John Beebe

John founded the Democratic Engagement Exchange in 2017. John’s passion for democratic engagement started while biking across North America when strangers from all walks of life took pity on a sweaty teenage kid and opened up their homes, shared a cold drink, provided him a hot shower and shared a little of their lives. Since then, John has had the opportunity to work for the US Congress, exhibit photos at the United Nations, and lead national engagement efforts for organizations like the Samara Centre for Democracy and Pathways to Education. Through these professional and personal experiences, John continues to be reminded of the wisdom that resides in our communities when we take the opportunity to engage and listen.

Samantha ReUSCh

Sam is the Executive Director of Apathy is Boring. Since 2017, she has served on the leadership team at Apathy is Boring, contributing to the strategic development of programs, content, and activities through her work as the head of Impact and Development before transitioning to Executive Director in August 2020. A passionate advocate for democracy and civic engagement, Sam is a respected commentator and educator who believes that the energy, insight, and innovative spirit of young people are critical to building a stronger and more equitable society for us all. Sam has worked with countless partners across Canada to support the development of positive engagement practices and provide insight into new understandings that young people bring to change-making, inclusion, and movement-building. She is the co-author of Together We Rise, a report which advocates for the adoption of youth-led democratic innovation as a model for expanding our current conception of democratic engagement towards a more holistic understanding of how change happens.

BEN ROWSWELL

As Canadian diplomat, Ben Rowswell specialized in democracy and human rights. As Representative of Canada in Kandahar from 2009 to 2010 he directed the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, leading a team of more than 100 American and Canadian diplomats, aid workers, civilian police and other experts in strengthening the provincial government at the heart of the Afghan conflict. Having served before that as Deputy Head of Mission in Kabul, Rowswell brings a practitioner's knowledge of Afghanistan and of statebuilding in general to the CDDRL. His previous conflict experience includes two years as Canada's Chargé d'Affaires in Iraq between 2003 and 2005, and with the UN in Somalia in 1993. He has also served at the Canadian embassy in Egypt and the Permanent Mission to the UN, and as a foreign policy advisor to the federal Cabinet in Ottawa. An alumnus of the National Democratic Institute, he founded the Democracy Unit of the Canadian foreign ministry.

ASHLEY DENNY

Ashley joined the Democratic Engagement Exchange in 2020. She is passionate about building a culture of democracy in Canada. With a foundational education in the Humanities, Ashley believes in the importance of big ideas, education and meaningful action. In her career so far, she has had the opportunity to work for Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada in Ottawa and for the Faculty of Laws, UCL in London, UK. Her experience in the Canadian co-operative movement has strengthened her belief in the importance of community engagement and participatory democracy in various aspects of our personal and political lives.

Malorie Flon

Malorie Flon is General Director of the Institut du Nouveau Monde, a Quebec-based non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening citizen participation in democracy. Her career has been devoted to the planning and facilitation of public participation processes, as well as to policy analysis and the testing of innovative practices to make participatory democracy a reality. Over the past fifteen years, she has worked in partnership with various types of governmental, private and para-public organizations, to instill citizen participation reflexes and help them implement participatory approaches that are relevant to the needs and aspirations of the population. She's Dialogue Associate with the The Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue and member of the Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Open Government.

Rowan Gentleman-Sylvester

Rowan is the Executive Director of CityHive, a Metro Vancouver non-profit dedicated to transforming how young people shape their cities and communities. A skilled convenor and educator, she has led programs that connect youth with decision-makers on issues from climate action to housing. Rowan has partnered with governments, institutions, and NGOs to embed youth voices in planning, and her expertise has informed national advisories. Recently, she co-chaired the IAP2 Canada Young Professionals Network and currently serves on the Environment and Climate Change Canada Youth Council. With a passion for democracy in action, Rowan is continuously inspired by the creativity and leadership of young people driving change.

Arman Hamidian

Arman Hamidian is the Senior Manager, Policy & Strategic Initiatives at the Democratic Engagement Exchange. He brings over ten years of experience advancing public policy, civic engagement, and systems-level change across government, healthcare, and civil society. His work is rooted in a commitment to equity and a belief in the power of inclusive democratic participation. Arman’s career spans senior roles in consulting, research, and politics. As a political staffer to multiple Ministers in the Ontario government, he helped shape legislation and supported the rollout of province-wide initiatives. At Santis Health, he led complex stakeholder strategies, working closely with C-suite executives across hospitals, health authorities, and government to drive policy reforms in long-term care, primary care, and digital health. He has also delivered human-centred design initiatives, including affordable housing projects for older adults during his time at SE Health. The son of Iranian refugees, Arman’s lived experience has deeply informed his commitment to social justice and sparked a career-long focus on the social determinants of health—especially the ways in which housing, income, racism, and civic power shape people's well-being. He has led community-engaged research, published policy insights, and worked alongside policymakers and grassroots leaders to co-create evidence-informed solutions. He holds a Master’s in Public Policy, Administration and Law from York University and is a former CivicAction DiverseCity Fellow. Arman currently serves on the boards of the South Riverdale Community Health Centre and Cycle Toronto, and previously served as Board Chair at Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services.

Mohammed Hashim

Mohammed Hashim is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, and has worked as a human rights advocate in Canada for the past two decades.

He has had a multidisciplinary career, working in non-profits, community organizations, the labour movement, as a communications consultant and in government. His work has primarily focused on innovation in public policy and legislation to improve the lives of Canadians.  A keen advocate, and strategic leader, Mohammed has contributed to numerous legislative and policy agendas to address racism and hate in Canada.

As CEO of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, Mohammed leads the national Hate Crimes Taskforce with the RCMP to better understand and address the systemic challenges and gaps in addressing hate crimes and incidents in Canada, to support communities, and to equip the justice system to investigate and support prosecutions related to hate crimes.

Jennifer Hollett

Jennifer Hollett is the executive director at The Walrus, Canada’s Conversation. The Walrus is a registered charity known for its award winning independent journalism, fact checking, and events. The Walrus is invested in the idea that a healthy society relies on informed citizens. Prior to this role, Jennifer was the head of news and government at Twitter Canada and has worked as a journalist with CBC, CTV, and CHUM. Jennifer has a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School and a BA with a specialization in journalism and communications from Concordia University.

Hayden King

Hayden is Anishinaabe from Beausoleil First Nation on Gchi’mnissing in Huronia, Ontario. He is the Executive Director of the Yellowhead Institute and Advisor to the Dean of Arts on Indigenous Education at Ryerson University. King has been teaching Indigenous politics and policy since 2007 at McMaster, Carleton and Ryerson Universities. Hayden’s analysis and commentary on Indigenous nationhood and settler colonialism in Canada is published widely. He is a prolific thinker and contributor to the national conversation on Indigenous issues.

Niamh Leonard

Niamh Leonard is a lawyer and leads the Euphrosine Foundation, a time-bound philanthropic foundation working to strengthen and expand the spaces—legal, digital, and cultural—where democratic deliberation happens and those in power are held to account. She also serves as Chair of Welcome Collective, an organization that supports refugee claimants in Montréal.

Her career spans law, governance, and philanthropy, with roles at the McConnell Foundation, Apathy is Boring, Transparency International Canada, Trudel Johnston & Lespérance, and the Constitutional Court of South Africa. In recognition of her commitment to equality, she was awarded the Rosalie Silberman Abella Prize by the Royal Society of Canada.

Niamh is drawn to questions of public governance, collective decision-making, and how pluralist societies govern themselves across difference. After facing a cancer diagnosis and chemo wards in her early thirties, she brings a deeper urgency to her belief in a world that honours the sacredness of life—where each person has a meaningful say in the conditions in which they live, and the freedom to live with dignity and joy.

Maggie MacDonald

Maggie MacDonald is the Senior Director, Public Affairs at the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation. At McConnell, Maggie oversees engagement on public policy, and issues related to a healthy democracy in Canada.

Odette McCarthy

Odette McCarthy promotes human rights, democracy and gender equality in every project she undertakes. She is Executive Director of Equitas, the International Centre for Human Rights Education, a Canadian organization that advances equality, social justice and respect for human dignity in Canada and around the world. She has nearly 30 years' experience in international cooperation with organizations such as Crossroads International, CECI and WUSC. She has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations, including Cooperation Canada. She is an active member of the working group for a feminist foreign policy and a member of the anti-racism advisory committee of Canada's international cooperation sector. She is a current member of Canada’s Foreign Affairs Permanent Table on Human Rights and was a member of the Canadian government's advisory committee for the Indo-Pacific Strategy 2022. In February 2024, Odette McCarthy received the Karen Takacs Award. This award is presented by Cooperation Canada to an individual who, through their collaboration, has significantly improved the lives of women around the world and promoted equality between women and men. For Odette, it was a privileged moment to highlight the strength of collective work in favor of gender equality. For over thirty years, she has worked with people from different backgrounds and levels of influence to advance civic engagement and human rights with and for others.

Amanda Munday

Amanda Munday is the Executive Director of New Majority, a national non-partisan NGO advancing youth civic engagement and voter turnout among Canadians aged 18–34. She is also the founder of The Workaround, a coworking and childcare centre in Toronto, and a TEDxToronto speaker. Her work and commentary on civic participation, childcare and workplace innovation have been featured internationally and frequently in media such as The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, Forbes, CBC, and more.  Amanda is a queer parent of two based in Toronto, Ontario and is a lifelong advocate for vibrant democratic participation, workplace innovation and social impact.

Meredith Preston McGhie

Meredith Preston McGhie is the Secretary General for the Global Centre for Pluralism.  In this role, Ms. Preston McGhie provides strategic leadership for the Centre and acts as an ambassador of pluralism to develop strong relationships with diplomatic communities, governments and other institutions. Previously Ms. Preston McGhie mediated and advised a range of mediation processes as the Regional Director for Africa with the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, and before that with the UN.  Ms. Preston McGhie served as an advisor to the late H.E. Kofi Annan during the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation.  Through more than 20 years across Africa, she helped to establish and facilitate peace processes in Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan and elsewhere.  Her work spanned a range of issues, including electoral conflict, disarmament and demobilisation, and inclusion.  She contributes to policy discussions on peacemaking globally, including teaching peace process design.  Ms. Preston McGhie began her career supporting conflict resolution efforts of leaders in the Naga community of North East India and among Indigenous minorities in Myanmar with the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact. 

Maiwand Rahyab

Maiwand Rahyab is the Founder and CEO of Resilient Societies, an emerging global initiative dedicated to protecting civic space and empowering democracy advocates and human rights defenders working under authoritarian regimes or in exile. Resilient Societies advances inclusive platforms such as the Resilience Network and the Ottawa Civic Space Summit, helping restore the voice, agency, and relevance of civil society actors confronting repression and transnational threats.

Before relocating to Canada, Maiwand held senior leadership positions with the National Democratic Institute and Counterpart International, and served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Afghanistan Institute for Civil Society. His perspectives on civil society, democratic resilience, and exile politics have appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, The Diplomat, and other leading outlets. Drawing on both lived experience and global expertise, he brings a compelling voice to urgent debates on civic space, democratic backsliding, and the future of exile activism.

Kim Samuel

Kim Samuel is a leading voice in the global movement for belonging.  She is the founder of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness (SCSC), a research, advocacy, and action group that partners with and convenes leading academics and changemakers to combat social isolation and build belonging around the world. She recently launched the Belonging Forum, a new solutions-focused initiative that completed a groundbreaking study on the state of belonging in the United Kingdom, drawing on survey data from 10,000 participants.  She is also the author of On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation (Abrams Press 2022), an exploration of the crisis of social isolation and humanity’s right to belong. Kim is a Research Fellow at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford, and an Associate Fellow at Green Templeton College, University of Oxford.  Kim serves on the executive committee and board of Special Olympics International as well as the disability rights advisory committee and the London and Canada committees of Human Rights Watch. She is a frequent commentator in outlets including the The Globe and Mail, Times of London, The Independent, The Telegraph, The Boston Globe, USA Today, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Psychology Today.

Sadia Zaman

Sadia Zaman brings a wealth of media, arts, not-for-profit, and leadership experience to her role as CEO, Inspirit Foundation, a national public foundation. She has held senior leadership roles at the Royal Ontario Museum, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and Women in Film and Television-Toronto. Sadia began her career as a journalist, creating hundreds of hours of original, critically acclaimed content for Vision TV, CBC and TVO. She has won dozens of awards for her journalism and has been honoured for her leadership. She is often asked to speak on a range of philanthropy, media, leadership, and equity issues nationally and internationally.