Economic Development-Celebrating Communities-Speaker Profiles

Dr. Samantha Nutt

Dr. Samantha Nutt is founder and Executive Director of War Child Canada. She is a medical doctor with more than 10 years of experience helping children in some of the worlds most violent flashpoints such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Congo and Sierra Leone. She holds postgraduate degrees in Medicine and in Public Health from the University of Toronto as well as the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Nutt was selected by Macleans Magazine as "one of 12 Canadians making a difference." She has been profiled by Global Television as a ‘Canadian Trailblazer’, by Time magazine as one of Canada’s top five accomplished activists, and by CBC News Sunday as one of Canada’s outstanding leaders.

Dr. Nutt speaks on leadership and public engagement in global issues. Leaders encourage us to inspire, to think, and to demand more of ourselves and of our society and she believes we can all acquire this ability. She maps out for her audiences the ways they can be more effective leaders - in the world, their workplace and in their community. Often the trick is in recognizing, and identifying opportunities for leadership that exist around you every day. We can all be effective agents for change if we have the courage to lead. We can all lead if we have the determination to search for meaning in our lives, and inspire others through our perseverance.


Speaker Profiles The Honourable Mayann Francis Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia The Honourable Mayann Francis' life is a journey of many steps spanning many paths, personal and professional. Her Honour has earned degrees from Saint Mary's University, New York University, Cornell University and the Atlantic School of Theology. She has worked as an X-ray technician, department store switchboard operator, and paralegal. Along the way, Her Honour blazed trails for increased diversity and equality as CEO of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, and as a human resources specialist with Dalhousie University and the District Attorney's Office in King's County, New York. In doing so, Her Honour become a role model for many Nova Scotians as to what you can achieve through hope and determination. Her Honour's journey continues in her new role – Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. She sees our province, much like the British Commonwealth, as a large community, home to people with diverse backgrounds. As Lieutenant Governor, Her Honour's goal is to ensure that this wide array of perspectives is both represented and given every opportunity to contribute to the quality of life we enjoy here. By encouraging all Nova Scotians to work together, it is Her Honour's hope that our communities will continue to prosper, providing new and rewarding opportunities for our future generations. Dr. Samantha Nutt Dr. Samantha Nutt is founder and Executive Director of War Child Canada. She is a medical doctor with more than 10 years of experience helping children in some of the worlds most violent flashpoints such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Congo and Sierra Leone. She holds postgraduate degrees in Medicine and in Public Health from the University of Toronto as well as the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Nutt was selected by Macleans Magazine as "one of 12 Canadians making a difference." She has been profiled by Global Television as a ‘Canadian Trailblazer’, by Time magazine as one of Canada’s top five accomplished activists, and by CBC News Sunday as one of Canada’s outstanding leaders. Dr. Nutt speaks on leadership and public engagement in global issues. Leaders encourage us to inspire, to think, and to demand more of ourselves and of our society and she believes we can all acquire this ability. She maps out for her audiences the ways they can be more effective leaders - in the world, their workplace and in their community. Often the trick is in recognizing, and identifying opportunities for leadership that exist around you every day. We can all be effective agents for change if we have the courage to lead. We can all lead if we have the determination to search for meaning in our lives, and inspire others through our perseverance. Linden MacIntyre Gemini award-winning journalist Linden MacIntyre has been reporting from and about communities around the world for over 43 years. A native of Cape Breton, his career spans newspapers, radio and television, including The Chronicle Herald, The Financial Times of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. At CBC, he hosted local programs, served as a reporter for The Journal and, for two years, was the host and national editor of CBC Radio's Sunday Morning. Since 1990, MacIntyre has been a host of the fifth estate, CBC TV's highly regarded, long-running news magazine program. He has also created documentaries for the prestigious PBS series Frontline. More recently, MacIntyre has added published author to his many professional accomplishments. He launched his first novel, The Long Stretch, in 1999 and co-authored Who Killed Ty Conn in 2000. MacIntyre's latest work, Causeway: A Passage From Innocence, is a memoir that explores the wide-reaching impacts that developments like the Canso Causeway can have – good and bad – on our rural communities and their quality of life. This acclaimed memoir is also the inspiration for his presentation at the Celebrating Communities Conference. Mike Stolte People who know Mike Stolte call him a true leader when it comes to rural and regional economic development in Canada. In fact, you could say it's his passion. This Nelson, BC-based economist and business analyst believes that successful communities are vital, entrepreneurial communities. They see opportunities, seize them and forge networks of support to make them happen - the keys to being a successful entrepreneur. Inspired by this belief, Stolte has been working with organizations and programs that encourage Canada's rural communities to step up and realize their entrepreneurial potential for more than 15 years. As the current Executive Director of the Centre for Innovative and Entrepreneurial Leadership, Stolte is leading the development of essential tools, such as the Business Vitality Index, that are helping communities to measure and improve their economic strengths and performance. He is also a member of the National Rural Research Network and the steering committee for the Co-operative Development Initiative, a $15 million program that supports innovative co-operatives nationwide. Stolte will share his insights on community economic development, and offer opportunities and models that Nova Scotia's rural communities can adopt for renewed and enhanced economic growth.