EKO - Our Keynote Speakers

Advance Keynote: Thinking Creatively About Addressing Online Harms for Children and Youth

March 26, 2025 from 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.

Frances is smiling at the camera posing with her arms on her hips outside a cement building.

Frances Haugen

Born in Iowa City, Iowa, Frances is the daughter of two professors and grew up attending the Iowa caucuses with her parents, instilling a strong sense of pride in democracy and responsibility for civic participation.

Frances holds a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Olin College and an MBA from Harvard. She is a specialist in algorithmic product management, having worked on ranking algorithms at Google, Pinterest, Yelp and Facebook. She was recruited to Facebook to be the lead Product Manager on the Civic Misinformation team, which dealt with issues related to democracy and misinformation, and later also worked on counter-espionage.

During her time at Facebook, Frances became increasingly alarmed by the choices the company makes prioritizing their own profits over public safety and putting people's lives at risk. As a last resort and at great personal risk, Frances made the courageous decision to blow the whistle on Facebook.
Frances fundamentally believes that the problems we are facing today with social media are solvable. We can have social media that brings out the best in humanity.

Dr. Michael Cheng, O.Ont.

CHEO Child & Family Psychiatrist and Associate Professor, University of Ottawa

Dr. Cheng supports families coping with modern society, helping them (re)attach to nature, people, and all that gives them purpose and meaning. He co-founded eMentalHealth.ca, which provides mental health information and resources to families and professionals. As a parent, he knows first-hand the challenge of staying connected to nature and to fellow humans in an increasingly virtual world. Dr. Cheng speaks on a wide variety of topics including child and youth mental health, technology and mental health, nature, self-regulation, and self-compassion.

Brad Ross - Moderator

As the City of Toronto's former Chief Communications Officer, and the Executive Director of Communications for the Toronto Transit Commission, Brad has navigated Canada's largest city and North America's second-largest mass transit system.

He and his team led Toronto's COVID-19 communications strategy, and he has been media spokesperson on innumerable contentious issues, managing all manner of crises that arise in such organizations.

In 2008, while at the TTC, Brad launched the transit agency’s Twitter presence, seeing the value of immediate communications and engagement with the public that Twitter offered.

Brad now heads up his own consulting practice, Brad Ross Communications Counsel.

Lunch Keynote: The Power of Disability

April 16, 2025 from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Mayaan Ziv

Instagram handle: @maayanziv_
Twitter: @maayanziv
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maayanziv/

Maayan Ziv is a disability advocate, entrepreneur, and media innovator, known for her pioneering work in accessibility. Awarded the Meritorious Service Cross by the Governor General of Canada, Maayan is the founder and CEO of AccessNow, a global platform that bridges the gap between disabled communities, the private sector, and governments by amplifying the diverse lived experiences of disabled people and driving actionable change through technology, education, and advocacy.

As chair of the Accessible Travel Journey Technical Committee for Accessibility Standards Canada, Maayan plays a key role in shaping national accessibility standards on transit and travel. She is also a member of the Economic Development Committee for the City of Toronto. With a master’s degree in digital media, Maayan uses her expertise to engage with a wide range of media platforms, sharing stories that raise awareness and inspire action on accessibility, inclusive city building, and disability rights. Through her media presence and public speaking, Maayan continues to spark meaningful conversations and drive progress toward a more accessible and equitable world. Globally recognized as a thought leader, Maayan has earned numerous accolades, including being named one of MIT Tech Review's Top 35 Innovators and Canada’s Top 40 Under 40.

Breakfast Keynote: Empowering Complex Families: Improving Outcomes by Supporting All Family Members

April 17, 2025 from 8:00 - 9:00 a.m.

Dr. Maude Champagne

Dr. Maude Champagne is a neuroscientist, psychotherapist, and social worker, whose work centres on supporting families affected by childhood neurodisabilities and trauma. As a clinician and researcher, Maude develops innovative programs addressing the complex needs of families navigating Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), childhood aggression, and attachment challenges. With lived experience as both a sibling and a parent to children with medical and neurodevelopmental disabilities, Maude brings deep empathy and personal insight to her professional practice. Her dedication to improving the lives of families facing developmental and emotional complexities drives her work. Maude is active in the neurodisability and trauma fields, regularly collaborating with Kids Brain Health Network (KBHN). Outside of her professional life, Maude enjoys spending time with her family, connecting with nature, and fostering meaningful community engagement.

Closing Keynote: Precision Developmental Healthcare

April 17, 2025 from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Dr. Evdokia Anagnostou

Vice President of Research and Director of the Bloorview Research Institute, Child neurologist

Dr. Evdokia Anagnostou, MD, is the Vice President of Research and Director of the Bloorview Research Institute. She is a senior clinician scientist, co-lead of the Autism Research Centre, Canada Research Chair in translational therapeutics in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the inaugural Dr. Stuart D. Sims Chair in Autism.

Dr. Anagnostou has dedicated her career to challenging the field of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) to rethink diagnostic categories and focus on underlying biology rather than labels.

With the goal of precision medicine to ensure the best care and treatment for all children and families, Dr. Anagnostou has revolutionized traditional ways of thinking by redefining individual patterns of disease, which will lead to individualized treatments and more meaningful and healthier futures for all.

Dr. Steve Scherer is posing for a photo in the Sick Kids building. He is wearing his lab coat and leaning against a balcony.

Professor Stephen Scherer, PhD DSc FRSC.

Professor Stephen Scherer, PhD DSc FRSC is Chief of Research and holds the Northbridge Chair in Paediatric Research at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and University of Toronto (UofT) and he is Director of the UofT McLaughlin Centre, as well as The Centre for Applied Genomics at SickKids. His team contributed to the landmark discovery of global gene copy number variation (CNV) as a common form of genetic variation in human DNA. His team also identified CNV of specific genes involved in brain development to contribute to Autism Spectrum Disorder, demonstrating this complex human behavioral condition can have a biological basis. His research is documented in over 750 scholarly publications and patents. Dr. Scherer has won numerous honors such as the Steacie Prize, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Scholarship, the Premier’s Summit Award for Medical Research, the Killam Prize, and multiple Honorary degrees. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Royal Society of Canada.