Team

Carolyn Townsend

Co-founder, Future of Hockey Lab

Carolyn is a facilitator, coach and change-maker, principal owner of Alongside Strategy & Innovation, and co-founder of the Future of Hockey Lab.

Carolyn spent most of her career as an agency consultant providing strategic counsel and thought leadership to senior executives across diverse organizations including: IWK Health Centre, QE11 Health Sciences Centre, ExxonMobil Canada, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Community College, Home Depot Canada, Stanfield's, Coca Cola, Michelin North America, Business Development Bank of Canada, the United Way of Canada, and all levels of government.

Prior to starting her own company, Carolyn served on the leadership team of Nova Scotia’s sport federation serving 55 provincial sport organizations, where she oversaw brand and strategic relations. She developed a series of award-winning campaigns designed to educate and shift behaviour, creating unprecedented engagement and collaboration with community and paving the way for her leadership of a movement designed to explore more equitable systems for sport & rec delivery.

Carolyn has lived and worked in London, England and Auckland, New Zealand. She holds a Bachelor of Public Relations, is a community coach and active volunteer, and a member of the Federation of Foster Families of Nova Scotia.

Amy Walsh

CEO, Future of Hockey Lab

In 2020 Amy co-founded the Future of Hockey Lab (“FHL”). The FHL partners with diverse groups and leading organizations to create, test and scale innovative ideas that transform the sport’s culture. Initially hosted by Hockey Nova Scotia and powered by Bauer, Scotiabank, Hockey Canada and Jumpstart, it is understood to be the first of its kind in the world.

The lab was inspired by three core bodies of work that Amy spearheaded when she was executive director of Hockey Nova Scotia from 2018 - 2022, including the Hockey Nova Scotia Diversity & Inclusion Task Force. This was a key part of a comprehensive response to past and present incidents of racism, discrimination and inequities in hockey and resulted in hundreds of recommendations, mostly from first voice experiences on how to make the game safer and more welcoming for all.

A strong believer in sport for social change, Amy also assembled a pan-provincial team to create the Players Journey, a human-centered design process that mapped the full experience of a hockey player, including identifying the reasons players leave the game, barriers to access, as well as opportunities to increase participation and improve the overall player experience.

Amy also chaired the Women’s Worlds Legacy Development Committee, initially in preparation for Nova Scotia to host the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championships and ultimately a comprehensive plan to grow the female game.

She is the past chair of the Hockey Canada Diversity & Inclusion Task Team and served on the Canadian Junior Hockey League Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Currently she is a member of the NHL & NHLPA Female Hockey Advisory Committee.

Amy was previously the director of sport development with Sport Nova Scotia where she led a team of 16 staff charged with the growth and sustainability of quality sport experiences for all Nova Scotians. This required strong collaboration with over 55 provincial sport organizations, thousands of community sport groups, and a host of aligned industry partners.

Amy is the mother of three boys, a former minor hockey coach and a longtime volunteer. As a decorated amateur multi-sport athlete, she was a member of provincial teams for speed skating, field hockey and ice hockey, and excelled as a university hockey player.

Gem Roberts

Senior Project Manager - Social Innovation

Gem is an early professional on the project management stream with experience in various environments, budgets, and sizes. Having worked on one of the largest client projects in North America at IBM, finding the equilibrium between client, team, and project needs on a daily basis had proven to be a pivotal definer/developer for both her professional and personal skill sets.

Being originally from the Bahamas, she originally moved to Nova Scotia as an international student at Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary's University. Now that she has made Canada home, through experiences in work environments and National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations, she has realized her love and appreciation of institutions that actively seek to enhance diversity and be pillars of action in equality with cultural disparity awareness.

Within the realm of project management (and each day), Gem sees the challenges to adapt and remember to not be "too attached to [her] own myopia", because just because she's "found a way to do things, doesn't mean it's the [only] way to do things" (S. K. Brown).

Denise Withers

Storyteller in Residence

Denise Withers has been using stories to make change for 35 years, as a storyteller, strategist and coach.

After launching her career as a whitewater filmmaker, she worked as a stringer for TSN, before joining the TV crew at the Calgary Olympics to produce 39 hockey games in 13 days. Recognizing the power of the mass media to influence behaviour and culture, she spent the next 20 years writing and directing over 200 documentaries for Discovery, CBC and other networks. Her award-winning work inspired millions to take action on issues from human rights to acid rain.

When reality TV wiped out the documentary market, Denise shifted her focus to social innovation, combining storytelling with systems change tools to help leaders discover new ways to research, test and scale ideas for change.

Since then, she's worked with foundations, governments, universities and non-profits to co-found four innovation labs, including one at UBC's business school. Together, she and her clients have done things like reduce chronic disease among South Asians, improve human rights in Peru, re-imagine higher education in Ontario and inspire climate action across municipalities. In 2018, Denise moved to Vancouver Island to help two National Geographic photographers launch an ocean conservation non-profit, doubling their revenue, reach and impact in less than a year.

These days, she works as a narrative strategist and certified coach for global innovators. After enjoying a 20-year amateur hockey career that culminated in a bronze medal at the Americas Masters Games, she now spends her spare time curling, kayaking and hiking the wet coast with her dogs. She also serves as a Board Trustee for CPAWS, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

Like many of her peers, Denise has spent much of her life fighting for equity at work and in sports – and is thrilled to be able to share her expertise and experience to support the FHL in its mission.

Gabrielle Donnelly

Process Designer

Gabrielle Donnelly is a writer, educator, and scholar-practitioner. Her work focuses on bridging social change theories and practices to support leaders and communities to engage with the complex issues of our times and create more compelling futures.

Gabrielle is Associate Professor of Community Development at Acadia University and a Lead Strategist at The Outside, a global consultancy activating large-scale equitable change. She is Consulting Editor with World Futures: The Journal of New Paradigm Research.
Born in London, England and raised in the traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Calgary, Alberta), Gabrielle spends most of her time between Halifax (K’jipuktuk) and the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia.

She's British to the bone, Irish at heart, Albertan to the soles of her (cowgirl) boots, a settler committed to the messy path of truth and reconciliation in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia), and an aspiring global citizen.

Jamie Gamble

Developmental Evaluation Lead

Jamie Gamble is the Principal Consultant of Imprint Consulting and, since 2002, has provided strategy, evaluation, and organizational change leadership to groups spanning areas such as the arts, climate change, environmental protection, economic development, public health, youth leadership, citizen engagement, and sport.

Jamie’s specialization is developmental evaluation, commonly used to evaluate iterative efforts such as systems change or social innovation labs. He has led or supported over 50 developmental evaluations around the world. He has also authored several publications on evaluation including A Developmental Evaluation Primer, A Developmental Evaluation Companion, a chapter in Michael Quinn Patton’s Developmental Evaluation Exemplars, and Confronting the Wicked: Using Evaluation to Boost Innovation in Canadian Government Executive.

Jamie has a Masters in Management from McGill University.

Michael Bach

Author and SME on diversity, equity and inclusion

​Founder, Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion

Michael Bach is a nationally and internationally recognized thought leader and subject matter expert in the fields of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility. He is the founder of the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI), CCDI Consulting and Pride at Work Canada. Michael has worked professionally in the areas of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility for nearly 20 years, most recently as the founding CEO of CCDI and CCDI Consulting. Before that he was the national leader of diversity, equity and inclusion for KPMG Canada, and the deputy Chief Diversity Officer for KPMG International.

His 2020 book Birds of All Feathers: Doing Diversity and Inclusion Right is a Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and Amazon best-seller, and recipient of the silver 2020 Nautilus Book Award in the category of Rising to the Moment. His new book Alphabet Soup: The Essential Guide to LGBTQ2+ Inclusion at Work was released in March of 2022 and is a Toronto Star best-seller.

​Justin Bobb

Strategic Advisor

A first generation Canadian, Justin has been involved in the nonprofit sector for over a decade. Justin is an experienced public speaker and consultant who advises corporations and nonprofits on strategic planning, leadership and DEI.

In addition to former Director level roles at MLSE (2016-2022), Justin was the Head Coach for Women’s Basketball at Centennial College (2015-2020) and a leader in the Residents' Services Division at Toronto Community Housing (2007-2014).

Justin has an extensive background in community and sport development, as well as the social housing sector, all while using sport as a tool of engagement to support youth facing barriers. Justin is a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) with a B.A. in Sociology.

Marco Di Buono, PhD

Marco is the President at Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, where he oversees the planning, design and execution of programs intended to help children of all abilities in communities across Canada participate in sport and recreation.

Before joining Jumpstart, Marco spent three years as Vice President, Science, Research & Professional Education at the American Heart Association, where he was responsible for the Association’s $170 million research enterprise and oversaw the development of clinical practice guidelines and professional education resources.

Marco holds a Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Toronto and has a history of advocating for the health and well-being of children and youth.

He currently sits on the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee and is a very proud father to three kids who keep him active with an abundance of sport and play.

​Arnie Farrell

Chair of the Board of Directors, Hockey Nova Scotia

Arnie has dedicated over 65 years to the game of hockey as a player, coach, official and administrator and is currently serving his third year as volunteer president of Hockey Nova Scotia. A resident of Antigonish, he spent over 35 years as s teacher/school administrator with the Strait Regional School Board. He has a BA and B.Ed from St FX where he also competed in AUS hockey and a Master of Education from St. Mary’s university.

During his time as president, the work he is most proud of includes the report and recommendations from the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force as well as a governance review with an eye toward equity and inclusion.

Marian Jacko

Indigenous Justice Division, Children’s Lawyer

Marian Jacko has spent her entire legal career tirelessly working on behalf of children and Indigenous peoples. She raised her eldest child as a single parent while earning three university degrees, including a master’s degree in social work and a law degree. While working full-time as a lawyer and raising three children, she obtained her Master of Law degree from York University. Since her call to the Ontario Bar in 1998, Marian Jacko has made significant contributions to the legal professions including being the first Indigenous person appointed as the Children’s Lawyer for Ontario where she spent over 20 years advancing access to justice for children, youth, Indigenous communities, victims of crime, and survivors of human trafficking.

An Ojibway from the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island and a trailblazer, Marian strongly believes in community service, serving on many non-profit organizations’ boards and advisory committees. Currently, Marian is the President of the Little Native Hockey League ("Little NHL") and President of Anishnawbe Health of Toronto. She is also part of an Advisory Council for the Indigenous Hockey Research Network. A long-time coach, Marian is very passionate about the sport of ice hockey and believes that the sport teaches children and youth many life lessons including the teachings of the seven grandfathers. Marian’s unique style of coaching hockey with the use of traditional teachings allows players an opportunity to also learn about First Nations culture and history. ​

Rob Knesaurek

Group Vice President, NHL

Rob brings more than four decades of hockey experience to his current role as Group Vice President, Youth Development and Industry Growth Fund at the National Hockey League. As Group Vice President, he oversees national and international programs committed to growing hockey at the grassroots level, increasing points of entry to the game, and bringing more youth and families into the hockey community. Rob also oversees the Industry Growth Fund (IGF) – a joint NHL and NHLPA initiative to promote long-term fan growth, in partnership with Hockey Canada and USA Hockey.

A key piece of his portfolio, the Industry Growth Fund, continues to create and support youth hockey development programs across North America for girls’ hockey, ball and street hockey, and high school hockey via two key programs: Learn to Play and Future Goals. On the ice since 2016, Learn to Play has introduced more than 40,000 kids ages 4 to 8-years old to hockey, providing head-to-toe equipment and age-appropriate instruction teaching basic hockey skills. Under his leadership, the impact of Learn to Play continues to break records in the U.S. with a 7% increase in participation in the program’s first year, the largest year-over-year increase in USA Hockey’s history. In the classroom, Future Goals – an online hockey course founded in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) concepts – has introduced a unique side of the game to youth in grades 4-7 across North America. Since its inception in 2014, the online hockey course has reached more than 2 million students in 15,000 schools.

For some 20yrs, Rob worked in the health care industry, spending time overseas in Australia and the United States. He had several commercial roles, including CEO of ViiV Healthcare Australasia, before returning to Canada.

Rob grew up playing Major Junior hockey in Toronto, Canada. He played at the collegiate level at the University of New Brunswick before moving behind the bench, supporting Hockey Canada’s minor hockey coaching development program. His coaching experience also includes two world championships, winning a gold medal as the bench boss for the Australian National Hockey team.

A graduate of the University of New Brunswick with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics, Rob currently resides in Toronto, Canada, with wife Janet and son Alex.

Mary-Kay Messier

Mary-Kay is a member of the Bauer Hockey senior leadership team as Vice President, Global Marketing. Mary-Kay oversees creative, digital, social, paid media, consumer experience, sports marketing and strategic partnerships, including with the NHL, the NHLPA, international federations and pro athletes. In this role, Mary-Kay and her team develop marketing initiatives to further establish the company’s brand and products as No. 1 in the industry.

Mary-Kay is a committed and effective advocate for the game with the goal of making it more accessible, inclusive, diverse and focused on fun. This required first a brand positioning review to establish the company’s purpose and values, which then informed the development of brand initiatives rooted in new and revamped cause-related programs. Under Mary-Kay’s leadership, her team created the First Shift learn-to-play program. Now in partnership with the NHL, NHLPA, and founding partner Hockey Canada, the First Shift has welcomed over 30,000 new families to hockey. A strategic goal within the initiative is increasing girl’s participation through targeted all-girl programs and dedicated resources. As a result, First Shift girl participation climbed to 39% during the 2020-21 season.

In addition to growing girls’ participation, Mary-Kay and the Bauer team are working to elevate the women’s game and advance equity for the best players in the world through the establishment of a sustainable professional league. When young girls can dream of a prohockey career, it will inspire a pipeline of players and more young girls will build self-confidence they will carry forever. Mary-Kay believes more girls playing and more women pursuing positions at all levels will grow the game in ways that are more diverse.

To increase awareness for the women’s game, Mary-Kay significantly expanded the company’s roster of paid female athletes, which now includes top women from the U.S., Canada, Germany, Sweden and Russia, and featured them alongside their male peers in global brand campaigns.

Utilizing these partnerships, Bauer launched the first-ever all female global campaign –#WomensMovementNeverStops – that promotes women as athletes first and continues to launch all female content challenging sport stereotypes.

Advancing diversity and inclusion beyond gender equity is equally a passion for Mary-Kay. She is committed to enhancing the corporate culture at Bauer and shaping the industry to be more inclusive and welcoming. Mary-Kay and her team built equipment relief programs to help kids from underserved communities get on the ice, designed a skate to recognize the accomplishments of Willie O’Ree and helped amplify the voices of athletes from communities of color.

An athlete herself, Mary-Kay grew up immersed in hockey and believes in the power of the game to bring families together, develop character and teach valuable life lessons. She has four children, all athletic at various competitive levels, and lives in Massachusetts. Mary-Kay serves on the NHL Female Advisory Committee. She also acts as a senior advisor to the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association and is a passionate supporter of the advocacy group, Play like a Girl.

Dr Richard Norman, PhD

Post Doctoral Fellow, Toronto Metropolitan University

Richard is a researcher + lecturer + futurist + strategic consultant who works with people to affect change towards a more socially just, sustainable, and resilient future. His work is focused on the lived experiences of peoples who have been marginalized in our society. Richard’s doctoral research at the University of Waterloo explored the intertwining of “race,” whiteness, and colonialism in the sport of curling, and the deconstruction of dominance within sporting cultures. The research privileges the use of narrative forms aligning with oral traditions held by First Peoples around the world, to explore new ways of knowing and understanding. Richard's research is committed to approaches that can open up dialogue and discourses towards a more humane and morally driven worldview. His commitment to research continues now with the “Sport, Diversity, & Race Project” as a post-doctoral fellowship for the Future of Sport Lab (FSL) in the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University. He also is a member of the BlackNorth Initiative’s Sport & Entertainment committee, and a member of the Black Faculty Collective (BFC) at the University of Waterloo.

Sonia Sennik

Executive Director, Creative Destruction Lab

Sonia is the Executive Director of Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), a seed-stage program for massively scalable, science-based companies. Sonia is responsible for the CDL’s strategic, operational and programmatic leadership, coordination and oversight to ensure the success of the Lab and its ventures across ten university-based locations in Canada, US, UK and France. The organization operates sites at the University of Toronto, University of Oxford, Georgia Tech, HEC Paris, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of British Columbia, University of Montreal, University of Calgary, University of Washingon, and Dalhousie University. Sonia is also the Executive Director of the CDL Rapid Screening Consortium, a not-for-profit organization focused on developing a cost-effective system for reopening the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mike Tasevski

Vice President of Global Sponsorship & Events, Scotiabank

As Vice President of Global Sponsorship & Events, Mike Tasevski is responsible for the strategic direction and execution of Scotiabank’s global sponsorship & events strategy. Prior to joining Scotiabank Mike had spent 10 years with Mastercard where he was able to hold progressively senior roles; Most recently Vice President North America Sponsorship based out of the New York office/ Vice President Merchant & Business Development (Strategically managing key Canada Merchants), Director Merchant Marketing/Sponsorship Canada and Director Issuing Accounts. In addition to the roles mentioned, Mikes diverse career journey began in the culinary industry working with many prominent global brands. Mike has also allowed held significant senior roles within the Rewards and Loyalty landscape developing programs for the financial/petroleum and culinary industry.