Service Advisory Committee members’ biographies

Biography of Cliff Groen

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Kirstin Beardsley stepped into the role of Chief Executive Officer of Food Banks Canada in 2022.

Prior to leading the network of over 5,100 food banks and community agencies, Kirstin was Food Banks Canada’s bilingual Chief Network Services Officer and was responsible for leading transformational change in the food banking system in Canada. With a strong and deep understanding of food insecurity in Canada and of the work of the food banking network, Kirstin has provided leadership to the organization’s strategic plans and task forces over the past 10 years.

Kirstin is from Ottawa, Ontario but now calls Toronto home. During her time away from work, Kirstin enjoys spending time with her daughter.

Kirstin is passionate about working towards the Food Banks Canada vision of a Canada where no one goes hungry and is just as passionate about the incredible people in food banking who are making a difference every day in the lives of so many.

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Lori has 30 years' experience driving profitable business growth through the strategic use of Data, Analytics and AI, having worked around the globe for Fortune 500 firms. Her experience spans financial services, telecom, retail, government, technology, health care and manufacturing. Most recently, Lori was Chief Data, Analytics and AI officer for the Bank of Montreal (BMO)'s North American Retail and Business Bank where she led an international team of 500+ analysts building bots, machine learning models and a wide range of technical solutions that powered all of the banks retail and business channels, products and customer segments. Prior, Lori held international roles for SAS as Head of Customer Intelligence for the Americas, and for CIBC, as Vice President of Client Insights and Database Marketing.

She's been recognized as Canada's Best Executive by the Globe and Mail, one of Canada's Top Most Powerful Women, Chief Data Officer Magazine's Top Data Power Women, and a leading woman in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by Forbes. She has led teams to global acclaim, winning several AI innovation awards. Lori is a published writer, Analytics and AI industry thought leader, and frequent AI, analytics and women's empowerment speaker. Lori is well known for her passion for people and women's empowerment and blends her technical expertise in STEM with a purpose driven platform which empowers, connects and inspires women at scale through ElleExcel, a women's empowerment platform with thousands of members around the globe.

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Floydeen Charles-Fridal is a change agent who, for the last 30 years, has demonstrated her commitment towards improving the lives of others through her work in the community. Through Floydeen’s years of working with non-profit organizations, she has developed social and health services programs, strategic business and operational planning, program implementation and operations. In her role as Program Director at Rexdale Community Health Centre, Floydeen facilitated a think tank to address the issues of violence in Rexdale (Jamestown). She also successfully secured funding from the City of Toronto for the Centre to develop the Coalition of Rexdale Organizations for the Prevention of Youth Violence (CORO-PYV). The Coalition aimed to address the absence of a coordinated response to youth violence and prevention in Rexdale. Similarly, Floydeen was key in securing funding for the Malvern Community Coalition. Floydeen also developed a community crisis response protocol for Rexdale and Etobicoke communities. She is one of the two first African-Canadians certified by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy as a crisis response trainer.

Floydeen became involved in the Black Health Alliance in 2001 and served on its Steering Committee and its Board of Directors from 2005 to 2009. With the Black Health Alliance, Floydeen led the community-based research study entitled “How Scarborough’s Black Youth Access the Health Care System”. Floydeen was a founding member of the TAIBU Community Health Centre. The Centre is the first of its kind in Canada, focused on becoming a centre of excellence in community health serving Black communities. Floydeen served six years as the first president of the Board of Directors. Floydeen recently served on the Board of Directors at the Ontario Association for Children’s Aid Societies.

After starting in her Executive Director role at Caribbean African Canadian Social Services, Floydeen created Meeting of the Minds. This aimed to engage Black leaders in high level strategic conversations. Meeting of the Minds led the development of the Canadian Institute for People of African Descent (CIPAD).

Floydeen is the recipient of numerous awards: the 2014 Association of Ontario Health Centre’s Joe Leonard Award; the 2015 City of Toronto Public Health Champion Award; 2016 Honouree at the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women Gala and Book Launch; and the 2018 Harry Jerome Award recipient for Health Sciences. On February 03, 2021, Floydeen received the Community Leadership award from the United Way of Greater Toronto. Leaside High School has also established the Farley Flex & Floydeen Charles-Fridal Scholarship. This award is for students who exemplify a sense of community, empathy and leadership in raising awareness of equity and diversity.

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Dr. Sara Diamond is President Emerita of OCAD University, Canada's university of the imagination and is currently an OCAD University Research Chair and Professor in OCAD U’s Faculty of Art and Science and director of the Visual Analytics Laboratory. She holds a PhD in Computing, Information Technology and Engineering from the University of East London, a Master's degree in Digital Media theory from the University of the Arts London and an Honours Bachelor of Arts in History and Communications from Simon Fraser University. She is an appointee of the Order of Canada, Order of Ontario and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, as well as a recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal. She is a Senior Fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto and a member of the International Women’s Forum. In 2014, Toronto Life described her as one of "Toronto's 50 Most Influential People." Recent recognitions include a Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Simon Fraser University and an honorary degree from Humber College; Exceptional Woman of Excellence from the Women’s Economic Forum; an Advancement of Diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) award and two Digital Pioneer awards. 

While retaining OCAD University's traditional strengths in art and design, Sara guided the university in becoming a leader in digital media, design research and curriculum through the Digital Futures Initiative, new research in inclusive design, health and design and sustainable technologies and design, with graduate as well as undergraduate programs. She grew the campus to include Richmond Street West and waterfront facilities and launched several successful incubators, the Mobile Experience Innovation Centre and the Imagination Catalyst. As university president she supported Indigenous and Black faculty cluster and priority hires throughout OCAD University, established the Indigenous Visual Culture program in collaboration with Indigenous colleagues and a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Curatorial Practice.

Sara is a data visualization, wearable technology and mobile media researcher, artist, designer and scientist. She has undertaken decades of funded research in visual analytics, strategic foresight and design: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, New Frontiers in Research Fund, Mitacs collaborative research including wearable mobile support for seniors; searchable cultural databases; qualitative research tools for screen industries; a digital platform for archives. She is co-PI of iCity2.0 Ontario Research Excellence Fund network applying generative design and procedural visualization to plan complete and equitable communities. She serves on the international steering committee and is a director of Abundant Intelligences: Expanding Artificial Intelligence through Indigenous Knowledge Systems. Since 2012, Diamond supervised 14 postdoctoral fellows and 65+ research assistants, spoke at over 120 conferences and contributed 65 peer reviewed publications. Diamond is Chair of Baycrest Academy for Research and Education board and Chair of the Toronto Arts Foundation board. Diamond was founding Director of the Banff New Media Institute, an interdisciplinary science, humanities, new media and industry laboratory and thinktank on the future of technology which seeded many research projects and digital companies.

She has served the larger university community through her membership of both the international and research committees of Universities Canada. She served as Vice-Chair of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) and as a member of the COU executive. She was a member of the 2011 to 2012 Council of the Canadian Academies' expert panel on the State of Science and Technology in Canada. Sara also founded the Banff New Media Institute from 1995 to 2005.

Sara continues to write and lecture on the subjects of digital media history and practice, visual analytics, mobility and design strategy for peer-reviewed journals and acts as a reviewer and evaluator for Canada’s Tri-Council competitions, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) conferences and journals. Her artwork is held by prestigious collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York City and the National Gallery of Canada.

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Pina is a catalyst for change and accessibility and the founder of Aequum Global Access. She passionately works with businesses to achieve diversity, inclusion and accessibility by developing robust strategic plans that are actionable and outcome driven. Through strategic thinking and influence in organizational change, Pina is a leader, a sought-out consultant and international speaker. She promotes accessibility and inclusion from both an executive and a grassroots perspective. Pina is fluent in English and French, a certified project manager and educated in inclusive design. She delivers a structured and managed approach to put in place and integrate programs that support employees, clients, including top executives.

Pina works with several federal and provincial Inter-Ministerial departments and agencies. She develops accessibility roadmaps and plans, best practices, accessibility measurement frameworks and strategies. She also recommends and advises on different projects and communities of practice. She works with leaders in small, medium and large organizations to instill cultural and organizational change by creating a desire for change and building capacity through knowledge and training.

Pina also has over 20 years of experience working in a large global financial institution (Scotiabank). She held several Information Communication Technology (ICT) positions where she pioneered a cross-institutional hub for accessibility and inclusion.

Pina believes that accessibility and inclusion can be achieved and sustained through knowledge and effective integration plans. This includes incubating accessibility at the organizational level from the start of projects, through designs, software development, procurement and continuous support for employees and clients.

From employment to workplace environments, through client accommodations, built environment, technology and the provision and receipt of services, accessibility is instilled and sustained through organizational culture change. This goes beyond regulations or compliance and with a passion for people, equality, equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility.

Pina has been a member of numerous networks and advisory tables, including: the Canadian Accessibility Network; the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICT’s (G3 ICT) International Association of Accessibility Professionals; and the Information Communication Technology Standards and Employment committees related to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. She was also the co-designer of the Enabling Economic Policies annual conference with the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) University Inclusive Design Research Center.

Pina is a certified Project Management Institute member and holds a master’s degree in Design in Inclusive Design (MDes) from OCAD University. Pina also received the Queen Elizabeth II, Diamond Jubilee Medal from the Lieutenant Governor for her work in advancing employment for people with disabilities.

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Maria Ferranti is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience leading large-scale customer service teams in the telecommunications industry. Currently serving as Vice President of Customer Care Operations at Bell Canada, Maria is known for transforming complex service environments into streamlined, intuitive experiences that work better—for both customers and frontline teams.

Maria’s journey began in 2004, with Virgin Mobile Canada, where she served as Director of Customer Service during the company’s dynamic start-up phase. She quickly made her mark by designing operational processes from the ground up and developing a service model rooted in simplicity and customer-first thinking principles that led her teams to win the Canadian JD Power Award for 6 times during her leadership.

Following Bell’s acquisition of Virgin Mobile, Maria transitioned into Bell Mobility Customer Operations team in 2010, steadily expanding her responsibilities. Her leadership and ability to drive meaningful results earned her a promotion to Vice President in 2015. Since then, she has led thousands of agents across voice, chat and digital channels with a commitment to operational excellence and people-focused leadership.

A firm believer that simplicity drives satisfaction, Maria is passionate about unpacking tangled processes and removing friction for both customers and agents. She has championed multiple strategic initiatives including the launch of a new quality service model, enhanced performance scorecards, standardized operational processes and a more rigorous and inclusive recruitment approach to attract top talent.

In recent years, Maria has championed the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered solutions, led change management efforts to drive digital adoption and motivated teams with real-time performance dashboards. These initiatives have empowered agents to resolve issues more efficiently and confidently while delivering measurable improvements in customer satisfaction (CSAT), first-call resolution and team engagement.

Whether leading a transformation or guiding teams through change, Maria brings clarity, energy and a relentless focus on what matters most: people.

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Siddharth is a seasoned digital business executive with over two decades of experience leading eCommerce and technology enabled businesses. He is currently the Vice President of Product Management at Walmart Canada where he is responsible for technology product management to drive digital transformation across Walmart Canada's business functions. He previously held leadership roles in product management and marketing at startups as well as large enterprises such as Sam's Club, Dell and Microsoft with experience working in Canada, India, Japan, Australia, Denmark and the United States.

Siddharth is passionate about how organizations can adapt to better serve customers through digital innovation and what it takes to enable this transformation with speed and scale. He is a proponent of lean and agile methodologies for developing and improving programs and processes which deliver sustainable growth and positive customer experience outcomes. He has extensive experience in leveraging customer research, analytics, data science and mobile technologies for developing digital products and services. He has also led a number of organizational initiatives around digital privacy, accessibility and customer experience.

Siddharth has a keen interest in the development and adoption of digital technologies in the public domain to improve access to products and services, reduce information asymmetry, increase competition and drive equitable economic growth and social outcomes. He is also a frequent guest speaker for graduate courses in business and marketing at reputed universities in Canada and India.

Siddharth is an Electronics Engineer and has a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

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Shingai Manjengwa leads artificial intelligence (AI) Education at Mila, the Quebec AI Institute, where she designs and delivers impactful programs that advance the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence across sectors. A recognized leader in data science and AI, she has deep expertise in creating value with data, building education curricula and operationalizing responsible AI in both public and private organizations. 

An entrepreneur and technical expert, Shingai previously led technical education at the Vector Institute for AI and is the founder of Fireside Analytics Inc., a global data science education company whose programs have reached over 500,000 learners on platforms such as International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)’s CognitiveClass.ai and Coursera. She also developed Canada’s first Ministry-inspected high school data science course and has led AI education initiatives for students, professionals, policymakers and underserved communities. 

Shingai works closely with governments and organizations on AI policy, governance and implementation and serves on several boards and advisory committees. A sought-after global speaker on bias, responsible AI, innovation and the future of work, her contributions have been recognized with honours including the DMZ’s Women of the Year award and the Public Policy Forum’s Emerging Leader award. She is the author of The Computer and the Cancelled Music Lessons, a book that introduces data science to children aged 5 to 12 and holds a Master’s degree in Business Analytics from New York University’s Stern School of Business. 

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Hilda Snowball currently serves her community as Mayor and advocates for the best interests of the community. She also works with Puvallunirmut Tukisigiarvik and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center (RIMUHC) to coordinate the community aspect of the consultations to hear Nunavik voices for an Inuit-led policy on tuberculosis care.

She grew up in the Nunavik’s eastern most community of Kangiqsualujjuaq and studied “Educators in Native and Inuit Childcare Services” at CÉGEP de Saint-Félicien. In addition to her degree, she completed a fellowship in policy at The Gordon Foundation.

Hilda is extremely active in her community and across the region, in all phases of planning, organizing and implementing economic development. With that passion in mind, combined with a strategic vision, Hilda ran for Mayor of Kangiqsualujjuaq in November 2012 and was re-elected in 2015. During her two terms, she led many capital development, infrastructure and social programs in her community that continue to have a positive impact on the people and the community.

After her two terms as mayor, Hilda was elected as the Vice-Chairperson of the Kativik Regional Government (KRG), the administrative body that governs the Nunavik region – the Quebec territory north of the 55^th parallel. She was elected Chairperson in March 2022 and served until September 2025, using her position to advocate for enhanced economic, social and capital service delivery for the people and the region.

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Ruth Williams, a status Indian from the High Bar Indian Band and a registered member of the Tl'etinqox Government, has significant experience in financial, risk management, program management and human resource management. Over her 40 plus year career, what has been a leader in social and economic development for Indigenous Peoples in British Columbia (BC).

Currently, Ruth is the Lead Consultant for Housing Resources Services with Kamloops Native/Indigenous Housing located on Kamloops Te Secwepmc Reserve. The project offers services and support to 33 First Nations from 3 Tribal groups in the Interior of BC.

Ruth has retired from All Nations Trust Company (ANTCO) in Kamloops (an Indigenous owned Regulated Financial Institution) after 40 years of service as President and Chief Executive Officer and in the past 10 years as Project Manager of the Pathways to Technology Project a provincial project to connect all BC First Nations to the Internet.

Currently Ruth sits on several Boards: Kamloops Native Housing Society (President), Indigenous Advisor on the International Advisory Board to Enbridge, City of Kamloops Land Trust Board and Chairperson of BC First Nations Health Foundation.

Historically, Ruth has been a founding member of 8 non-profit Boards from health, child welfare and daycare.

She has also been a member of dozens of other organizations and Government advisory committees over the years and has often assumed a leadership role. She has participated as a member of the National Indigenous Economic Development Board off and on since its inception 30-years ago. Also, as an advisor of the review of the Employment Equity Act in 2021.

Ruth’s active involvement has been recognized by the following: Queens, 1867-1992 Confederation Award presented by the Mayor of Kamloops; City of Kamloops 100th anniversary award in 1993; Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Thompson Rivers University Kamloops (2010); National Aboriginal Hall of Fame in 2011; Elizabeth II award in 2012; City of Kamloops Distinguished service Award in 2012; Queens Jubilee Medal in 2013 presented by a Provincial Minister; The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International “Paul Harris Fellow Award” in 2015; Member of the Order of British Columbia in 2021 and the King Charles III Coronation Award in 2025.

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