Talk
Wayne Burke
Co-Founder, CEO, and Social Entrepreneur
Wayne is a father of three and Melissa’s loving husband. He is a former tackle football coach for North Shore, who hung up his whistle when Melissa became pregnant with their third child. This past summer, he picked it back up to coach U5 girls soccer at the request of their eldest daughter. Wayne is also an experienced Co-Founder, CEO, and Social Entrepreneur with a demonstrated history of leading with integrity and positive impact in the energy industry. He studied Political Science at Concordia University, law at McGill University, and business at Harvard Business School (OPM Program).
Wayne and his co-founder, Steve, recently sold their business, DNE, founded in 2009, to AppDirect. Along with their now larger team, they are working hard to integrate the business and generate even more value for all team members, customers, and stakeholders. DNE, an AppDirect company, helps businesses across North America reduce their costs for a growing portfolio of recurring expenses (energy, telecom, SaaS, AI, security, hardware, and beyond).
Talk
Cindy Hovington, Ph.D.
Founder of Curious Neuron, Host of the Reflective Parenting Podcast
Cindy Hovington, PhD, is a neuroscientist, mother of three, and founder of Curious Neuron, a science-based initiative helping parents build emotional regulation and reflective skills so they can parent with calm and confidence.
Her work challenges a dominant assumption in parenting: that parents need more advice. Instead, Cindy shows that most parents already know what to do but struggle to access those skills under stress. Through Curious Neuron, she focuses on strengthening parents’ internal capacity using neuroscience and psychology, shifting parenting from reactive survival mode to more intentional, regulated responses.
Cindy is also pioneering the integration of parental well-being into pediatric care, partnering with clinics across in Canada, USA, and Kenya to support parents as a foundational part of child health. She was also an invited expert at the World Early Childhood Development (WED) Forum in Abu Dhabi, where she led a masterclass on emotional development in the first five years of life.
She is the host of The Reflective Parenting Podcast, an award-winning, top-ranked parenting podcast, and shares science-based insights with a global community of more than 175,000 parents. Cindy is an international keynote speaker on emotion regulation skills, emotional development in the early years and parental well-being, helping redefine how we support families—by starting with the parent.
Talk
Natacha Fazal-Karim
Interior Designer, Creator, Mother, Humanitarian, Serial Entrepreneur
Natacha Fazal-Karim is an international creator and entrepreneur whose work centers on sensory design, emotional authenticity, and meaning. Born in Paris and raised across Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas, she brings a global perspective to every space she shapes.
Founder and CEO of Stardust Concept, Natacha leads projects that blend design, hospitality, and wellbeing, including Locanda Le Piazze, One Belvedere Tuscany, Tavola di Guido, QB Cucina, and Botanical Symphony. Her approach is rooted in subtle luxury—where touch, scent, light, and sound come together to restore and inspire.
A devoted mother to Jayan and Ivan, she draws strength and clarity from family, integrating warmth and purpose into her creative vision.
Natacha is also the founder of Her Me Now, an initiative that supports women through visibility, education, and opportunity, alongside her ongoing humanitarian work throughout the MENA region and Cambodia.
Guided by curiosity, integrity, and a deep commitment to giving back, she continues to craft spaces and experiences that connect, heal, and elevate.
Talk
Pino Di Ioia
CEO and co-owner of BeaverTails
What began as a summer job during his MBA turned into a decades-long journey of building joy, one pastry at a time. Pino was the brand’s first franchisee, first area developer, and now serves as CEO and co-owner of BeaverTails — one of Canada’s most iconic indulgent brands. Alongside his twin brother and wife, he’s grown the company from a beloved treat to a coast-to-coast (and global) experience.
Pino is proud to lead a team that turns everyday moments into sweet memories. He’s fueled by bold ideas, quirky storytelling, and a relentless love of bringing delight… whether launching flavour drops, opening flagship shops, or testing new poutine pairings at home with Tina, Kai, Lucca, Max and their dog Milo.
“We make happy happier — and that’s a privilege I don’t take lightly.”
Talk
Andrea Ross
Professional Stuntwoman, Former National Champion Wrestler, and Founder of Live Your Fierce
Andrea Ross is a professional stuntwoman, former national champion wrestler, and founder of Live Your Fierce — a movement and mindset coaching company redefining confidence from the body up. With a background in gymnastics, martial arts, and parkour, she has brought fierce physical storytelling to major film and TV productions including The Last of Us, Reacher, Black Mirror and Wynonna Earp.
Blending decades of elite athletic training with on-set experience overcoming high-stakes fear, Andrea helps high-achieving women develop embodied leadership and reclaim the power of play.
When she’s not crashing through windows or choreographing fight scenes, Andrea can be found kiteboarding, mountain biking, skiing, and exploring the outdoors — with the many adventurous spirits who reside in her hometown of Squamish, BC
Talk
Laura François
Impact Strategist, Writer and the Director of Awe Exchange
Laura François is an impact strategist, writer and the Director of Awe Exchange, a nonprofit laboratory based in Montreal and Ho Chi Minh City. Her work focuses on how awe and relational intelligence can reshape approaches to complex systems, particularly in climate adaptation and emerging technologies.
For nearly a decade, Laura has worked across Southeast Asia and Canada with organizations addressing the polycrisis. Her book IMAGINE: Embracing Chaos and Possibility in a Planetary Emergency brings together perspectives from both Global North and Majority World contributors, positioning imagination as essential intelligence for navigating planetary-scale challenges.
Through Awe Exchange, Laura is strengthening the concept of ‘systems feeling’, reconnecting changemakers to the relational, human dimensions of complex systems. This work draws on years of fieldwork with artisans, farmers, and community organizers, and builds on her previous work advocating for supply chain transparency in the garment industry as country director of Fashion Revolution Malaysia and Singapore. Laura previously founded Spaceship Academy, a learning community that equipped professionals with skills for climate leadership, and anewkind, a regenerative leadership agency supporting organizations across Asia to shift from extractive to regenerative practices.
Her collaborations span institutions from the World Bank, Greenpeace, and H&M to the University of Victoria, and next-generation impact communities like NEXUS. Previously, Laura worked extensively in Southeast Asia’s regenerative leadership and circular economy sector as an innovation mentor for Fashion for Good (Mumbai, Amsterdam), Bridge Fashion Incubator (Singapore) and most recently for the Next Generation Foresight Practitioners Fellowship 2025. Laura was named to EcoBusiness’s A-List 2020 Asia, recognized as a Robb Report Thought Leader, and received the Concordia Global Citizenship Award.
Host
Taylor Eaves
Client Relations Expert & Sports Event Strategist
Taylor Eaves is an enthusiastic Account Manager with a passion for people, sports, and creating great experiences. As former sports event manager and game host, Taylor led the USports Vanier Cup for two consecutive years, blending professionalism with an infectious love for the game. A Western University alum and devoted dog lover—especially to Dakota and Charlie—Taylor brings energy, connection, and dedication to everything she does, from managing clients to creating unforgettable moments.
