Thunder Bay-based Katy Commisso has been announced as the Ontario Bar Association’s new president for the 2025-2026 term.

Commisso, who was previously first vice-president, will take the helm in September. She succeeds Kathryn Manning. According to the OBA, Commisso will spearhead a mandate to assist OBA members with transitions in life and law.

Commisso is a partner at Buset LLP. Her practice focuses on litigation and dispute resolution, particularly matters related to insurance. She has appeared before all levels of court in Ontario and administrative tribunals.

She joined the OBA board as chair of sections in 2021 and became second vice president in 2023. She was also part of the organization’s pro bono committee, finance committee, policy and public affairs committee, and leadership and recognition committee.

Moreover, Commisso served as the OBA representative on the e-hearings task force and Superior Court of Justice civil working group.

“I am thrilled to be representing the Northwest by stepping into this role and to be working with a fantastic board of directors including first vice president Mariam Moktar and newly selected second vice president Brenda Hollingsworth!” Commisso wrote in a LinkedIn post. “After a year full of change - including becoming a mom in October - I am motivated and ready to support members as they navigate transitions. I hope this mandate resonates with our members at a time of widespread change: in technology, in where and how we work, and in the world around us. Some changes call for the strength of this profession's collective voice to be heard loud and clear and the OBA is well-positioned to lead that work.”

Moktar, a a civil litigator at Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP, will take the presidency in 2026. Hollingsworth, who was elected second vice president last Friday June 20, will succeed Moktar in 2027. Based in Ottawa, Hollingsworth is the OBA board’s East Region representative. She has been a litigator for 28 years and is the co-founder of Auger Hollingsworth.

Commisso’s predecessor Manning will remain on the board as immediate past-president. 

Source: Law Times News 

Toronto-based cybersecurity startup Protexxa says it has set a “new achievement” in Canada with the closing of its $10 million CAD Series A round. 

Protexxa told BetaKit in an email statement that “a private family office” led the all-equity round, which closed in June. Additional participants include the venture arm of a Canadian telecommunications giant in Bell Ventures as well as Halifax-based Sandpiper Ventures, which supports early-stage companies led by women. Return investors include Crown corporation Export Development Canada (EDC), BKR Capital, The Firehood Angels, and Graphite Ventures. 

Two new board members will be announced in August, Protexxa said. 

Protexxa was founded by CEO Claudette McGowan in 2021 and secured a $1-million pre-seed and later a $4-million CAD seed round led by BKR Capital in October 2022, which was the largest funding round for a Black woman in Canada according to Toronto Life. Protexxa said the Series A round is “a new achievement.” BKR Capital managing partner Lise Birikundavyi told BetaKit that, as far as they are aware, the Series A round is the biggest equity round for a Black woman founder in Canada.

“We’re excited to continue to back Protexxa – the team is incredibly strong and is solving such an important problem,” Birikundavyi said. “We have been impressed by their growth since our initial investment and are excited to be part of their journey.”

Historically, Black women founders raise a slim fraction of venture capital funding in comparison to their white male counterparts. In total, Protexxa has raised $15 million CAD to date. 

McGowan is a prominent figure in Canadian tech, having co-founded The Firehood and previously served as the chief information officer at BMO. She also served as the global executive officer for cybersecurity at TD Canada, where she was named one of four recipients of the inaugural Nation Builder award from the National Angel Capital Organization. 

McGowan also chairs the Coalition of Innovation Leaders Against Racism (CILAR), a group of senior business leaders committed to fighting anti-Black and systemic racism within the innovation economy, and helped launch Phoenix Fire, a women-focused angel fund, in 2022.

Protexxa said the new capital will be used on its platform as well as growing its sales and marketing teams as it looks to expand into global markets. Protexxa will begin its expansion into the United States (US), where it said it is already seeing demand among financial, telecommunications, and healthcare institutions. 

A business-to-business software-as-a-service company, Protexxa says it “connects the dots between personal cyber hygiene and business risk.” The company’s artificial intelligence-powered platform, known as Protexxa Defender, gives companies and their employees a “cyber health score” and helps them make security improvements like finding exposed passwords and removing online images. Protexxa says it also provides tailored incident response plans to support customers when cyber attacks occur.

The cybersecurity startup announced its funding on the heels of an unprecedented worldwide disruption caused by a faulty software update issued by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike for Microsoft Windows operating systems.

Feature image courtesy Claudette McGowen via LinkedIn, and above article is courtesy of BetaKit.

Blair Stevenson, educator, strategic advisor, and leader at the intersection of arts, innovation, and education, has been appointed Dean of Academic Affairs at Berklee’s campus in Valencia, Spain. 

A dual Finnish and Canadian citizen with over 20 years of experience in higher education, Stevenson has most recently been working at Oulu University of Applied Sciences in Finland, where he has led the development of hybrid master's degree programs and pre-incubators closely connected to the university’s arts-based disciplines, including music, dance, and graphic design. His work has also involved expanding teams and experimental infrastructure for the university’s new Arts Innovation research program.

“It is with great excitement that we welcome Blair to the Berklee Valencia team,” said Simone Pilon, executive director at the Valencia campus. “Blair’s collaborative approach, his background in higher education, and his deep understanding of the North American and European higher education landscapes, along with his extensive experience in EU-funded projects and international networks, will bring invaluable opportunities to our students and the Berklee Valencia community.”

Stevenson’s expertise extends beyond Europe. He has collaborated with North American institutions, such as the University of Pennsylvania and Northeastern University, and has held adjunct professorships at the University of Toronto and Toronto Metropolitan University. In addition, he holds a PhD in education from the University of Oulu in Finland and has a background as an entrepreneur in the fields of program evaluation and training in Canada. 

Stevenson will join the Berklee Valencia team effective May 12, 2025. He will play a key role in shaping the academic strategy of the campus, ensuring alignment with Berklee’s global vision and providing direction on curriculum development, accreditation, and program assessment while fostering innovation and collaboration across academic programs. His appointment reinforces the campus commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and global collaboration.

Credit:  Laura Carrasco
(https://valencia.berklee.edu/about/news/blair-stevenson-named-dean-of-ac...)

Order of Canada citation:
Wendy Muckle advocates equitable access to health care for vulnerable populations. She co-founded Ottawa Inner City Health Inc., to help individuals experiencing challenges with homelessness, mental health and substance use. Her innovative programs, including hospice and trauma-informed care, gained national and global recognition and are emulated around the world.

Wendy Muckle, Ottawa Inner City Health co-founder, appointed to Order of Canada - Ottawa Citizen

The Ontario Historical Society’s Cruikshank Medal honours an individual who has performed with distinction on behalf of the Ontario Historical Society (OHS). This year, the Society is pleased to present this award to Dr. Michel S. Beaulieu of Thunder Bay.

Michel has dedicated his time and expertise to supporting Ontario’s not-for-profit sector for many years. In addition to the OHS, he has volunteered thousands of hours in service of the Champlain Society, Multicultural History Society of Ontario, the Northwestern Ontario Archivists’ Association (NOAA), the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, and so many more.

Michel served on the OHS Board of Directors from June 2013 until September 2024. Throughout his eleven-year tenure on the Board, Michel served with distinction as Chair and President of the Ontario Historical Society, Chair and founding member of the Ontario History Journal Committee; a sitting member of the OHS Development Committee; Chair of the OHS Nominations Committee; Chair of the Executive Committee; Chair of the Hiring Committee; and most recently, Chair of the OHS Strategic Planning Committee. Michel has also served as a judge for the OHS Honours and Awards program in a variety of different categories, and continues to serve the Society as a member at large on three of its Board sub-committees.

Twenty-three years ago, Colette Lepage (BEng.'99) graduated from Lakehead University with a degree in chemical engineering.

This week she was reflecting on how what she learned at Lakehead helped her work on the James Webb Space Telescope project.

Soon after graduating, the Sudbury-area native got a job as a contamination control engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

For years, Lepage managed the large "cleanroom" where much of the James Webb flight hardware was integrated.

It's where airborne and molecular contaminants are kept away from aerospace components during assembly and testing.

Late last year, Lepage participated in preparations for the launch of the JWST from the spaceport in French Guiana.

That three-month project utilized meticulous contamination controls.

She was present for the historic Christmas Day launch of the largest space observatory ever built.

Now, after seeing the astonishing images it has sent back to Earth, it's almost overwhelming for her to realize what the international team that worked on the project has accomplished.

"Pride, a sense of relief of course because it works, really excited about what the future holds, what discoveries will be unfolded. I mean, this can change the way humanity sees the universe," Lepage told TBnewswatch in an interview from her office in Maryland.

"How exhilarating!" she added.

Like most other people, she's impressed by the crispness of the images, describing them as beautiful and awe-inspiring.

Lepage looks forward to what the telescope teaches humankind about the universe in the months and years to come.

"For me, learning more about the exoplanets is one of the things that's most exciting. What can we learn about planets that are rotating around other stars in our galaxy? I can't wait to see what they come up with."

JWST is a collaboration of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

Lepage feels people everywhere should be inspired by the success of this partnership.

That teamwork, she said is one of the lessons she learned while going to school in Thunder Bay.

"As an engineer you're taught a lot of technical stuff, but there's a human element as well. You have to work well together," Lepage said. "Working hard, long hours, well into the night kind of carried forward into my career."

Although she's based in the U.S., she gets back home to Northern Ontario every so often to visit family.

During a recent shopping trip in Sudbury, a chance encounter with a stranger demonstrated to Lepage how people everywhere are intrigued by JWST.

After the man noticed the James Webb launch team T-shirt she was wearing, he initiated a conversation and was impressed on learning she actually worked on the project.

It turned out the man had a backyard telescope and knew quite a bit about JWST.

"I found it interesting that somebody was able to approach me and talk to me about it. It kind of inspires me to know the rest of the world was watching while all of this was happening, and that I was part of it," Lepage said.

"Sudbury is a small city in Northern Ontario but it reached everybody, which is so cool."

Source:  Tbnewswatch.com

Nighthawk Gold Corp. is pleased to announce the appointment of John McBride (HBSc.'08/MSc.'10) as the Vice President, Exploration. The Company has outlined its fully funded 2-Year Exploration Program at its district-scale property in Northwest Territories, Canada.

Keyvan Salehi, President & CEO commented, “We are excited to have John join the Company as our Vice President of Exploration, at a critical phase of advancement of our exploration assets in our district-scale land package in the Northwest Territories. Our Company will benefit from his extensive experience with two robust Canadian mining projects, namely the Valentine Lake Gold Project and the Marathon Palladium-Copper Project.”

“With the successful update to our Mineral Resource Estimate1 along with the additional cash on our balance sheet, we believe Nighthawk is strongly positioned to continue advancing our assets towards a large-scale, open-pit gold project. Our fully funded 2-Year Exploration Program will focus on continuing to expand and increase confidence in the higher-grade, open-pit mineralization of our deposits. Phase 1 drilling will commence on May 9th, and we look forward to updating the markets on results on a timely basis.”

Vice President of Exploration Appointment

Mr. McBride has approximately 15 years of experience in advancing exploration projects, particularly in field-based geology across Canada in the exploration for precious metals, base metals and diamonds. Most recently, John was the Exploration Manager at Generation Mining Ltd., where he led the exploration programs that were essential in advancing the Marathon Palladium-Copper Project, located in Northern Ontario, Canada, towards a definitive feasibility study. Previously, Mr. McBride was a Senior Exploration Geologist at Marathon Gold Corp., where he managed the exploration programs for the Valentine Lake Gold Project, located in Newfoundland, Canada, resulting in the expansion of the known open-pit mineralization of the project’s deposits. John graduated from Lakehead University with a HBSc. in Geology (2007) and a MSc. in Geology (2010) and is a member in good standing with the association of Professional Geoscientists in Ontario, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Taekwondo Canada, the governing body for the sport of taekwondo in Canada, is pleased to announce that Dr. Allan Wrigley (HBK'00/MSc.'02) has been named as the organization’s new High Performance Director.

Wrigley, a resident of Sooke, British Columbia, brings an extensive background in amateur sport to the position, with experience as a sport science and medicine leader in Canadian Olympic and Paralympic programming. Wrigley’s experience as the Integrated Support Team Director for Swimming Canada, as well as his work as the Senior Sport Biomechanist at the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific, saw him hold the responsibility for the oversight of applied strategy for sport science, sport medicine and innovation programs in collaboration with Canadian high performance sport partners.

Wrigley’s experience has also allowed him to participate in the development of high performance plans, team selection, carding criteria, Gold Medal Profiles, and athlete and program gap analyses to support an evidence-based approach to athlete development. Wrigley has worked closely with clubs, provincial sport organizations, and national performance partners to both define and reinforce the critical nature of performance pathways. A proponent of athlete and staff mental wellness, Wrigley was also the primary author and developer of Swimming Canada’s Mental Health Strategy that has seen the direct contracting of clinical support for the organization’s high performance programs.

Wrigley said of the announcement today:

“I am extremely excited to have this opportunity to lead Taekwondo Canada’s high performance programs. My overall vision is to support both current and future high performance athletes and coaches in a systematic and sustainable way that values the technical expertise that already exists within the Canadian taekwondo community. We will focus on continuous improvement across the athlete development pathway and provide the necessary support to help our top performers convert to Olympic medalists. On a personal level, over the past 10 years I have experienced the value of taekwondo in helping to shape both the physical and social development of my children, and I want to ensure that Canada’s high performance taekwondo athletes are well positioned to continue to inspire the next generation.”

Taekwondo Canada Executive Director Dave Harris said of the appointment:

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Allan as the new High Performance Director for Taekwondo Canada. His experience in amateur sport as well as his skill set in high performance will allow him to work well with our athletes and coaches, ensuring that they are being developed to reach the next level.”

The beginning of 2022 brought a new face to the McBride Community Forest Corporation. Patrick Penner (HBScF'15) stepped into his role on January 3, 2022 as the General Manager. Penner has begun a six month transition and training period where he will be working closely with outgoing Manager Ray Theissen.

Penner arrived in McBride in 2017 for a job doing forestry layout for Randy McFarland.

“I was working as a cruiser in Ontario on contract jobs, and the contracts dried up,” he said. “I started looking elsewhere and thought McBride was a good fit.”

Penner’s passion for trees and forestry began when he worked as a Forest Ranger in Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park when he was 16 years old.

He attended Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, the only school in Ontario that offered a Forestry program, where he specialized in Wood Products and Forest Marketing.

Since graduating from Lakehead, he has held jobs with several companies across the country, and has seen different management styles. Through these experiences, he has learned what methods work well, and which do not.

When the position with MCFC opened up he thought it was a great opportunity to take on a new role within the forestry industry.

“My hope is to not manage blind,” said Penner. “I want to learn at least a little about all the aspects of the organization so I can understand the big picture.”

“I am looking forward to working with MCFC to manage the forest by utilizing all aspects of it, not just parts.”

In the time since his move to the valley, Penner’s appreciation for the area has grown. He loves being outdoors and through both work and personal exploring has gained an appreciation for what McBride has to offer.

Having grown up in the small town of Kingsville Ontario, he is no stranger to a tight-knit community.

“McBride is smaller than Kingsville,” he said. “It is a good little community. It is easy to get to know people, and people are friendly.”

Source: www.therockymountaingoat.com

The new Commanding Officer for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Newfoundland and Labrador, Assistant Commissioner Jennifer Ebert (HBA'95), assumed her duties on April 25, 2022. She has served in various locations and capacities in her 25-year policing career, most recently as the Commanding Officer for the RCMP in Prince Edward Island.

"I am so pleased to have this opportunity that brings me to beautiful Newfoundland and Labrador and appreciate the warm welcome I've received," said Assistant Commissioner Ebert. "I look forward to visiting the RCMP locations throughout the province and connecting with our employees and partners."

Ebert was born and raised in London, Ontario and joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1997. Her career has included postings in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island, working in the areas of general duty policing, major crime, intimate partner violence and professional standards, among other areas. See her full biography in the Backgrounder below.

Assistant Commissioner Ebert holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in political science from Lakehead University, a Police Leadership Certificate from Dalhousie University, a Professional Leadership Certificate from the University of Regina and a certificate in NeuroLeadership from the NeuroLeadership Institute NY, as well as other professional police leadership certificates from the Australian Institute of Police Management and Charles Stuart University.

She lives with her husband and youngest child in the community of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's and looks forward to enjoying the coastlines, trails and culture of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Source: www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca