Speakers

Speaker

Todd is the highly regarded principle facilitator of Tourism Keys Internet Marketing Training and founder of Northern Edge Algonquin Inc., a solar-powered nature retreat on the edge of Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada.  He has been demystifying technology for tourism businesses since 2000, training thousands of small business operators, business clusters, and communities on how to use the Internet to enhance ideal client relationships and grow sustainable businesses.  Todd's passion for sharing knowledge grew from his days as an Ontario teacher (1987-1995). 
  
This quote from Todd which says "Good technologies bridge time and space to bring people together to share information and enhance relationships", provides the spring board for Todd’s perspective.

Come and let Todd take your through the fascinating journey of Ontario’s Digital Economy Conference!

Doug Cooper, Country Manager (Canada), Intel Corporation

Doug Cooper is the Country Manager (Canada) for Intel Corporation.  Intel is the innovative microchip maker that creates and produces much of the intelligent technology that powers our digital world. 

Come and hear Doug describe how to manage behaviors and attitudes towards knowledge management and explain how this can have a serious impact on business productivity and competitiveness. Learn what Canadian businesses can do to break the knowledge barrier and help them to uncover new opportunities.
   

Ed Brown, MD: Ontario Telemedicine Network

Click to Learn More or to ask Dr. Brown a question prior to the conference

Ed Brown, MD is the Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Telemedicine Network and has been a passionate advocate for the advancement of telemedicine as an important tool to improve access to care, quality of care and the sustainability of health care systems.

Under Dr. Brown’s leadership, OTN supports clinical, educational and administrative telemedicine services at more than 550 sites throughout the province of Ontario, making it one of the largest and most active telemedicine networks in the world.

Rob is the Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for: developing government-wide IT strategies as well as plans for e-government. Rob’s division is also responsible for reviewing all government I&IT submissions and for making available a variety of common IT components and applications to the OPS and promoting a range of I&IT excellence initiatives including Showcase Ontario – Canada’s largest public sector I&IT training conference.

Rob is a member of the Board of Directors of the Technical Standards & Safety Authority (TSSA) and a past corporate director on various boards including: the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council, the Electrical Safety Authority and Tarion Warranty Corporation.

Prior to joining MGS, Rob was an ADM and Director at the former Ministry of Consumer & Business Services and a Senior Manager at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Ministry of Housing.  Before he joined the Ontario Public Service, Rob was an Urban Planner with the Corporation of the City of Ottawa.  He also worked in the private sector as a Management Consultant.

Rob has won various awards including: the Amethyst Award for outstanding achievement; the IPAC Award for Innovative Management; the US National Consumer Agency Achievement Award; two US Achievement in Consumer Education Awards; the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario’s Recognition Award; and the Canadian Institute of Planners National Award for Planning Excellence.

Rob is a Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners, a Registered Professional Planner and a Professional Land Economist.  He holds a Masters of Science degree from the University of Toronto, and an Honours B.A. from Queen’s University.  More recently, Rob has successfully completed the Executive Program at York University and a Strategic Management Program at Harvard University.

Rob is married with two children.  He is a keen triathlete, canoeist and runner who has successfully competed in the Boston marathon and the Canadian Half Ironman.  In his spare time, Rob coaches junior hockey and helps out with various charities.
   

Captain Kirk's communicator and tricorder are now embodied in our BlackBerrys; robots have walked off the pages of science fiction into our living rooms; and the Jetsons' hyperconnected lifestyle has become our daily reality. 

In his entertaining keynote address, Facing Technology Together, Rob will show us why science fiction has been called "the only preventive medicine for Future Shock," and explain how extrapolative science-fiction thinking and rapid adoption of cutting-edge technologies can aid businesses as they rush to meet the future.

Join Rob at Ontario’s Digital Economy Conference!

Holly Sabara is a Food Safety Project Coordinator in the Food Safety Programs Branch at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), administering the Food Safety Initiative Traceability Grant and Pilot Programs. In her position, she is leading the development and implementation of traceability systems at several agri-food operations throughout the Province, from which valuable learnings will be drawn to benefit the Ontario Agri-food Industry.

Come and hear Holly describe and demonstrate the results of various facility-level traceability projects throughout the Province, including an evaluation of existing information mechanisms and recommendations for the implementation of new equipment, software solutions and procedural changes to facilitate traceability and sound record-keeping provisions. 

This workshop will clearly demonstrate the importance of traceability systems in a wide range of settings and provide participants with greater knowledge regarding the costs, benefits, opportunities and challenges of implementing a facility level traceability system

In his presentation Tracking Environmental Change Using Digital Technologies, Dr. Kelly will explain how digital observing and mapping technologies, from remote sensing to geographical information systems to GPS, form an integral toolkit for the scientist interested in environmental change. The sequence of data acquisition, data analysis and information presentation that drive environmental knowledge advancement is increasingly a seamless chain of events thanks to digital media standards and interoperability of tools. This presentation will explain how digital technologies are being used to track environmental change from regional to global scales.

Additionally, Dr. Kelly has held positions at the University of London, UK and at NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre before moving to Waterloo. His research is concerned with remote sensing of the cryosphere, places on Earth where water is frozen. In a changing environment, the cryosphere is predicted to exhibit some of the earliest signs of change and this is being born out in the Arctic regions. His research is funded through NSERC, Government of Canada, CFI and NASA. He is the co-author of a recent book entitled “The Cryosphere and Global Environmental Change” and the lead editor of a book entitled “Spatial Modelling of the Terrestrial Environment”.

Leigh Rowan, is the VP of Interactive Marketing, TheSLAgency and will present information on Leveraging Virtual Worlds for Government Uses – Pandora’s Box, and Ontario as a Case Study

Click to Learn More or to ask Leigh Rowan a question prior to the conference

Since early this year, TheSLAgency has worked with Ontario Public Service (OPS) to create awareness for the 18 public service career categories in Ontario. This groundbreaking presence has created a plethora of opportunities for local, provincial and federal government to engage with their constituency for education, recruitment and training, public outreach program usage, and much more.
The presentation will cover innovative ways that OPS and other Ontario Ministries are using virtual worlds, as well as discuss effective solutions for keeping this burgeoning technology manageable and successful.

Come and hear Leigh describe how Governments can engage in this exciting new virtual world that is unfolding before out eyes.

Canadian firms are going Green in the datacenter and beyond, but a dearth of available information limits meaningful carbon footprint reduction. IT and business executives are asking about all the assets and technologies at their disposal as well as the business and economic impact of being 'Green'.

Come and join Lawrence as he debates and discusses the impact of technology on the environment, including the latest research highlighting the value and importance of being Green.  Lawrence also discussed the capital and operational investments Canadian businesses are making to reduce their carbon footprint.

Glen Milne
Finland and Sweden are successfully and continually transforming their economies, societies, and the care and use of their natural resources. They have been doing this successfully for a century despite severe disruptions and competition in their global and regional environment.

Click to Learn More or to ask Glen Milne a question prior to the conference

As part of panel Glen will focus on key common practices in the areas of human development, information, innovation, environment, and investment that he believes has enabled Finland and Sweden to succeed, and have a competitive edge over us. Then Glen will ask that we rise to the occasion, and he will challenge our thinking on the tradition approaches we have been using.

Glen provides facilitation, design, training and advice for strategic policy, business models, organizational change, governance, consultations, foresight studies, and strategic planning.

nGen Niagara Interactive Media is a hub for interactive media project and business development in Niagara. This initiative is aimed at development of an economic cluster in interactive media in Niagara.  nGen will foster new enterprise and build capacity in Niagara in this fast growing sector of the economy. nGen’s programs are designed to retain talent in Niagara and attract and assist new business in a Niagara context where creators and entrepreneurs can thrive.
   

As an involved community member, come and hear how Jean promotes Wilberforce as the “Geocaching Capital of Canada”.  By linking business together on the net to encourage tourism, developing tourism sites from net sourced information including local library and genealogy projects, Jean has found a way to develop the digital economy for her local community.
    

Come and hear Lev describe OneCommunity which is an award-winning community wire and wireless network infrastructure and application portfolio organization. One Community is based in NorthEast Ohio and connect 22 counties with fiber infrastructure that is owned, operated, and maintained by a non-profit connecting 1,000,000 users in 1500 facilities, including schools, health care organizations, museums, libraries, public broadcasting, and government sectors. Today, One Community supports a national center of excellence in connected community building and is engaged in more than 25 cities around the United States.

Traditionally, the dominant modes of developing the broadband economy follow either government OR industry led approaches to building the broadband economy, OneCommunity offers a now well documented third-way. OneCommunity is a hybrid model that mediates industry and public sector investments through a non-profit-centric model. We focus on delivering connectivity (access) to support community priorities (especially, education, health, and 21st century workforce development). This presentation outlines One Communitie’s experience as being potentially relevant to the Ontario Digital Economy strategy development.
   

Come and hear Mr. Simpson describe the importance of information and communication technology, and how the Internet has changed in the past 10 years.

Mr. Simpson has played a central role in designing Canada’s policies on electronic commerce at the domestic and international levels. His office has the overall policy responsibility for Canada’s private sector privacy legislation, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, and for the regulations made pursuant to the Act. In addition, he has the primary responsibility within the federal government for policies regarding spam and other related threats to Internet-based commerce.

One of his major responsibilities is the development of strategies to promote the growth of electronic commerce and e-business, both in Canada and internationally. He has played a leading role in the work of the Canadian e-Business Initiative (CeBI) and in organizing the National Conference on the e-Economy, which took place in Ottawa in September 2004. Internationally, he has been actively involved in the OECD, the WTO, ITU and other international bodies dealing with aspects of electronic commerce, and in the work of the G8 DOT Force, the UN Information and Communications (ICT) Task Force, and Commonwealth Connects, the Commonwealth’s flagship initiative in the area of ICT for Development. Mr. Simpson was elected Chair of the OECD’s senior level Committee on Information, Computers and Communications Policy (ICCP) in 2007, and recently joined the ITU’s High Level Expert Group on Cyber-Security.

Mr. Simpson has worked in the field of communications and information technology since 1975, occupying senior executive positions at the provincial, national and international levels. From 1995 to 1997, he was the Executive Director of Canada’s Information Highway Advisory Council, a group of 29 senior private sector executives appointed to advise the Canadian government on issues pertaining to the development of communications and information technologies in Canada. The Council’s Final Report, Preparing Canada for a Digital World, which was published in September, 1997, became the foundation for Canada’s leading edge policies on connectivity, electronic commerce and the information society.

Community Panel: Members of this panel will describe how they have engaged and transformed their communities and improved the quality of life through technology adaptation.

Expert Panelists include:

Brenda Halloran - Mayor of Waterloo
As Mayor of Waterloo, Ontario, Brenda Halloran will discuss Intelligent Waterloo and Building Innovation Capacity through collaboration.

Brenda will describe how Waterloo became an intelligent community through partnerships with various organizations, and how a sustainable city has developed as a result.

To Learn more about Brenda (Click Here)

Brian Beaton - K-Net
Over the course of over 10 years, Brian Beaton of K-Net has worked with communities to accelerate the adoption of information communication technology (ICT). In communities like North Spirit Lake and Keewaywin, internet access preceded telephony – an innovation that community members adopted to without problem. This network has been the backbone for introducing health, education, justice, economic development, training and database applications. Organizationally, K-Net has incorporated lessons learned implementing ICTs to assume national and regional management roles within programs such as the National Satellite Initiative and the First Nations SchoolNet Regional Management Organization consortium.

Come and hear Brian discuss how K-Net has been a leader in technology adoption, and the benefits that have followed.

To Learn More about Brian (Click Here)

Jennifer Cooper - Metroland Media
Jennifer will describe what challenges the community newspaper industry has faced with more and more readers moving toward the Internet as a means of information gathering.

Come and learn from Jennifer how this industry has taken on the challenge and Metroland Media continues to grow as a company while still maintaining the core business.

To Learn More about Jennifer (Click Here)