Reem A. Bahdi has been serving as law dean at the University of Windsor since 2021. She is the first Arab woman and the first Palestinian to be appointed as a law dean in Canada. Ms. Bahdi joined Windsor Law as a faculty member in 2002 and was associate dean from 2012 to 2015. She has dedicated herself to access-to-justice efforts, for which she received the Law Foundation of Ontario’s Guthrie Medal. She is also an elected member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists and a recipient of the Outstanding Arab Canadian Achievement Award from the Canada Arab Business Council.
The Honourable Richard J. Chartier served as Chief Justice of Manitoba from 2013 until his retirement in 2022. He had previously been appointed to the Provincial Court of Manitoba in 1993 and to the Manitoba Court of Appeal in 2006. During his career, Mr. Chartier notably reviewed Manitoba’s French language services and chaired numerous commissions and committees, including the Manitoba Electoral Division Boundaries Commission, the Judicial Education Committee of the Canadian Judicial Council, and the St. Boniface Health Access Centre board. His 1998 report on French language services within the Government of Manitoba, titled Above All, Common Sense, was tabled in Manitoba’s legislative assembly and has since been fully implemented. In 2005, he was a member of a team that received the Gold Medal for Innovative Management from the Canadian Institute of Public Administrators for a project focused on domestic violence.
Erin M. S. Kleisinger, K.C., is currently a partner at McDougall Gauley LLP. She is a former Bencher and past President of the Law Society of Saskatchewan, sits on a number of Law Society committees, and is currently on the executive of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada as Second Vice-President. Ms. Kleisinger is a member of the Board of Directors and past Chair of Group Medical Services and GMS Insurance Inc., a national individual health and group benefits insurance company. She was awarded the King’s Counsel designation in 2015 for her distinguished service and leadership in the legal profession and was selected three times by her peers to be part of the Best Lawyers in Canada, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication company in the legal profession.
Bianca Kratt, K.C., is currently a partner at Parlee McLaws LLP. Originally from Quebec, she is a bilingual lawyer with extensive experience in commercial, banking, and real estate law, and a member of the Huron-Wendat First Nation. In addition to managing a diverse practice, Ms. Kratt has served as an Executive Member of the Canadian Bar Association, Alberta Branch since 2019, and she was previously President of this branch. She is heavily involved in community projects, dedicating her time to community volunteering with the Association of French Speaking Lawyers of Alberta (AJEFA), that she chaired from 2016 to 2018 and where she promoted access to justice in French. She has also been involved with the International Association of Women Judges, Canadian Chapter, to raise awareness of inequalities women face in the legal profession and to empower women in leadership roles. She was awarded the King’s Counsel designation in 2022 and is an active member of the Alberta bar and the Quebec bar.
Carol Anne Lee, O.B.C., is the co-founder and Chair of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, which is committed to revitalizing one of Canada’s most iconic neighborhoods through initiatives focused on affordable housing and cultural and economic development. She is acting co-Chair of the University of British Columbia (UBC) Properties Trust and sits on several community boards, including the Faculty Advisory Board of UBC Sauder Business School and the John McArthur Distinguished Fellowship. Her community work has led to a number of awards, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2018, an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from UBC in 2019, an Honorary Doctorate of Technology from the British Columbia Institute of Technology in 2020, the Order of British Columbia in 2021, and the YMCA Icon Award in 2022.
Georgina (Gina) M. Nagano is a Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation Beneficiary and Citizen of the Wolf Clan from Dawson City, Yukon. She is the founder and President of consultancy firm House of Wolf & Associates, Inc., which has designed, developed, and implemented community safety officer programs in various communities across the Yukon. These programs focused on crime prevention through education, primary intervention, and sustainable community involvement. She has also gained extensive experience in this area through a career that included roles working within various First Nations, at Correctional Services Canada, and for Justice Canada. Ms. Nagano also worked with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for over 20 years.
Jean Teillet, M.S.C., is Senior Counsel with Pape Salter Teillet LLP and specializes in Indigenous rights law. Ms. Teillet has long been engaged in negotiations and litigation with provincial and federal governments concerning Métis and First Nation land rights, harvesting rights, and self-government. She served as counsel before all levels of court, including lead counsel for the landmark case R. v. Powley, in which the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed constitutional protection of Métis harvesting rights. She has been awarded two national honours for her contributions to Canada: the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Meritorious Service Cross. She has been made an honorary lifetime member of the Association of Ontario Midwives for her contributions to Ontario midwifery. Ms. Teillet was also awarded the Indigenous Peoples’ Council Award by the Indigenous Bar Association and the Law Society of Upper Canada’s first-ever Lincoln Alexander Award for community service. She received honorary doctorates from the University of Guelph, the Law Society of Ontario, and Windsor University.