Commissioner and Chief Administrative Officer, Pay Equity Commission, Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development
Commissioner Ward is a seasoned executive whose career has been characterized by successful collaboration across public, private and not-for-profit organizations to design and deliver inclusive economic growth strategies. Before joining the Pay Equity Commission in 2020, Commissioner Ward worked on implementing aspects of the Federal Government's "Feminist International Assistance Policy" where she increased women's participation in international trade, the labour market as well as equitable participation of men and women in their local economy. Her expertise has taken her around the world working with legislators to establish programs and legislation that support women-led micro and small enterprises. She is a Queens’s Diamond Jubilee Medalist, recognized for her work contributing to significant economic improvement in various Canadian cities. Commissioner Ward firmly believes that equity and inclusion are the foundation for sustainable economic prosperity.
Multicultural professional with several years of experience in the design, implementation, and management of international initiatives aimed to empower diverse groups worldwide. He is an expert at creating strategic partnerships and securing collaborations efforts across sectors. As Director of NGLCC Global Division, Erasmo works with LGBT chambers of commerce worldwide to share best practices, lessons learned, and create engagement opportunities with stakeholders from the international corporate and public sector, and multilateral organizations to advance supplier diversity initiatives, create awareness for diversity and inclusion (D&I) matters, and support the growth of LGBTI-owned small and medium enterprises (SME’s).
Erasmo has also conducted qualitative research work at the Brookings Institution, one of the world's leading Think Tanks, where his portfolio focused on analyzing illegal economic activities, sociopolitical challenges, energy, and security matters throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East, East Africa, and South East Asia.
Erasmo holds a Master of Science in Business and Financial Economics from the University of Greenwich in London where he resided for a few years. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He is originally from Lima, Peru and is fluent in English and Spanish.
journalist, blogger, writer
Senior Advisor, Acumen; Adjunct Professor, Strategic and Political Communications, American University, Acumen
Dan Morrison is a senior global communications and public affairs executive, thought leader, former Pulitzer-nominated financial journalist, and TEDx speaker working at the nexus of the public and private sectors, policy, strategic communications, economics, geopolitics, data, and technology. He is currently a senior advisor to Acumen Public Affairs in Brussels, and an adjunct professor of strategic and political communications at American University in Washington. He is an advisor/member to Diplomats Without Borders, and is a mentor at the Techstars start-up accelerator.
Dan has led diverse domestic and international teams for some of the world’s most recognizable brands in New York, Washington, Brussels, and Paris for Bloomberg, IBM, the U.S. State Department, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the Pew Research Center. He has had executive leadership training from Wharton, Harvard Business School, and the London School of Economics, and has completed a certificate course at Wharton on Artificial Intelligence for Business Strategies and Decision-making.
Dan is a Fellow at Ditchley, and a Member of the Bretton Woods Committee. When he's not immersed in communications and public policy, he is a novelist, a foodie (he took culinary classes at the Cordon Bleu, Paris), a cross-country ski marathoner, a certified Iditarod dog handler, and an oyster farmer.