Our Keynote Speaker: Marlee Matlin

Academy Award winning actress, author, mother, and advocate.

Marlee Matlin received worldwide critical acclaim for her motion picture debut in Paramount Pictures’ Children of a Lesser God, earning her the Academy Award for Best Actress. At age 21, she became the youngest recipient of the Best Actress Oscar, making her one of only four actresses to receive that honour for a film debut. In addition to the Oscar, Matlin was honoured by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association with the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama.

Passionate about children, she has also appeared in a number of educational and children’s programs. She can currently be seen starring in Disney’s highly acclaimed Baby Einstein DVD series, teaching sign language to infants and toddlers.

Matlin currently serves as a National Celebrity Spokesperson for the American Red Cross, encouraging Americans to donate blood. She has worked on behalf of closed captioning and was instrumental in getting Congress to pass federal legislation requiring all televisions manufactured in the United States be equipped with closed captioning technology. She also serves on the boards of a number of charitable organizations including Easter Seals, The Children Affected by Aids Foundation, as well as those charities which primarily benefit children. In 1995, Matlin served as Chairperson for National Volunteer Week and was honored in a White House Rose Garden ceremony by President Clinton. In 2006 Matlin was honored by AOL as “Chief Everything Officer,” highlighting the important contributions of mothers, both home and work environments.

Our Endnote Speaker: Dr. Dave Williams

Austronaut, medical doctor, and father of a child with Down syndrome.

With a passion for healthcare and risk management, prior to entering the Canadian Space Agency's program, Dr. Dave Williams worked as an emergency room doctor and later as director of emergency services at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. Formerly the director for the McMaster Centre for Medical Robotics, where he led a team dedicated to developing innovative technologies to assist the development of local and remote patient care. July 2011 marked a new journey for Williams as he became President and Chief Executive Officer of Southlake Regional Health Centre.

Dave Williams joined an exclusive club when he blasted into space aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, and again on Shuttle Endeavour where he walked out into the great beyond. Having also lived and worked in the world's only underwater ocean laboratory, he became Canada's first dual astronaut and aquanaut.

A true Canadian hero, Williams is down-to-earth with a compelling and unique approach to peak performance, environmental stewardship, our futures and risk management.

More speakers to be announced soon!

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