Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, PhD FCIA FSA, is the director of Financial Security Research at the National Institute on Ageing (NIA), Toronto Metropolitan University. She is also a fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, and the resident scholar at Eckler Ltd. Her research focuses on the financial and health aspects of Canada’s ageing population. Bringing together leading industry experts and building on academic best practices coupled with innovative ideas, her work aims to improve retirement financial security for Canadians through practical insights, industry innovations and government solutions. She has published numerous academic papers on a wide variety of topics relating to retirement financial security for Canadians. Her research contributions have received numerous awards and have been adopted by industry and government, in Canada and around the world. She is a prolific keynote speaker at industry and public policy engagements and a regular contributor to the Globe and Mail. A recipient of the 2001 Gold Medal in Actuarial Science at the University of Western Ontario, Bonnie-Jeanne received her FSA in 2004 and FCIA in 2019, and also holds a PhD in Actuarial Mathematics from Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University. In 2011, she was chosen one of Canada’s top young economists and attended the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany.

Alyssa Brierley is a lawyer and public policy professional with more than a decade of experience in public policy, legal service and operations management. She was most recently the executive director at the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA), Canada’s leading non-profit organization focused on advancing the right to housing. Over her four years in the post, she led the organization through a significant period of growth and transition that included a national expansion, organizational rebranding, and significant expansion of its research, policy advocacy, strategic litigation and services work.

Prior to joining CERA, Alyssa served as the health, social, justice and labour policy advisor to the President of the Treasury Board of Ontario, and as Director of Policy to the Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure. Alyssa has also worked as a legal research and communications advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, a lawyer and policy analyst at the Ontario College of Teachers and a Lecturer at Toronto Metropolitan University, and she completed her articles at Torys LLP.

Alyssa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Waterloo, a Master’s degree in Political Science from York University, a Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School, and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Georgetown University.

Joelyn “Jhoey” Dulaca is an organizer with Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC). She has worked as a care provider for children and seniors for almost 20 years. She came to Canada in the summer of 2016 as an in-home childcare worker and has been organizing with MWAC since the beginning of 2017 advocating for better rights and permanent immigration status for all migrant care workers.

Jhoey is currently coordinating a campaign with other care worker groups under the Migrant Rights Network calling for the federal government to create an interim program for permanent residency for care workers. She believes that care workers face too many barriers to live and work in Canada. This includes unfair education and language requirements that make the program too inaccessible for too many caregivers.

Brendon Pooran is the managing partner at PooranLaw Professional Corporation, a Toronto based law firm dedicated to law reform and working with individuals, families and community organizations on a wide variety of legal matters affecting the disability community.

Brendon provides legal advice in the areas of: wills & estates planning; disability law; and corporate law for not-for-profit and charitable organizations.

In addition to being a lawyer, Brendon is a founding director of Plan Toronto (now Partners for Planning) and Microboards Ontario.  He recently completed a 10-year term as a Senior Lawyer Member on the Ontario Consent and Capacity Board and currently teaches Critical Disability Law at York University.

Brendon holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from Queen’s University and a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University.

Brenda started her advocacy role when her daughter, Nikki, was left severely disabled and medically complex after birth. With no choice but to navigate the complex healthcare system, Brenda gained a wealth of insight and knowledge to help others in similar circumstances. While juggling the continuous care of her daughter, she became a board-certified patient advocate, and also earned certifications in peer health navigation, caregiver consulting, and life coaching.

Brenda was a founding member of the Family Faculty Program at her local hospital, where she educated health care team members and physicians on patient and family-centered care. She has shared presentations on family-centred care, caregiving, and palliative care on local and national stages. She served on many local advisory committees for government-funded and non-profit organizations. As podcast host of Caring Conversations, she helped families of children with complex needs to share their stories. Brenda received the ‘Caregiver of the Year Award’ in 2019 from Caregiving.com.

Michèle Archambault has a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy and a master’s degree in organizational management and development. She has held various management and executive positions in the health and social services sector, in community life and at INESSS. Passionate about her work, she is currently coordinating work in the field of family support at the Ministry of Health and Social Services. She was at the forefront of the adoption of the Act to Recognize and Support Caregivers, the National Policy and the first government action plan associated with it. She is committed to catalyzing the driving forces behind informal caregiving and creating partnerships that will lead to concrete, relevant and sustainable action for informal caregivers.

Luxmhina is a dedicated professional analyst and researcher with a strong educational foundation in public service, analytics, and psychology. She holds a Master’s in Public Service and a Graduate Diploma in Computational Analytics from the University of Waterloo, as well as an Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology from York University.

Luxmhina’s unique journey includes a significant role as a young caregiver, providing crucial support for her mother in her battle against paranoid schizophrenia. This personal experience has deepened her understanding of the importance of mental health and support systems.  In her current role as a researcher at Social Research and Demonstration Corporation, Luxmhina utilizes her expertise in policy development, research, and project management to create a meaningful impact, with a primary focus on developing support systems for marginalized communities.