Our people

A member of the Fort William First Nation (Thunder Bay) where he maintains a home, Mr. Morriseau is based in Toronto. Over the past 20 years Andre has served on numerous boards of directors including the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival, Native American Journalist’s Association (NAJA), the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre and is currently serving as a Director on the Anishnawbe Health Foundation board.

In 2003 Mr. Morriseau was chosen as one of the first three recipients of the City of Toronto Aboriginal Affairs Award. In 2015 he received the Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity (CCGSD) Canada’s Youth Role Model of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award for anti-bullying and gender diversity and serves presently as co-chair of their annual gala in Toronto.

Andre has gained a reputation for promoting and supporting Aboriginal arts and public affairs. As former host of Nation to Nation on the former Aboriginal Voices Radio network, CKAV 106.5 FM, and UrbaNative at CIUT University of Toronto, he shared countless stories of Indigenous peoples and their experiences. As well he has volunteered his time for many years with Nationtalk.ca Canada’s Premier Aboriginal Newswire where many of his interviews with the who’s who of the Aboriginal world can be listened to on the New Media section of the newswire.

For five exciting years Andre worked as the Secretariat for the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation (NAAF) now Indspire and three years as the Communications Officer for the Chiefs of Ontario (COO). He served 3 consecutive 3 year terms on the James Bartleman Aboriginal Youth Creative Writing Awards Jury and currently is the Communications Manager for the Ontario Native Women's Association.

Aletha is a partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon and has been at Blakes since she was a summer articled student in 2013.

Her practice focuses primarily on debt financing and she works with borrowers and lenders on secured and unsecured financings, with a focus on cross border financing transactions. For four months in 2020 and 2021, she was seconded to Wells Fargo, N.A. to assist with their transition between interest rates, specifically LIBOR to SOFR.

Anureet Kaur lives in the City of Mississauga, which is the traditional Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Huron-Wendat and Wyandot Nations. Working at the intersection of technology and sustainability, Anureet was appointed as Softchoice’s first Sustainability Manager. She is currently developing Softchoice’s sustainability strategy and roadmap and provides advisory on ESG reporting and disclosures. In addition, Anureet also serves as the co-chair of the Sustainable Softchoice Employee Resource Group. Since 2019, Anureet was also made a professor at Seneca College’s Sustainable Business Management Program, where she teaches responsible leadership, social impact, and climate justice. Anureet is committed to a just and sustainable future and continues to advocate for Canada's equitable, low-carbon economy, and most importantly – the inclusion of indigenous voices in climate and energy strategy as a path to true reconciliation. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Sustainability Management from the University of Toronto.

To ‘hustle with intention’ is at the center of Chivon John’s work as a Wellbeing Strategist, Speaker and Entrepreneur. In a world that encourages wearing our accomplishments and accolades as badges of honour, Chivon pulls back the curtain on what is revered as success (money, power and ‘likes’) to reveal a life of more meaning and purpose. Recognized as a Top 100 Black Woman to Watch in Canada and Black Canadian Role Model, Chivon uses her own experiences and research rooted in positive psychology to teach individuals and organizations how to bridge the gap between achievement and fulfillment.

As a Speaker and Advocate, she frequently presents on topics ranging from mental health & wellness, self care for entrepreneurs and workplace wellbeing. A Toronto, Ontario native, Chivon is an alumna of York University (Honours B.A) and completed a certificate in Positive Psychology from Laurier University.

Chivon currently works as Global Wellness Specialist at Shopify.

Derek is a vociferous advocate for Indigenous peoples and focuses much of his work on raising Indigenous issues to leaders in the private and public sector.

Derek is a descendant of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians of Southern California, the Quechan of Fort Yuma, and Choctaw. Derek attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated with a Baccalaureate of Science in Philosophy.

Derek served as an Artillery Officer in various units across the US, Europe, and the Middle East. Derek currently leads Amazon’s Global Indigenous Programs Office whose mission is to increase employment opportunities and access for Indigenous peoples around the world, invigorate Indigenous economic activity, and grow future generations of Indigenous leaders in STEM. Derek is originally from Las Vegas, Nevada but currently resides with his family in Owasso, Oklahoma on Cherokee Nation land.

Ellen Ratchye-Foster is Principal of Burning Glass Consulting. Previously Chief Context Officer at Fallon Worldwide, the ad agency, her clients included BMW, Citi, Purina, Nordstrom, Sony Europe, and Timberland. A trend analyst, her observations have been quoted in TIME, Newsweek, Business Week & AdWeek. Ellen earned a B.A. in Germanic languages and literature at Harvard College and a Masters in comparative literature from the University of Minnesota, with a focus on German film and literature. She has studied and taught in Norway and Germany.

Jasper is an Organizational Psychologist and Senior Consultant with EY’s People Advisory Services practice in Canada. His key interest is applying Positive Organizational Psychology to improve the world of work.

Jasper’s 15-year career has been focused on unlocking individual, team, and organizational potential through Learning, Strategy, Change Readiness, and Leadership initiatives. He has worked as a youth worker, soft skills facilitator, and training manager in South Africa, and as a strategic planning facilitator, Athabasca University director, and consultant in Canada. Consulting work to date includes Social Return on Investment analyses for federal, provincial, and municipal government agencies and social enterprises, and Learning and Change Readiness work for major natural resources companies and the federal government.

Jasper is also a certified health coach and an advocate/facilitator of workplace mental health and mindfulness initiatives. He has served on the boards of the Canadian Evaluation Society’s Alberta and NWT Chapter, and currently serves on the boards of Taking IT Global , and The PREP Program, with a focus on neurodiversity inclusion, professional development, and youth advocacy. Jasper’s formal education includes a Master of Social Sciences degree in Organizational Psychology from the University of Cape Town, Bachelor of Social Sciences and Honours degrees from the University of Pretoria, and certification as a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach through the US-based Functional Medicine Coaching Academy. Jasper is a member of the International and Canadian Positive Psychology Associations.

He is also a classical singer occasionally guesting with Calgary’s Luminous Voices professional choir and more permanently with Spiritus Chamber Choir. Jasper lives in Calgary with his wife, two young daughters, and their Labrador.

Karen is a strong believer and proponent of financial planning and works tirelessly to educate her community - working with Senior Executives, Professionals, Incorporated Professionals, Owners/Managers, and Charitable Organizations. Karen was formerly the Renewable Energy and Housing Director at Batchewana First Nation, and is a Project Management Professional. She was the winner of the 2015 Influential Women of Northern Ontario’s Aboriginal Leadership Award, and 2019 ATHENA Leadership Award.

Karen is currently the Assistant Branch Manager for RBC Dominion Securities in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

With over 20+ years of experience in user experience (UX) design and digital marketing, Marilyn connects the dots between business challenges and, human-centered solutions across a range of technology platforms. Working closely with clients, she assists clients in translating their strategic roadmaps into effective user journeys that achieve key business results. Marilyn has helped transform client businesses by producing engaging end-user digital outcomes resulting in improved financial performance for global and Canadian organizations looking for impactful and meaningful outcomes, including American Express, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Canadian Blood Services, Kids Help Phone, Toronto Community Housing, The Richard Ivey School of Business, Lakehead University, and more. Being an active participant in the technology community Marilyn frequently participates in industry events as a keynote speaker and panelist on topics such as Inclusive Design, Women in Tech Leadership, and Data-Driven-Design. Finally, Marilyn recently completed a Masters in Analytics at Schulich Executive Education Centre (SEEC), building on her passion for data-driven design to improve the user experience, Designation 2022.