Speakers & Panelists
CMI 2026 features a dynamic roster of moderators, panelists, workshop facilitators and speakers
Keynote | Ian Simpson
Ian Simpson (Yaatqumtun) is a proud citizen of the Snuneymuxw Nation and serves as Chief Executive Officer of Petroglyph Development Group, the Nation’s economic development corporation. Guided by Snuneymuxw values and worldview, Ian leads with the conviction that Indigenous economies are not emerging—they are resurging.
A graduate of Vancouver Island University and holder of an MBA in Indigenous Business & Leadership from Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business, Ian is part of a growing generation of Indigenous executives shaping a new era of economic sovereignty. His leadership is grounded in the principle that Indigenous participation in the economy is not an act of inclusion, but an expression of inherent jurisdiction and Nationhood.
Tracey Brown
Tracey has been a valued member of our leadership team since 2023, serving as Director of Philanthropy and bringing with her over 20 years of experience in the social profit sector.
Born and raised on Vancouver Island, including many years on Gabriola, Tracey brings both local insight and a deep commitment to building stronger, more connected communities. Known for her ability to foster meaningful relationships across the region, Tracey leads with both heart and vision. She believes deeply in the power of philanthropy to create belonging and resilience—a belief that aligns perfectly with the Foundation’s mission.
Laurel is the Research Manager for the Business & Finance Innovation research area at the University of Victoria’s Accelerating Community Energy Transitions (ACET) initiative.
She supports the Impact Investing Hub, an independent division of ACET, strengthening Canada’s impact investing ecosystem and advancing community-informed innovations that foster equity and long-term impact. A connector of people, ideas, and impact capital, she thrives on building partnerships and solutions that drive meaningful change..
Julie is a connector, entrepreneur, and community builder whose career spans international hospitality, small business ownership, and the nonprofit sector. She is driven by a commitment to creating opportunities and connecting people.
As a business owner and leader in diverse ventures, she has built a strong reputation for fostering partnerships that create mutual benefit and drive positive outcomes.
Since 2017, Julie has dedicated her work to the nonprofit sector, applying an entrepreneurial mindset to strategic management, economic growth, and community development. She is known for identifying opportunities and bringing together capacity and resources to execute.
Now with the Vancouver Island Economic Alliance, Julie is focused and aligned with the VIEA mandate of strengthening the regional economy by fostering collaboration, being active in reconciliation, supporting businesses, and turning ideas into action.
Kristi Riviat
Kristi Rivait (KR) brings 20 years of leadership experience in the non-profit sector, including 10+ years as an Executive Director.
Kristi is an expert at operational transformation, diversifying revenues, and partnerships that create systems-level change. Kristi co-founded Scale Collaborative to support the empowerment of the impact sector. She inspires leaders on how to find the right revenue for their missions, shifting their internal culture from a scarcity approach to abundance thinking. Inside the Scale family of organizations, KR is the Director of Partnerships and Programs and the Board President of Thrive Impact Fund.
Ben Geselbracht
Ben is a proud resident of the City of Nanaimo and privileged to live in Snuneymuxw First Nation territory. He works hard as an elected official, both at the municipal and regional level, and demonstrate leadership on responsible governance, climate action, circular economy, social equity and effective advocacy.
His work includes serving on the 2019–2020 UBCM Executive as a Director at Large, participating in the Vancouver Island and Coastal Community Climate Leadership Plan Steering Committee, the AVICC Special Committee on Solid Waste, and co-chairing the Climate Caucus Working Group on Zero-Waste and the Circular Economy.
Rebecca Hurwitz
Rebecca (she/her) is the Executive Director of the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust. Since 2005, she's championed participatory leadership and consensus decision-making in her work with the board and staff.
she strives to cultivate collaboration and partnerships in a region with diverse communities and interests, leading regional initiatives focused on sustainability, economic resilience, and community wellbeing. With her leadership, CBT has broadened its mandate to become a community foundation and delivered more than $6.2 million in local grants. She successfully guided the CBT through the UNESCO periodic review process and contributed to the growth of the Canadian Biosphere Region Association in her role as chair. Rebecca is currently spearheading development of the shovel-ready Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Centre, a major west coast infrastructure project focused on economic diversification, workforce development, innovation, and long-term regional prosperity.
Colin Stansfield
Colin spearheads the organization's mission to deliver a thriving and resilient economy at the forefront of innovation in community and economic development.
With a wealth of experience in both private and public sectors, Colin is renowned for developing and implementing purpose-driven strategies.
His holistic approach to business development, community wealth, and public policy ensures the realization of “win-win-win” outcomes, promoting shared prosperity, social justice, and environmental sustainability while instigating the necessary systemic changes to uphold them.
Kristi Fairholm Mader
Kristi has always worked in the social impact sector. After 10 years as a youth worker, she returned to school to complete a business degree, with a focus on social enterprise.
Dr. Basma Majerbi is an associate professor of finance at Gustavson School of Business, a Fellow of the Center for Social and Sustainable Innovation (CSSI) and a member of the Institute for Integrated Energy Systems (IESVic) at University of Victoria.
In her role as leader of the Impact Investing Hub, Basma engages in collaborative research with industry and community partners on topics ranging from climate-related financial risks and opportunities, ESG and impact investing, climate finance policies and financing community energy transitions. She is a recipient of multiple awards including Excellence in Research Award, Excellence in Innovation Award, IAB Community Engagement Award, and BC Cleantech-Educator of Year Award.
Dr. Majerbi also consults for the International Monetary Fund’s Institute for Capacity Development where she contributes to training of government officials in developing countries. She is a member of the steering committee of the Canadian Sustainable Finance Network (CSFN), the Research Advisory Council of the Institute for Sustainable Finance, and is co-founder and co-chair of the International Workshop on Financial System Architecture and Stability (IWFSAS). She serves on the Board of Directors of the South Island Prosperity Partnership, the Impact Investment Committee of the Victoria Foundation, and the Impact Investing Working Group at the University of Victoria.
Graham Bradley
Graham is a 1st generation farmer in his 14th season who grows vegetables on 3 acres of wonderful peat in a fen named Good Earth Farm in Snnuyemux Territory on Gabriola Island.
Alongside, he runs the Gabriola Food Hub, a small 9 year old business which helps connect island producers with island businesses and folks. A Human Geographer and Photographer by education this Francophyle ended up working on documentary films around the world for several years along side his farming career. He is an avid volunteer and served as the President of the Gabriola Chamber of Commerce for 5 years, as a director on the board of the Gabriola Agricultural Co-operative for 6 years and is 1.5 years into being a director for Coastal Community Credit Union. He has many years of experience working in and volunteering for Cooperatives, where gained strong governance and leadership skills. He is also a janitor, a bike mechanic, and figures we’re all a bunch of cosmological beans. He has lived on Gabriola Island for 10ish years.
Ernest Barbaric
Ernest Barbaric is a serial entrepreneur, strategic advisor, and EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence) supporting mission-driven founders and impact-oriented ventures across Canada.
With over 20 years of experience spanning digital strategy, innovation, and leadership development, Ernest has advised leaders at organizations ranging from global brands to health tech startups and non-profits.
Ernest brings a practitioner’s lens to the intersection of entrepreneurship and impact, having navigated the real tensions between building for financial sustainability and building for something that matters.
Erin Crampton
Erin Crampton is a farm kid from Manitoba who somehow turned a lifetime of supporting ecologically minded farmers into becoming a regenerative food systems subject matter expert.
She didn’t plan it that way — it just kept getting more interesting.
Erin’s work spans the full arc of what it takes to make regional food systems actually work: supply chain building, food processing, agricultural policy, conservation finance, and investment strategy. She has designed finance mechanisms, evaluated ecosystem service markets for Canadian farmers, and most recently has been deep in Alberta’s regenerative beef supply chain — learning, alongside producers and processors, what capital solutions the system actually needs before anyone tries to design them.
She is a co-architect of Learning From the Land Up, a producer-led investment design process across Western Canada.
She still thinks cows are the answer.
Nicolae Zaharia
Nicu is a project manager and energy finance professional with nearly two decades of experience leading clean energy and energy-efficiency projects and designing blended-finance solutions that unlock capital for climate-aligned investments.
JHe has managed programs funded by international organizations such as the EU, UNDP, NEFCO, and USAID, helping public-sector clients structure credit lines, guarantee schemes, and performance-based contracts that reduce energy use, emissions, and service gaps. Now based in British Columbia and holding an MBA in Sustainable Innovation from the University of Victoria, Nicolae focuses on connecting community energy priorities with practical financing tools and investor partnerships that support a just and resilient transition.
Michel Woolner
Michel (she/her) has been the Executive Director since August 2023. Michel has extensive Business Development, Finance, Executive Coaching and Human Resources portfolios, including working for organizations and businesses in various industries.
She holds both a Bachelor of Commerce and a Graduate Certificate in Strategic Human Resources Management from Royal Roads University in Victoria BC. Aside from these Diplomas, Michel holds certification in Disability Management and Bookkeeping/Finance. Michel’s philosophy is that there are no weaknesses, only areas of growth and development opportunities. Michel enjoys working with her PacificSport VI team to broaden the footprint throughout the region of Vancouver Island (less Greater Victoria Area) and to create community awareness of the wonderful physical literacy sports programs that PacificSport VI brings to all kids and youth through various programs, some free to a small fee.
Peter W. Ord is the Principal of Arkomark Solutions, a Victoria, BC–based consultancy delivering project management and business development services to NGOs, non-profits, and businesses.
Peter brings over 35 years of experience in strategic leadership and project development, with a focus on cultural resource management, heritage conservation and nature-based climate adaptation. A University of Edinburgh graduate, Peter has held senior roles at the Royal BC Museum and The Bateman Foundation, and has worked across more than ten countries on development projects. He is presently working the SĆIȺNEW̱ First Nations to create an Indigenous Protected and Conserved area on their traditional territory.
Ted has worked in the credit union sector across Canada for more than 25 years. He has served as CEO of three credit unions in British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan.
Through his leadership experience and continued education, Ted has built a reputation as a transformational leader with a strong record of organizational success. He is known for building positive workplace cultures, strengthening relationships, and maintaining a clear, strategic focus. Ted leads by example and values open communication and mentorship, supporting teams to achieve a shared vision.
Hamish leads work on market building initiatives for nature finance at the Nature Investment Hub. Since 2009, he has worked with leading investors, insurers, commercial and multilateral development banks on climate risk strategy, reporting, and product structuring.
Alongside his work with capital markets and investment industry leaders, Hamish advises fintech, ocean deep tech and nature based solutions startups. He joined the Nature Investment Hub after leading sustainable finance projects at an international bank based in London, UK. Hamish holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and a JD from the University of British Columba. He is passionate about the clean energy transition and the future of community-owned distributed energy system deployment.
Kurt Johnston
Kurt leads Vancouver-based social enterprise CleanStart Property Services and is a director of CleanStart Franchising Inc. He has spent more than twenty years building and leading businesses across operations, sales, and growth.
These days he is focused on growing practical, people-centered enterprises that create good jobs and deliver strong services. At CleanStart, he leads a team working in cleaning, junk removal, pest control, and complex property services for social housing, non-profits, and healthcare organizations. The company’s model is built around living-wage work, supportive employment, and long-term stability for staff. Recently, he developed a franchising model for CleanStart, hoping to bring this model to other cities across Canada. Kurt cares deeply about the role businesses can play in strengthening communities when they are built to be durable, fair, and rooted in the well-being of the people who work in them.
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