Speaker Series
2024 - 2025
Adam Bunch | September 12, 2024 – 1:30 pm | In Person & Zoom
The Romantic Past of Toronto
Adam Bunch is a modern storyteller, captivating audiences with Canadian history through a variety of innovative platforms. His best-selling books, The Toronto Book of the Dead and The Toronto Book of Love, offer just a glimpse of his talent.
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St. Andrew’s United Church
117 Bloor Street East, Toronto
Wheelchair accessibility via Hayden Street
Linda Ploen | October 10, 2024 – 1:30 pm | In Person & Zoom
A Walk Through Juno Beach: Past and Present
For every person who participated in or was connected to someone in WW1 and WWII, there is a story. Linda Ploen will speak of her experience visiting the national memorial site. She will include anecdotes, observations and personal stories of some of our veterans. This will be a wonderful lead into Remembrance Day 2024.
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St. Andrew’s United Church
117 Bloor Street East, Toronto
Wheelchair accessibility via Hayden Street
Kelly Drennan | November 14, 2024 – 1:30 pm | In Person & Zoom
Fashion Takes Action
Kelly Drennan is an award winning thought leader with “Fashion Takes Action”. Kelly is dedicated to driving sustainability in the fashion industry, and in 2007, she founded Fashion Takes Action. Her work involves removing barriers to sustainability across the entire fashion system, from production to recycling.
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St. Andrew’s United Church
117 Bloor Street East, Toronto
Wheelchair accessibility via Hayden Street
Luncheon with Speaker Thanh Campbell | December 5, 2024 – 11:30 am | In Person
Orphan 32
Thanh Campbell is an author and speaker that shares his side of the story of Operation Babylift, of which he was on the last flight out of Saigon in 1975 along with 56 other war orphans.
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Cricket Club
141 Wilson Ave.. Toronto
Dr. David Juurlink | January 9, 2025 - 1:30 pm | Zoom Only
Drug Safety
Dr. Juurlink is the Sunnybrook site director for the program in Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology. In addition to his clinical, teaching, and administrative activities, Dr. Juurlink maintains an active research program in the field of drug safety.
Maria Shepherd | February 13, 2025 - 1:30 pm | Zoom Only
Innocence Canada
Innocence Canada’s mission is to identify, advocate for and support the exoneration of individuals who have been convicted of a crime they did not commit and to prevent wrongful convictions through legal education, advocacy, and justice reform. In 1992, at the age of 23 and pregnant with her fourth child, Maria Shepherd plead guilty to manslaughter in the death of her three-year-old stepdaughter, Kasandra, to avoid a much longer sentence which would have torn her away from her family. Twenty-five years later, she was acquitted based on new forensic expert evidence. She has realized her dream of becoming a licensed paralegal and runs her own paralegal practice.
Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio | March 13, 2025 - 1:30 pm | In Person & Zoom
Reuniting With Strangers
“What’s the price of separation? How do we reconnect with the identity and culture we first knew? How much does it take to unify families? Reuniting With Strangers might just be the newest love letter to the Filipino-Canadian community.”
Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio is a Filipina-Canadian author, speaker and school board consultant who builds bridges between educators and Filipino families through her initiative, Filipino Talks.
Christine Mapp Batchelor | April 10, 2025 - 1:30 pm | In Person & Zoom
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity mobilizes volunteers and communities to help working families build strength, stability and self-reliance through affordable homeownership. Christine joined Habitat GTA in January of 2022 bringing two decades of progressive experience in helping individuals, corporations and foundations realize their philanthropic vision and non-profits embrace their philanthropic potential.
Luncheon with Speaker Dr. Patricia Wheeler | May 8, 2025 11:30 am | In Person
The Magic of Music in Film
Dr. Patricia Wheeler, is a lecturer at Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Media. In The Magic of Music in Film, Dr. Wheeler’s presentation will explore the functions of music in film, how music can support or play against the images on the screen, and the processes involved in scoring a motion picture.