The Business Includes Abilities Showcase, hosted by OTEC and CCRW, is coming to Toronto!
Join us on March 23, 2018 for breakfast, and learn from industry leaders on how to avoid talent shortage by including the talent of people with disabilities. Come for a presentation on the Discover Ability Network, and hear from panel of employers who have hired skilled individual with disabilities. The CCRW will be present to answer any questions you might have!
Space is limited. Register now!
Who’s Speaking?
Meet our experienced panelists who come with many years of experience and expertise and can answer any questions that you may have about hiring #pwds:
- Ann Marie Faria – Walper Hotel
- Katherine Power – Sodexo Canada
- Maureen Haan – CCRW
- Navdeep Mangat – OTEC
- Rev. Dr. Rob Oliphant – Member of Parliament, Don Valley West
- Sherry Sibio – OTEC
Ann Marie Faria’s 18 years of experience in the field of customer service and hospitality stems from a deep desire to lean and grow in all aspects of the hotel management.
Ann Marie’s passion for hospitality started while working with Starwood Hotels and resort properties ranging from 92 rooms to 1600 rooms, each with its own unique benefits, learning opportunities in Front Desk, Housekeeping, Maintenance, Sales, Convention Service, Guest Services. At each property and through progressively increasing responsibility, she has gained in-depth knowledge of customer service principles and practices.
Ann Marie prides herself in being a dedicated team member who is able to collaborate with all departments to ensure the delivery of a great guest experience in a professional and manner as a result of strong customer service background.
Katherine Power, Sodexo Canada’s Vice President Corporate Affairs, is responsible for developing a comprehensive and integrated strategy for managing Sodexo Canada’s overall external relationships and reputation.
Her role includes working with media, stakeholders and community groups as well as leading brand management, communications, government relations, corporate responsibility, Indigenous relations and diversity & inclusion to help the company achieve its business goals and objectives in Canada while supporting the communities where Sodexo’s employees live and work.
Katherine is also Executive Director of Sodexo’s STOP HUNGER Foundation in Canada. A graduate of University of Waterloo, Katherine is a member of the Ontario Accessibility Directorate’s Employers Partnership Table and Board member for the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.
Maureen Haan is the President & CEO of The Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW), a national organization with the sole vision of equitable and meaningful employment for people with disabilities, and a strong advocate to this vision for over 40 years.
Under Maureen’s leadership, CCRW has increased direct program services throughout Canada, and has directly contributed to a more transparent, stream-lining of understanding the business case of hiring a person with a disability.
Maureen is very active in the cross-disability sector, focusing on employment issues, and is involved with numerous committees and groups that increase awareness of and access for the disability sector and the Deaf community and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) including:
- Civil Society on the UN Convention of Rights for PwDs (CRPD) Article 27
- Conference on Work and Disability in Canada to implement a National Strategy for employment for people with disabilities
- The Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy (CRWDP) and on the Ontario Caucus for the community sector
- Active member in the Renewal of the Youth Employment Strategy
- The Episodic Disabilities Network to work to influence policy The Expert Roundtable, Canada Pension Plan for Disabilities (at EDSC )
- The Shadow Report committee for the Convention of Rights for PwDs
- Consultation on various levels for the new National Legislation for PwDs
As a Project Coordinator for the Discover Ability Network, Navdeep is working for OTEC in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. Her focus is employment for people with disabilities, within the tourism and hospitality industry. Navdeep has been working in the marketing industry for 10 years. She has worked in a variety of sectors including education and training, banking and several not-for-profit organizations.
Navdeep graduated with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and completed her Advertising Certificate from the University of Toronto.
Currently, Navdeep is working on the Discover Ability Network’s employer events with the aim of helping to introduce employers to the network and promote hiring people with disabilities.
Rev. Dr. Robert Oliphant was elected to the House of Commons on October 19, 2015, representing the federal riding of Don Valley West. He previously served in that position from 2008 until 2011 where he served as Official Opposition Critic for Veterans Affairs and for Multiculturalism.
He is currently the Chair of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. He is also Co-Chair of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association and the Canada-Pakistan Friendship Association. He served as Co-Chair of the House of Commons and Senate Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying and as Chair of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security from 2015 to 2017.
Rob’s recent legislative accomplishments include an Act which outlaws discrimination against genetic characteristics as well as an Act he co-sponsored which creates a national dementia strategy.
Rob received his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto and worked in industry as a Systems Accountant. An Ordained Minister in the United Church of Canada, he has a Masters of Divinity from the Vancouver School of Theology, at the University of British Columbia and served congregations in Newfoundland, Quebec, Yukon and Toronto. He earned a Doctorate from the Chicago Theological Seminary at the University of Chicago in 2008. From 2011 until 2015 he was President and CEO of the Asthma Society of Canada.
As Vice President, Client Solutions, Sherry collaborates with OTEC’s valued clients and partners on solutions for team and business success, and contributes to the strategic growth of OTEC. She is responsible for the development and implementation of strategies and business development initiatives for OTEC’s priority markets including tourism, hospitality, healthcare and other service related sectors.
Prior to joining OTEC, Sherry was the founder of a global consulting and training company and held a senior position for a major international hotel and resort brand. She has over 20 years of experience helping owners, executives, operators, management, sales and front line teams improve performance to strengthen employee talent and development, to drive revenue growth.
Sherry holds a Master of Arts (MA) in Tourism Management from Royal Roads University in British Columbia, where she is also an associate faculty member.
