Keynote Speaker — Donna Wilson
Executive Vice President – Workforce and Sustainability
Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
Donna Wilson has made working with people and organizations the focus of her career. As Executive Vice President of Workforce and Sustainability, she is playing a key role in helping VANOC define and develop its culture. She will guide the organization through its dynamic stages of growth, operation and wind-down and help the organization to live its vision of sustainability.
Wilson sums up her broad scope of responsibilities in one short sentence: “I’m responsible for everything that has to do with people, relationships, and lasting legacy.” Specifically, this includes hiring the 1,400 paid employees and some 25,000 volunteers that will eventually work for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Wilson also oversees the official languages portfolio – a key element in VANOC’s vision of building a stronger Canada by celebrating its duality of languages. Donna’s other key areas are human resources, sustainability, Aboriginal participation, International Client Services and Games-time Interpretation Services.
Underscoring all these functions is what Wilson sees as her most critical role: VANOC’s culture keeper and catalyst. “I’ve always enjoyed taking care of the health of an organization and helping it identify what it needs to flourish,” says Wilson. “My goal is to ensure our values are integrated into all of our people practices, enabling our workforce to galvanize around them and show the world a strong Canadian spirit.”
Keynote Speaker — Todd Nicholson
In 1987, Todd became a paraplegic after being involved in a car accident as he was returning home on the night of his graduation dance. But his condition has not kept him from reaching his goals and today, he ranks among the top six sledge hockey players in the world. Todd believes that it is partly thanks to his family and friends that he was able to pursue a career in sports and that he owes his success to their support and encouragement.
Todd began his career in sports at the tender age of 4 and was introduced to Paralympic sports during his stay at the Royal Ottawa Rehabilitation Center in 1987. He is an extremely talented hockey player and has a keen sense of the game. He can play any position on the ice! He has been competing since 1989 and joined the national team in 1991. Todd earned two medals at the Paralympic Games, four more in World Championships and earned a gold medal in the 2006 games in Torino. He now trains in Ottawa, Embrun, and West Carleton.
Todd is much admired and appreciated in his community. He has won several awards and the city of West Carleton even held the Todd Nicholson Day on June 6, 2000. His courage and perseverance are an example for many young athletes. Today, Todd is a project manager for the Canadian Border Services Agency.
Keynote Speaker — Jessica Des Mazes
One fine morning, as part of a summer job fighting forest fires, Jessica Des Mazes left home for a few weeks to help stop a 90,000-hectare blaze in the Northwest Territories. The university student was gone seven months.
“My life changed forever,” recalls Des Mazes. “Another firefighter and I were in a truck, patrolling a back-country dirt road at the fire’s edge. Suddenly, the truck fishtailed; the driver lost control, and I was thrown out of the vehicle.”
Her back was broken, and the sports-minded, kayaking, backpacking young woman became a paraplegic.
Four years later and now 25 years old, she lives independently, attends the University of Victoria law school, and is a medal-winning wheelchair athlete.
A law degree will “make my life better by helping other people,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to stand up for the little man. Now I am the little man. If I let something bar me because of my disability, that hurts the 10 people coming behind me. So I will be an advocate.”
Jessica also wants to help change a widespread belief that people in wheelchairs are handicapped. “While traumatic, my injury taught me what strength really is. It’s not how much you can lift or how fast you can run. It’s your core, what’s left when everything else has been ripped away.”