Synopsis:

International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. Every year there is an International Women's Day theme that advances equity for women and girls around the world. This year's theme is #BreakTheBias which calls on us all to recognize and take action to eliminate bias, stereotypes, and discrimination in our communities, workplaces, and schools. In recognition of this day, PMI Toronto invites you to join us for a discussion on advancing equity in project management, overcoming barriers, and leading successful careers.

Learning Objectives:

• Raising awareness of challenges women face and recognizing their successes in project management and leadership
• Educating and increasing the buy-in and actions individuals and organizations can take to increase the representation and belonging of women in leadership

            - Allyship
            - Policy for hiring and promotion
            - Sponsorship and mentorship
            - Inclusive leadership

• Highlighting PMs role as leaders in reducing bias and creating an inclusive environment of excellence and belonging

PDUs:

1.0 (Leadership)

Agenda:

6:30 PM - Welcome & Opening
6:35 PM - Panel Discussion Begins
7:35 PM - Q&A
7:55 PM - Closing Remarks
8:00 PM - Conclude

Fees: (Subject to HST)

PMI Toronto Members (login prior to registering) - Complimentary
Non-Members and Guests - $10.00

Panelists:

Moderator: Christine Blair, PMP

Christine graduated from Engineering Physics, Electrical Option, of Queen’s University. She has worked in transportation construction for 9 years, most notably on major light rail projects in Canada. Christine’s career has brought her across Canada, living and working in Vancouver, Ottawa, and Toronto for SNC-Lavalin’s Rail & Transit Engineering business. As a Project Engineering Consultant, she applies her leadership, systems thinking and human centered design principles to complex projects.

In her spare time, she is passionate about facilitating and enabling thoughtful, impactful conversations that support careers in engineering, especially for women. She is an active volunteer for many established organizations, including PMI's DEI Working Group, Society of Women Engineers, SCWIST, and can also be found leading and supporting the launch of various startup initiatives. She's always happy to chat about visioning and strategy workshops, building inclusive companies, making processes easier, and facilitating change.

Siobhan Calderbank

Siobhan Calderbank is an experienced Senior Director of Talent Management at LCBO and focuses on talent development, learning, change management, and diversity and inclusion. She is the Founder of Butterfly Ladies - a Mentoring Program committed to helping develop the careers of underrepresented women and youth. Siobhan is a dynamic keynote speaker, consultant, DEI practitioner, expert in change management and leadership, and a project management professional. She has spoken internationally to people from over 70 countries and possesses over 20 years of progressive experience in transforming businesses, leading change and developing leaders.

She is an award winning author and featured book contributor alongside Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, John Lewis, Deepak Chopra and many others. She has been seen on ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, and CW, and featured on the billboard in Times Square. Siobhan is a Universal Womens Network 2019 Women of Inspiration Award recipient for Diversity & Inclusiveness and is a UWN National Ambassador for Black Women. She has been recognized as one of 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women 2022. She has also been selected as the Top Director of the Year in Talent Management 2021, Empowered Women of the Year 2021, and recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award 2022 by IAOTP.

Nkechi Nwafor-Robinson

Nkechi Nwafor-Robinson is an award-winning Technology Executive, with over 20-years of experience. She is an AVP in Technology Solutions, currently serving in the role of Solution Train Engineer at TD Bank Group, supporting Data-as-a Service Enterprise Product Family and responsible for overall orchestration of large solution level events – but that is not all. She is Founder and CEO of Empowered in My Skin Inc., author, professional bodybuilder, host of Empowered in My Skin podcast, and an inspirational speaker, with speeches that have been viewed over 10M times worldwide. Notably, in 2020, nominated by TD Bank Group, she was awarded Women's Executive Network (WXN) Most Powerful Woman Canada – Top 100!

Megan A. Speight

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager at Project Management Institute

Megan has worked in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors for organizations such as Comcast, the National Constitution Center, and Maternity Care Coalition. In her current role as Public Relations Coordinator at the Project Management Institute, Ms. Speight works with cross functional teams to assist in developing effective and impactful Public Relations Strategy and supports the implementation of marketing promotional campaigns from a PR perspective. Additionally, she manages the Professional Awards Program, leads the Global Diversity Equity & Inclusion program, and partners with internal communications to support employee focused campaigns.

Ms. Speight is a native of Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, but currently resides in Philadelphia. She is a graduate of Springside School, obtained her B.A. in Communications from George Mason University and her M.S. in Public Communication from Drexel University. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Project 440 as well as chairs the Marketing Advisory Committee, and a member of the Junior League of Philadelphia.