Bright Future

In May 2020, in the depths of the pandemic, Canadian Nicholas André G. Johnson broke new ground as Princeton’s first Black valedictorian. In over 274 years, no other Black student had been recognized in this way by the institution, making Nicholas a ground breaker and as we’ll hear—a mentor to other Black professionals forging their path through academic and professional settings. 

Nicholas talks about the experience of being the first Black valedictorian and the intense media attention he received from both American and Canadian press. He shares how his passion for technology and for building connects to what he sees as his life’s work—creating value in the world.

We also discuss how organizations can engage Black professionals to bring their authentic selves into the workplace. Signal49 Research research found that Black Canadians had the highest rate of feeling like they needed to adjust their identity in a corporate setting. A concerning finding since almost half of the Black respondents said they needed to engage in code switching to fit in.  

Finally, Nicholas shares his advice for following your passions, building a community, and connecting with others to make a difference in the world. 

About our guest:

Nicholas André G. Johnson has engaged in machine learning research at MIT, Princeton University, Oxford University and the Montreal Institute of Learning Algorithms. He is currently a PhD student at MIT and a Researcher in Residence at Bain Capital Crypto. Nicholas holds an undergraduate degree from Princeton University. He was the Valedictorian of Princeton’s Class of 2020 and is the University’s first Black Valedictorian. Nicholas has previously been featured by the New York Times, CNN, ABC News, Time and BET. As a professional speaker, Nicholas is an advocate for educational attainment in marginalized communities and increased representation in STEM industries.

Additional information can be found:

https://www.nicholasagjohnson.com/

Access all our research at Home - Signal49 Research

Levelling the Playing Field for Black Canadians: A Call to Action for Leaders - Signal49 Research

The war in Ukraine brought the country and its people to the forefront of international attention. Every day more and more people are seeking to help Ukrainians to end the war and to recover from the damage that is being inflicted.

Dr. Marnie Howlett has dedicated her life to understanding—and helping others understand—how Ukraine and its people view their country and their unique position as a borderland between Europe and Russia.  

She joins us this episode to provide a deeper understanding of how Ukraine’s history, its complexities and its realities on the ground have helped to shape the war and are fueling the Ukrainian resistance.

About our guest:

Marnie Howlett is a Departmental Lecturer in Politics at the University of Oxford. She completed her PhD in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2021. She holds a BA (High Honours) in International Studies (2015) and a MA in Political Science (2017) from the University of Saskatchewan. She has held Fellowships supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Canadian Foundation for Ukrainian Studies, and the Shevchenko Foundation of Canada. Marnie has previously served as a legislative intern with the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly and as an international electoral observer with CANADEM during Ukraine’s three most recent elections.

Marnie has provided a number of links to organizations and sources of additional information about Ukraine listed below.

Two notable organizations supporting Ukraine with direct ties to Saskatchewan include: 

• Stream of Hopes 
• Ukrainian Patriot 

 
A Live Working Document of Various Organizations that are Supporting Civilians and the Armed Forces on the Ground in Ukraine (Google Doc Link)

Some reputable Ukrainian news sources (in English) include: 

• The Kyiv Independent
• The New Voice of Ukraine 

Book - Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder

Check out all of our analysis on the war in Ukraine at https://www.conferenceboard.ca/insights/impact-of-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine

And access all our research at conferenceboard.ca.

The ongoing war in Ukraine has shaken the foundation of international relations.  In many ways this war feels like déjà vu—a land war in Europe, a larger power attempting to overtake another smaller country for its own gains.  But in other ways this war is unprecedented.  Professor Jane Boulden joins us this episode to help make sense of the impact of the war in Ukraine on the international order, on the United Nations and on how this war has eroded the rules-based order that we thought governed international relations.

 About our guest:  

Jane Boulden is a Professor at the Royal Military College of Canada and cross-appointed as an Adjunct Professor at Queen’s University. From 2004–2014, she held a Canada Research Chair in International Relations and Security Studies. From 2000 until 2004, she was a MacArthur Research Fellow at the Centre for International Studies, University of Oxford. She works in the areas of superpower politics, nuclear weapons, conflict management, the United Nations and Canadian foreign policy.

 Additional information can be found here:

https://rmc-ca.academia.edu/JaneBoulden

https://www.emporia.app/users/janeboulden

 Check out all of our analysis on the war in Ukraine at https://www.conferenceboard.ca/insights/impact-of-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine

 And access all our research at conferenceboard.ca. 

The Russian invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves around the world and Canada is not immune.  Join the Conference Board of Canada’s economic forecasting team as they discuss how this conflict will impact Canadian producers, government, and consumers.  They will also discuss opportunities for Canada to build on its special relationship with the people of Ukraine to play a bigger role in post-war rebuilding.

 About our guests:  

Pedro Antunes is the Chief Economist and primary spokesperson at The Conference Board of Canada. He provides insights and general direction for the Board’s economic products, including reports and economic indicators that relate to Canada and its regions and sectors. Pedro provides media interviews in English and French as well as expert testimony before parliamentary and senate committees. He is widely sought for speaking engagements and presentations to industry leaders and decision-makers on a broad range of issues and topics that impact Canadians.

Pedro started his professional career in 1987 with the Canadian forecast team at the Bank of Canada, joining the Board in 1991 as part of the provincial forecast team. Over time, he had responsibility for the economic analysis of different provinces and sectors. He also worked on several international projects to help decision-makers in Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, and Ukraine develop appropriate forecasting and policy analysis tools. Among other topics, Pedro has researched the impact of Canada’s demographic change on labour markets, the fiscal sustainability of health care, productivity, and long-term economic growth.

Ted Mallett is the Director of the Economic Forecasting team at The Conference Board of Canada. Ted is responsible for the strategic direction of this Knowledge Area, as well as its day-to-day operations. He oversees the planning and production of regular forecast publications at the national, provincial, metro, and industry levels.

Ted is a nationally recognized economist with more than three decades of experience in economic policy analysis and forecasting. He is known for producing innovative and unique insights in areas not often covered by traditional sources of data. As a frequent contributor to media and a member of several senior advisory bodies to governments, Ted is adept at identifying, anticipating, and articulating emerging trends and challenges leaders will face in our economy.

Sohaib Shahid is the Director, Economic Innovation at The Conference Board of Canada. As part of CBoC’s Economic Forecasting Knowledge Area, Sohaib leads the Economic Innovation Team and their new economic product research and development initiatives.

Sohaib is an economic thought leader with experience in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining the Board, he was a Senior Economist at TD Bank leading TD’s global economic forecast. He also worked as an Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, DC. At both organizations, Sohaib worked on a wide variety of economic issues for a diverse set of countries.

Sohaib holds a MA and a PhD in Economics from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

 Check out all of our analysis on the war in Ukraine at https://www.conferenceboard.ca/insights/impact-of-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine

And access all our research at conferenceboard.ca. 

Decisions about our communities are made based on data. That data comes from many places, but these days, a lot of it comes from what we do and the decisions we make. Over the course of the pandemic, our actions changed dramatically. Having local, current data meant decision-makers were able to target their reactions to the communities that needed them most. 

But could we have done better? Do our new sources of information play well with our old sources? Rupen Seoni, Chief Revenue Officer, Environics Analytics, joins us this episode to talk about how governments and organizations can use new and old data sources to make better decisions.

Find Rupen on Twitter: @RupenSeoni and LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rupenseoni/. 

Find Environics Analytics on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/environics-analytics. 

Watch Rupen talk more about Environics Analytics’ research: MobileScapes in Your COVID Response Toolkit (YouTube).

Read about Environics Analytics helping the City of Toronto understand people’s movement behaviours: Toronto Lockdown Shopper and Recreational Movement (environicsanalytics.com).

Listen to our other podcasts at https://www.signal49.ca/podcasts/bright-future/

You can find all of our research here: https://www.signal49.ca/

More than five years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its final report, progress on the 94 calls to action has been slow. But are Canadians starting to finally understand the truth of how Indigenous Peoples have been treated in this country?

Reconciliation is a long journey. Knowing the truth is just the first step. 

The head of that commission, The Honourable Murray Sinclair, joins us this episode to talk about new laws in Canada that recognize Indigenous rights, the next phase in his storied career, and why he’s optimistic that things can be different than how they were.

If you’re someone affected by residential schools and you need help, the number for the National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is 1-866-925-4419. Additional mental health supports can be found at Crisis Services Canada.

Murray Sinclair: Murray Sinclair - Wikipedia

Learn more about reconciliation at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, nctr.ca. 

Find our research on Indigenous and Northern communities here: https://www.signal49.ca/focus-areas/indigenous-northern-communities/

 Listen to our other podcasts at https://www.signal49.ca/podcasts/bright-future/

You can find all of our research here: Home - Signal49 Research

What do you do when your technology trips you up more than it helps you out? In 2014, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation found itself with a collection of legacy technologies that were getting in employees’ way and limiting the organization’s impact.

Initially, they thought it was just a technology issue. Turns out, they needed more than just a contractor to move them to the cloud—they needed a partner who could help them find a new approach.

This episode, Amélie Lecompte, CMHC’s VP and Deputy Chief Information Officer, and Mark Lambert, Canada Federal Public Service Lead at Accenture, share the journey they took to overhaul CMHC’s technology and their discovery that tech change is also people change.

Read more about the CMHC case study on Accenture’s website or in Policy Options.

Find Amélie on Twitter, @LecompteAmelie, and on LinkedIn.

Mark can also be found on Twitter,  @markdlambert, and LinkedIn.

Listen to our other podcasts at Bright Future - Signal49 Research

You can find all of our research here: Home - Signal49 Research

“Comply or explain” disclosure requirements were intended to improve women’s representation at the top of Canada’s major organizations. Five years later, the ratio of women on corporate boards has improved, but is it thanks to the disclosure requirements? Dr. Susan Black, CEO of The Conference Board of Canada, and Rob Davis, Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at KPMG in Canada, talk to us about the pace of change for women’s representation and opportunities to increase diversity in Canadian boardrooms.

Both of this episode’s guests can be found on LinkedIn: Susan at linkedin.com/in/susanlblack, and Rob at https://www.linkedin.com/in/robdaviskpmg. 

Listen to our other podcasts at Bright Future - Signal49 Research

Refugees bring very few “things” with them when they arrive in Canada, but they don’t arrive empty-handed. They bring experiences, perspective, passion, and fresh ideas. 

When Tareq Hadhad left war-torn Syria and settled in Nova Scotia with his family, he brought a delicious path to peace, prosperity, and community. The founder of Peace by Chocolate joins us to talk about Canada’s immigration and refugee system, entrepreneurship, and being a newcomer in a small town.

Find Tareq on Twitter (@TareqHadhad), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/tareqhadhad), and Facebook (facebook.com/tareqhadhadofficial). 

Find Peace by Chocolate on their website (peacebychocolate.ca/), Twitter (@Peacebychoco), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/peace-by-chocolate), and Facebook (facebook.com/peacebychocolate/).

Listen to our other podcasts at Bright Future - Signal49 Research

You can find all of our research here: Immigration - Signal49 Research

Policies need to make sense with how people and businesses already operate. Otherwise, they won’t work. Knowing how people make decisions can help policies make sense to the people they’re supposed to support. A misplaced nudge can sometimes feel like a shove. 

Policies work better when they line up with how people already make their decisions. Sasha Tregebov, Director of Behavioural Insights Team’s Canada office, joins us to talk about how creating the right policies can help us to recover better.

Find Sasha on Twitter @s_tregebov and on LinkedIn. 

Learn more about the Behavioural Insights Team: www.bi.team/our-work/covid-19/