Mega Sessions

Kofi will draw on his work at CEE, where the heart of the initiative was a focus on reaching youth who could be labelled “hard to serve” and were facing significant barriers to employment, as well as his time as a student activist and his graduate studies on Canadian non-profits in Africa. He will provide his views on how to be a values-based leader, explore how values are critical to success in social change work, and consider the challenge of turning values into daily practice.

Kofi Hope is a Rhodes Scholar and Doctor of Philosophy in Politics. Starting in September 2018, he will be working as a Senior Policy Advisor at the Wellesley Institute, and as a Bousfield Distinguished Visitor in Planning at University of Toronto’s School of Urban Planning. Kofi is the Founding Executive Director of the CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals (CEE), a non-profit which creates economic opportunities for Black youth in Toronto.

Assessment is the most important aspect of the career development process. Everything stems from assessment and “formal” assessments leave much to be desired. In this session, participants will experience a variety of sure-fire “informal” (yes, they’re FREE!) assessment tools that are fun, engaging and out of the box. You’ll be so happy you came that you’ll want to cry!

Herky Cutler creates rich experiences for his clients by providing relevant and provocative content through a lens of humour, music, enthusiasm and authenticity. Participants will laugh, cry, they may leave, but they will never fall asleep!

 

This session will focus on the continuum of training to employment in relation to the unique needs and experiences of urban Indigenous youth. The presenters will identify the steps to employability and successful attachment to the labour market that frame the work of NPAAMB, the only Indigenous employment and training organization in Ontario that focuses solely on youth career development. A long-term lens will examine five key areas for successful outcomes: 1. Employability skills building 2. The need for coaches and mentors 3. Experiential learning opportunities. 4. Evaluation and reflection 5. Reciprocal partnership development.

Shari St Peter is the Executive Director of NPAAMB – Niagara Peninsula Aboriginal Area Management Board, one of 18 ASETS agreement holders in Ontario. NPAAMB serves the employment and training needs of urban Indigenous youth in southern Ontario, offering service to youth ages 15-30 in five service centres.

 

Brandi Jonathan is Mohawk, turtle clan and lives on the Six Nations Reserve in Southern Ontario. She has worked in employment and training over the past 15 years and has been very successful in developing and co-ordinating various Indigenous youth programs. In 1999, she graduated with a BA from Trent University and in 2004 she graduated from Mohawk College’s Advanced Career Counsellor Certificate program.

Update your love/like/reluctance about theory and learn new ways to enhance your career development practices! In this Mega session, five contemporary theories and models are featured from the new edited collection, Theories and Models at Work, launching at Cannexus19. The presenters will showcase what is new, what is different, and what is practical.

Headset Required
Note: Some panellists will present in English and others in French, so please acquire a headset in advance (available Level 3, Plenary) to benefit from simultaneous interpretation.

Nancy Arthur (Moderator) is a Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary. A keynote speaker at Cannexus in 2015, Nancy’s research focuses on the Culture-Infused Career Counselling Model, social justice and international career transitions.

 

 

Mary McMahon is an honorary Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at The University of Queensland, Australia. Mary is a developer and co-author of the Systems Theory Framework of Career Development.

 

 

Roberta Neault is President of Life Strategies Ltd. and Past-President of the Counsellor Educators Chapter of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA). With Nancy and Mary, she co-edited Theories and Models at Work.

 

 

France Picard is Professor, Département des fondements et pratiques en éducation at Université Laval, and Director of the Centre de recherche et d’intervention sur l’éducation à la vie au travail (CRIEVAT). France’s scientific investigations centre on the challenges faced by at-risk students when entering and integrating into higher education, through the lens of social justice.

 

Michel Turcotte is a career counsellor, psychologist and doctoral student. Michel is a member of the Centre de recherche et d’intervention sur l’éducation et la vie au travail (CRIEVAT). His current doctoral research is on distance career counselling.

 

 

Louis Cournoyer is a Professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal. His main area of research includes career decision-making processes for youth and adults, the influence of social relationships on career projects, and professional career development practices. As a career counsellor and guidance counsellor, he maintains an active professional practice of more than 20 years.

 

K-12 systems across Canada are not meeting the needs of all young people. Many of these underserved youth are missing education milestones and are not staying in school. Successfully engaging these youth can be a challenge, but several innovative programs have emerged to work with these young people. This panel will showcase bold young leaders whose programs move beyond the classroom to keep the next generation in school and open up future career pathways. Their fresh perspectives will be explored and panellists will offer their recommendations to address systemic challenges.

Rebecca Darwent (Moderator) is a dedicated civic leader and non-profit consultant with over10 years of community development experience. Her career has included roles at all levels such as front-line intervention, program and grants management, and public policy development.

 

Annalie Bonda is an entrepreneur working at the helm of the charitable sector. Since joining The Remix Project as Executive Director, she initiated the expansion of programming nationally and brought in high-profile social enterprise opportunities for Remix’s graduates.

 

Tesfai Mengesha is part of senior leadership Success Beyond Limits, an organization based in the Jane and Finch community of Toronto, that re-imagines education and schools as sites of possibility. He is a Civic Action DiverseCity Fellow and a Maytree’s Public Policy School graduate.

 

Fabrice Vil is the co-founder and President of Pour 3 Points, an organization that transforms sports coaches so that they also play a role as life coaches for young athletes in underprivileged areas. He is a member of the Order of Excellence in Education as well as Ashoka Fellow.

 

Jasmine Doig finds joy in motivating movement and change in her community. A few of her interests are suicide prevention and anti-racism projects. She is an active advocate for Inuit children and youth, she recognizes the value of culture and believes that with regular access to traditions and language – it can foster strong and proud children and families.

 

The KAIROS Blanket Exercise is an interactive learning experience that builds awareness and understanding of our shared history as Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada by having participants literally walk through situations that include pre-contact, treaty-making, colonization and resistance. Participants step onto blankets representing the land, and into the role of First Nations, Inuit and later Métis peoples. They are drawn into their roles by reading scrolls and carrying cards which ultimately determine their outcomes. Facilitators read a script and assume the role of Narrator and European settlers. By engaging on an emotional and intellectual level, the exercise contributes to a movement for reconciliation through education across the country.

Note: Participation is limited to 80 spots on a first-come, first-served basis. No pre-registration is available.