8:00 AM

Welcome, Goals, & Program Preview

Stephen M. Curtis PhD, Greater Philadelphia Leadership Exchange Co-Chair, President, Community College of Philadelphia 

8:30 AM

Keynote Address:

Peace, Order, & Good Government: Grounds for a Global City

Lifelong politician, urbanist, and civic reformer Mayor Crombie will set the stage for our exploration of Toronto’s evolution into a world class place to live, work, and play by highlighting the core strengths and beliefs that have made such a transformation possible.

The Honorable David Crombie, Mayor of Toronto (1972-78), Member of the Candadian Parliament for Toronto Center (1978-88)

Introduced by:

Donald F. Cowles, Principal, North Highland

Presented by North Highland

9:00 AM

Panel Discussion:

14 Years After Amalgamation: Toronto as a Region

In 1998, the City of Toronto merged with adjacent municipalities to form a larger, and in theory, more efficient city and region. We’ll discuss the aims of amalgamation and how it’s working.

Panelists:

Hon. David Crombie, Former Mayor of Toronto §

Enid Slack, Director, Institute on Municipal Finance & Governance, Munk School of Global Rooms Pier 4/5 All agenda items are subject to adjustment Page 2 Affairs, University of Toronto §

Michael Thompson, Councillor for Scarborough, City of Toronto

Moderated by:

Steven T. Wray, Executive Director, Economy League of Greater Philadelphia

10:30 AM

Panel Discussion:

Immigration & Workforce

Toronto is more diverse than any other North American city. In fact, half of it’s population was born outside of Canada. This panel will discuss how Toronto adapts through a constantly growing stream of newcomers and how newcomers acquire cultural and professional competency in this global metropolis. §

Panelists:

Zabeen Hirji, Chief Human Resources Officer, Royal Bank of Canada §

Ahmed Hussein, Director of Programs and Services, Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office §

Ratna Omidvar, President, Maytree §

Anne Sado, President, George Brown College

Moderated by:

Julia Deans, Former CEO, Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance, and Chair, Expert Roundtable on Immigration

12:00 PM

Emerging Leaders Luncheon

We’ll learn what’s new in Toronto’s leadership scene straight from the source as special guests Mitzie Hunter, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Toronto Civic Action Alliance, and Tamara Balan, program director for the Emerging Leaders Network and DiverseCity Fellows program, introduce us to the up-and-coming leaders of their Emerging Leaders Network and their DiverseCity Fellows who will be joining us at our tables for lunch. 

Introduced by:

Nancy Alba Dunleavy, CEO, Dunleavy & Associates

Presented by Dunleavy & Associates

1:30-5:15 PM 

Regional Explorations - Day 1

Group 1: Innovation & Entrepreneurship 

We'll visit two nodes on the Canadian innovation and commercialization continuum that are establishing international best practices in their fields.

Introduction by:

Stephen M. Curtis PhD, Greater Philadelphia Leadership Exchange Co-Chair, President, Community College of Philadelphia

Presented by Community College of Philadelphia

MaRs Discovery District 

Building Canada’s Next Generation of Growth Companies §

Earl Miller, Director, Strategic Partnerships, MaRS §

Adam Spence, Manager, Special Projects, MaRS Centre for Impact Investing §

Karen Greve Young, Director, Strategic Initiatives, MaRS § Leaders of companies in residence

Moderated by:

Stephen S. Tang PhD, Greater Philadelphia Leadership Exchange CoChair, President & CEO, University City Science Center 

Presented by the University City Science Center

Ryerson University's Digital Media Zone

Creating Jobs & Stemming Brain Drain: Supporting Student Entrepreneurs §

Valerie Fox, Executive Director, Digital Media Zone §

Hossein Rahnama, PhD, Research Director, Digital Media Zone §

Student entrepreneurs in residence

Moderated by:

Stephen M. Curtis PhD, Greater Philadelphia Leadership Exchange CoChair, President, Community College of Philadelphia

Group 2: Arts, Community, & Neighborhood

In addition to being one of the centers of the film universe and a hub for high culture, Toronto is a place where the arts knit disparate communities together. Learn about collaborative efforts to create and sustain community through cultivation of creativity and the arts. 

Harbourfront Centre: Tour and Panel Discussion

Creating & Sustaining Community Through the Arts §

William Boyle, President & CEO, Harbourfront Centre §

Claire Hopkinson, Executive Director, Toronto Arts Council, Toronto Arts Foundation, Neighbourhood Arts Network §

Lori Martin, Senior Cultural Affairs Officer, City of Toronto

Moderated by:

Michael Norris, Vice President of External Relations, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance 

SKETCH: Tour and Activities 

Working Arts for Street-Involved and Homeless Youth §

Phyllis Novak, Founder & Artistic Director §

Youth and artist volunteers

6:00-8:00 PM

"O Canada" Cocktail Reception

Participants will join leaders from Toronto’s business and civic communities at the top of TD Bank’s Mies van der Rohe-designed global headquarters for a networking cocktail reception with a stunning view and a uniquely Toronto theme.

Remarks by:

Rick Altman, Economy League of Greater Philadelphia Chair, Executive Vice-President & Chief Operating Officer, Radian Group, Inc.

Presented by TD Bank Canada

8:00 AM

Monday Recap and Story Sharing

Steven T. Wray, Executive Director, Economy League of Greater Philadelphia

8:30 AM

Panel Discussion:

Challenged by Growth: Toronto & Mobility

Toronto's transportation landscape is familiar: sprawling suburbs, crushing rush hours, an aging transit infrastructure no longer reflective of commuters' needs. A new umbrella group, Metrolinx, was created to improve the situation. We'll do a status check. §

Paul Bedford, Chief City Planner Emeritus, City of Toronto §

Eric J. Miller, Director, Cities Centre & Professor, Civil Engineering, University of Toronto §

Steve Rohacek, Vice President, Business Development & Lending, Infrastructure Ontario §

Leslie Woo, Vice President, Policy, Planning, and Innovation, Metrolinx

Introduction by:

Charnelle Hicks, President, CHPlanning Ltd.

Moderated by:

Patty Elkis, PP, AICP, Deputy Planning Director, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission 

Presented by CHPlanning Ltd. 

10:00 AM

Panel Discussion:

Toronto's Global Image

While some of the attention may be organic, a lot of work goes into maintaining a presence in the global marketplace. We’ll talk with a spectrum of those involved with establishing and maintaining Toronto's profile. 

Renato Discenza, President & CEO, Invest Toronto §

Janet Ecker, President, Toronto Financial Services Alliance §

Joel Peters, Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, Tourism Toronto

Moderated by:

Danielle Cohn, Vice President, Marketing & Communications, PCVB

11:30 AM

Featured Speaker:

What it Takes to be a Successful Global City-Region

Golden's experience in assessing what makes a city globally competitive is unparalleled, having served as President of the United Way of Greater Toronto, Chair of the Greater Toronto Area Task Force, and author of Mission Possible: Successful Canadian Cities for the Conference Board. She’ll discuss what it takes to become just such a region.

Anne Golden, President & CEO, Conference Board of Canada

Introduction by:

Robert J. McNeill, Partner-in-Charge of the Audit Practice for the Greater Philadelphia Region, Deloitte

1:45-5:00 PM

Regional Explorations - Day 2

Group 3: Toronto's Waterfront & Development

Explore one of N. America’s largest and most innovative infrastructure redevelopment projects: Toronto’s revitalization of its 2,000 acre waterfront amidst a slew of political interests, decades of planning attempts, an elevated highway, and the added pressure of rapid population growth.

Toronto Waterfront: Tour and Panel Discussion §

Joe Berridge, Principal, Urban Strategies §

John Campbell, President & CEO, Waterfront Toronto §

Ken Greenberg, Principal, Greenberg Consultants

Moderated by:

Thomas P. Corcoran, President, Delaware River Waterfront Corporation

Group 4: Re-Creating a Community at Regent Park

This 64-acre social housing community is undergoing tremendous re-vision and redevelopment, made possible by innovative partnerships and thoughtful, community-centered planning.

Regent Park: Tour and Panel Discussion §

Remo Agostino, Director of Development, The Daniels Corporation §

Tom Burr, Project Director, Toronto Community Housing §

Tim Jones, President & CEO, Artscape §

Natasha Stephens, Manager, Centre for Social Innovation, Regent Park

Moderated by:

Farah M. Jimenez, Greater Philadelphia Leadership Exchange Co-Chair, President & CEO, People's Emergency Center

7:00-9:00 PM

Dine-Arounds

Hosted by:

Camden County College, Deloitte, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp, Jefferson University Hospitals, Mercator Advisors, ParenteBeard, People’s Emergency Center, Radian, Scattergood Foundation, Select Greater Philadelphia, United Healthcare

Discuss what you’ve learned so far with fellow Exchange participants over dinner at a unique Toronto restaurant.

8:00 AM

Tuesday Recap and Story Sharing

Steven T. Wray, Executive Director, Economy League of Greater Philadelphia

8:30 AM

Featured Speaker:

The Next Niche Economy: The Service Class

“Official Statistician of the Creative Class” Kevin Stolarick will share new research around regional growth and prosperity.

Kevin Stolarick, Research Director, Martin Prosperity Institute Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

Introduction by:

Kevin Dow, Deputy Commerce Director, Commerce Department, City of Philadelphia

9:30 AM

Closing Address:

Visioning Toronto

A former corporate lawyer Rahul Bhardwaj has been working to engage philanthropy to address Toronto’s challenges. He'll share his insights on the future of the region.

Rahul Bhardwaj, President & CEO, Toronto Community Foundation

Introduction by:

Jill M. Michal, President & CEO, United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania

10:30 AM

The Big Takeaways

Steven T. Wray, Executive Director, Economy League of Greater Philadelphia

Steve will lead an exploration of lessons learned and discussion of how to bring the innovative ideas we’ve heard back to Greater Philadelphia.