WENDY CHURCH | Program and Policy Consultant, Healthy Child Manitoba
Healthy Child Manitoba (HCM) is a unique provincial strategy that brings together eight government departments committed to “putting children and families first.” Wendy Church has worked with HCM since its inception in 2000 and is the lead for Parent Child Coalitions established throughout the province to promote, develop and enhance community based programming. Wendy is a Fellow with the Council for Early Child Development.

DR. JEAN M. CLINTON | Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience at McMaster, Division of Child Psychiatry
Jean Clinton is on staff at McMaster Children's Hospital and an Associate in the Departments of Family Medicine at McMaster; the Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Toronto and Sick Children's Hospital and the Offord Centre for Child Studies. Through her work with Hamilton’s Best Start Network she leads the Primary Care Engagement Strategy for the enhanced 18 month well baby strategy. She was a member of the “Getting It Right at 18 Months Expert Panel” for Ontario’s Best Start initiative and is the lead for the provincial education subcommittee. Jean is a Fellow for the Council for Early Child Development.

DENNIS COCHRANE | Deputy Minister of Education, Nova Scotia
Named Deputy Minister of Education for the Province of Nova Scotia in 2000, Dennis Cochrane is the longest serving deputy minister of education in Canada. In his portfolio, he has chaired the Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training; the Forum of Labour Market Ministers, the Deputies Committee on Workforce Development, the Executive Committee of the Canada/Nova Scotia Skills and Learning Framework and the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority. To his position, Dennis brings 32 years of political and community experience as a municipal councillor, mayor, Member of the NS House of Assembly, Member of Parliament, teacher, principal and school superintendent.

CHARLES S. COFFEY, O.C. | Chair, Canadian Centre for Diversity
Both in and outside his long banking career, Charles Coffey has made community leadership a priority. ‘Charlie’ is an Honourary Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, named for his support of First Nations and their goals of economic development and self-sufficiency. In addition to his work at the Canadian Centre for Diversity, Charlie's extensive voluntary work includes chair, national advisory council, Canadian Museum for Human Rights; co-chair, Champions, Aboriginal Human Resource Development Council of Canada; vice chair, National Aboriginal Economic Development Board; past co-chair, Commission on Early Learning and Child Care for the City of Toronto; and director of the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation, the Canadian Journalism Foundation and the Council for Early Child Development.

MICHELLE CRAIG | Regional Manager Preschool Health Services, Alberta Health Services – Edmonton Zone
In her work with Preschool Health Services, Michelle Craig initiated a preschool developmental screening pilot project, developed and implemented a new speech and language service model and is supporting a movement to implement province wide mapping and community mobilization. Michelle is involved in numerous initiatives supporting early childhood development. She has worked with preschool and school age children with a wide range of abilities and is a therapist and supervisor in a number of education and health settings. Michelle is a Fellow for the Council for Early Child Development.