Our Team

Honourary Patrons

The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, PC, CC, CMM, COM, CD

The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, PC, CC, CMM, COM, CD, was Canada’s 26th Governor General from 1999-2005. She is the bestselling author of Heart Matters: A Memoir, Room for All of Us: Surprising Stories of Loss and Transformation, and a biography of Dr. Norman Bethune for the Extraordinary Canadians series. In 2014, she delivered the CBC Massey Lectures, published as Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship. In her multi-faceted career as an accomplished broadcaster and distinguished public servant, she has received numerous prestigious awards and honorary degrees in Canada and abroad. Upon leaving the office of Governor General in 2005, Madame Clarkson co-founded the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, which seeks to accelerate the acculturation of new citizens into Canadian life so they can participate fully and add their important voice to our pluralistic society. In 2007, she became Colonel-in-Chief of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. Since its inception in 2007, she has been the Chair of the Executive Committee and a member of the Board of Directors at the Global Centre for Pluralism. In 2009, she established the Clarkson Cup, the championship trophy for Women’s Hockey. A Privy Councillor and Companion of the Order of Canada, Madame Clarkson lives in Toronto.

The Honourable Lloyd Axworthy

The Honourable Lloyd Axworthy is a Canadian politician, statesman and academic. During his political career that spanned 27 years, Dr. Axworthy held several Cabinet positions, notably Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, Minister of Human Resources Development, and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1996-2000. In the Foreign Affairs portfolio, Dr. Axworthy became internationally known for his advancement of the human security concept, in particular, the Ottawa Treaty – a landmark global treaty banning anti-personnel landmines. For his leadership on landmines, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Following his retirement from parliament, he served as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Winnipeg from 2004 to 2014 and as Chancellor of St. Paul’s University College. Dr. Axworthy is also Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch and serves on the advisory council of USC Center on Public Diplomacy and of Fair Vote Canada.

The Honourable Janet Austin, OBC

The Honourable Janet Austin is British Columbia’s 30th Lieutenant Governor. Her Honour is Chancellor of the Order of British Columbia and was invested as a Member of the Order in 2016. The Honourable Janet Austin spent 15 years as Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Metro Vancouver. There she oversaw operations delivering services to tens of thousands of people annually at more than 40 locations and positioned the YWCA as a leading voice on women’s equality. She has served on the boards of TransLink, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, the Canadian Paediatric Society, the Council for Early Child Development, the Women’s Health Research Institute, MOSAIC and the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation. She has been a long-time volunteer with United Way of the Lower Mainland and has served on the BC Provincial Advisory Council on Social Entrepreneurship, the City of Vancouver Healthy City for All Leadership Council and the Organizing Committee for the National Retreat for Women.

Her Honour is a graduate of English from the University of Calgary. She holds an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Other awards and honours include the Business in Vancouver (BIV) CEO of the Year in the non-profit category, BIV Influential Woman in Business Award, the Vancouver Board of Trade Community Leadership Award and Wendy MacDonald Diversity Champion Award, the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals, the Big Sisters Big Heart Award for Outstanding Contribution by a Volunteer and the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association Lifetime Achievement Award.