NMC Managers Connect 2024 – Ottawa (NCR)

In May 2023, Camille was appointed as Executive Director, National Managers Community (NMC), where she has been working to promote the needs and interests of federal managers to public service decision-makers. Prior to this, Camille was Assistant Director, Learning and Product Development Team within the Respectful and Inclusive Workplaces Directorate at the Canada School of Public Service. She has been with the School since 2018, having worked in various positions both operational, in Curriculum Management as part of the Registrar’s Office, and more strategic, as Chief of Staff to the Vice-president of the Public Sector Operations and Inclusion Branch.

Camille joined the federal public service in 2008, having previously worked at the Department of Canadian Heritage and the National Capital Commission, in a number of management and project management roles. Camille holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, as well as professional certification in HR Management and lives in the National Capital Region.

Caroline Kealey is an executive facilitator and team coach specialized in communications and change leadership.

Over the last twenty-five years, Caroline has built a world-wide practice in team facilitation, training, coaching and consulting. Her focus is on solving complex business problems collaboratively and imaginatively. Caroline brings a refreshing blend of expertise, enthusiasm and rigour to her assignments. Her signature is designing high impact interventions that deliver long-term results – getting teams unstuck, recharged and aligned. She has particular expertise in offering co-creative sessions in the areas of strategic planning, communications and change.

Caroline’s clients include Shopify, Loblaws, Export Development Canada, the House of Commons, World Duty Free Group, the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations.

Known as a “communicator’s communicator”, Caroline is driven by her unrelenting passion to empower and equip communications teams up for success. She is the developer of the Results Map® methodology codifying strategic communications and change which is used by thousands of communicators world-wide. She is also  the founder and program director of the Leadership Development Program for Communicators at the University of Ottawa.

Caroline is recognized internationally as a pioneer in working at the intersection between strategic communications and change. She has been named an International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) All Star presenter and has won national and international awards in strategic communications and change, including IABC’s global Best of the Best and Distinguished Service awards.

A graduate of the Wharton School of Business executive program in Leading Organizational Change, Caroline is a Certified Change Management Professional (CMP) and is certified in the Conner Partners’ Strategy Execution methodology. She is fluently bilingual in English and French and holds a B.A. with Highest Honours in Communications and an M.A. in Political Science.

Donnalyn was appointed as Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Senior Personnel and Public Service Renewal) on September 24, 2021.  Donnalyn began her public service career in 1994 as a cohort of the former Management Trainee Program at the Department of Canadian Heritage. 

Since 2003, Donnalyn has held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility in the Privy Council Office (PCO), including as Director of Operations in the Social Development Policy Secretariat, and Director of Operations in the former Operations Secretariat.  Prior to her appointment as Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Senior Personnel and Public Service Renewal), Donnalyn served as Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Senior Personnel Secretariat. Through her time at PCO, Donnalyn has gained significant experience advising Ministers and senior officials on a broad range of complex policy issues.

Having had the privilege of serving as an executive at PCO for many years, Donnalyn has worked alongside a generation of public servants dedicated to excellence in service to Canada and Canadians.  Donnalyn has shared her PCO knowledge and experience through a number of important leadership roles, including co-leading the PCO Champion Network, and previously, as PCO’s Values and Ethics Champion.

Donnalyn holds a Bachelor of History degree from the University of Toronto, and a Masters of History degree from the University of Windsor.

Lisa Setlakwe has served as Assistant Deputy Minister of Safety and Security at Transport Canada since 2022, where she oversees the development and oversight of regulations and standards to support safety and security in air, marine, rail, and road transportation. Lisa previously served as the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet Operations – Social Development Policy at the Privy Council Office, and the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of the Strategy and Innovation Policy Sector at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Lisa has gained a wealth of experience throughout her career in the public service, having joined the former Industry Canada in 2008 as the Deputy Regional Executive Director with the Atlantic Regional Office. She later became the Director of the National Access Programs Directorate, Director General for Policy in the Science and Innovation Sector, and Executive Director of the Industrial Technologies Office, based in Ottawa. Lisa began her career with Revenue Canada Customs and Excise and went on to work with the Royal Bank of Canada, where she spent five years in the commercial finance sector in Atlantic Canada, subsequently joining the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency where she spent eight years in the field of regional economic development. Lisa now lives in Ottawa with her husband Nathan, daughter and son.

Hughes St-Pierre is the Deputy Chief Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE). He was appointed to the position effective January 23, 2023.

Hughes St-Pierre joined CSE from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada where he held the position of ADM, Finance, Security and Administration and CFO since May 2020. Previously, Hughes worked for Elections Canada where he held the position of Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, Internal Services and CFO with responsibility for human resources, IM/IT, finance, procurement, security, planning and internal communications. During his time at Elections Canada, he spearheaded their efforts in collaboration with Canada’s security agencies to protect federal elections in the context of emerging cyber and foreign interference threats. Hughes has a broad background in public management covering national event management and planning, human resources and training, international activities, strategic and business planning, governance, risk management, IM/IT and evaluation.

Education: Hughes is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CMA Ontario 2011). He holds a Master’s in Political Science from Université Laval and a Bachelor of Social Sciences from University of Ottawa. He has also studied in Adult Education.

Aïchatou Touré is an experienced public administration professional (15 years) with a Master of Public Administration degree from École Nationale d’Administration Publique focused on international administration.  

Currently serving as the Manager of Policy and Research at the Canada School of Public Service, she leads a team of analysts and together they collaborate with various stakeholders to create and improve learning on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) for all public servants. 

In addition to her professional achievements, Aïchatou has a rich background in community involvement, including serving on various boards, demonstrating her strong commitment to promoting diversity and equity. Her dedication to community service has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Medal of the Order of Gatineau and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. 

Aïchatou’s extensive experience and passion for public service make her a distinguished speaker and leader in her field.

Julie Wills is the Regional Lead for the National Capital Region (NCR) at the NMC. Her home organization is Justice Canada, where she has held various management and supervisory roles, primarily in the learning and professional development area. Transformative work experiences have included being the resource person for Justice’s Advisory Committee on Indigenous Peoples and managing the National Mentoring Program. She is an International Coaching Federation Associate Certified Coach (ACC), a certified EQ-i 2.0 coach, an associate faculty member at CSPS (where she teaches two coaching courses), and leads and supports NMC peer coaching circles. Julie is passionate about playing a communication and coaching role to support managers and leaders across the federal government.

Susan Drysdale | LinkedIn

As a graduate of a Middle Management Development program, I have had the opportunity to meet many mentors who have shaped my career at the Canada Revenue Agency. I in turn love to give back and pay it forward. I thoroughly enjoy mentoring and meeting new people. I have worked in various Branches within the Agency (Assessment, Benefit and Services Branch, Collections and Verifications Branch and Compliance Programs Branch). I have both HQ and Regional experience. During my spare time I love to run along the Rideau canal, practice yoga and spin.

I started at PWFSC in 1999 in Finance. I spent 12 years at CRA mostly in Finance and was accepted in their EX Development Program in 2010. I joined IRCC in 2013 as a Director in Finance then moved over to what was at the time the International Region in the Operations Sector in 2015. I have experienced several re-orgs in my career and aside from my involvement in supporting IRCC’s responses to global events, my most significant experiences were during times of budget restraint and reduction exercises such as DRAP.

Julie Fairweather | LinkedIn

Dominic Lachapelle | LinkedIn

Julie Drury | LinkedIn

Gabrielle FitzGerald joined the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) as the Chief Data and Chief Risk Officer in December of 2021. She leads a diverse group of policy, program and IT professionals responsible for the Agency’s Information Management (IM) program, its Data and Analytics Strategies, and Artificial Intelligence initiatives; responding to the science and regulatory data needs for food safety and animal & plant health. Prior to joining the CFIA, she led the implementation of Infrastructure Canada’s Data Strategy, including responsibility of Canada’s first ever national survey of public infrastructure and the department’s research contributions program. With over two decades of experience as a Canadian federal public servant, her expertise has helped to shape the delivery of Canada’s mineral statistics program; led to the design and implementation of anti-corruption legislation through the Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act – Canada’s response to the G8 commitment on global transparency in the extractives sector; and chaired key data roles in Canada’s contribution to the international Kimberley Process – a regulatory regime put in place to deter the trade of conflict diamonds. She holds a degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and a specialization in computer science and combinatorics and optimization.

Mira Latendresse Drapeau | LinkedIn

Laurie Hunter is the Director General of the Centre for Emergency Preparedness in the Emergency Management Branch at PHAC. She is an experienced senior manager in the Canada Public Service with over 25 years experience in a range of policy and program areas including immigration, trade, and foreign direct investment as well as overseeing key corporate initiatives in change management, training and leadership. She is currently responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs that prepare Canada to respond quickly and efficiently to public health emergencies. In this capacity, she supports preparedness through oversight of the development of emergency plans for the federal health portfolio in Canada, as well as various exercises to test those plans. She also provides leadership for the Canadian Public Health Service and the Canadian Field Epidemiology Program, which trains and provides field placements to medical professionals within Canada. Prior to joining PHAC, one of the highlights of Laurie’s career was working with the middle manager community at Agriculture and Agri-food Canada where she oversaw an in-house leadership development program for this community as well as overseeing talent and performance management, recognition, learning and mentoring programs for the larger department. She is very happy to have the chance to work more closely with this important community of leaders again through her role as a co-champion of the Manager Network for PHAC and Health Canada.

Stephanie Austin | LinkedIn

Jagvinder Dhanda | LinkedIn

Louie Rodriguez | LinkedIn

Gloria Haché | LinkedIn

Michael Rutherford | LinkedIn

Jason Bett | LinkedIn

Stéphanie Lévis | LinkedIn

Holly Palen | LinkedIn