OpenlyJewish

Daphne Taras

Dean Emerita, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University

Dr. Daphne Taras is professor emerita and has been dean of two major business schools, the Ted Rogers School of Management in Toronto and the Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan. She was a professor at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business and its associate dean of research and director of the PhD program. She has trouble remembering all her degrees.

She has published extensively and is widely cited in the field of labour relations. She won the top educator award of the US-based Labor and Employment Relations Association, Canada’s Top 100 Women and a Top 10 Woman of Influence in Saskatchewan, and the YWCA Woman of Distinction in Education in two provinces, Saskatchewan and in Toronto. She gave the H.D. Woods lecture to her academic association. She was expert advisor to the Arthurs Commission on Federal Labour Standards, and Chair of the Saskatchewan Educational Relations Board. She is Vice Chair of TMJew.

Harry LaForme

The Honourable Harry S. LaForme, O.C. & I.P.C., is Anishinaabe and a member of the Mississauga of the Credit First Nation located in southern Ontario. He was born and raised mainly on his reserve during a time when the Indian Agent was active in the affairs of the Nation.

Harry graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1977 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1979. He articled with the law firm of Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt; joined the firm as an associate; and, after a brief time commenced his own practice specializing in Indigenous law. During his legal practice Harry focused on matters involving the Constitution and the Charter. He has appeared before each level of Canadian Court, travelled extensively throughout Canada, and represented Canadian Indigenous interests in Geneva Switzerland, New Zealand, and the British Parliament.

Harry served as: co-chair of the independent National Chiefs Task Force on Native Land Claims; Chief Commissioner of the Indian Commission of Ontario; Chair of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Land Claims; and taught the “Rights of Indigenous Peoples” at Osgoode Hall Law School.

In January 1994 Harry was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice, Ontario and was – at that time - one of only 3 indigenous judges appointed to this level of trial court in Canada. In November 2004 Harry was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal and is the first indigenous person to be appointed to sit on any appellate court in the history of Canada.

As a judge Harry authored many decisions that impacted and developed the law in regards to criminal, Indigenous and constitutional cases. Decisions that Harry authored or coauthored had international impact such as Halpern; the equal marriage decision and Wakeford; the medicinal, marihuana decision. Harry adjudicated a number of other cases that resulted in transformative decisions in areas of Indigenous rights, police investigative practices, privacy in text messages and consent in the context of sexual assault.

In 2001 Harry took paternity leave from the Court to care for his infant son. Apparently, this was the first such leave granted to a federally appointed Judge in the history of Canada. Credited for smashing that particular glass ceiling Harry was both touched and honoured to be called a “near sister” by a number of women judicial colleagues across Canada who now felt secure to seek such a leave for themselves.

In 2008 Harry was appointed Chair of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission. He resigned from that position honouring the promise he made to Survivors of Indian Residential Schools that if he could not be independent, he would step down. On behalf of the National Indian Residential School Survivors Society, the Elders cited the 7th grandfather teaching “Truth” and gifted Harry with an Eagle Feather.

Harry retired from the Court of Appeal of Ontario in October 2018 and returned to the practice of law.

In March 2021 Harry was appointed by Canada’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice to lead consultations with international and domestic experts, practitioners and exonerees about wrongful convictions with the goal of Canada creating an independent miscarriage of justice commission. On November 1, 2021 he delivered to Canada his report containing numerous recommendations about what such a commission could look like.

Harry was one of the lead plaintiff counsel in the pan Canada class action lawsuit against Canada that sought to address the lack of clean water on numerous First Nations in Canada. In March 2023 Harry was appointed to the position of Mizhinawe in relation to the Robinson Huron Treaty settlement agreement and held that position until September 9, 2023.

In 2018, Harry was recognized by Aboriginal Legal Services Toronto and in 2019 the Canadian Bar Association awarded him with the SOGIC Ally Award for advancing equality for LGBTQA communities. October 2020 Harry received the Trail Blazer Award from his Furst Nation. In 2021 Osgoode Hall Law School awarded Harry the Alumni Gold Key Award. In 2021 The Indigenous Bar Association granted him the designation as Indigenous Peoples’ Counsel. In December 2022 Harry was named to the Order of Canada as an Officer. On April 3, 2024 York University awarded Harry with the Alumni Award for Outstanding Contributions. On November 7, 2024 the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal honoured Harry by gifting him with an allyship award at their Spirit of Hope Gala event.

Harry is privileged to have been honoured with: numerous Eagle Feathers including one at his swearing in at Ontario Court of Appeal and one from the National Indian Residential School Survivors Society; the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in the area of Law & Justice; a Talking Stick carved by Git’san artist Ya’Ya, Chuck Heit; a bursary created in his name for Indigenous first year law students by the University of Windsor Faculty of Law.

Harry has received four honourary Doctor of Law degrees from York University; University of Windsor, the University of Toronto, the Law Society of Upper Canada, and an honourary Doctorate of Education from Nipissing University. Harry and his spouse, Janice, sponsor an annual bursary for a first-year law student member of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers.

Currently, Harry is the honourary chair of the Alliance of Canadians Combating Antisemitism (ALCCA) and an honourary board member of Doctors Against Racism & Antisemitism (DARA). Harry is a senior fellow with the Macdonald Laurier Institute and a senior fellow at Massey College University of Toronto.

Harry has written and published numerous articles on issues related to Indigenous law and justice. He speaks frequently on many topics that include Indigenous issues, Indigenous law, criminal law, constitutional law and civil and human rights; most recently at the Annual Democracy Forum sponsored by the Irwin Cotler Institute Democracy/Human Rights/Justice Tel Aviv University. Harry has received awards in recognition of his commitment to the Rule of Law, civil rights and social justice.

Cary Kogan

Keynote · Professor, Clinical Psychology, University of Ottawa

Cary Kogan is full professor of clinical psychology at the University of Ottawa. His interdisciplinary research program spans several topics including mental health classification, investigating the impact of racism on the mental health of people from the Black Canadian communities, and examining the causes and consequences of antisemitism in higher education. Prof. Kogan is also co-president and co-founder of the Network of Engaged Canadian Academics (NECA, neca-rdace.org). NECA is a non-partisan network of 420 Canadian faculty members on 54 University and College campuses. NECA’s mission is to promote academic freedom, research excellence and intellectual pluralism to counter antisemitism.

Jesse Brown

Keynote · Founder and Publisher of Canadaland

Jesse Brown is the founder and publisher of Canadaland, the first and largest podcast network in Canada. He is the winner of the Hillman Prize for Investigative reporting and a National Magazine Award for Humour. He formerly hosted and created two CBC Radio One current affairs shows. His writing has been published in The New York Times and The Atlantic and his analysis has been broadcast by NPR, CBS and CNN. His most recent documentary series is an investigation into hatred against Canadian Jews since October 7, 2023, called What Is Happening Here.

Lilach Marom

Panel 1 · Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University

Dr. Lilach Marom is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University. Her research draws on critical theories to highlight issues of equity, anti-racism, and inclusion in education. She has worked as an educator with diverse students and communities in multiple contexts. She has written about the experiences of racialized, Indigenous, disabled and international students in higher and teacher education. Her current project examines EDI policies, discourses, and action plans in higher education and K-12, asking what is included and what is left unaddressed in pursuit of a more robust understanding and implementation of EDI.

Rhonda Lenton

Panel 1 · Former President and Vice-Chancellor, York University

Dr. Rhonda Lenton served as president and vice-chancellor of York University from 2017 to 2025, during which she embodied York’s vision of providing students from diverse sociodemographic backgrounds with access to high-quality education at a research-intensive institution dedicated to the public good. She guided the university’s leadership in twenty-first century learning, research and innovation, sustainability, global health, and social justice. By advancing her vision across Canada’s higher education sector, she elevated York’s profile nationally and globally. Lenton was named one of the top 100 most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network in 2015. In 2016 she received the Angela Hildyard Recognition Award for innovative leadership and outstanding contributions to her institution and to higher education in general. Her areas of research and publication include gender studies, research methods and statistical analysis, Jews in Canada, and higher education.

Mia Theocharis

Panel 1 · Canadian Scholar and Educator

Dr. Mia Theocharis is a Canadian scholar and educator working on Jewish-Christian relations, the Holocaust, and antisemitism. Her work traces Christian anti-Judaism and the transformation of Catholic theology after the Holocaust, asking how authoritative intellectual and moral frameworks can legitimize hostility toward Jews—and how they change. Her current research brings that question to liberation theology and decolonial thought, examining how these frameworks can flatten Jewish historical experience and shape discourse in academic spaces.

She holds a PhD in Theological Studies from the University of St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto, where she teaches interfaith communication and dialogue.

Alongside her academic work, Dr. Theocharis is Director of Advocacy, Emerging Campuses at Hillel Ontario, where she leads a province-wide initiative supporting Jewish students on campuses without an established Hillel presence. She works with students and university administrators across Ontario on antisemitism and campus climate—bringing the historical questions of her scholarship into the institutions where they now play out.

Ayelet Kuper

Panel 1 · Professor of Medicine and Medical Education, University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Dr. Ayelet Kuper, MD, DPhil, FRCPC, is a Professor of Medicine and Medical Education at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine and a practicing Internal Medicine physician. She has a doctorate in Holocaust literature and is cross-appointed to the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies. Dr Kuper has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers about the training of health professionals, especially in relation to social justice, and is frequently asked to speak about these topics nationally and internationally. She has won national awards for her academic work such as the 2024 AFMC May Cohen Equity, Diversity and Gender Award from the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada and the 2024 Senior Investigator Award from the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine. She is the Board Chair of the Jewish Medical Association of Ontario (JMAO), Co-Chair of Kehillah: The TAHSN Community of Practice for Jewish Belonging and Thriving in Healthcare, and a member of the Executive of the Association of Jewish Faculty & Staff at the University of Toronto (AJUT).

Jack Jedwab

Keynote · President and CEO, Association for Canadian Studies and the Metropolis Institute

Dr. Jack Jedwab is president and CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies and the Metropolis Institute and one of Canada’s leading experts on demographics, public opinion, and identities. For more than three decades, he has led national and international research initiatives for governments and civil society. More recently, he served as project lead for the Campus Antisemitism and Student Experiences report for the department of Canadian Heritage. A widely cited public intellectual, Dr. Jedwab has authored or edited several books and essays and has taught courses at McGill University, Concordia University, and Université du Québec à Montréal.

Rochelle Direnfeld

Panel 2 · Senior Criminal Counsel, Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism

Called to the Ontario bar in 1990, Rochelle Direnfeld served in the Ontario Public Service for more than 33 years, holding roles as assistant Crown attorney, deputy Crown attorney, Crown counsel, and ultimately deputy director for Toronto Crown Attorneys in the Criminal Law Division of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General. She retired from public service at the end of 2023. Throughout her career, Rochelle prosecuted a broad range of Criminal Code matters before the Ontario Court of Justice, the Superior Court of Justice, and the Ontario Court of Appeal. A significant focus of her work was youth criminal justice, where she developed policy and provided training and lectures to Crown counsel, the defence bar, the judiciary, and police. Since 2018, she has been deeply involved in addressing hate-motivated offences, serving as the Toronto Region representative on the Attorney General’s Hate Crime Working Group and providing legal advice to prosecutors and police on hate crimes. After October 7, 2023, Rochelle returned to work with the Hate Crime Working Group at Crown Law Office—Criminal until November 2024. In January 2025, she joined founder Mark Sandler at the Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism as senior criminal counsel. She also chairs the Canadian Criminal Law Working Group (CCLWG), a coalition of senior criminal counsel from across Canada that advocates for victims of antisemitic hate crimes as they navigate the criminal justice system. Through ALCCA, Rochelle delivers hate-crime training to police and prosecutors nationwide.

Rochelle also serves as vice-chair of the Board of Directors of BOOST Child and Youth Advocacy Centre, a wrap-around agency supporting children and youth who have experienced abuse, along with their families.

Shelley Carroll

Panel 2 · Chair of the Toronto Police Service Board and City Councillor for Don Valley North

Shelley Carroll is Chair of the Toronto Police Service Board and City Councillor for Don Valley North. She brings more than two decades of municipal governance experience, including twice serving as Toronto’s Budget Chief, and previously served on the Police Board from 2014 to 2018 before returning in 2023.

As Chair, Shelley has focused on strong civilian governance, public confidence and ensuring the Toronto Police Service has the resources and direction needed to keep Canada’s largest city safe. Her leadership has included overseeing a new Strategic Plan, rebuilding frontline capacity and strengthening accountability and performance. She has made combating hate and antisemitism a particular priority, working closely with Toronto’s Jewish community, establishing the Board’s Jewish Community Advisory Table, supporting independent oversight of the Service’s response to antisemitism, and advancing stronger approaches to public order and community safety.

Zach Sadowski

Panel 2 · Director of Antisemitism Programming and Outreach, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center

As the Director of Antisemitism Programming and Outreach at Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC), Zach is responsible for workshops that fulfill the mandates of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs at organizations of all sizes. Prior to joining FSWC, Zach had a diverse professional background featuring a mix of corporate and Jewish non-profit experiences. Zach’s current work at FSWC focuses on fostering conversations that challenge participants to think about how they can be an ally to their Jewish colleagues, friends, and to the broader community. Zach also supports FSWC’s broader goal of building a more inclusive and respectful society through other workshops and outreach initiatives.

Jacqueline Dressler

Panel 2 · Hillel Ontario's Senior Director of Advocacy and Public Affairs

A seasoned advocate, Jacqui Dressler has extensive experience navigating an increasingly complex post-secondary landscape. In her current role as Hillel Ontario's senior director of advocacy and public affairs, she engages a variety of stakeholders to lead the community's strategic response to campus antisemitism, including shaping policy and advising university leadership.

Jacqui holds two degrees from the University of Michigan, including a Master's from the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, where she was also a scholar in the Jewish Communal Leadership Program.

In recognition of her leadership in the campus advocacy space, Jacqui was a recipient of the 2025 Shine A Light on Antisemitism Civic Courage Award.

Dylan Hanley

Senior Vice-President, Vantage Canada

For more than 20 years, Dylan Hanley has been a public and vocal ally to Canada’s Jewish community, especially within political circles. Dylan has served in senior roles within leading Jewish community organizations, including serving as senior vice-president, public affairs with The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), as vice-chair of CJPAC, and as Canadian chair of the bilateral working group on science and innovation with Global Affairs Canada. Dylan also spent ten years working on campus issues with CIJA, as director of university relations, and another ten years with U15 Canada serving the presidents of Canada’s leading research universities.

Dylan is currently senior vice-president with Vantage Canada, providing strategic advice to business and community leaders from some of Canada’s most important companies, institutions, and organizations. He is also chair of the Banff Forum, a national community of leaders to convene to discuss the hardest issues facing Canada.