Speakers
Keynote speaker -Randy Boissonnault
Why be an Ally when you can be a Champion?
Entrepreneur. Ironman Triathlete. Founder of Literacy Without Borders. Former Member of Parliament. Rhodes Scholar. Former Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada on LGBTQ2 Issues.
For over 20 years, Randy Boissonnault has advised leaders of owner-managed companies andsocial profit organizations on matters of leadership, strategy and community development.
Corporations, governments, think tanks, and industry associations seek him out for his powerful message and dynamic delivery on the themes of diversity and inclusion, LGBTI rights, business, public policy and leadership.
No civil rights advance has been made without allies. While the LGBT+ community in Canada and around the world have seen great strides by cultivating and working with allies, the time has come to transform allies into champions. By setting the historical and current context of LGBT+ in Canada, Randy shares his experience as Canada’s first and only Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on LGBTQ2 Issues to make a compelling case for the role of human rights champions in all sectors of society. Learn what it means to be a champion and how you, your team and your organization can improve the lives of LGBT+ people in your city and country and around the world.
Darren Liepold - Invocation
Rev. Darren Liepold grew up in Saskatchewan and was ordained as a United Church minister in 1990. He has served the church in British Columbia, Ontario, Sydney, Australia before coming to Innisfail in 2019. Darren has always believed in the motto of the United Church of Canada that all should be one. Everyone is valued for who they are and no one should be excluded. In his spare time, Darren is a trained operatic tenor and enjoys photography. He lives with his partner of almost 29 years.
