CivicLabTO Discussion Series: Economic Resiliency: Culture, Innovation, Inclusion

This virtual panel is a precursor to the CivicLabTO Academic Summit: Collaborating on Renewal and Resilience Nov. 23 & 24, 2021. Focusing on the human side of Economic resilience, panelist will assess opportunities and highlight key concerns around who is included as governments and organizations—the  City and Higher Education Institutions among them—begin to build back better. The three featured panelists have distinguished careers working closely with communities and developing crucial insights on the quotidian impacts of cultural policy and innovation; collectively, they will discuss questions of Economic Resilience from the perspective of ongoing work and emerging concerns.

Panelists

Mike DeGagné, President and CEO, Indspire

An Ojibway from the Animakee Wa Zhing 37 First Nation, Dr. Mike DeGagné is the President and CEO of Indspire. Appointed Nipissing University President and Vice Chancellor in 2013, Dr. DeGagné was one of the first Indigenous presidents of a Canadian public university. He later served as the first President of Yukon University, in Whitehorse, Yukon. After working with the federal government in management of Indigenous programs and as a negotiator of comprehensive land claims. In 1998, Dr. DeGagné took up the role of founding Executive Director with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, a national Indigenous organization dedicated to addressing the legacy of Canada’s Indian Residential School System. With PhD from Michigan State University in Transformative Education and Masters degrees in Administration, Law, and Public Ethics, Dr. DeGagné has served on numerous health and university sector boards. He is the Chair of The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, and he has served as the Chairman of Ottawa’s Queensway Carleton Hospital and Chairman of the Child Welfare League of Canada. Dr. DeGagné is a recipient of the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario, and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. Most recently, he received an Indspire Award for Public Service, was inducted into the Nipissing District Human Rights Hall of Fame, and received an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Dalhousie University.

Umbereen Inayet, National Award Winning TEDx speaker, curator and artistic producer

Umbereen Inayet is a National Award Winning, TEDx Speaker, Curator &  Artistic Producer. With a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of  Toronto and an Undergraduate degree in Cultural Anthropology and Women’s  Studies, Umbereen’s personal style is to bridge pop culture with contemporary art, using her roots in anthropology, culture, psychology and social work to inform her artistic producing practice. Umbereen believes that  art can be a vessel for meditation, catharsis, therapy, emotions, healing,  connection and leading to discovering one's truth.

Dr. Tara Vinodrai, Director, Master of Urban Innovation Program and Associate Professor, Institute for Management and Innovation at the University of Toronto. She holds a graduate appointment to the Department of Geography and Planning and is a Faculty Associate at the Innovation Policy Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Dr. Vinodrai’s research focuses on the dynamics of innovation, economic development, labour markets and technological change in cities. Her most recent work explores mechanisms for inclusive economic development and the challenges associated with the innovation economy. She has provided advice to both large cities and smaller communities and all levels of government related to innovation, economic development and regional competitiveness.

Moderator

Glen Lowry, Executive Director & Advisor to Provost / Partnerships, Outreach & Research, OCAD University

Information Collection Notice:

Thank you for registering for CivicLabTO programming. Please note the event will be digitally recorded. The information collected for the event will be used to determine the number of attendees and institutional affiliations for research and reporting purposes, and infrastructure creation as we build our network. It may be used to deliver CivicLabTO information on future events, updates on the research progress we're making together and to ask you for related feedback. All data is held within Canada by Humber College as the event producer. Any questions about the collection of this data can be sent to Jennifer Gordon, CivicLabTO Steering Committee Member and Director for the Centre for Creative Business Innovation, Humber College, by e-mail at: Jennifer.Gordon@humber.ca