KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

The Day After the Apology – A New Way of Walking Together

October 18, 2022

Be part of a unique discussion featuring Chief Cadmus Delorme and Archbishop Donald Bolen as we consider what Truth and Reconciliation means for our work as Catholic education leaders today.  The discussion will focus on listening to the experiences, wisdom and needs of Indigenous Peoples, and on what 'the day after the apology' might look like in terms of a new way of walking together. It will include some practical steps that can be taken by the Church and its educational institutions to actively accompany and support Indigenous people in their pursuit of justice, in the strengthening of their communities, and in fostering a new way telling and envisioning the story of this land and its peoples.

Chief Cadmus Delorme

Chief Cadmus Delorme, a Cree and Saulteaux, is the Chief of the Cowessess First Nation. Chief Delorme graduated from Cowessess Community Education Centre in 2000. He later moved to Regina to pursue a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Certificate in Hospitality, Tourism and Gaming Entertainment Management from the First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv), and a Master of Public Administration from the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. Recently, he has completed an Institute of Corporate Directors designation. 

In 2012, Chief Delorme received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, recognizing his student leadership and the hospitality he showed to Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, when they visited FNUniv. He was also named one of CBC Saskatchewan’s Future 40, which celebrates the province’s new generation of leaders, builders and change-makers under the age of 40. 

In 2019, Chief Delorme was re-elected to a second term in office. Under his leadership, Cowessess First Nation has focused on economic self-sustainability for its nation and people and has moved forward on renewable energy, agriculture, efficiency in land use initiatives that have created both current and future business opportunities.

This past year, Chief Delorme faced one of the hardest moments as Chief when the Saulteaux and Cree First Nation made international headlines with the discovery of potentially 751 unmarked graves near the former Marieval Indian Residential School. Shortly after, Cowessess made headlines again as the first First Nations community to sign an agreement with Ottawa that returns jurisdiction over children in care to the community. Federal legislation overhauling Indigenous child welfare was passed in 2019 and came into force last year.

Chief Delorme lives with his wife Kimberly, brother-in-law, daughter and two sons on Cowessess First Nation. 

Archbishop Donald Bolen 

Donald Bolen is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Regina. He was born on the Canadian prairies, studied in Regina, Ottawa and Oxford, and after ordination, taught in the Religious Studies department at Campion College at the University of Regina, and engaged in parish ministry. In 2001 he was appointed to work at the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, under Cardinal Walter Kasper. In that capacity he had the opportunity to serve the Catholic Church's international dialogues with Anglicans and Methodists. He was named the Bishop of the Diocese of Saskatoon in 2010 and the Archbishop of Regina in 2016. Within the Canadian Conference for Catholic Bishops, he has been active in ecumenical and justice work. On both diocesan and national levels, he has been actively involved in Indigenous relations and responding to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Thriving Through Uncertainty: Where Communication, Connection, and Compassion Intersect

November 10, 2022

Employees are becoming increasingly demotivated and disengaged coupled with experiencing a lack of work-life balance. Mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and addiction are on the rise hence it is integral to lead with compassion, transparency, integrity, and most of all resiliency as we stand together apart. Additionally, with remote work companies need to lead inclusively where they realize diversity reflects who’s on the team, yet inclusion reflects who gets to play. Great organizations recognize operating in silos create cultural barriers. Creating a sense of belonging promotes healthier, happier, inclusive, and innovative workplaces.

Key takeaways
• How to actively listen, empathize, and empower others towards a positive paradigm.
• Retraining the brain for positivity for optimal work-life blend.
• Balanced boundaries: You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep others warm.
• Psychological safety: The key to diversity, inclusion, and creating a sense of belonging at the workplace.
• Cultivate inclusion at virtual and in-person meetings.
• The power of surrendering to circumstance: Why letting go strengthens resilience.

Cross-Cultural Communication and Diversity Expert

An Indo-Canadian daughter of first generation East Indian parents, Varughese says her cultural background allows her to find “the best of both worlds” and shed light, knowledge, and, most importantly, universal humour into the changing workplace. Her highly entertaining, interactive, and practical keynotes leave attendees inspired to think, behave, act, and communicate with intention.

For fifteen years Varughese worked with immigrants in her roles with the Province of Alberta’s immigration office. She also ran her own successful relocation and settlement firm. Varughese draws from her experiences as an entrepreneur, mother, daughter, wife, sister, and friend when delivering keynotes on diversity and inclusion — topics that resonate with her both professionally and personally. 

Varughese has been named one of “Canada’s Top 10 Notable Speakers” by Ignite Magazine for her ability to break down barriers and create a comfortable, inclusive, and fun space for attendees. She was the face of diversity, literally, having been chosen to participate in Dove’s campaign for Real Beauty, representing beauty in diversity.

The past-president of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (Calgary), Varughese is a contributing writer for the Human Resource Institute of Alberta’s Network magazine, Calgary Real Estate News, and Home to Home magazine. She was also profiled in Alberta’s Venture Magazine.

Educating our Next Generation – The Light of Wisdom, the Joy of Being

December 8, 2022

As we turn to the nativity narrative as we always do at this time of the year, let us be taken to those moments in the story that herald a journey towards the light, that speak to the surprise of deep joy, that point to the hidden heart of things.  

Join Jill Gowdie as we explore what it means as Catholic educators and leaders to carry the promise of the Nativity narrative to the next generation. How must that promise play out in the shape of Catholic education? 

While with an eye made quiet by the power
Of harmony, and the deep power of joy,
We see into the life of things. 

 (Wordsworth -Tintern Abbey)

Dr. Jill Gowdie, PhD, FACE, GAICD

Jill is known across Australia and overseas as a speaker, writer, facilitator, educator and system leader with wide and deep experience in Catholic education, mission and formation. She has qualifications across the disciplines of theology, spirituality, leadership, religious education, journalism, education and governance. She holds a PhD in Educational Leadership, awarded summa cum laude. She also holds a Master’s degree in Religious Education and Theology, receiving an inaugural award for excellence in research. 

Jill has taught and led at primary, secondary and university levels and in adult and school consultancy contexts. A faculty member with BBI-TAITE and visiting fellow at Oxford and KU Leuven universities, she is also a member of 2 international networks/thinktanks, a peer reviewer for Sage Publications and is currently Vice President of the Association of Practical Theologians in Oceania. Jill is also Deputy Chair of the Lasallian Mission Council (Australia, Pakistan, New Guinea and New Zealand), Chair of the Gerard Rummery Institute and member of the Australian Mission and Education Board and the International Network of Researchers in Catholic Education.

Jill has pioneered work in Australia in contemporary spiritual formation, founding a national network (FACE Australia), and has been a leader in the National Catholic Education Commission in Australia in formation and the international work in Catholic Identity. At archdiocesan level, she has created and implemented a new system model and strategic approach to growing spiritual capital in school communities through staff engagement. The work she has done here has spread to other places including New Zealand, England and the Netherlands. 

Her innovative work has included the development of a companioning program for pre-service teachers in conjunction with the Australian Catholic University; the development of  a new College Middle Leaders Formation Program currently in pilot in Sydney and the PEARL Project (Program for Emerging and Aspiring Religious Leaders) piloted in Brisbane. Her 2017 book Stirring the Soul of Catholic Education: Formation for Mission has become a sought-after text for those studying and leading in Catholic education or church ministries. Jill has also published numerous articles, chapter contributions and a variety of resources. Her most recent work has been as a contributing writer for the Holy Bible CEV Catholic Edition with Encyclopaedia (2021). She is currently writing a guide for staff and student retreats due to be published early 2023. 

Jill is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is currently Director, Catholic Identity & Mission for Catholic Education, South Australia (CESA). 
Jill and husband Geoff have four adult children and have belonged to St Anne’s Catholic Community in Brisbane for a very long time.

A Once Angry Child to Ontario’s First Poet Laureate

February 21, 2023

Join Randell Adjei as he shares his story of how a caring educator made a life-changing difference for him.  Learn how systems of oppression and colonization impact students and how your leadership and influence has the power to change trajectories and the status quo.

Randell Adjei

Randell Adjei is an entrepreneur, speaker and spoken word practitioner who uses his gifts to Empower the message of Alchemy. He was recently appointed Ontario’s first Poet Laureate.

Randell, is the founder of one of Toronto's largest youth led initiatives, Reaching Intelligent Souls Everywhere (R.I.S.E Edutainment). In 2018, R.I.S.E received the Toronto Arts Foundation’s, Mayor’s Youth Arts Award.

Randell is the author of “I Am Not My Struggles,” a powerful Anthology released in 2018. Randell was also named CBC’s Metro Morning’s Torontonian of the Year in 2015 and NOW Magazines Local Hero in May 2017. In 2020 Randell opened up for President Barack Obama at the Economic Club of Canada.

What Makes Education Catholic

March 1, 2023

What distinguishes Catholic education is its grounding in deep spiritual values.  Though arising from Catholic faith, these values are universal and education based on them can enhance the life of any person.  For so long, we took for granted that our spiritual foundations were assured by the abundant presence of vowed religious on faculty and staff.  It is now all of our responsibility to assure the Catholic identity of our schools!

Dr. Thomas Groome is a senior Professor of Theology and Religious Education at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry.  He is former Director of BC’s Church in the 21st Century Center, and for many years has directed the university’s PhD in Theology and Education.  

He was born and grew up in Co. Kildare, Ireland.  (He holds an MA in Religious Education from Fordham University and a Doctorate in Theology and Education from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary, New York.)  For many years he was the senior faculty person and then Director of Boston College’s world-renowned Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry, now a Department within BC’s School of Theology and Ministry, and which he served for many years as Chair.  
Prof. Groome is an award-winning author, having written or edited some dozen books, over two hundred essays, two grade school religion curricula, and is the principle creator of the Credo Series, a high school Theology curriculum (from Veritas/Benziger).  

Tom’s best known major books are Christian Religious Education (HarperOne 1980), Sharing Faith (HarperOne 1991), Educating for Life (Crossroads 2001), What Makes us Catholic (HarperOne 2003),  Will There be Faith (HarperOne 2011), Faith for the Heart (Paulist Press 2019), and most recently What Makes Education Catholic (Orbis, Nov 2021).  His books have been translated into many languages.
A world-renowned scholar of religious education and a dynamic teacher, he has lectured widely throughout the United States and the world, (including Australia, Canada, Ireland, England, Scotland, Korea, New Zealand, the Caribbean, Trinidad, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Pakistan, Jamaica, Lithuania, Sweden, Norway, Peru, Ecuador, Germany, Holland, South Africa, and Malta. He is a former President of the Association of Professors of Religious Education and a founding member of the International Academy of Practical Theology.  He has appeared on many local and national TV channels and radio programs, and is frequently quoted in the press.)

Prof. Groome has received many awards, including “Master Teacher of the Year” from Boston College’s School of Arts and Sciences.  He describes his life-long work as encouraging Christians to “bring their lives to Faith, and their Faith to life.”

The Power of Inclusion: A Science Based Approach to Driving Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

March 29, 2023

Because diversity and inclusion can be experienced as fairly incendiary topics, people often enter into DEI work with preconceived notions, negativity and even defensiveness.  Because social oppression is infused into the norms of our everyday lives, these concepts are a difficult aspect of experience to separate and recognize, let alone self- implicate. With that in mind, the key objective of this keynote is to increase people's self-awareness about the reality of social oppression relative to their own experiences of the world and in relation to the challenges of DEI in today's workplaces.  

We will explore how developing an intentional approach to inclusion at work drives everything from loyalty, to passion, to a greater sense of community and higher performance including:

• How unconscious biases develop and how they influence us
• What the science of inclusion actually looks like.
• Why organizations that focus on building inclusive cultures are better able to drive engagement, increase productivity, innovate more, and ultimately attract and retain the best talent.

Dr. Leeno Karumanchery 

A sociologist with 25+ years of experience in the Diversity &Inclusion (D&I) field, Dr. Leeno Karumanchery is recognized as one of North America's preeminent diversity and inclusion experts.  An author and speaker, Dr. Karumanchery is widely published in the field, he is author of Playing the Race Card (2004), Engaging Equity (2005) and the forthcoming The Old Black Lesbian Elephant in the Room: 10 Ugly Truths about the modern Diversity Movement and 5 simple steps to fix it (2023).  

Leeno is sought out as much for his style as a facilitator as he is for his proven track record of helping leaders leverage D&I to drive both culture and the bottom-line.  As the Head of Behavioural Sciences for MESH/diversity, Leeno helps build organizational cultures where the best people want to work, will stay and can thrive.

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