Women's Symposium

Marissa Teeter is a senior executive, business builder, entrepreneur, strategist, coach and advisor with more than 20 years of experience building businesses, leading teams, navigating change and driving growth. She has worked inside and alongside large organizations, entrepreneurial businesses and start-ups, with responsibility for people, performance, growth and results.

Today, Marissa advises leadership teams, coaches executives, entrepreneurs and financial professionals, and speaks to audiences of all sizes. She has moderated conversations and interviewed leaders including Wayne Gretzky, Dan Levy, Hayley Wickenheiser, Robin Roberts and former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Her work and community involvement have been recognized with an IIAC Top 40 Under 40 designation, a Women in Finance Award finalist nod, three YMCA-YWCA Women of Distinction Awards and a SUCCESS Magazine Woman of Influence nomination. A lifelong learner, she has completed executive education at Harvard, Wharton, Georgetown and Rotman, appeared on CBC’s The Dream Team and hosts her own podcast, Teeter Talks.

Marissa helps successful people and organizations step back from the day-to-day, ask better questions and get clear on what they want success to make possible. She believes success should not be endlessly chased, but intentionally used to create greater impact, more choice, stronger relationships and more of what matters most.

Marty Deacon was appointed to the Senate of Canada on February 15, 2018. Before joining the Senate, Senator Deacon completed a 35-year career in education, holding a Master of Education from Western University. She taught physics, science, and physical and health education in Waterloo Region secondary schools and at the University of Toronto and Western University, and worked as a consultant and as an elementary and secondary school administrator, finishing her career as a Superintendent. She then consulted across sectors with a focus on organizational excellence.

While raising two daughters, Kristine and Kailee, with her husband Bruce, Senator Deacon volunteered extensively in her community and internationally, earning respect in sport and education. Beginning as an Apprentice Coach at the 1994 Commonwealth Games, she has coached, led or served at 15 Olympic, Commonwealth and Pan Am Games, most notably leading Team Canada as Chef de Mission at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. She recently served as a Director with the Canadian Olympic Committee, Commonwealth Games Canada, the Ontario Excellence Leadership Centre and the Grand River Jazz Society. Her many honours include the YWCA Women of Distinction and Lifetime Achievement Award, the International Olympic Committee Education and Youth Award, the Jules Nisse “Playground to Podium” Award, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, and induction into the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame and the Cambridge Hall of Fame.

Senator Deacon is passionate about the physical and mental well-being of all Canadians and is an advocate for the future of women, young girls and children worldwide. She has mentored leaders in developing countries, believing that sport, the arts and education can build better communities, one community at a time. Dedicated to helping organizations thrive, she has supported governance and policy development in a meaningful, purposeful and respectful way, and she brings her skills and experience to fostering an inclusive, inviting and meaningful connection for all Canadians. She believes all perspectives need to be heard and understood, and values taking risks, courageous conversations and learning every day. Senator Deacon enjoys time with family and friends, exploring the world as a global citizen, hiking, cycling, yoga, quiet reading and music.

A passionate advocate for many causes, Christina is committed to community engagement, meaningful initiatives, and making a positive difference. She brings enthusiasm, strategic thinking, and a collaborative approach to leadership, organizational development, and logistics.

Christina holds an Honours degree in Criminology from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Arts in Leadership from the University of Guelph’s Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics.

Christina recently retired following a distinguished 23-year career with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), where she held diverse tactical and operational intelligence roles spanning Customs and Excise, Financial Crime, Drug Enforcement, and National Security. Throughout her career, Christina played a pivotal role in establishing and advancing the Criminal Intelligence Program in the RCMP’s Central Region (formerly O Division RCMP), contributing to its national development while mentoring and supporting the professional growth of dozens of intelligence analysts and supervisors. In 2018 Christina became the first Divisional civilian manager overseeing intelligence analysts and supervisors in Central Region, a position which she held up until her retirement in May 2026.

Susan Lambden is an experienced sales professional who has lived and worked in the Guelph community for over 30 years. She holds an Honours Degree in Biochemistry and Nutrition along with a Bachelors of Education. Susan brings to the table experience in owning and running her own small business, which she operated for a number of years. Further, she has dedicated countless hours volunteering with the Upper Grand District School Board, sitting on various committees including health and safety, boundary realignments and principal designations. Susan was actively involved in her children’s school Parent Council, organizing extracurriculars, fundraising events and tutoring programs for the students and school community.

Susan suffered the personal tragic loss of her son, Nicholas Lambden, in 2007. She was successful in finding bereavement support for herself, but was made aware of the lack of programs available for her daughter throughout their bereavement journey. Since then, she has found fulfillment in providing peer support to those who have also lost their children. She is most passionate about giving back to the community through her son’s foundation, which serves to support less fortunate youth through sports, education, and the arts.

Susan looks forward to supporting The Nightingale Centre’s mission in ensuring that bereaved children and youth will have a safe space to access the support and counselling that they need.

Madison is a strategic, purpose-driven leader in her active roles across the home building industry and not-for-profit sector. With over ten years of direct business and marketing experience across a number of industries, engaging in both business-to-business and business-to-customer settings, Madison has an innate ability to consistently deliver measurable results while building meaningful connections.

In 2022, Madison embarked on her journey in the continuation of her family business at Terra View Homes, where she now plays a key role in the strategic operational planning and implementation of various sales and marketing strategies for sustainable new home communities in Guelph and across southwestern Ontario.

Madison is a strong advocate for the charitable sector and an active volunteer in her community. In 2019, she co-founded The Nightingale Centre for Grieving Children, Youth, and Families after suffering the tragic loss of her brother, Nicholas, when she was 13 years old. She currently holds the position of Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors at The Nightingale Centre, where she also operates in various capacities across programming, fundraising, marketing and community engagement to boost grief literacy.

Throughout her career, Madison has witnessed the benefit of collaboration and connection in building healthier, compassionate, vibrant and more resilient communities. Her unique perspective, bridging both for-profit and not-for-profit sectors, has uniquely positioned her to positively contribute to the growth and support of communities on various levels.

Jodi has worked in, and with, Community not for profits for over 30 years.  Jodi was a director at one of the largest Community Hospice in Ontario for 9 years. She was the creator of the HUUG (Help Us Understand Grief) Program, a one to one/group support program for children and families living with illness, grief and death; a program model which has been adopted by other hospices across the province.  Jodi initiated a regional grief collaborative called the Children and Youth Grief Network (CYGN) which became the catalyst for the development of a national collaboration – the Canadian Alliance for Grieving Children and Youth.  

In all of her past and current roles, Jodi has seen the benefit that connection has especially in grief.  In one of her current roles as the Director of Camp Erin Toronto, she is honored to have witnessed the transformative impact that results when children and youth living with the death of a significant person in their life are connected, supported and given the space to talk about their experience.

Jodi has always been a volunteer sharing her time with organizations that have intersected with different stages of her life.  She is currently a volunteer on two boards and also with a number of local sports organizations. 

Jodi is a long-time resident of Georgetown, the town that she and her family call home.  

Dr. Kelly Anderson is a physician with fellowships in emergency medicine and HIV. She completed the Bookends Novel Fellowship, the Gateless Writing Academy, and is a certified Gateless writing teacher.

She led writing courses for over two thousand women inside her award-winning nonprofit, Understory, designed to bring doctors back to themselves and their instincts. She spent fifteen years working in the Inner City Family Health Team at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, and built the clinical team at Felix Health.

Kelly spent much of her childhood in British Columbia, and now lives in Guelph, Ontario with her husband and sons.

The Wild Beneath is her first novel.