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University of St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto



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CSR: Faculty & Staff

The Certificate Program engages the skills and counsel of business professionals and academics from a broad range of disciplines.

M. J. (Mimi) Marrocco, M.A., Ph.D. English Literature
Program Director in collaboration with The Conference Board of Canada
Director of Continuing Education, University of St. Michael's College

M.J. (Mimi) Marrocco, is the founding Director of Continuing Education at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto.  Her role  as director has included the planning, development and marketing of a broad range of general interest and certificate courses.  Since 2001 she has been collaborating with the Conference Board of Canada in the delivery of a Certificate Program in Corporate Social Responsibility. Mimi holds a Ph.D. in English Literature specializing in the work of modern writers of satirical fiction.  Over the past twenty years, however, her work in continuing education has enabled her to venture well beyond the bounds of  her original academic discipline.  She served as president of the Ontario Council for Lifelong Learning from 1999-2000 and went on to become President (2005-2007) of the Canadian Association for University Continuing Education (CAUCE).  She is a Board member for  the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto and  has recently been named  Chair of the Board of the EthicsCentre CA (formally incorporated as the Centre for Ethics and Corporate Policy).   

Paul Forgues
Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility, The Conference Board of Canada
Paul Forgues joined The Conference Board of Canada’s Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility team in January 2007.

Faculty

 


Ron Knowles, FCMC, B.A. Psychology, M.B.A.

A Principal with Western Management Consultants, Ron specializes in assessments of organization effectiveness and structure,  organization design, strategic business planning, team building and executive coaching. Ron holds an MBA from the University of Toronto and is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of Ontario. His academic background includes the study of psychology and his business experience, in addition to over twenty years of consulting work, includes experience in Human Resource Management (at T. Eaton company) and as VP Personnel, later Senior Vice President, Homes, responsible for the management of Beaver Lumber’s Urban Home Centre Business.    

Ron is also on the Faculty of the Change Management Program at the Rotman School of Management (U of T) and collaborated in the design and development of ExperienceCSR.

Dennis Patrick O'Hara, BA, MDiv, D.C., N.D., PhD

Dr. Dennis O'Hara graduated from the Canadian Chiropractic College and the Ontario College of Naturopathic Medicine in 1986, subsequently teaching  at these colleges while practicing as a chiropractor and naturopathic doctor. Dennis went on to earn a doctorate in theology from the University of St. Michael’s College where he is now a professor of Ethics as well as Director of the Elliott Allen Institute in Theology and Ecology.   

Dennis’s interest in ethics, ecology and medicine has led to extensive speaking engagements for professional and academic gatherings on ecotheology and the spiritual dimension of human health.  Dennis  brings to the team not only his considerable teaching skills, but also his extensive networking abilities as a researcher and member of the Steering Committee for the Canadian Interdisciplinary Network for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research.

GUEST INSTRUCTORS

Tara Addis

With more than eighteen years of corporate, not-for-profit and public management experience, Tara has designed, developed and implemented award winning community engagement and communications programs. She has also worked with leading companies to create effective stakeholder engagement teams, policies and practices.

Tara is currently helping AstraZeneca Canada’s Leadership Team to design and execute a company-wide stakeholder engagement strategy. Other recent client assignments include integrated project and stakeholder planning for the Ontario Power Authority and customized workshops for EPCOR. Additionally, Tara is an Associate with the Collaborative Learning and Innovation Group at Simon Fraser University and remains the Principal in Addis & Associates.

She is the Past Chair of the Stakeholder Relations Committee for the internationally recognized National Campaign to Control Cancer and formerly co-founded GrantStream Inc. a consulting and service company in the field of corporate community investment, citizenship and stakeholder relations. Among her clients were CN, RBC Financial, ING Canada and Sasktel.  In 2002 Tara was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal recognizing her contribution to Canada and her community.


David A.H. Brown

Executive Director
Brown Governance Inc., and
The Directors College¹

David Brown is the Executive Director of Brown Governance Inc. and of The Directors College. Brown Governance consults to major private sector corporations and public/not-for-profit organizations in Canada and the U.S. in the field of governance and leadership, where they work at the most senior levels. The Directors College is Canada’s first and only director development program leading to a formal university accreditation, the C.Dir.

David has authored a number of nationally and internationally published works on a wide range of subjects. His full articles on leadership and corporate governance have been published in the periodicals Professional Administrator and Le Gouvernance, while column-length pieces have been featured in CA Magazine and HR Reporter, among others. David is perhaps best known for his series of Practical Guides and leading edge full length business reports on corporate governance, multi-stakeholder alliances and public policy published by The Conference Board of Canada, a leading “think-tank”.

In addition, David has organized, facilitated and presented at many global, national and corporate conferences and symposia. During a typical year, David will speak to over 60 different gatherings, ranging from a dozen board members and executives to several thousand delegates; his presentations are well received both for content and delivery. He is sought out by the media, including Global, CTV and ROB TV, and CBC radio, providing insights on governance news of the day.

Prior to co-founding Brown Governance with his wife and partner Debra, David worked for several years in Canada's financial sector. This included senior corporate positions in Alberta with two of Canada's major banks and as CEO of one of Ontario's leading community credit unions. David also has public sector experience as a member of a project team for Ontario's Crown agency insuring deposits.

Internationally, he has written research articles and presented to the Chinese Government's State Enterprise Ministry (Deputy Premier delegation) and Russian executives enrolled in the Yeltsin Democracy Fellowship Foundation study tour.

David has a heart for lifelong learning and writing, and chooses to make his home in Ottawa, Canada. He is married with two children.

Tel: 613-447-4277
Fax: 613-226-3646
e-mail: brown@browngovernance.com

Julie M. Desjardins

Julie M. Desjardins is a chartered accountant and an independent consultant in the area of performance measurement and business reporting.  She is the climate change advisor to the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and an active member of the:

  • Project Advisory Panel for the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s project on assurance engagements on carbon emissions information.  
  • Canadian Standards Association Technical Committee on Climate Change,
  • Carbon Disclosure Project Canada Advisory Group,
  • International Climate Disclosure Standards Board, and
  • Ontario’s Offset Experts Working Group.

Ms. Desjardins is a judge for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Awards and has co-authored a number of publications.  She has received two Ontario order-in-council appointments to elite provincial committees and is a recipient of two Governor General of Canada medals for dedication to community service.


Marilyn Friedmann

Marilyn Friedmann is the Principal of Friedmann Strategic Consulting, a Canadian-based consultancy focused on:

  • Facilitating multi-stakeholder partnerships, strategies and projects for sustainable development;
  • Advising on Corporate Social Responsibility, stakeholder engagement and market development opportunities and challenges;
  • Leading strategic assessments and business change initiatives.

Marilyn is a graduate of the Certificate Program in Corporate Social Responsibility at the University of St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto (2006) and also completed accreditation with the Partnership Brokers Accreditation Scheme in the U.K.  This professional program is conducted by The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum and The Overseas Development Institute. (2007).  The PBAS program was designed to address the need for effective multi-sector partnerships between business, government and civil society that are growing in necessity because of the increasing realization that no one sector in society can deliver the goals of sustainable development alone.  In December 2007, Marilyn completed the Essentials of Management Consulting course in pursuit of the Certified Management Consultant designation

Marilyn has extensive experience as a marketing, strategy and business development professional in the business world where she served in leadership and consulting roles with Scotiabank, Whirlpool, CIBC, Sun Life Financial, The Campbell Soup Company, Bestfoods (now Unilever), Mattel, Manulife Financial and Nestle Foods.  Marilyn has an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Management Economics.

Chris Gates

Chris Gates has been active in the field of environmental sustainability for over 35 years, focusing on improving the ecological footprint of urban and rural landscapes in positions in municipal and  provincial government, in consulting and in the private sector.  Until 2008 he held a position with Enbridge Inc where he was responsible for helping to direct the development of the company’s climate change and related CSR programs.  A graduate of the  St. Michael’s CSR Certificate Program (2007), he has returned to the program as a guest lecturer on issues of GHG tracking and auditing, carbon disclosure and corporate environmental governance.

Chris joined the Office of the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario in October 2008 as senior climate change policy advisor. He  holds a Masters degree in Environmental Studies and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners. 


Michael Jantzi

Jantzi Research Inc. is an independent investment research firm that evaluates and monitors the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of companies. Founded in 1992, Jantzi Research works with pension funds and foundations, helping them integrate ESG criteria into their investment processes in a way that generates competitive financial returns. Michael is one of Canada’s leading spokespersons on corporate social responsibility issues, and is co-author of The 50 Best Ethical Stocks for Canadians: High Value Investing, published by MacMillan Canada. Michael serves as a board director of Boston-based KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. (KLD), was appointed to the Task Force of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy’s Capital Markets and Sustainability program, and sits on Michael sits on the Advisory Circle of the TIDES Canada Foundation. He holds degrees from the University of Western Ontario and Dalhousie University.


Rob Kerr, Vice President, GlobeScan Inc.

Bob Willard, PhD

Bob is a leading expert on quantifying and selling the business value of corporate sustainability strategies and has given hundreds of keynote presentations to corporate, government, university, and NGO audiences. His three books -- The Sustainability Advantage (2002), The Next Sustainability Wave (2005),and The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook (2009) – plus his two DVDs, two spreadsheets, numerous webinars, and extensive Master Slide Set provide capacity-building resources for champions of sustainability. He worked 34 years with IBM Canada; serves on the advisory boards of The Natural Step Canada, Learning for a Sustainable Future, and Durham Sustain Ability; and is a member of the Durham Region Round Table on Climate Change and the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP). He has a PhD in sustainability from the University of Toronto.

See www.sustainabilityadvantage.com for more information about him and his resources for sustainability champions.