Advisory Committee
Anne Christensen, Director, International Partnerships, CBIE
Cassandra Dorrington, President, Canadian Aboriginal Minority Supplier Council
Timothy Lang, President & Chief Executive Officer, Youth Employment Services
Rosalind Lockyer, Executive Director, PARO
Silvia Pencak, President, WBE Canada
Sonya Shorey, VP Marketing, Invest Ottawa & Bayview Yards
Joanne Stanley, Executive Director, Women in Communications & Technology
Anjum Sultana, Manager of Policy & Strategic Communications, YWCA Canada
Dr. Laura Allan, Executive Director, at the Schlegel Centre for Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation, Wilfred Laurier University
Brandon Van Dam, Associate Director at the Schlegel Centre for Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation, Wilfred Laurier University
Project Management Team
The Ontario Inclusive Innovation Action Strategy leverages the entrepreneurial spirit of the Program Management Team. Comprised of Dr. Barbara Orser, Dr. Catherine Elliott and Dr. Wendy Cukier, all lead contributors have related experience and longstanding relationships with Ontario, national and international mainstream and women-focused enterprise support organizations. Dr. Barbara Orser and Dr. Wendy Cukier are globally recognized thought leaders in advancing diversity, gender and entrepreneurship. All members bring a deep knowledge of entrepreneurship program design, evaluation and quality assurance processes.
The Ontario i2 Action Strategy has been informed by the contributions of two teams:
- Telfer Centre for Executive Education (Telfer CEL), part of the University of Ottawa, is the lead recipient of the funding for this project and led the onsite interview process, regional workshops, capstone conference (June 13th, 2019), and the development of the project report.
- Ryerson Diversity Institute in the Ted Rogers School of Management is a collaborator with the Telfer CEL on this project, has led the online diversity assessment survey and creation of this i2 web platform. The Diversity Institute also participated in the onsite interviews, regional workshops, the capstone conference, and contributed to the project report.
Barbara Orser, MBA, PhD
Full Professor, Deloitte Chair in the Management of Growth Enterprises
Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa
For the past 30 years, Barbara has taught and led numerous women’s enterprise and small business initiatives, co-authored 3 books (2 on entrepreneurial and small business finance), and conducted over 120 academic and industry reports about women entrepreneurs.
Recent large-scale projects include: Canadian Federal Procurement as a Policy Lever to Support Innovation and SME Growth, with Public Services, Procurement Canada (2017, 2018); Recommendations to Strength Ontario Through Women’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation with Women Entrepreneurs Ontario WEO Collective (2016); Adoption and Use of Digital Technologies by Women Entrepreneurs on behalf of [then] Industry Canada (2015); Women’s Entrepreneurship in Northern Canada on behalf of Status of Women Canada (2012); and Women Entrepreneurs in Canada: Gaps and Challenges on behalf of Status of Women Canada.
Barbara is an advisor to the Canadian and US government. In 2017, for example, she was invited to testify to The Government of Canada ‘Standing Committee on Government Operations and Expenses’ about gender and SME procurement, and present to two Deputy Minister Executive Planning Committees about women’s enterprise (ISED, PSPC). Her community contributions and outreach are reflected in roles such as Founding Chair of the (2009 to 2011) Canadian Taskforce for Women’s Business Growth, and Co-founder of the (2015 to 2016) Ontario Women’s Enterprises Collective. Both initiatives established consortiums of business owners, small business training agencies, academics, and industry associations. In 2017, her contributions were recognized in ‘Canada 150 Women’ a book (edited by Paulina Cameron) that profiles 150 outstanding Canadian feminists. In 2011, she was awarded WXN 100 Most Powerful Women (Champion Category), and International Alliance of Women World of Difference 100 Awards.
Catherine Elliot, MBA, PhD
Assistant Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources,
Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa
In addition to the above projects, Catherine has co-developed curricula and led peer entrepreneurship mentorship programs for women engineers at the University of Ottawa. She has served as an expert witness for the House of Common’s Standing Committee on the Status of Women, (Economic leadership and prosperity of Canadian women, SSHRC, Ottawa, 2014); and was a Founder of the Women Entrepreneurs Ontario Collective. Over the last 10 years, she has published over 20 related articles, book chapters and reports. Dr. Elliott has served as an advisor to several Canadian women’s organizations, federal government organizations, and international organizations, including: WCT, Treasury Board Secretariat, International Labour Organization (ILO – Better Work), Carleton University (International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET), and the National Centre for Educational Training and Research (NCERT). The latter was a multi-year project to train instructors and build capacity across all of the education districts in India.
Prior to her academic career, Dr. Elliott worked for a large global consultancy for 12 years, as a change management consultant and human resources manager. In this role, she was responsible for designing and developing curricula for clients across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
Barbara Orser and Catherine Elliott are co-authors of Feminine Capital. Unlocking the Power of Women Entrepreneurs (Stanford University Press, 2015). This Amazon.ca bestseller has been adopted by entrepreneurship training programs and courses around the world, including The Scotiabank Women Initiative Knowledge Centre.
They are credited for having coined innovative concepts, including feminist entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial feminism, and feminine capital (see WIKIPEDIA, http://www.telfer.uottawa.ca/en/directory/professors/orser-barbara). Practical insights have been shared at feminist industry events, such as The Feminist Entrepreneurial Forum (Toronto, 2017, 2018). Under contract with the Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE), in a multi-year funding by Global Affairs Canada, Dr. Orser and Dr. Elliott are working with INJAZ (Jordan) to construct and train educators about gender-sensitive entrepreneurship curricula being delivered in high schools and universities. The project will impact entrepreneurship curricula across the Middle East. Most recently, the project has informed the Prince’s Royal Trust in the UK.
Barbara Orser and Catherine Elliott are co-authors of Feminine Capital. Unlocking the Power of Women Entrepreneurs (Stanford University Press, 2015). This Amazon.ca bestseller has been adopted by entrepreneurship training programs and courses around the world. They are credited for having coined innovative concepts, including feminist entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial feminism, and feminine capital (see WIKIPEDIA, http://www.telfer.uottawa.ca/en/directory/professors/orser-barbara). Practical insights have been shared at feminist industry events, such as The Feminist Entrepreneurial Forum (Toronto, OCAD, 2017). Under contract with the CBIE, in a multi-year funding by Global Affairs Canada, Barbara and Catherine are working with INJAZ Jordan to construct and train educators about gender-sensitive entrepreneurship curricula being delivered in high schools and universities. The project will impact entrepreneurship curricula across the Middle East (see CBIE reference letter).
Wendy Cukier, MA, MBA, PhD, DU (Hon) LLD (Hon) M.S.C.
Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy, Ryerson University
Founder, Academic Director, Ryerson Diversity Institute
Dr. Wendy Cukier is an expert in disruptive technologies and inclusive innovation. She is the coauthor of the bestseller, Innovation Nation, Canadian Leadership from Java to Jurassic Park and has more than 20 years’ experience in the ICT industry. As Vice President, Research and Innovation at Ryerson University, during her tenure, funding for research and innovation grew by more than 60%. Within this role, Wendy supported the expansion of the DMZ and led the development of a multi-institutional Incubate Innovate Network of Canada (I-INC). Wendy also initiated numerous innovative programs to support women and under-represented groups, leading Ryerson University to become Canada’s first Ashoka Changemaker Campus. She supported the incubation of SheEO, and development of Summer Company, Social Enterprise Development Fund, and other related initiatives. She is leading, in collaboration with Ryerson’s Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship and the Ted Rogers School of Management, the newly-announced Women’s Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub, which is funded by the Government of Canada and will create a diverse, nation-wide and committed network of key ecosystem stakeholders to create a more inclusive and supportive environment and grow women’s entrepreneurship in Canada. She also helped lead Ryerson’s bid to host the Future Skills Centre, with 150 supporting organizations, in partnership with Conference Board of Canada and Blueprint-ADE
A graduate of the MIT Executive Entrepreneurship Program, Wendy Cukier works with a range of incubators and accelerators to advance women in business and entrepreneurship. She is a judge for TIE and Hult competitions, Chairs the Diversity Task Force for ICTC, is an advisor to the Canadian Women’s Foundation, and supported in various capacities the creation of Mammoth, nPower Canada, and Growing North, a Google Impact Challenge winner and Ryerson’s Summer Company program. She leads the International Innovation and Inclusion Network (IIIN), an emerging global consortium of more than 100 researchers and institutional focusing on applying innovation processes to advance inclusion. Industry recognition and awards include: the YWCA Woman of Distinction, Black Business Professional Association’s Harry Jerome Diversity Award, the Canada Pakistan Business Council’s Professional of the Year, the 2019 Metropolis Research Award, and the 2019 CATA Alliance Sara Kirke Award for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. She holds an MA, an MBA and a PhD, and honorary doctorates from Laval and Concordia.