“The Strongest Families Initiative has certainly given us structure and routine for how to control the behaviour of our children. We have a routine that helps them realize that we’re trying to invest in them emotionally as well as mentally.”
-Christian Lillington
Katrina Bolak is an award-winning marketer and seasoned communications professional. She has a passion for podcasting that led her to executive produce two podcasts for The Globe and Mail and launch The Globe’s podcasting efforts. She holds an HBAA in Media Studies from the University of Guelph, a Diploma in PR from Humber College and an Executive MBA from the Ivey School of Business at Western University. Katrina lives in Toronto with her husband Dan, their rescue pup Parker and two cats Duncan and Vivica.
Shannon Busta is an award-winning digital journalist based in Toronto. Prior to joining The New York Times she worked at The Globe and Mail as a video producer and audience strategist. She holds an Executive MBA from Western University’s Ivey School of Business and a Master of Journalism from Ryerson University. She loves running, cycling and spending time outdoors with her partner Sam Riches.
Philip is a board member for the True Patriot Love Foundation and the sponsor behind the Captain Nichola Goddard Fund Podcast.
Philip is a passionate supporter of veterans with a focus on supporting their transition and success in post-military careers. In addition to his role on the True Patriot Love Foundation board, he is the President of Treble Victor Group (3V is a Veterans organization focused on supporting members in their post military careers www.treblevictor.org) . He has been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition for his support of veterans.
In his professional career, Philip is a Consulting Partner at PwC, based in Toronto. Currently he is the executive responsible for the firm's global sales transformation program.
Philip has become a somewhat unexpected sponsor and joint-architect of PwC’s innovative and award winning leadership program targeted at top talent, mid-career women. The program started in 2013, when it became clear that although our entry level hiring was equal, we were losing top talent mid career women at a significantly higher rate than their male counterparts. In 2017, the program was expanded to include participants from other organizations. Today more than 400 talented women have graduated from the program. Our retention of talent is now close to 90%, and 21% of the PwC alumni have joined the executive (partner) ranks.
Philip is a 2016 Catalyst Canada Honours Champion in the Business Leader category, recognized for his exceptional corporate leadership and transformational contributions to advancing women and inclusion in the workplace. He is an Advisory Board Member for WNORTH and past advisory board member for WXN Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women.
Theresa joined the military as a private soldier before being selected for officer and university training, after which she worked for combat, special forces and combat-support units as a logistic officer, in Canada and in Haiti. True to her competitive and driven nature, she also qualified as a military parachutist and competed in the military Ironman competition.
Seeking further opportunities to develop and broaden the application of the leadership skills learned as a soldier, she left the Army and has quickly established herself as a mid-ranking commercial leader with a track record of changing business focus and processes to better exploit new strategic environments. This included working within the retail, mining and professional services industries before being appointed as a manager for Amazon Web Services based in Toronto.
Theresa holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Ottawa and an MBA from the Ivey School of Business. In addition to spending time with her family, she volunteers as a Board Member for the Treble Victor Group (a Veterans organization) and UForChange (a youth arts program).