PRME Regional Meeting NA: Who's Who

Sebastian Teunissen graduated from the University of Guelph and completed his graduate studies at Duke University. During his career, he has taught at several universities including the University of Guelph, Duke University and the University of California, Berkeley. He has also been a guest lecturer at many universities around the world. In addition to his professorships, he has helped develop curricula for the Bordeaux Business School in France and for Ashesi University in Ghana. Currently, he is the Managing Director of Solidaridad, an international NGO credited for creating sustainable supply chains from producer to consumer, based on the belief that fair and sustainable trade can be a powerful catalyst to reduce poverty, build communities, and protect the environment. In addition to his role, he is a member of the Board of Directors of Vinhos Barbeito (Madeira) Lda., a Portuguese winery and has co-founded the Rapa Nui Heritage Foundation.

Dr. Gavin Armstrong is the President and CEO of Lucky Iron Fish™ a social enterprise attempting to alleviate iron deficiency around the world. Gavin and his organization are committed to improving global health and combatting famine, while also ensuring that their business practices remain socially responsible. He has been presented with numerous awards such as the prestigious Forbes “30 under 30” in the Social Entrepreneur category in 2016 and the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award in 2017. He is the first Canadian to be honored with the William J. Clinton Award for his international work against hunger and is the inaugural recipient of the international Michaelle Jean Emergency Hunger Relief Award. He has also helped Lucky Iron Fish win multiple Cannes Lion awards including the Grand Prix and several Clio Design Awards including the Grand Prix in health. Gavin holds an honours Bachelor of Commerce degree and a PhD in Biomedical Science from the University of Guelph.

Gordon Beal is the Vice President of Research, Guidance and Support for Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada). He leads a team of senior professionals who conduct research, produce technical guidance and develop thought leadership in order to shape the future of the CPA profession. Since joining CPA in 2004, he has guided numerous national projects and has held the position of National Practice Area Leader for Finance and Management. In addition to his leadership at CPA Canada, Gordon is passionate about sustainability and leading positive organizational change. He has been a member of Natural Resources Canada’s National Climate Change Adaptation Platform Plenary since 2013. He is also a part of the federal government’s Climate Change Adaptation Assessment Committee and sits on the board of directors for the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Information Security and Audit and St. Mary’s University’s Centre for Excellence in Accounting and Reporting for Cooperatives. 

Anthony F. Buono is professor of Management and Sociology and founding director of the Alliance for Ethics and Social Responsibility at Bentley University, which he oversaw from its inception in 2003 through 2013. He is also a former Chair of Bentley’s Management Department. Tony’s research, teaching and consulting interests include organizational change, inter-organizational strategies, management consulting, and ethics and corporate social responsibility. He has written or edited eighteen books including The Human Side of Mergers and Acquisitions (1989, 2003), A Primer on Organizational Behavior (7th ed., 2008), and, most recently, Consultation for Organizational Change Revisited (2016 as part of his Research in Management Consulting book series (Information Age Publishing). His articles and book review essays have appeared in numerous journals, including Academy of Management Learning & Education, Across the Board, Administrative Science Quarterly, Human Relations, Journal of Organizational Change Management, and Personnel Psychology. Tony has also received Bentley University’s highest honor for both teaching and research. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Maryland, and an M.A. and Ph.D. with a concentration in Industrial and Organizational Sociology from Boston College. He is also actively involved in the UN Global Compact-sponsored PRME and was honored as a PRME Pioneer at the 2017 Global Forum on Responsible Management Education..

Ruben Burga (PhD, MBA, P.Eng.) received his PhD in Management from the University of Guelph with a focus on the relationships among managerial control mechanisms in project environments. Ruben complements his academic research and teaching methods with the experience gained from having worked as a global executive for a variety of multinationals and entrepreneurial companies. Ruben recently co-authored an article published in the International Journal of Management Education that empirically looked at ways to embed corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles among students. He has taught CSR to Bachelor of Commerce students in the College of Business & Economics at the University of Guelph for the past three years.  In the process he has had his students win UN-sponsored competitions to present innovative solutions to CSR problems that have resulted in their engagement in recent UN PRME conferences. Ruben has had his students engage actively in the Aim2Flourish innovation challenges to find local businesses that address the UN Sustainable Development Goals and has highlighted in this way local businesses such as Lucky Iron Fish – a business that addresses the well-being SDG by providing a source of iron supplements through the use of a fish-shaped cast iron ingot to cook meals.

Peter Cameron is the Acting Executive Director of the Ontario Co-operative Association (On Co-op™), a trade association that develops, engages, educates and advocates for Ontario’s 1,300 co-operative businesses. Peter has always been interested in the Co-op business model and has developed an extensive list of experiences working in Co-op businesses, including being on the founding boards of Silverwood Housing Co-operative, Guelph Food Co-operative, Guelph Co-op Council and Sumac Community Worker Co-operative. He is an alumnus of McMaster University where he obtained his Hons BSc. He is also a graduate from the Co-operative Management Certificate Program sponsored by On Co-op and York University’s Schulich School of Business. Peter was honored with the Outstanding Contribution to On Co-op Award in 2004 and he was also the 2005 recipient of the Canadian Co-op Worker Federation’s Worker Co-op Merit Award. 

After receiving his BA in Political Science from the University of Michigan in 2008, Anthony relocated to Denver and began working with refugees. With over 5 years of experience working in refugee resettlement, Anthony is leading a collaborative service learning model between the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management and the African Community Center—a refugee resettlement agency in Denver, Colorado. Currently, Anthony is a dual MS candidate in both Global Affairs and Leadership in Organizations. He served in the United States Peace Corps in Mongolia from 2011-2013.

Charles Cho is Professor of Accounting and the Erivan K. Haub Chair in Business and Sustainability at the Schulich School of Business at York University. His research areas of interest include social and environmental accounting; corporate social responsibility (CSR); and accounting and the public interest. Charles has published papers in prestigious academic journals such as Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Accounting, Organizations and Society, the European Accounting Review. Due to his expertise in the field of sustainability accounting, he is regularly invited as guest speaker at local and international conferences. Charles also serves as a Council member of the Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research and Chair of its International Associates Committee.

Dr. Amelia Clarke has been working on environment and sustainability issues since 1989, including as President of Sierra Club Canada (2003-2006). She holds a PhD in Management (Strategy) from McGill University. Dr. Clarke is now an Associate Professor in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED) at the University of Waterloo, where she is also Director of the Master of Environment and Business (MEB) program. Her main research focuses are related to strategies for sustainable development, and include a half-million dollar team project on structuring cross-sector social partnerships to more effectively achieve local sustainability goals and other desired partner outcomes. Amelia’s work has been published in Journal of Business Ethics, Business & Society, Organizations & Environment, Public Administration Review, Journal of Cleaner Production, Futures, Sustainable Development, along with other journals, book chapters and practitioner reports. She is on the editorial board of the Academy of Management Learning and Education (AMLE) journal.

As Director of Corporate Responsibility at Deloitte Canada, Sarah is accountable for setting and managing the corporate responsibility strategy for the firm. She also has direct management of the community function and oversight of the Deloitte Foundation. Prior to joining Deloitte, Sarah worked in Australia and the US specializing in corporate responsibility both in-house and as a consultant, building innovative programs that create shared economic and societal value. Sarah has a PhD in Corporate Responsibility from the University of Technology, Sydney.

Dr. Deborah de Lange is an Assistant Professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management and a faculty member of the Yeates School of Graduate Studies at Ryerson University where she oversees graduate students. She is an award winning researcher having published academic books, journal articles, book chapters, and teaching cases examining topics related to clean technology entrepreneurship and financing and other topics related to sustainable development. Research topics include sustainable and social entrepreneurship, international organizations and relations, cross-sector partnerships, and corporate governance. Cliques and Capitalism: A Modern Network Theory of the Firm has been recognized by the Academy of Management. Her work has been published in high quality journals such as the Journal of Business Ethics, Business & Society, the Journal of International Management, and the Journal of Cleaner Production. She is also Chair-Elect for the Public and Non-Profit Division of Academy of Management and Vice-Chair of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education North American Chapter (UN PRME). 

Court Desautels is the President of the Neighbourhood Group of Companies, a Certified B Corporation that operates various restaurants in Ontario such as the Woolwich Arrow Pub, Borealis Grille & Bar and Miijidaa Cafe + Bistro. Court's previous experience in the hospitality sector has included being the Event Coordinator for Sleeman Breweries and managing restaurants in Australia. He is an innovative leader who has a vision of combining top-quality service with a dedication to environmental sustainability and social responsibility. His restaurants support local initiatives and use local farmers and producers as their primary suppliers for their restaurants.

Dr. Rumina Dhalla is an Associate Professor, Organizational Studies and Sustainable Commerce area in the College of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph. Her main research interests are in organizational identity and reputation and their implications for organizational strategies, sustainability and CSR. Her recent research projects include implications of sustainability and sustainability certifications in the wine industry and the impact of social enterprise and food supply in Tanzania. She is the recipient of major grants from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for Canada for her research. She is an accomplished educator, recognized for her commitment to teaching excellence through awards at both graduate and undergraduate levels. Prior to pursuing a career in academia, she accumulated over 20 years of industry experience, much of which was in the Canadian banking industry. She is a member of the University of Newcastle’s Wine Studies Research Network in Australia and was the Project Lead for the Guelph East Africa Initiative at the University of Guelph.

Fiona Duguid (PhD) is a researcher based out of Chelsea, Quebec. She is currently a Research Fellow with the Centre of Excellence on Accounting and Reporting of Co-operatives, Saint Mary’s University (SMU) and an instructor in the SMU Co-operative Business Management program. She is President of the Canadian Association for the Study of Co-operation (CASC).
 

Jim Estill, CEO of Danby Appliances, is a Canadian technology entrepreneur, executive, and philanthropist.  From starting a computer distribution business from the trunk of his car while in university, a company Jim sold to SYNNEX, he became CEO of SYNNEX Canada and grew sales from $800,000,000 to $2 Billion over five years.  Recently Jim Estill has been making news for his sponsorship of 58 Syrian refugee families. In 2017 Jim received the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest honor, and has been honoured as an Everyday Hero by the Global Hope Coalition.

Paul Greven is a National Director and Chief Counsel for JLL Canada. He is responsible for all legal, compliance and risk matters across Canada for JLL. He has worked at JLL Canada for 5 years and is an active member of the firm’s executive management and charity committees. He previously practiced law for leading companies and law firms based in the Middle East, Cayman Islands and Toronto where his practice primarily focused on real estate transactions. In the past few years, Paul has dedicated considerable time spearheading various United Nations and UNGC initiatives though various public speaking and publication projects and is currently heading up a General Counsel group on behalf of the UNGC – Network Canada. In his spare time, Paul enjoys travelling, skiing and spending time with his wife and young family.

Jamie Gruman, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour in the Department of Management at the University of Guelph. His research and writing, which focuses on organizational socialization and positive organizational psychology, has appeared in some of the world's top management journals. In Canada he has been featured and quoted in print and online in magazines such as MoneySense, Canadian Business, Canadian Living, and Chatelaine, trade journals such as HR Professional and Public Sector Digest, and newspapers in every major Canadian city.  Jamie has consulted and delivered seminars for Fortune 500 corporations, public, and not-for-profit organizations including General Motors, Departments and Agencies of the Government of Canada, and the Children’s Wish Foundation.

Dr. Janet Riola Hale holds her Doctor of Jurisprudence from Saint Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio, Texas. She teaches Business Law at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, in the Department of Finance and Economics at Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg in Germany, and Jiao Tong University in China.  

Janet focuses on commercial, international and sustainability laws at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her Bachelor of Arts degree is in Philosophy from the University of Arkansas where she was co-captain of a nationally ranked Division-I swim team; and, her Master of Arts degree is from Baylor University where she specialized in classical aesthetics.  

Jonathan Halperin is founder and President of Designing Sustainability and Head of External Affairs at Greyston Social Enterprise. He creates and executes initiatives with nonprofit and commercial organizations that lead to systemic change. Passionate about the power of hybrid organizations and effective story-telling to drive social innovation, he has more than 30 years of experience in international affairs, food security, and climate change. He is also the designer of TeachFood! at Mundo Verde, a trustee of The Marcus Foundation, an Advisor to the Center for Sustainable Business at the Stern School, NYU, and on the President’s Council at Ceres.  

Maureen A. Kilgour, PhD, is an associate professor in the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Winnipeg in Canada.  She is a member of the UN Women's Empowerment Principles Leadership Group, co-chair of the PRME Working Group on Gender Equality and co-editor of two books in gender equality in the PRME series with Greenleaf Publishing. Her PhD from the Warwick Business School examined the concept of the privatization of global governance and its impact on gender equality in developing economies and her current research focuses on business and human rights, global governance and CSR. She has worked in policy development, advocacy and as a consultant for numerous organizations in the areas of industrial relations, human rights and gender equality.

Pamela Laughland is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Network for Business Sustainability (NBS), a Canadian non-profit organization that connects managers with researchers to collaborate to make business practice more sustainable. The Network provides free resources for businesses on topics surrounding innovation and embedding sustainability into the organizational culture. The organization has done exceptionally well since its launch in 2006; NBS has developed into a thriving network of nearly 10,000 researchers and managers worldwide. The organization has also attracted more than $7.5 million in funding and has built global affiliates in South Africa and Chile. Since taking the directorial role in 2011, Pamela has championed several significant initiatives including the Global Sustainability Centres Community, a program that assembles research centres from around the world in order to collaborate and create greater societal impact. She has been recognized with numerous awards, including London Business Magazine’s Top 20 under 40.

Joshua LeBlanc is a PhD candidate at the University of Guelph. He holds a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology and a bachelor’s degree in psychology. His current research interests include two primary streams: 1) understanding the effects of parenting style on emerging adult career development and 2) responsible management education, curriculum design and pedagogical practices for contemporary emerging adults. Joshua’s recent publications can be found in the International Journal of Management Education, The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and the Social and Environmental Accountability Journal. His co-authored works have received best paper awards at the annual meetings of the Academy of Management and Administrative Sciences Association of Canada.

Heather Ranson, Assistant Teaching Professor, Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria, teaches a core course in Business and Sustainability as part of the Bachelor of Commerce and MBA programmes, and is part of the teaching team that delivers a specialization in Service Management at the Gustavson School of Business.  In her role as Associate Director, Centre for Social and Sustainable Innovation (CSSI), Heather builds the sustainability teaching culture in the school by supporting faculty with timely materials, guest speakers and curriculum.  Heather also oversees publication of the bi-annual Sharing Information in Progress report which documents sustainability oriented events and activities within the Gustavson School of Business, according to the requirements of PRME.  Heather’s research interests lie in sustainability, management, teaching and learning and preferably a combination of all three topics.

Dr. Daphne Rixon is Associate Professor of Accounting at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has a PhD from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA). She has over 20 years’ experience in the private and public sectors as Controller and Director of Finance. Daphne has a very productive research program which has resulted in over 100 peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. She is Editor of the Journal of Co-operative Accounting and Reporting. In addition to her position of Associate Professor, she is also the Executive Director of the Centre of Excellence in Accounting and Reporting for Co-operatives (CEARC). Daphne teaches managerial and cost accounting in the undergraduate program as well as Financial Management in the Masters of Management for Co-operatives and Credit Unions (MMCCU) program and Integrative Accounting in the MBA-CPA program. 

In addition to a PhD and MA in economics and MBA, Kathleen Rodenburg has 15 years of business and industry experience holding senior management positions at a Tier I organization in the areas of Marketing, Sales, Supply Chain Management and Finance prior to returning to academia. 

Currently, she teaches the Introduction to Management course to 900 first-year business students at the University of Guelph. The course, in addition to teaching relevant theories and concepts, provides a practical application of these theories to real organizations. It provides students with essential tools in order to enhance decision-making and problem solving abilities in relation to resolving the many ethical dilemmas faced by individuals in the business environment. 

Claire Sommer is proud to lead AIM2Flourish and to collaborate with business professors and partners worldwide to prepare Global Goals leaders. AIM2Flourish is the world's first higher-education curriculum, story platform, and prize for the UN SDGs and positive, profitable business innovation. She served as AIM2Flourish's Communications Director for two years before being named Director in June 2017. Previously, Claire helped Fortune 500 companies tell their stories as an independent sustainable business writer. Claire is a Rutgers University alumna, Certified Rutgers Environmental Steward, a NOLs (National Outdoor Leadership School) graduate, and avid sea kayaker. She lives and four-season gardens in West Orange, NJ with her husband Geoff. AIM2Flourish is an initiative of the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit at the Weatherhead School of Management-Case Western Reserve University.

David Steingard is the Associate Director of the Pedro Arrupe Center for Business Ethics and Associate Professor of Leadership, Ethics, and Organizational Sustainability at the Haub School of Business at Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. He works in the areas of business ethics and socially/environmentally beneficial forms of business. David is currently working with Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) on developing a new data analytics tool to capture, measure, and report on business schools’ performance fulfilling the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—the PRME SDG Dashboard.

Barbara Turley-McIntyre is the Vice President of Sustainability & Citizenship at The Co-operators Group Ltd, where she is responsible for the enterprise-wide integration of the Sustainability Vision, Policy and Strategy with responsibility for leading the production of the annual Integrated Report and carbon management programs. She is a member of The Co-operators Impact Investing Committee and has responsibility for The Co-operators community programs, including The Co-operators Foundation.

Barbara holds a Masters in Environment and Business from the University of Waterloo and a Chartered Insurance Professional designation. She is a Sessional Lecturer at the University of Waterloo, Faculty of the Environment. Barbara’s volunteering activities include organizations that advance sustainable development - Director with The Natural Step Canada and a Board member of the United Nations Environment Program – Finance Initiative Global Steering Committee.

Amy Klemm Verbos, J.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Business Law at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She received her J.D. cum laude, Order of the Coif, from the University of Wisconsin Law School, and her Ph.D. in Management Science (Organizations and Strategic Management) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Verbos was a management professor for five years before joining the faculty at UW-Whitewater. Her recent research focuses on Native American business, organizational forms, and ethics, Indigenous rights in the context of the UN Global Compact, gender equity, the Principles for Responsible Management Education, and a legal critique of benefit corporations. Dr. Verbos co-edited and is an author in American Indian Business: Principles and Practices (2017). She is lead editor on Indigenous Rights and Aspirations: The Case for Responsible Business and Management (2017) in the Greenleaf Publishing PRME Series. Dr. Verbos is an enrolled citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, is a past director on the board of Mno Bmadsen, the tribe’s non-gaming business entity, and is a present member of the Ethics Board.

Nonita Yap is an adjunct professor at the University of Guelph where she teaches graduate level courses in Environmental Impact Assessment and Disaster Planning and Management. Her research, volunteer and professional activities have taken her to several countries in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. Until recently her research has focused on the role of technology in the environmental sustainability of development interventions, and the role of policy in influencing the technology choices of firms. She has since shifted her attention to the consistency of corporate social responsibility practices of mining firms. Nonita was a participant at the 2006 EU Expert Conference on the Marrakech Process and was also involved in the 2008 Washington DC workshop on Sustainable Consumption and Production sponsored by UNEP and the Government of Canada. Since 2009 she has served on the Strategic Environmental Assessment Advisory Board of Global Affairs Canada.  The Board is a multi-stakeholder forum for informal exchange with federal government officials to (a) assist lead trade agreement negotiators to understand the environmental implications of trade and investment policies and (b) integrate environmental considerations in trade and investment negotiations.

Cheri A. Young, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management in the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.  A passionate, talented designer of engaging learning environments through the use of community-engaged service learning, Dr. Young’s teaching has been recognized by the U.S. State Department and the International Council for Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education.  She has helped secure over $500,000 in grants to support an innovative refugee training program developed collaboratively by the Knoebel School and the ECDC/African Community Center, a refugee resettlement agency.  This partnership began in 2012 and is currently working with its 18th cohort of refugees.  Additionally, Dr. Young is an associate editor at a top hospitality research journal, and her research has been published in numerous journals, including the Cornell Quarterly and the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research.  While her primary teaching areas include organizational behavior, labor relations, and human resources, her life’s purpose is to help others realize their highest potential.