2023 Speakers
The Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould
Joanna Griffiths
Carrie Doll
The Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould
Former Member of Parliament | Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada | Bestselling Author
The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, PC, OBC, KC, was raised to be a leader. The daughter of a hereditary chief and Indigenous leader, she always knew that she would seek leadership roles and responsibilities. As a lawyer, an advocate, and a leader among Canada’s Indigenous Peoples, she’s built a strong reputation as a bridge builder and champion of good governance and accountability. She shares her unique perspective as both a community and political leader on topics such as Indigenous rights and reconciliation, democracy and governance, leadership, and justice.
Wilson-Raybould was first elected as a Member of Parliament for the new constituency of Vancouver Granville in 2015. She was then appointed the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada making her the first Indigenous person to serve in this portfolio. In January 2019, she was appointed the Minister of Veterans Affairs of Canada and Associate Minister of National Defence, positions she held until her resignation from cabinet in February 2019.
During the 2019 election, Wilson-Raybould was re-elected as an Independent Member of Parliament for Vancouver Granville, making her Canada’s first ever female Independent MP elected and the only elected Independent in the 43rd Parliament.
Prior to politics, Wilson-Raybould was a provincial crown prosecutor in Vancouver and served three terms as an elected Commissioner of the BC Treaty Commission. She was also elected BC Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations in 2009, where she devoted herself to the advancement of First Nations governance, fair access to land and resources, as well as improved education and health care services. She served until 2015, holding responsibilities for governance and Nation building on the Assembly of First Nations Executive.
Wilson-Raybould is a descendant of the Musgamagw Tsawataineuk and Laich-Kwil-Tach peoples, which are part of the Kwakwaka’wakw and also known as the Kwak’wala speaking peoples. She is a member of the We Wai Kai Nation with her traditional name, Puglaas, meaning “woman born to noble people.” She served two terms as an elected councillor for her Nation and was also a director and chair of the First Nations Finance Authority and a director of the First Nations Lands Advisory Board.
Wilson-Raybould is the national #1 bestselling author of political memoir “Indian” in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power, which was a finalist for The Writers’ Trust Balsillie Prize for Public Policy and the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. She is also the author of From Where I Stand: Rebuilding Indigenous Nations for a Stronger Canada. Wilson-Raybould is set to release her third book entitled True Reconciliation: How to be a Force For Change in November 2022.
Joanna Griffiths
Since launching Knix in 2013, Founder and CEO Joanna Griffiths has built it into one of the fastest growing intimate apparel brands worldwide. Through its mission to empower women and its focus on product innovation, Knix has become the sixth fastest growing company in Canada with a product sold every six seconds. Griffiths walks audiences through her lessons learned from building one of the most successful and prolific mission-driven brands of the digital era.
Griffiths is recognized nationally and internationally for her work as a marketing disrupter and entrepreneur. She was the only Canadian to be named one of AdWeek’s 2021 Women Trailblazers, with her long list of accolades also including being named Waterstone’s Most Admired CEO and Women of Influence’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Griffiths has been cited in hundreds of media publications, including Forbes, Fast Company, and The New York Times with Strategy Magazine naming Knix their “2020 Brand of the Year.”
In March 2021, Griffiths made headlines when she closed a $50M funding round, three days before giving birth to her twin daughters. Throughout the process, she had one simple rule — any potential investor who questioned her pregnancy and her ability to run a nine-figure company and be a mother was cut from the process. Griffiths is a known champion of body positivity, mental health, and postpartum health. In 2021, she released her first book Life After Birth, which celebrates the early stages of life and the start of motherhood.
Griffiths holds an MBA with Distinction from INSEAD and currently sits on the board of Futurpreneur Canada.
Carrie Doll
When business leaders are preparing to present innovative ideas to propel their company, they call Carrie Doll. Every organization needs to equip their people with strong public speaking skills. This is where Carrie can help. She empowers clients to craft strong messages, feel comfortable no matter how big or small the stage, and connect with the audience whether online or in person.
Carrie Doll merged her love of storytelling and public speaking by becoming a coach, keynote speaker and professional emcee following a 20-year career as a television news anchor. She considers public speaking to be a life skill and a learned skill, so she wrote and launched her online course, “The Power of Public Speaking”. She also believes in the power of story which is reflected in the interviews she does for her podcast, “The Inner Circle with Carrie Doll” which to date has published almost 200 episodes that regularly trend top 10 in Canada.
Carrie was honored as one of the top citizens in the province of Alberta, is the past chair of the Stollery Women’s Network, and sits on an Edmonton Mental Health board. Carrie is also an ambassador with Volvo of Edmonton and past ambassador for Lululemon, both of which align with her core values. She is married to entrepreneur Stephen Petasky who founded “The Luxus Group”. Together they are the proud parents of their son Kasha and daughter Allegra.
