2024 Volunteer Symposium Program Details

Keynote: Putting People at the Heart of Engineering

Keynote speaker:

Janusz Kozinski, PhD, P.Eng., FCAE, dean and professor, faculty of engineering, Lakehead University, has enjoyed a distinguished academic career leading institutions in the US, Europe and Canada. He is an internationally renowned higher education leader, researcher and entrepreneur and one of the world’s most widely acknowledged experts in sustainable energy systems. He received the Gold Medal in 2022 at the OntarioProfessional Engineers Awards gala and the 2023 Gold Medal awarded by Engineers Canada, the highest honour for an engineer in Canada. He is a professional engineer and a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

PEO Hall of Fame

Annette Bergeron will serve as the host of the PEO Hall of Fame. As a former PEO president and Officer of the Order of Honour, Annette will celebrate this year’s Order of Honour awardees and recognize the accomplishments of PEO’s valued volunteers.

Annette Bergeron, MBA, P.Eng., FEC, FCAE, has served as president of Engineers Canada, president of PEO (2014) and president of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (2005, 2010). In 2023, she became an Officer of the PEO Order of Honour. In 2024, Annette is being awarded the Ontario Professional Engineers Awards Citizenship Award. Recently, she was awarded the Governor General’s Sovereign Medal for Volunteership. She has twice been named one of the Top 25 Women of Influence in Canada and a Woman of Impact by the Canadian Materials, Metallurgy and Mining Field.

Clarifying the Path to Becoming a P.Eng.

PEO has introduced changes to its licence application process as of May 2023 that make applying for an engineering licence more efficient and transparent. This information session will provide an overview of the new application process and licensing requirements for Canadian and international engineering graduates. The areas of focus will include:

  • How to apply to become a professional engineer in Ontario; 
  • The application processing timelines; 
  • The academic and licensing requirements in Ontario; 
  • An overview of the National Professional Practice Exam; 
  • The competency-based assessment; and 
  • The role of a validator.  

The session will also provide an opportunity for Q&A. 

Presenters:

Tracey Caruana, P.Eng., manager, pre-licensing outreach at PEO, is a professional engineer with a mechanical engineering degree from McMaster University. She joined PEO in January 2014 in the role of EIT coordinator before moving to the position of manager, engineering intern programs (now manager, pre-licensing outreach) in 2016. In this role, Tracey is responsible for providing guidance and support to post-secondary students and engineering graduates on their pathway to licensure. In addition, Tracey oversees PEO’s legacy EIT Program and Student Membership Program and maintains PEO’s involvement in Engineers Canada’s 30 by 30 initiative.  

Sami Lamrad, MEng, P.Eng., EIT and SMP coordinator at PEO, is a professional engineer with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Western University and a master’s degree from Toronto Metropolitan University. He joined PEO in May 2015 in the role of licensing representative, ensuring all applicants met the experience criteria to be licensed as P.Engs. In his latest role as EIT and student program coordinator, Sami is currently facilitating the Engineering Intern Program and Student Membership Program. This requires him to travel across the province to meet with and present to an array of stakeholders. 

José Vera, P.Eng., MEPP, director, licensing at PEO, is a professional engineer with a master’s degree in engineering and public policy from McMaster University. In his current role, José has transformed the licensing and registration group at PEO by making the key operational decisions as director of licensing to achieve compliance with the Fair Access to Regulated Professions and Compulsory Trades Act ahead of schedule and managed the policy review of several recommendations in the Report of the Elliot Lake Commission of Inquiry as manager, practice and delivered workable solutions to meet the purpose of the recommendations.

Regulating Professions: Governance Practices and the Public Interest

Governance structures for regulators that oversee the competence and conduct of licensed professionals are a unique and complex subset of corporate governance. Council members tasked with responsibility for ensuring the regulatory authority fulfills its mandate in the public interest are often challenged to prove their independence as decision-makers. This session will explore best practices for elected and appointed Council members, the scope of governance duties and the role of governor vis-à-vis management. It will also provide insights into the future of governance for regulators of licensed professions.

Presenter:

Rebecca Durcan, LLB, LLM, is a co-managing partner at Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc. Rebecca acts as general counsel, prosecution counsel and independent legal counsel to several Ontario regulators. Rebecca graduated from Queen’s University in 1997 with an honours degree in history. She then attended the University of Windsor and graduated with her bachelor of laws in 2000. Rebecca obtained her masters in laws (health) from Osgoode Hall in 2006 and her certificate in risk management from the University of Toronto in 2016. Rebecca is the co-author of the AnnotatedStatutory Powers Procedure Act, Second Edition (Thomson Reuters), Prosecuting and Defending Professional Regulation Cases (Emond Publishing) and A Complete Guide to the RHPA (Thomson Reuters). She is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto faculty of law. 

PEO’s Volunteer Lifecycle: Forging a Path for the Future of Regulatory Volunteering

 PEO is proud to have over 900 dedicated volunteers who work to support various aspects of our regulatory, governance and outreach activities. As we work together to support an equitable experience for our volunteers, rooted in our collective effort of protecting the public interest as a professional regulator, James Schembri, PEO’s director of volunteer engagement, and Vicki Hilborn, PEO councillor and volunteer, will highlight and engage on key aspects of PEO’s volunteer lifecycle and opportunities to enhance equity, engagement and outcomes aligned with our collective goal as ONE PEO.

Presenters:

James Schembri (he/him) is PEO’s director of volunteer engagement and has joined PEO following a 10+ year career in healthcare specializing in integration, change management and collaborative operating and governance models. James has served as adoption lead in the implementation of Ontario’s joint electronic health record system across GTA hospitals and has most recently served as the inaugural director of the Scarborough Ontario Health Team, a collaborative of 36 organizations across healthcare working to integrate care for over 800,000 patients. James brings this integrative mindset to PEO’s volunteer engagement portfolio as we work to enhance PEO’s volunteer lifecycle and our collaboration with volunteers in achieving our collective mandate as a professional regulator.

 Vicki Hilborn, P.Eng. (she/her), is a dedicated volunteer at PEO, serving in her second term as Western Region councillor and chairing the Regulatory Policy and Legislation Committee. She has held various roles, including chair of PEO’s Brantford Chapter and positions on several committees. Vicki holds degrees in environmental engineering from the University of Waterloo (BASc) and the University of Guelph (MASc). She works as an IT portfolio lead for the Ontario Public Service and enjoys stage managing and producing local community theatre in her spare time. Vicki resides in Brantford with her husband; son; and dog, Wally.

Risk-Based Regulation and How PEO Applies Risk to its Policymaking

Recent decades have witnessed a rapid development of risk-based regulation, and regulators across the globe, including professional regulators, started to adopt risk-based strategies and tools to regulate industries and professions. Risk-based regulation means moving from a reactive model of regulation towards a risk-based model of regulation, one that seeks to better understand risks and to act quickly to address emerging concerns before they can adversely affect the public. 

In 2023, PEO Council adopted a new risk-based approach to policy development based on the commonly accepted principles of proportionate, evidence-based, participatory, transparent and accountable regulation. This session will explore what it means to be a risk-based regulator in practice and how we aspire to incorporate risk-based regulation into our policy work and decision-making processes as our data and information capabilities evolve and mature and we make significant strides to implement our new Digital Transformation Roadmap. 

Presenter: 

Marina Solakhyan is the director, governance at PEO. In this role, she oversees PEO’s regulatory policy and governance portfolios. Throughout her career, Marina worked in policy roles in public-interest organizations, including the College of Midwives of Ontario, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia and the European Commission. Marina holds an LLM in administrative law from Osgoode Hall Law School and a master’s degree in politics and public policy from Central European University, Budapest.

Exploring Psychological Safety: Cultivating Belonging

Psychological safety refers to an environment where individuals feel safe to take interpersonal risks, express their ideas and be themselves without fear of negative consequences. In this session, we will explore practical strategies to cultivate an inclusive environment and culture where your colleagues feel valued, respected and empowered to contribute their best work. We will identify the foundational attitudes and behaviours that establish psychological safety, including trust, open communication and how to encourage interpersonal risk-taking.

In this session, participants will:

  • Understand the importance of respecting diverse perspectives and boundaries;
  • Learn how to build trust among colleagues to establish a safer and braver work environment; and
  • Discover strategies for fostering open and honest communication with team members.

Presenter: 

Jennifer Galley, MEd, is an experiential learning specialist on behalf of the Troost Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering (ILead), faculty of applied science and engineering at the University of Toronto. For over a decade, Jennifer has been developing individuals’ leadership capacity and building community. With experience working in the non-profit sector coupled with dynamic roles in leadership development at the University of Toronto, she strives to inspire others to be engaged in meaningful ways and identify as a “leader.” With a master’s degree in adult education and community development from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and a certificate in life coaching from George Brown College, she is committed to evolving her facilitation through critical reflection, transformative learning pedagogy and strength-based approaches.

Fundamentals of Regulatory Communications

This session covers the essentials of modern regulatory communications, highlighting key findings from MDR Strategy Group's audit of PEO’s communications. Volunteers will gain insights into best practices, focusing on inclusion, responsiveness and kindness. The session will equip volunteers with a deeper understanding of innovative communication strategies that effectively convey PEO’s public protection role while maintaining the organization’s brand.

Presenters:

Daniel Roukema, CEO, MDR Strategy Group, is an award-winning communications professional with over 30 years of experience in non-profit and regulatory sectors. He has held senior roles, including director of communications at the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council and special advisor at the Real Estate Council of Ontario. Daniel led transformative communication initiatives at the Condominium Authority of Ontario and the United Nations. He is the architect behind the Canadian Regulatory Guide, RegulatoryJobs.ca and The Registrar magazine. In 2016, he was honoured with the Consumer Protection Award by CLEAR for his contributions to consumer protection and regulation. 

Collette Deschenes, director of communications strategy, MDR Strategy Group, is a seasoned communications professional with over 12 years of experience advising regulators and non-profits across Canada. She specializes in developing sustainable communication strategies that strengthen relationships with stakeholders and the public. Collette has held key roles at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society and the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers, focusing on strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, social media management and media relations.

Exploring the Public Interest in a Changing World

Protecting the public interest is a core value when PEO reflects on its role of regulating engineering in Ontario. While public safety is an important aspect of public interest, it is not the only aspect that PEO should consider. This panel will explore what else could be and/or should be included when considering the public interest, including climate change and sustainability and equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. The panel will also consider how another regulator has tackled the issue of public interest and how they created a framework for decision making. 

Presenters:

Nancy Hill, BASc, P.Eng., LLB, FCAE, FEC, is an engineer, lawyer, patent agent and trademark agent. She is the co-founder of the firm Hill & Schumacher. For over 25 years, Nancy has been managing intellectual property rights for clients worldwide. Nancy has a long history of volunteering at PEO, where she served on a wide variety of committees, task forces and Council. She was elected as the 100th president of PEO (2019–2020). In 2008, she was invested as a Companion in the Order of Honour. In 2014, she was inducted as a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and in 2017, she was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women. She also served as president of Engineers Canada from 2023 to 2024. 

Jeanette Southwood, P.Eng., FCAE, FEC, LLD (honoris causa), IntPE (she/her/elle), is vice president, corporate affairs and strategic partnerships at Engineers Canada. Before joining Engineers Canada, she led the Canadian urban development and infrastructure sector and the global sustainable cities teams at an international consulting firm, where she was the first Black woman to be appointed to the senior leadership position of principal globally. Jeanette is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. She has received an honorary doctorate as well as the Ontario Professional Engineers Awards Engineering Excellence Medal and Citizenship Medal.

Qadira C. Jackson Kouakou, BA, BSW, LLB, has been a practising lawyer since 2010 and is the principal lawyer and owner of Jaxon Law Professional Corporation. She is also co-founder and general counsel of Blink Equity, a diversity, equity and inclusion firm in Toronto. With a unique background that includes social work, psychology and law, she has held various board positions and has extensive volunteer experience: as a director of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers, a member of the Law Society’s Equity Advisory Group and as Challenges Faced by Racialized Licensees Community Liaison. Between 2016 and 2022, Qadira served on PEO Council as a lieutenant governor appointee.

As CPATA’s CEO and registrar, Juda Strawczynski, JD (h/him/il/son), is responsible for all aspects of CPATA’s operations. Juda works closely with the board of directors to develop and execute the board’s directions to establish and maintain a modern, risk-focused regulator. As registrar, he addresses all regulatory matters involving registration, complaints and discipline. As CEO, Juda also speaks on behalf of the college and presents at educational events and conferences about CPATA’s work. Juda is a lawyer by profession with a focus on professional regulation. 

The Role of Regulations in Avoiding Tragedies: Why Government Needs to Listen to Engineers

When tragedies strike, it is often asked after the fact: Why did the government not do a better job protecting the community? The next question is often: Why did the engineers not do a better job? These questions are asked in recent media, such as Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight (CNN, 2024) and Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (Netflix, 2022). This presentation addresses the knowledge gap between expert engineers and government policies and suggests a proactive framework to reform the system to better protect the community.

Presenter:

Kenneth Jull, LLB, LLM, a partner at Gardiner Roberts LLP, served as general counsel at the Competition Bureau Legal Services in Ottawa from 2016–2018. He co-authored Profiting From Risk Management and Compliance (Thomson Reuters, 2023) with the Honourable Todd Archibald. Kenneth’s practice involves compliance reviews and litigation, including mergers and acquisitions, competition law and regulatory standards across various sectors. He also advises on a due diligence matrix for compliance, utilizing a new behavioral research-based mathematical model.

Leadership Development Through EDI

This presentation will showcase how equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)—which may appear to be geared towards minority groups—can be used to change policies that broadly support all employees and volunteers, corporate leadership development and sustainability. In today's rapidly evolving regulatory landscape, the integration of leadership development and EDI initiatives is crucial for engineering to bolster innovation and productivity. 

By aligning leadership development with a robust EDI framework, PEO volunteers can take what they learn back to their workplaces and promote inclusive policies that move the profession forward to embrace everyone. This presentation will explore practical steps for successful integration of these strategies, equipping participants with actionable insights to foster a culture of compliance, inclusivity and sustainable growth.

Presenters:

Vanessa Raponi, P.Eng., PMP (she/elle), graduated in materials engineering and management from McMaster University in 2018 and is a manager of manufacturing engineering at Spin Master—the Canadian international toy company. In her role, she oversees manufacturing in Mexico and Europe and leads the Product Sustainability Committee. Vanessa is the founder of EQ Canada and goes coast to coast to present as an expert in diversity, inclusion and equity. Vanessa has received many accolades, including the 2018 Engineers Canada Gold Medal Student Award and the 2023 Ontario Professional Engineers Award for Achievement of the Year. Vanessa proves, against all odds, even a queer woman of colour and survivor overcoming mental illness can thrive in STEM.

Alexander Dow, P.Eng. (he/il), graduated in civil engineering (BEng) and construction management from McGill University in 2018 and is a team lead/project manager with David Schaeffer Engineering Ltd. (DSEL)—a land development engineering firm supporting Canada’s fastest growing cities. In his role, he has designed and overseen over 20,000 housing units and $400+ million (CAD) in infrastructure investment in Milton, Brantford and Oshawa. Alexander is the co-founder of EQ Canada and has also worked to support Pride Toronto. He is currently the secretary of PEO’s East Toronto Chapter and also received the 2023 Ontario Professional Engineers Award for Achievement of the Year.