Speakers and moderators
Bettina B. Cenerelli
President and CEO of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation
President and CEO since May 2024, Dr. Bettina B. Cenerelli’s mandate is to lead the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.
She completed her studies in Germany (FU Berlin; Universität Siegen) and France (Université de Pau; École normale supérieure, Paris; Sorbonne, Paris). Dr. Cenerelli holds a doctorate in French Literature from the Universität Siegen and a First State Examination (1. Staatsexamen) in French and History from the FU Berlin.
Prior to her current mandate, Dr. Cenerelli was the Senior Director of Strategic Academic Planning and Student Affairs in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Simon Fraser University (SFU), British Columbia.
From 2011 to 2015, she served as Associate Director at the Office of Francophone and Francophile Affairs at SFU, overseeing the French Cohort Program. Before her tenure at SFU, Dr. Cenerelli was Program Director at the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation in Montréal, QC, editor at the University of Montréal Press, and Assistant Professor at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick.
FRAN HUNT-Jinnouchi
Executive Director of the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness
Fran Hunt-Jinnouchi, a member of the Kwakiutl and Quatsino First Nations on Vancouver Island, is CEO of the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness Society (ACEH), where she has grown the organization from 1.5 staff in 2016 to more than 110 in 2026.
She developed the Dual Model of Housing Care (DMHC), combining Housing First principles with culturally supportive housing, decolonized harm reduction, and land-based healing, while leading the creation of innovative housing and support programs across Vancouver Island.
A former elected Chief, School Trustee, entrepreneur, and inaugural Director of Indigenous Affairs at the University of Victoria, she has received numerous honours, including the City of Victoria’s Honorary Citizens Award and an Honorary Officer Award from the Order of the Diocese of British Columbia, and will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws from UVic in 2026.
Fran Hunt-Jinnouchi holds a Bachelor of Social Work (with distinction), a Master of Adult Education, and has completed PhD coursework in Educational Psychology and Leadership.
Paty Romero-Lankao
Canadian Excellence in Research Chair’s Network for Equity in Sustainability Transitions
Paty Romero-Lankao is a Canadian Excellence in Research Chair of the Network for Equity in Sustainability Transitions (CERC NEST).
She is a Professor at the University of Toronto and was a distinguished research scientist at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Paty has extensive experience as a sociologist working across disciplines and at the science-policy interface in Canada, Mexico, the U.S., and internationally.
She has examined how people and decision-makers can embrace and why they fail to adopt climate and energy solutions and how these shape inequities in sustainability and resilience. She is committed to reimagining how city populations, community organizations, and governments can approach climate change through equitable, inclusive, and robust approaches to research.
Paty is widely cited in her field. She was the co-leading author of Working Group II of the 2007 Nobel Prize-winning IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.
ALEX NEVE
former Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada
Alex Neve is a visiting and adjunct professor in international human rights law at the University of Ottawa and Dalhousie University, and a Senior Fellow with the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.
He presently serves as a Member of the UN Human Rights Council’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela.
He was Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada’s English Branch from 2000 – 2020.
JACK MINTZ
President’s Fellow, School of Public Policy, University of Calgary
He has chaired and served on numerous federal and provincial advisory panels, including on business taxation, healthcare innovation, economic recovery, and post-secondary financing, and has advised governments, businesses, and international organizations such as the World Bank, IMF, OECD, and Inter-American Development Bank.
A regular Financial Post contributor and former corporate director, Dr. Mintz is a Member of the Order of Canada and has received several honours recognizing his contributions to Canadian tax and economic policy.
