent assessment and related data management.

On August 27, 2010, Ujiri became the first African-born GM in the NBA when he was hired to run the Nuggets' basketball operations department. It was also his second stint with the club after working as a scout from 2003-06 and the team's Director of International Scouting during the 2006-07 season. Prior to joining Denver, he worked as an international scout for the Orlando Magic.

A native of Nigeria, Ujiri brings tremendous knowledge and extensive global connections to the Raptors front office. He played professionally in Europe for six years, with stops in Belgium, Germany, England, Greece and Finland. He has scouted all over the world, including Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.

Ujiri has also managed and coached the Nigerian junior and senior National teams.

On a humanitarian level, Ujiri has been tireless in his efforts to promote and develop the game of basketball throughout Africa. He is the Founder of the Giants of Africa Foundation, which launched the Top 50 and Bigman camps in his homeland. Ujiri also has served as the Director of the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program since 2002.

Ujiri was introduced to basketball at age 13 and quickly fell in love with the game. He went on to play at Bismarck State College and Montana State University-Billings (formerly Eastern Montana College).

Ambassador Susan E. Rice

Ambassador Susan E. Rice

Ambassador Susan E. Rice served President Barack Obama as National Security Advisor and U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations. In her role as National Security Advisor from July 1, 2013, to January 20, 2017, Ambassador Rice led the National Security Council Staff and chaired the Cabinet-level National Security Principals Committee. She provided the President daily national security briefings and was responsible for coordinating the formulation and implementation of all aspects of the Administration's foreign and national security policy, intelligence, and military efforts.

As U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) and a member of President Obama's Cabinet, Rice worked to advance U.S. interests, defend universal values, strengthen the world's security and prosperity, and promote respect for human rights. In a world of 21st Century threats that pay no heed to borders, Ambassador Rice helped rebuild an effective basis for international cooperation that strengthened the United States' ability to achieve its foreign policy objectives and made the American people safer.

Ambassador Rice served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 1997 - 2001. In that role, she formulated and implemented U.S. policy towards 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and oversaw the management of 43 U.S. Embassies and more than 5,000 U.S. and Foreign Service national employees. Rice was co-recipient of the White House's 2000 Samuel Nelson Drew Memorial Award for distinguished contributions to the formation of peaceful, cooperative relationships between states. From 1993-1997, she served as Special Assistant to President William J. Clinton and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House, as well as Director for International Organizations and Peacekeeping on the National Security Council staff. From 2002-2008, Rice was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, where she conducted research and published widely on U.S. foreign policy, transnational security threats, weak states, global poverty and development. She began her career as a management consultant with McKinsey and Company in Toronto, Canada. She has served on numerous boards, including the Bureau of National Affairs, National Democratic Institute and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

Rice received her Master's degree (M.Phil.) and Ph.D (D.Phil.) in International Relations from New College, Oxford University, England, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She was awarded the Chatham House-British International Studies Association Prize for the most distinguished doctoral dissertation in the United Kingdom in the field of International Relations in 1990. Ambassador Rice received her B.A. in History with honors from Stanford University in 1986, where she was awarded junior Phi Beta Kappa and was a Truman Scholar. In 2017, French President Francois Hollande presented Ambassador Rice with the Award of Commander, the Legion of Honor of France, for her contributions to Franco-American relations.

A native of Washington DC, Ambassador Rice is married to Ian Cameron, and they have two children.

Professor Michael S. Pollanen

Professor Michael S. Pollanen

Chief Forensic Pathologist

Michael S. Pollanen is the Chief Forensic Pathologist for Ontario, Canada and a Professor and Vice-Chair (Innovation) of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. He graduated from the University of Toronto with an MD (1999) and PhD (1995) and completed his residency in 2003. His duties include supervising and directing the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service (7000 autopsies/year), conducting autopsy (>2500 autopsies conducted to date), testifying in court (>250 court testimonies to date), and directing academic activities in forensic pathology at the University of Toronto. Professor Pollanen's main educational focus is training forensic pathologists and strengthening forensic capacity in the Global South.

He has been involved in case work or forensic missions in: East Timor, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Haiti, Thailand, Jamaica, Iraq, and Bermuda. His current research interests include Nodding disease in Uganda and the pathology of torture. He has published over 90 papers in peer- reviewed journals.

Professor Pollanen is a member of the forensic advisory board of the International Committee of the Red Cross and is the immediate Past President of the International Association of Forensic Science (2015-17). He is a Founder of Forensic Pathology in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He is also a Deputy Chief Coroner in Ontario.

YMCA of Greater Toronto

YMCA of Greater Toronto

The YMCA of Greater Toronto is a charity that has been tackling the most critical health and social issues in the GTA for more than 160 years. The YMCA's research-based curricula and programs provide opportunities for personal growth, social development, leadership, and recreation in safe, caring, and welcoming environments - underpinned by a strong and active commitment to diversity and social inclusion.

This commitment manifests itself in the YMCA of Greater Toronto's partnership in the recently released Black Experience Project, its outreach initiatives to welcome and support Syrian refugees to the GTA, as well as its focus on using the Social Determinants of Health to guide the design and execution of its wide-ranging programs, including child care, employment services, education and training programs, immigrant services, youth leadership development, outreach and intervention, health and fitness programs, camps, youth housing, and volunteer development.

Serving the population of the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Peel, York, and Halton plus Dufferin County, last year the YMCA of Greater Toronto made 557,540 connections with people across 438 locations. Along with the support of donors and community partners, the YMCA's 5,734 full- and part-time employees and 5,268 volunteers are dedicated to delivering diverse and inclusive programs that build healthy communities.

The YMCA of Greater Toronto believes that everyone in the GTA should have the ability to realize their potential to stay healthy - physically, socially, and mentally. This critical mission means many things, including serving all ages and income levels, ensuring that children and youth have equal access to opportunities, and valuing the diversity of people and communities as assets that contribute to the social, political, and cultural enrichment - of the YMCA, the Greater Toronto Area, and beyond.

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