Guest Speakers

Interactive workshops for hands-on learning

Jonathan Di Pasquale has served as the President of Instant Risk Coverage (IRC) for the past four years. As one of the founding partners, Jonathan has been instrumental in shaping IRC’s mission to make insurance easier, more affordable, and highly efficient.

Executive Director of ParaSport Ontario, James brings progressive leadership experience from both the healthcare and non-profit disability sport sectors. James has comprehensive knowledge in program evaluation, strategic planning, and research, and has demonstrated leadership in project and change management, developing and implementing new processes and technologies to achieve strategic goals.

As a Former member of the CSCO Board of Directors, a supporter of “Get Active and Play” and Managing Director of Sport for Development Group, Jeff believes in our collective ability to build local capacity for the development of healthier and more liveable communities through sport and recreation.

Sara Restani is the Executive Director of Kidsport Ontario, a charity providing grants to help children participate in sports. With nearly five years at Kidsport, she initially served as Program Manager. Sara is also the past president of the Halton Field Hockey Club and a former Director on the Community Sport Councils of Ontario Board. She is on the Field Hockey Ontario Board of Directors and is a certified Competition Introduction and Learning Facilitator. She holds a Bachelor’s in Marketing Management from Athabasca University and a Business Marketing diploma from Mohawk College.

Maria has over 20 years working in a variety of Destination Management Organization capacities and is the founding Executive Director of Hamilton Halton Brant Regional Tourism Association. Maria has diverse non-profit sector experiences gained in her work with several non-profit organizations and municipality settings. She has gained extensive experience in destination development, tourism product and marketing development, event management, volunteer management, community relations, program development, donor recognition programs, partnership and fund development.

Kara is the Manager of Tourism, Culture and Sport for the City of Brantford and has been a proud part of the Economic Development, Tourism and Cultural Initiatives Department since 2016. Prior to her work at the City, Kara was a Product Manager for Scholastic Canada Ltd., where she also published two books. A dedicated learner, Kara has received an Honours Bachelor of Arts from Western University, as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Guelph with a specialization in Hospitality and Tourism Management, where she graduated at the top of her class. Kara is also a part-time professor at Conestoga College in the School of Business.

Lori-Dawn is the Manager of Community Recreation & Events for the City of Brantford and has been proudly in her role with the Parks and Recreation Department since 2011. A proud Brock University Alumni and part time faculty member for Conestoga College here in Brantford in the School of Business, Lori-Dawn is committed to connecting residents to high quality recreation services and volunteer opportunities within the community. Along with the City’s dedicated recreation team, Lori-Dawn has the privilege of working directly with over 800 volunteers through the valuable work of Neighbourhood Associations, community organizations and a variety of community events offered in the City.

Isaac is currently a Program Consultant with the Games and Sport Hosting Unit at the Ministry of Sport. Currently, this includes leading host community recruitment for the newly released 2026-2029 Ontario Games Bid Guidelines. He has previously acted as lead consultant on the Thunder Bay 2024 Ontario Winter Games, Mississauga 2022 Ontario Winter Games and Mississauga 2022 Ontario Parasport Games. He has been working within government since 2018, previously serving other roles within sports and tourism portfolios.

In addition, he also served on the mission staff for Team Ontario at the Niagara 2022 Canada
Summer Games and the 2023 Canada Winter Games in PEI.

Dr. Katie Misener is an Associate Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Faculty of Health at the University of Waterloo. She received her PhD in Kinesiology (Sport Management) from Western University. Her primary research focuses on the capacity and social impact of nonprofit community sport organizations, with a particular focus on how capacity can be enhanced to support sport service delivery and foster social engagement through sport. Katie’s research interests also include the role of sport and recreation organizations in community health promotion and creating innovative ways to engage parents in youth sport. She works closely with community organizations in her research and teaching and is currently a volunteer for the Waterloo Minor Hockey Association, Parks and Recreation Ontario, and Active Together Family Sports.

Clay completed his undergraduate and master’s early in his career and focused on sport and recreation development, marketing
and business planning. Clay is currently working in 3 areas he is very passionate about: sport management, youth leadership, and Indigenous program development.
Clay is currently the Senior Manager for Indigenous Sport & Wellness Ontario. He was the catalyst in taking the organization from
2 staff and a budget $200,000 in 2015 to 24 staff and a budget of 5 million in 2022. Exciting Indigenous activities Clay has worked on include: 2024 National Indigenous Physical Activity & Wellness Conference, the 2023 Masters Indigenous Games and the Indigenous Leadership program for youth called “Standing Bear”.
Clay has always been very active in sport, has taught in the Sport & Recreation Department at Humber College and was certified
as an Ontario Trainer with Canadian Sport for Life with a focus on older adults and youth physical literacy.

Nancy Dubois, Principal Consultant and Owner of DU B FIT Consulting has specialized for over 30 years in health promotion advocacy, planning, and evaluation with a particular emphasis in the physical activity, sport, and recreation sector. Nancy works with the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Anti-Racism Work Group with a Branch of the Public Health Agency of Canada, and has just completed a three-year project with the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association leading training sessions for recreation volunteers and staff across Canada on gender equity. Nancy is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for her pioneer work in the field of physical activity promotion in Canada. Currently, Nancy is working with the Recreation Department with the City of Brantford in the community consultation aspects and development of their Recreation Space Allocation Policy.

I am Haudenosaunee, from the Oneida Nation, and I belong to the Wolf Clan. I lived my entire life in Six Nations Grand River Territory, where I still reside and raised my six children. I have always been involved in sports clubs as a member, a volunteer parent, or a coach as my children played 8h in grassroots programs or at elite high-performance teams. I have been a lifelong member of the Six Nations Skating Club since 1978, as a skater, coach, and board member. My involvement in my community outside of sports includes foster parenting, also providing respite care for our Indigenous youth in care. Being involved in my community comes from seeing the mentorship of my widowed mother, who was always involved in our sports teams. This influenced my brothers and me to be active parents of minor sports.

In the colonial world, I am the Human Resources Manager and External Relations for Indigenous Sport and Wellness Ontario. Here I continue supporting, sharing, and advocating for our Indigenous people. Living on a reserve where we lack opportunities, ignited my passion to provide more opportunities to our people, my community, and the communities less fortunate. Therefore, I sit on the Northern Development Strategic Plan Committee within ISWO. My Western academic knowledge comes from Niagara College, Brock University, and Fanshawe College, but the best learning comes from time spent listening to and learning from our Elders and knowledge keepers.

My passion has always been to advocate for our Indigenous people through teaching, sharing experiences and shared knowledge to increase opportunity, equality, and wisdom. I strive to support our people and our allies, for the betterment of our Indigenous youth.