Our faculty

Elaine Bernard is a Senior Research Associate and the former Executive Director of the Labor and Worklife Program and the Harvard Trade Union Program at Harvard Law School.  The Labor and Worklife Program (LWP) is Harvard University’s forum for research and teaching on the world of work and its implications for society.

Before being recruited by Harvard in 1989, Bernard was the Director of Labour Programs at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia.  Born in Trenton, Ontario and raised in Ottawa, Bernard received a BA from University of Alberta, MA from University of British Columbia and a Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University.  She has conducted courses on a wide variety of topics for unions, community groups, universities and government departments in Canada, U.S., U.K. and Australia.  Her current research and teaching interests in union leadership and democratic governance.

Recognizing the division among police labour organizations in the U.S. and the need for labour education and networking opportunities for police unions, Bernard worked with police union leaders to establish an annual police union leaders’ seminar in the U.S.  Bernard is a member of the recently established Management Advisory Board for the RCMP with a mandate to provide the Commissioner with outside expertise and advice on transformation, human resources, modern management practices, information technology and other specialized fields.

Marie Careau offers training and consulting services, in English and French. Her expertise covers topics such as verbal and non-verbal communication, public presentations, leadership, governance, intelligence, detecting deception, teamwork, conflict management, difficult conversations, priority management, operational efficiency, and management skills. 

Marie Careau has extensive experience in leadership positions within the Canadian Public Service, including more than 20 years in intelligence, national security, and investigation. She served for 15 years at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), including three years within the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre (ITAC) and an international posting within the Direction Générale de la Sécurité extérieure (DGSE) in France. 

She was also executive director at the Intelligence Assessment Secretariat of the Privy Council Office, as well as executive director for the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command (CFINTCOM) at the Department of National Defense. 

During her career, she traveled to a dozen of countries as a guest speaker for workshops and conferences on intelligence and leadership. She participated to several discussion panels on intelligence, including the discussions of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in 2020-2021. She holds a Master’s in history (University of Ottawa), a Certificate from the Telfer School Canadian Security & Intelligence Leadership Program (University of Ottawa) and a Certificate of the LEADERS Program of the Faculty of Business Administration (Université Laval). 

Harout Chitilian is a seasoned executive and public policy strategist, currently serving as General Manager of the Association du Transport Urbain du Québec (ATUQ). In this role, he oversees strategic initiatives that shape sustainable urban mobility across Quebec. As a senior advisor to local governments and institutions, he provides expert guidance on urban and real estate development, helping officials implement forward-thinking policies that foster economic growth and community well-being.  

Until September 2023, Mr. Chitilian was Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, Development, and Strategy at CDPQ Infra, where he played a pivotal role in the execution of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), Montreal’s landmark light rail project. He was responsible for developing and implementing corporate strategies, managing stakeholder relations, and leading public affairs, communications, and media teams.  

His public service career includes two consecutive terms as a Montreal City Councillor (2009–2017) for the borough of Bordeaux-Cartierville. From 2013 to 2017, he served as Vice-President of the Executive Committee of Montreal, overseeing administrative reform, operational excellence, information technology, and the Smart City portfolio. Previously, he was Speaker of the Montreal City Council (2011–2013) and chaired the Commission for the Presidency of the Council, spearheading initiatives in governance and civic engagement. He also played a key role in advancing youth programs for the city.  

Before entering public office, Mr. Chitilian worked as a consulting engineer in the information technology and telecommunications sectors. He holds a degree in computer engineering with a specialization in telecommunications from École Polytechnique de Montréal and has pursued executive education at McGill University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  

Committed to fostering leadership and community development, he serves on the boards of the Polytechnique Montréal Foundation and the Old Brewery Mission. Mr. Chitilian’s career reflects a deep commitment to urban innovation, public policy, and sustainable infrastructure, positioning him as a thought leader in shaping the cities of tomorrow. 

James Clemens is an accomplished leadership coach and project consultant specializing in organisational culture change. He has over two decades of professional experience in executive leadership development and organisational effectiveness. Prior to becoming a management consultant, James was a manager of executive leadership programs in the Public Service of Canada as well as a Senior Policy Advisor providing strategic advice to the most senior levels of government on enterprise-wide change initiatives. James has extensive international and multi-cultural experience developing, leading and coaching executives and project teams to produce unprecedented results.

Bill Cole has represented labour unions in the public and private sectors for almost four decades. His practice has focused on collective bargaining, interest arbitration and organizational development. His clients include police, firefighters, airline pilots, health care workers, steelworkers, and many others in the public and private sectors. He has represented unions in more than one hundred and fifty interest arbitrations as spokesperson or nominee. For negotiations he has assisted clients with a full range of services including advanced training, strategy development, negotiator coaching or being the voice at the table.

Bill is a Senior Research Associate at Harvard’s Center for Labor and a Just Economy where his research includes negotiations and organizational development. He is a regular speaker at Harvard’s Trade Union Program.

He is the co-author of The Art of Collective Bargaining.

Responding to the widely held concerns among union leaders about member disengagement, Bill began examining this question at the doctoral level. His research examines the relationship between leaders and followers, with an emphasis on members’ commitment and participation in their unions. He speaks widely on this topic and works with unions on renewal strategies to build member engagement.

Bill is a “goalie-dad” who spends a lot of time in a lot of hockey rinks.

Lisa Cormier is an executive coach and leadership trainer living in Ottawa, Canada. She brings over 20 years of experience in management and organizational development. Lisa’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts (Honours in Psychology) and a Master’s degree in Social Work (with a concentration in Administration and Policy). She is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (Coaches Training Institute™) and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coach Federation. She is certified in three well established 360° Feedback Instruments as well as the Myers Briggs Type Inventory, in addition to having experience with a variety of assessment tools. As an employee of the City of Ottawa, she held various policy and management positions from 1992 to 2001 and her first-hand experience continues to inspire and inform her in her work with other professionals. 

Lisa has been working as a group facilitator and executive coach in the area of leadership development since 2002 in both official languages. She has provided facilitation services and one-on-one coaching to hundreds of managers ranging from first time supervisors to the assistant deputy ministers and vice presidents. Drawing on her experience in the four disciplines of psychology, management, organizational development and consulting, she has a superior understanding of complex organizational and human resource issues. She thrives on supporting executives, managers and high-potential leaders who want to leverage their strengths to achieve personal and organizational success, and make an impact on the environment in which they are working.

Karim Djinko is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in the development of human potential. 

An executive coach certified by the International Coaching Federation, a trainer and a speaker, he assists organizations wishing to support their managers and administrators in their development, relying on building relationship skills and leadership. 

Karim likes working with individuals and teams, adopting a people-centred approach. One area of specialty is issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. He designs and implements customized training and development programs, including in leadership, relational communication, team synergy and self-esteem. He also offers guidance on workplace integration and inclusion best practices and gender-sensitive administration. 

A co-founder of the firm sp2 coaching, he gained broad experience in facilitation at the UN, where he served as a manager for seven years, as well as in the public and private sectors. He also holds certification in Nova Profile, a psychometric tool that helps individuals and organizations better manage human resources, recruitment, training, administration, coaching and team synergy. 

Trained as a journalist, Karim has worked in television, radio and print, mainly for Radio-Canada in Montreal and Toronto, as well as managing UN Radio in Mali. 

A dynamic leader with proven ability to transform vision into action and deliver targeted results, Mariette Fyfe-Fortin is recognized for her leadership of government business transformations and change management initiatives, complex project procurements, and services delivery in sectors ranging from acquisitions/procurement, corporate services, information management, to real property management. Retired from the Canadian Commercial Corporation as Vice-President, Strategy and Organizational Development (2009-14), she oversaw the corporation’s strategic planning, managed government relations and communications, and corporate services. Supporting the President and the Board of Directors, she acquired unique perspectives in corporate governance, investment management, business development and capture, and legal risk management. While in tenure, Mariette was also a member of the Clerk of the Privy Council Assistant Deputy Minister Learning Advisory Committee from 2012 to 2014, dedicated to the development and implementation of the learning and continuous development for Assistant Deputy Ministers and equivalent positions across the federal public service.

Most recently Mariette has participated in the development and taught at the University of Ottawa Telfer School of Management in the Complex Project and Procurement Certificate program (2015-19). She holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Université de Montréal (1978) and has accessed the executive cadre through the federal government Career Assignment Program (1993).

Greg Fyffe served in ADM positions in Solicitor General, Citizenship and Immigration, and the Privy Council Office, where he was Executive Director of the Intelligence Assessment Secretariat (2000-2008). After retiring from the Public Service he was a senior fellow with the Advanced Leadership Program of the School of the Public Service (2008-2011). From 2008 to 2014 he was also a Senior Fellow in the Graduate School of International Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Ottawa, where he co-taught a graduate course on intelligence (2009-2016). At Telfer Executive Programs, he has facilitated courses on security and intelligence leadership, policy leadership and strategic thinking. He is the Past President of the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies.

Samantha Hamilton is a senior quality, patient safety and risk management professional with over 25 years of experience in a variety of health sectors. She has worked within the pharmaceutical, medical device, biologics, diagnostics, blood, long-term care, home care and acute care (hospital) sectors. She holds an undergraduate degree in Biology (Microbiology specialization), a Master’s degree in Health Administration and a Master's certificate in Risk Management. She holds a CPHQ designation and is trained as a Lean six sigma black belt. Samantha is experienced in quality management systems design, quality and patient safety risk management processes, and a variety of quality improvement tools and techniques. She has presented at provincial and national conferences and has served on community health service boards and participated in provincial committees.  

Samantha is the founder of The Ottawa Hospital Innovation Framework for Healthcare Quality Improvement and primary author in the publication of the Innovation Framework for healthcare quality improvement - the foundational method taught in the Telfer Quality Improvement & Patient Safety Leadership Program that has also been adopted by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. She is also a faculty member with CHA Learning, teaches in the Telfer Executive Master of Health Administration, and is Program Director and lead facilitator for Telfer Executive Programs’ Quality Improvement & Patient Safety Leadership Program.

Daniel Hébert has spent most of his 38-year career in defence procurement and holds an executive Master's degree in Complex Project and Procurement Leadership from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia. He has been Project Manager of several billion-dollar projects, including the Tank Replacement Project (TRP) and the Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) project, and serving as Deputy Project Manager of the Armoured Combat Support Vehicle (ACSV) project. He worked at Public Services and Procurement Canada as a Senior Procurement Advisor and Senior Director with the Defence Procurement Strategy Secretariat. As Director of the Project Management Support Organization, he oversaw the Project Manager Competency Development (PMCD) program that aims to develop better Department of National Defence project managers. Most recently, Daniel has been co-leading Telfer Executive Programs’ Complex Project and Procurement Leadership (CPPL) program as well as the Complex Project and Procurement Executive Leadership Program (CPPELP). Daniel also holds a Master's degree in Reliability Engineering. 

Theresa Humphrys is the owner and founder of Bold Oak Coaching and Consulting. She is a certified coach, educator and facilitator with a depth of experience as a change leader in healthcare, public and private sectors. Having worked extensively with healthcare organizations across the region, Theresa understands the joys and challenges of inspiring teams, effecting change, navigating workplace politics and making a meaningful difference from within an organization. 

Theresa has a Masters in Human Systems Intervention from Concordia University, Lean Green Belt Certification, and is a certified Integral Coach. She is an Associate Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation, and certified Tilt365 Master Agility Practitioner. 

Her coaching and facilitation style balances the practical with the inspirational. She has made her career – and her reputation – in guiding, developing and supporting leaders and teams to live their values and achieve their potential. 

In her spare time, Theresa runs, knits and plays the guitar (though not all at the same time). She is based in Ottawa. 

Over the past two decades, Professor Lavagnon Ika has taught project management to project managers and senior business leaders in many universities and schools in countries throughout America, Europe, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East.  

Dr Lavagnon Ika is Professor of Project Management and Founding Director of the Major Projects Observatory at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. He is also an Extraordinary Professor at both the Graduate School of Technology Management and the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) of the University of Pretoria. He is a Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow, an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Project Management and the Canadian Journal of Development Studies, and a past or current member of the Academic Boards of the international project management associations PMI and IPMA.  

Professor Ika’s research has been widely published in prestigious outlets such as International Journal of Project Management, Project Management Journal, World Development, Public Administration and Development, Journal of Development Studies, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Production Planning and Control, Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Journal of Business Strategy, Journal of African Business, Harvard Business Review France and The Conversation, to name a few.  

His ideas have been presented at many international conferences, including the Academy of Management (AoM), the European Academy of Management (EURAM), the International Research Network on Organizing by Projects (IRNOP), and the PMI Research and Education Conference, Making Projects Critical (MPC), and the International Academy of African Business and Development (IAABD.  

Professor Ika's work has earned him three Emerald Publishing House Awards of Excellence (Best Reviewer Award in 2018, Outstanding Paper in 2017 and Highly Commended Paper Award in 2011), as well as three IPMA Global Awards of Excellence (Research Award in 2017 and 2022 and Contribution of a Young Researcher Award in 2012). He was awarded the Telfer Innovative Researcher Award in 2017 and the Telfer Established Researcher Award in 2021. He is the co-author of Managing Fuzzy Projects in 3D, which won the PMI Book of the Year in 2024, and the co-editor of the Cambridge University Handbook of Project Behavior.  

Professor Ika’s work appears in the press including in outlets such as Ottawa Citizen and La Presse. Professor Ika has provided guidance for the World Bank as external advisory panel member on their Results and Performance of the World Bank Group 2023 and for PMI as a lead scholar on how to measure project success. 

Ms. Irish has extensive leadership experience in foreign affairs, refugee issues, and national and international security - built during a career spanning more than 35 years.  She is currently an Associate at University of Ottawa’s Telfer Centre for Executive Leadership, co-directing its Canada Security and Intelligence Leadership Program.   

Ms. Irish served 3 times at the Privy Council Office, including as Director of Operations of Canada’s Intelligence Assessment Secretariat, which produces global intelligence assessments and provides coordination and professionalization services to intelligence analysts. Prior, she served as Director General at Canada’s Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre which assesses threats related to violent extremism and terrorism.   

She also has executive-level experience at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada - primarily leading refugee affairs and coordinating and leading strategic policy.  

Her more than 20 years in Canada’s foreign service included postings to embassies in Israel (and Cyprus), Cuba, Mexico and at Canada’s Missions to the UN in New York and Geneva.  At HQ she led teams in the International Security and International Environment bureaux, and served as negotiator for a number of international agreements including the North American Free Trade Agreement.   

Ms. Irish currently provides training and advisory services through her consultancy. 

As a former Vice President in the Public Service of Canada and with more than 20 years in the executive rank, Patricia Jaton has extensive knowledge and experience and honed competencies in several areas including executive/leadership development, conflict resolution, values & ethics, employee and organizational effectiveness and well-being, as well as in transformational initiatives related to organizational culture. She now works with various clients as a trained professional coach and consultant, and she shares her passion for people and their growth. 

Over the course of her 34-year career, Patricia created and implemented several new people-centric programs and services – she was Health Canada’s first Ombuds in the early 2000’s – and she worked on Public Service-wide HR policies and guidance as VP, Policy and Communications, at the Public Service Commission from 2017 to 2021. When she was at the Canada School of Public Service, Patricia was responsible for leadership development programs. Moreover, Patricia occupied the position of Deputy Secretary to the Governor General from 2011 to 2017 which allowed her to work on national and international matters.  The various positions she held in several departments allowed her to acquire considerable experience and expertise in dealing with a wide range of people management issues that were both complex and sensitive. 

Patricia is recognized for her engaging collaborative approach with various stakeholders and partners and strong communication/writing abilities in both official languages. 

Patricia is an ICF accredited professional coach who also offers mentoring and career management services including preparing for interviews at the executive level. 

In addition to her university degree, Patricia obtained a University Certificate in Organizational Values and Ethics from Carleton University. She successfully completed the training offered by an institution recognized by ICF to act as a professional coach, and by the International Ombuds Association to serve as ombuds. Moreover, she is certified to administer and interpret the Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) – a 360-degree leadership assessment tool – and she possesses a Certification in Creating Positive Change offered by The Change Lab in Australia. 

Daniel Labonté is a retired CEO with over 30 years of leadership experience spanning the private, not-for-profit and public sectors.   He has led diverse teams across sales, marketing, information technology, talent management, organization development and general management.  Since retirement, Daniel has continued to shape the next generation of business leaders by sharing his vast knowledge and experience through individual coaching. Prior to retirement, Daniel was the CEO of MD Financial Management, a wealth management firm dedicated to serving Canada’s physicians and their families.  As MD Financial’s CEO, Daniel completed the successful M&A integration of MD into Scotiabank and delivered the first Canadian pension fund designed specifically for physicians. Post-retirement, Daniel continues his support of MD and the physician community by serving as the Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Medicus Pension Plan.  

Throughout his career, he has delivered transformational business results by creating environments where individuals and teams can thrive through collaboration and innovation. His inspirational leadership is anchored in his deep belief that truly outstanding organizational success is achieved by developing brilliant talent. His commitment to Executive and Leadership coaching is a hallmark of his career, one that he has been engaging in for over 15 years. He is a trusted leader and is sought out for his unique ability to help people see the unrealized potential within themselves. 

Daniel has applied his experience in strategy and business to various board governance and committee roles including the Investment Funds Institute of Canada, MD Financial Management and MD’s multiple OSFI regulated subsidiaries. Daniel’s creative and unique perspectives drove new methods and approaches to expanding public programs with private sector funding, both at a national and international level.  His ability to navigate complex business situations while maintaining unwavering commitment to people development has been instrumental as he led companies through enterprise and cultural transformation, M&A, divestitures and a global pandemic.  

Daniel earned both a Bachelor of Science and an MBA from the University of Ottawa. He holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching from Royal Roads University, as also graduated from the Advanced Management Program at the Harward Business School. He is fluently bilingual in French and English, and has an International Coaching Federation certification (PCC).  

Dr. Guylaine Lefebvre completed medical school and her obstetrics and gynecology residency at the University of Ottawa, followed by a Fellowship in advanced gynecologic surgery at the Mayo Clinic. She practised at The Ottawa Hospital until she was recruited to St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto as Chief of obstetrics and gynecology from 2001 to 2015, where she also chaired the Medical Advisory Council. Dr. Lefebvre became the inaugural Joint Chair of Women’s Health for St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto. In 2015, Dr. Lefebvre moved back to Ottawa, joining the Canadian Medical Protective Association as Director of Practice Improvement. In 2021, she became Executive Director of Learning and Connecting at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.  

Dr. Lefebvre has participated in numerous education, quality improvement, and practice-specific committees at provincial, national, and international levels. She is a past President of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada. She has obtained international recognition for her work in women’s health, through an honorary Fellowship to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of the United Kingdom and she is a recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee award. 

Dr. Lefebvre maintains a steadfast commitment to medical education, physician support, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and inclusion. With an innate focus on collaborative approaches, her teams have successfully implemented programs that resonated deeply with healthcare professionals, enhancing their professional journeys and contributing to safe medical care.

Denis Lévesque acquired his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Ottawa. Eighteen years later, he obtained his graduate certificate in executive coaching at the University of Royal Roads (CEC) and his professional coaching certification from the International Coaching Federation (PCC). Denis is a professional who helps companies and leaders ignite growth, improve profitability and achieve results. Known as an engaging coach, speaker, trainer and author, Denis uses his business acumen and expertise in human performance behaviours to spark success.

Cathy Lewis is a co-founder, board director, professor, and consultant. She has worked in leadership roles across corporate, government and not-for-profit organizations. Her areas of expertise broadly include education, strategy, and governance.  

Cathy leads domestic and international education programs. Her education clients have included Microsoft, NASA’s Distance Learning, and Public Services and Procurement Canada. Cathy is a part-time professor in the Telfer School of Management’s Executive MBA where she teaches leadership, team skills, and emotional intelligence. In a manufacturing context Cathy has been the global lead for Environment, Health and Safety, Director of Communications, designed an Enterprise Strategic Program Management Office and created workplace apprenticeship, mentoring and coaching programs. Cathy has been a board member for 20 years and an area of expertise in her consulting practice is governance. 

Cathy volunteered on a Habitat Build team in Whitehorse, served as treasurer on the Elizabeth Fry Society board and supports the Ottawa School Breakfast Program. Cathy founded iSisters Technology Mentoring in 2001. iSisters creates and delivers technology programs in collaboration with community partners to equip women with the skills and confidence to participate fully in their community. She supports strategy, programs, and partnership development as a director on the board.

Susie Maloney is a Professional Negotiator, Negotiation Architect/Strategist and a Negotiating and Influencing Trainer. She has worked both the front lines and behind the scenes for very high-stakes negotiations for corporates, multi-nationals, and governments.

Known for keen inter-personal skills and emotional awareness, she is highly sought after by clients from around the world. She provides negotiation strategy preparation, training and consulting, executive team leadership/special advisorship, and training design.

Special focuses: Tactical Empathy and Neurogotiation; applying human behavior principles to strategic persuasion to get the Other Party to meet you at your preferred Outcome. She also loves the study of transferring and application of sport and sport psychology to the business world.

She is a frequent Lecturer and Adjunct Professor at the Business School level and sits on the Judge’s Panel at the Halloum Negotiation Competition in Berkeley, California.

Susie lives with her husband and two children in San Francisco, California.

David McLaughlin is a recognized public policy leader with almost 40 years’ experience in senior government, political, and private sector settings at both national and provincial levels. At the public service level, David served as Clerk of the Executive Council, Cabinet Secretary, and Head of the Civil Service in Manitoba, Deputy Minister to the Premier of New Brunswick for Policy and Planning, and Deputy Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs in both Manitoba and New Brunswick. The premier appointed David as deputy minister to lead New Brunswick’s Commission on Legislative Democracy. 

He was appointed president and CEO of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy and acted as executive director to the Council of the Federation’s panel on fiscal imbalance.

At the political level, David was Chief of Staff to the prime minister of Canada and the federal minister of finance. He directed four successful provincial election campaigns. Most recently, David was president and CEO of the Institute on Governance.

David is a published author and regularly writes and comments on Canadian public affairs and governance issues for national and regional media outlets including the CBC, Globe and Mail, Winnipeg Free Press, and others.

David believes strongly in the value and importance of good governance and a strong, effective public service to serve Canadians.

His teaching interests are in the areas of public governance, democracy and politics, intergovernmental relations, and public policy development, and public service learning.

David holds a BA (Honours) from Mount Allison University, an MA in International Affairs from Carleton University, and an MBA from the University of Bath (UK).

Jean Ogilvie, an Associate of Telfer Centre for Executive Programs, is the founder of the Aeshna Project, a company that specializes in developing leaders, teams and organizations.  Jean splits her time between one-on-one coaching of leaders and designing and facilitating leadership development programs and initiatives in the public, private and educational sectors. Jean has been involved in highly successful leadership development programs including the UN's Deep Dive Program offered in Italy and Sweden, The Leadership Development Intensive with John Scherer in Europe and Canada and Telfer Executive Programs’ Boundless Leadership: A Breakthrough Program for Women. She has also coached teams at Queen's University’s Smith School of Business for several years. She approaches this work through a focus on developing the intelligences of the whole person - somatic, emotional, cognitive and spiritual. She has most recently focused on developing resilience and agility from the inside out, based on emerging research in neuroscience demonstrating that in leadership, we 'start with ourselves', move to relational health, and then work on our impact in context. Jean is an ICF certified coach of 20 years, with an M.A. in Communications and doctoral studies in Adult Education.

Ingrid Richter is an Executive in Residence at the Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa and Partner, Threshold Associates.  Her teaching, action research and consulting work has three major areas of focus:  leadership development, facilitating complex, multi-stakeholder change processes and developing change agents so that they can more effectively engage in high impact, complex change.  Her recent client work focuses on leadership and international capacity development supporting sustainability of social innovation initiatives. She has in-depth experience in provincial and federal governments, including as a Senior Fellow at the Canada School of Public Service as well as senior roles in corrections, policing and public safety.  Ingrid was the co-founder of the Canadian Organization Development Institute and designs and delivers leadership programs for the UN Staff College and the UNHCR.  In her spare time she is an active volunteer at Synapcity, (an Ottawa non-profit focused on developing citizen engagement), loves travel, poetry, cooking and learning to play the ukulele.

Prior to retiring from the public service in 2020, Marie was a faculty member at the Canada School of Public Service and led the launch of a new Executive Leadership Development Program for senior public sector executives. 

Over the past 32 years, Marie has held various positions at Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Industry Canada and Finance Canada, where she provided strategic advice and managed a number of programs relating to energy, transportation, environmental and science policy.  Since 2007 she has held executive positions with responsibilities in leading transformational projects, corporate planning, business & vision process reviews and managing inter-departmental initiatives. Over the course of her career, she has launched several people-management & leadership development initiatives.

Marie is an accredited Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coach Federation (ICF) and holds a B.Sc., and an MBA from the University of Ottawa as well as a Certificate in change management from Queens University.

Craig Szelestowski is a Lean government and transformation specialist with close to two decades of experience implementing dramatic turnarounds in Canadian government. He started Lean Agility Inc. in 2010 to apply Lean exclusively to government organizations. With his coaching, his clients have reduced lead times by up to 80%, increased capacity by up to 200% and created outstanding levels of employee engagement. 

In his public service career, as Vice President of Human Resources, Lean and Quality, he lead the Royal Canadian Mint’s Lean transformation which helped move the organization through a challenging era of cutbacks and job losses into an extended period of financial and organizational health and stability. During his tenure, the Mint realized tens of millions of dollars of Lean improvements, dramatically reduced the time and effort to deliver its products and services, moving from a financial loss, to a profit of over $68 million. In terms of employee engagement, it improved from 100 grievances per year to 20 per year and was named by Maclean’s magazine as one of “Canada’s Top 100 Employers” from 2007 to 2010. 

Over a period of the past sixteen years, Craig has introduced and/or applied Lean in over 60 projects in more than 25 public sector organizations in Canada.

He is widely regarded as one of Canada’s foremost experts on the application of Lean to both knowledge/project based work as well as to more transactional work such as permits and applications. An excellent speaker and facilitator, Craig has been called upon to share his expertise at numerous conferences across Canada, including: the 2018 Canadian Lean Summit (Results, Not Resistance: Building Buy-in and Execution into your Lean Initiative), the 2016 Conference Board of Canada Public Sector Transformation Conference (Taking a Lean Approach to Deliverology), the 2016 Ontario Public Service Lean Community of Practice Symposium (Banish the Backlog in Non-Transactional Processes), the 2016 Canadian Government Executive Annual Conference (Deliverology: Risks and Opportunities from a Lean Perspective) and the 2015 Canadian Government Executive Annual Conference (An introduction to Lean Government).  

Craig has served multiple times as a part-time professor at the Telfer School of Business at the University of Ottawa. He is currently the co-designer and instructor of Telfer’s White and Yellow Belt Lean Service programs and teaches Lean to Telfer’s MBA students.

Craig offers his services in both of Canada’s official languages; he served as the Mint’s Official Languages Co-Champion from 2004 to 2010.

Christina Tector draws on over 20 years of experience working in the federal public service in the fields of leadership and organizational change. She is passionate about facilitating, supporting and accompanying leaders to discover their own personal development edges, fulfill their potential and elevate the teams of people they lead. Christina cares deeply about creating a climate of trust, compassion and authenticity for healthy humans to thrive in healthy systems.

Christina delivers leadership programs through the Canada School of Public Service, the University of Ottawa’s Telfer Executive Programs & the Global Learning & Development Centre at the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR). She works with teams to support them to strengthen both their relationships and their impact. Christina also coaches clients individually and in small groups, to help them re-discover their own sense of agency and inner guidance.

Christina is a lifelong learner. She is an Integral Associate Coach, a Qualified Mindfulness-Based Symptom Management teacher.  She is a certified Emotional Intelligence (EQ-i) Feedback Facilitator and Action Learning Group Facilitator. She holds a Masters of Education Degree in Counselling Psychology from McGill University.

Rachel Wernick is a Fellow with the Public Policy Forum (PPF), a Mentor with the Action Canada Leadership Program and the Program Director for the Policy Leadership Program at the Telfer Centre for Executive Leadership.  Rachel is one of Canada’s leading practitioners in social and employment policy having gained experience in a variety of executive roles at Canadian Heritage, the Privy Council Office, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and Public Works and Government Services Canada. She retired from the federal public service in May 2023 after a distinguished career that culminated in her role as Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of Skills and Employment at Employment and Social Development Canada. 

Rachel is known by colleagues for her collaborative leadership and by staff for her commitment to developing and empowering team members at all levels.  She is a strong proponent of the benefit of human-centered design and has a proven ability to lead multi-partner initiatives that take something from policy idea or challenge through to actionable options for implementation. Rachel’s excellent reputation as a policy leader resulted in her appointment as Co-Champion of the Clerk’s Policy Community initiative; a role she held for five years.  Rachel has channeled her passion for policy into developing a curriculum that offers government executives access to current tools, leading edge thinkers and leadership lessons from recent experiences on complex policy initiatives. 

Dr. Alex Wilner is an Associate Professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and the Director of the Infrastructure Protection and International Security program, at Carleton University. He teaches and writes on strategic foresight, deterrence theory, cybersecurity, national security policy, and emerging technology. His books include Deterring Rational Fanatics (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015), Deterring Terrorism: Theory and Practice (eds., Stanford University Press, 2012), and Deterrence by Denial: Theory and Practice (Cambria Press, 2021). Among his several dozen journal publications, his research on foresight includes an assessment of Canada’s emerging foresight landscape published in Foresight (2020), a review of foresight’s application to Canadian international development assistance in Development Policy Review (2024), a critical assessment of Canada’s foresight-to-standardization framework in International Journal (2024), a study of Canadian “Cyber Futures” published with the Defence & Security Foresight Group (2020), and a scientific exploration of scanning for value changes, published in Futures & Foresight Science (2022). Prior to joining Carleton, he was recruited into public service through the Recruitment of Policy Leaders (RPL) program; he worked at Policy Horizons Canada (2014-2015), where he gained invaluable experience applying foresight to public policy. Alongside his academic work, he consultants regularly with government departments seeking to establish foresight capacity. Since 2017, he has trained over 1400 public servants in strategic foresight and has assisted several government departments and agencies establish foresight units and teams, including at ECCC, GAC, AAFC, SCC, IDRC, NRCan, PHAC, DND, the Department of Justice, and members of Canada’s intelligence community.