A native of Toronto, Anne Sado has been President of George Brown College since 2004. Her impact on the vision, direction and culture of the college has resulted in significant growth and has activated a critical public discussion on the value of college education in Ontario’s economic development. Anne received one of the country’s highest civilian honours in June 2013 when she was appointed Member of the Order of Canada by His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada. She is Chair of the Board of ORION and past chair of Trillium Health Centre. Anne also sits on the boards of organizations such as the Toronto Region Board of Trade, Legacy Private Trust, Mount Pleasant Group and the Toronto Financial Service Alliance. Anne also served as Chair of Polytechnics Canada between 2013 and 2015. Anne holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Toronto as well as a Bachelor of Applied Science in Industrial Engineering. Anne was also awarded a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from the University of Toronto in June 2011.

Christopher Ragan has been teaching economics at McGill University since 1989. He is also a Research Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute where from 2010 through 2013 he held the Institute’s David Dodge Chair in Monetary Policy, and for many years was a member of the Institute’s Monetary Policy Council. From January 2009 through June 2010, he was the Clifford Clark Visiting Economist at the Department of Finance in Ottawa, where he served as a senior advisor to the Minister and other senior Finance officials. During 2004-05, he served as the Special Advisor to the Governor of the Bank of Canada. Ragan is the author of Economics (formerly co-authored with Richard Lipsey), which after fourteen editions is still the most widely used introductory economics textbook in Canada. Ragan also has a regular column in The Globe and Mail. During the mid-1990s he was the founding Editor-in-Chief of World Economic Affairs. Chris Ragan received his B. A. (Honours) in economics in 1984 from the University of Victoria and his Master’s degree in economics from Queen’s University in 1985. He then moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where he completed his Ph.D. in economics at M.I.T. in 1989.

Cherise Burda recently joined the Ryerson City Building Institute as executive director, where she brings together research, policy ideas and leadership from diverse backgrounds to address todays critical urban challenges. Prior to assuming this role, Cherise was the Pembina Institute’s Ontario Director, where she led research, advocacy and communications strategies for transportation, sustainable cities and clean energy solutions in Ontario. She has authored dozens of publications on these issues and is also a regular presenter, spokesperson, blogger and tweeter.

In 2013 Cherise was a member of the Premiers’ transit investment strategy advisory panel as well as a Clean 50 honouree.  Before returning to Toronto, Cherise spent over a decade in British Columbia where she held positions as senior researcher at University of Victoria’s Polis Project at the Faculty of Law and a program director for the David Suzuki Foundation. She holds an M.A. in environmental legislation and policy, a BSc. in environmental science and a B.Ed.

A National Post original, Andrew Coyne’s journalism career has also included positions with Maclean’s, the Globe and Mail and the Southam newspaper chain. In addition, he has contributed to a wide range of other publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, National Review, Time and Saturday Night. Coyne is also a long-time member of the CBC’s popular At Issue panel on The National.

Benjamin Dachis is a Senior Policy Analyst at the C.D. Howe Institute. He started with the C.D. Howe Institute in 2006 as a Research Fellow and also has experience with a major U.S. think tank. He returned to the C.D. Howe Institute as a Policy Analyst in January of 2008. He has written on municipal finance, transportation, tax, energy, environmental and labour policy. He is a member of the 2012 Insight Grants Economics Committee for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Kevin is combating unemployment in Canada as Head of Municipal Partnerships at Magnet. He also serves in the Royal Canadian Navy on a part-time basis as an Intelligence Officer at Naval Reserve Division – Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship YORK. In Toronto, Kevin is Co-Chair of the Toronto Youth Equity Strategy, and on the Steering Committee for Poverty Reduction TO. The voice of over 330,000 young Torontonians to Toronto City Council, he has overseen key city files including the Billy Bishop Airport expansion and the Police Chief consultation. Within the Western community, his alma mater, Kevin serves on the Council of Presidents as chairman of the Dan Management Advisory Council, and was a member of the President’s Advisory Committee on Environment and Sustainability. In 2014, Kevin was named Canada’s top under 30 Pan-Asian leader. You can find out more about Kevin here: www.kevinvuong.com