What is public policy?

In her current role, Jas has spearheaded projects ranging from mapping the infrastructure gap in Canada’s North, to examining the role of artificial intelligence tech on children’s privacy rights, to researching career guidance as a policy tool for those with barriers to work. Before joining Springboard, Jas worked as a Policy Advisor and Press Secretary to Ontario’s Deputy Premier, where she worked on key policies like the transformation of Ontario’s Student Assistance Program. She began her career working in post-secondary student advocacy, creating province-wide campaigns on issues like tuition affordability and pay equity.

Raised in London, Ontario, Jas has a B.A. in Media and the Public Interest from Western University, and an M.A. in Political and Legal Thought from Queens University. At Queens, her research focus was on corrections policy in Canada and the overrepresentation of Indigenous women in high-security settings.

Jas also enjoys reading, lightly interrogating friends and strangers about the things they are interested in, and performing live comedy.

Originally from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Scott is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Immediately after graduating from Georgetown, Scott worked at Goldman Sachs Inc. in New York City. Scott was recognized as the 2018 Telus LGBTQ Innovator of The Year by The Inspire Awards, a 2019 Young Impact Leader by Future of Good, and a 2022 Changemaker by The Globe and Mail. Scott has contributed to or been featured in The Washington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Forbes, Future of Good, The Chronicle Herald, and The Georgia Straight. He has also appeared as a commentator on CBC News Network and BNN Bloomberg.

Dr Aliza Moledina is a General Internal Medicine physician with a passion for health equity, human rights and social accountability. She is currently completing a Masters in Science in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa, motivated by her strong belief in the value of evidence and science in addressing complex social determinants of health. She was recently a lead author on a comprehensive 136-page Campbell Collaboration Review, examining interventions to improve the health and wellbeing of persons with lived experience of homelessness.

Aliza is also actively engaged in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and health advocacy initiatives at the University of Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital, promoting the advancement of EDI policies and supporting efforts to reform undergraduate and postgraduate medical education curricula to embrace social accountability principles. As one of the national Internal Medicine co-leads of the Global Health Portfolio of the Aga Khan Health Board Canada, she liaisons with physicians in Afghanistan to provide monthly Internal Medicine educational sessions and enable case-based collaboration with Canadian sub-specialists.

At the local level, Aliza serves as one of the co-leads of the Serious Illness Care Program at The Ottawa Hospital, delivering training to physicians and other allied health professionals on how to deliver advance care planning (ACP) and goals of care discussions to critically ill patients and their families, with a particular focus on identifying individual patients’ goals, wishes and values. In recognizing the reduced uptake of ACP within diverse communities, she co-organized innovative virtual ACP sessions for the Ismaili Muslim community, which was attended by over 1000 participants nationally.

They are also an Ontario Legislature Internship Program alum and previously worked with Global Affairs Canada as a member of Canada’s G7/G20 Summits team. Outside of work, Leslie enjoys cycling, exploring new towns and cities and spending time at home with their toddler and partner.

Since joining the Public Service of Canada in 2011, Émily has had the opportunity to play strategic roles and work on key files, including governance for the Department of National Defence, Global Affairs Canada’s consular policies and, more recently, the delivery of essential programs and services to Canadians for Employment and Social Development Canada.

In July 2019, Émily left her job with the Government of Canada in order to seek out new experiences in the private sector and a new life on Canada’s West Coast. For nearly three years, she lived in Vancouver and had the privilege of working for Navitas, a growing Canadian company and leading global education provider.

The COVID-19 pandemic gave Emily the space to self-reflect, re-examine her own values and priorities, and rethink her future. Seeing the plight worsening for the most vulnerable Canadians during the pandemic, Émily understood that she wanted to dedicate her career to building a richer, more inclusive Canada. This is why she seized the opportunity to return to her roots and resume her career in the federal public service.

Émily firmly believes that the Government of Canada has a key role to play in developing bold, innovative, hands-on solutions to today’s major social, economic and political issues, such as the labour shortage, care for seniors, support for individuals with mental health issues, systemic racism and youth disengagement.

Émily is fluent in English and French and has a basic knowledge of Arabic. She grew up in Gatineau and has a bachelor’s degree in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from the University of Ottawa. She now lives in the Greater Montréal area.

His interests led him to be involved in many organizations. He has been President of Force Jeunesse —which promotes and works towards improving youth’s job prospects and equity between generations,— administrator at the Association francophone pour le savoir (ACFAS) —which promotes diffusion of knowledge,— and graduate student representative at the University of Montreal (FAÉCUM).
In addition to having organized, hosted and participated in several conferences on union renewal, secularism, reasonable accommodations, the future of civil service, he has also written on the university system. Finally, in his spare time, he is a cycling enthusiast and novice gardener.