Ahren Belisle
Ahren Belisle has catapulted to some of the biggest stages in comedy in the short two years he’s been doing stand-up. Television audiences fell in love with him on AMERICA’S GOT TALENT as he became a Top 10 Finalist.
Belisle is a software engineer and mental health advocate turned comedian. Born in Northern Ontario with cerebral palsy, Ahren is a mute comedian who uses his phone to deliver jokes. With his affable charm and razor sharp wit, this comedian who can’t speak has been given a license by audiences to get away with saying whatever he wants.
Ahren has over a million followers and uses his platform to spread positive messages and comedy.
AGT First Performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lyJVYSj_BI
Stephanie Dixon C.M.
Stephanie Dixon (she/them) is a white disabled settler who spent the last decade living and working in the territory of the traditional territories of the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council and the Kwanlin Dün First Nation, commonly known as Whitehorse, Yukon. She engages as a researcher, facilitator, and advocate within collaborative projects that imagine and create spaces where more of us can feel welcome, valued, and included in meaningful ways.
Laverne Jacobs
Laverne Jacobs is an expert member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). She is also a Professor of Law at the University of Windsor, Canada where she holds the Research Chair in Disability Equality & Administrative Justice. Her work sits at the intersection of disability equality law and administrative law and justice. As a legal scholar and author, she has published and presented extensively in her fields, both in Canada and internationally. In June 2022, Professor Jacobs was elected to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for a four year term. The Committee monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by countries that have ratified it. UN CRPD Committee members are independent experts selected from countries around the globe. Dr. Jacobs is the first-ever Canadian to be elected to serve on the United Nations CRPD Committee, and her election is historic for that reason.
Dr. Jacobs founded and directed The Law, Disability & Social Change Project, a research and public policy centre at Windsor Law that works to foster and develop inclusive communities. She is also Co-Director of the Disability Rights Working Group at Berkeley Law’s Center for Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law. Throughout her career, Professor Jacobs has held public appointments on boards, committees and tribunals, including serving on the Board of Directors of the Income Security Advocacy Centre and of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice. At the University, she was Associate Dean (Research & Graduate Studies) for the Faculty of Law between 2018-2021.
Dr. Jacobs is the recipient of a number of awards including the Canadian Bar Association Touchstone Award (2021), the Canadian Association of Law Teachers (CALT) Academic Excellence Award (2022) and the Hummingbird Award from the Disabled Women's Network of Canada, (2022).
Dr. Jonathan Lai
Dr Jonathan Lai is the Executive Director at Autism Alliance of Canada. He also holds an Adjunct Faculty position in Health Services Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. At Autism Alliance of Canada, Jonathan's work involves responding to emerging national policy gaps in the autism and disability sector. Through his career, he has experience working at the interface of research, community and policy to affect systems change in the health and social services sector across Canada and internationally.
Paige Layle
Paige Layle was born in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario. From an early age, Paige exhibited a deep passion for the arts, engaging in singing, acting, and dancing. In 2015 at age 15, Paige was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, which changed her life for the better as she began to learn how to live life authentically. Paige's Autism advocacy career began in 2020 when she created video content on TikTok and YouTube. With over 3 million followers across her platforms, Paige has become a prominent voice in the Autism advocacy community. Her content not only educates but also provides comfort and support to countless individuals and families navigating Autism. In March 2024, Paige's memoir, But Everyone Feels This Way: How an Autism Diagnosis Saved My Life, was published by Hachette Go, and instantly became a best-seller. Additionally, Paige speaks to companies and schools across Canada to educate on Autism and how others can accommodate Autistic people in school, in the workplace and at home. Beyond her professional achievements, she is a devoted pet owner, with two dogs and two cats. Paige also loves to journal and crochet in her spare time.
Grandmother Kim Wheatley
Anishinaabe Traditional Grandmother Kim Wheatley is Ojibway, Potawatomi and Caribbean in ancestry. She is a band member of Shawanaga First Nation located on the shores of Georgian Bay on Robinson Huron Treaty Territories and is Turtle Clan. She carries the Spirit name “Head or Leader of the Fireflower” and has worked for three decades with Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities across Canada.
As a multi award winning speaker for over three decades Kim has appeared locally, nationally and internationally in books, magazines, television, radio and numerous news articles and podcasts. Her work is viewed as dynamic, motivational and powerful while always inclusive. She is a published author, hand drummer, singer, water walker, artist, columnist, ceremonial practitioner and ancestral knowledge keeper. Kim is committed to forging good relationships aligned with reconciliation that honour the past, connect the present and contribute to the future.
FIRST Robotics Canada
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Canada, a registered charity, is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12) that can be facilitated in school or structured afterschool programs. Boosted by a global support system of volunteers, educators, and sponsors, teams operate under a signature set of FIRST Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, build, and showcase their achievements during annual challenges. FIRST programs reach 300,000 students in 70 countries. FIRST Robotics Canada was founded in 2002 and has reached 30,000 Canadian students. It has a proven impact on STEM learning, interest, and skill-building well beyond high school. Alumni of FIRST programs gain access to exclusive scholarships, internships, and other opportunities that create connections and open pathways to various careers. Learn more at firstroboticscanada.org.