John Ash, Chief, Integrated Public Safety Branch, City of Ottawa
John is the Chief of the Integrated Public Safety Branch for the City of Ottawa, which is composed of the City’s Office of Emergency Management and Corporate Security division. John’s responsibilities include, functioning as the EOC Director of the City’s Emergency Operations Center; and providing leadership to the City’s emergency management program, which encompasses HUSAR, CBRNe, corporate business continuity and exercise and training programs. John is also responsible for the protection of city assets and providing a secure workplace for City of Ottawa staff through the Corporate Security division. His experience includes: the planning and management of the City’s response to multiple World Summits and Presidential visits, as well as many local level emergencies and evacuations, and the coordination of the City’s support to Ottawa Public Health during the recent H1N1 pandemic. In addition, John is a member of the Conference Board of Canada’s Centre for National Security and Council on Emergency Management. He is also a visiting instructor for the Canadian Emergency Preparedness College; Past-President of the International Association of Emergency Managers- Canadian; a Canadian Standards Association Technical Committee member on the Emergency Management and Business Continuity Standard; and is one of three Canadian assessors for the emergency Management Accreditation Program. Finally he has written numerous papers in the Emergency Management field and has a M.A. in Leadership from Royal Roads University
Sergeant Tim Burrows
Tim Burrows is a sergeant with the Toronto Police Service – Traffic Services Unit. He has been with the Toronto Police for 20 years. He is the supervisor for the Communications and Media Relations Office of the Traffic Services Unit. The mandate of his office is to raise the awareness and enhance all forms of communication related to traffic issues within the geographical boundaries of Toronto.
He is committed to the goal of reducing collisions, injuries and death in Toronto using mainstream and emerging technology media with the simple philosophy that, “Road safety is everyone’s responsibility.”
Tim has turned to using Social Media as a tool to communicate traffic safety messaging to support historic lines of communication with the media, the public and the internal members of the Toronto Police Service.
He has presented to many organizations and associations on the use of Social Media and has been published and highlighted on such on-line resources as Cops2Point0, ConnectedCops, The Huffington Post, Mashable, Law Enforcement Magazine and The Chief.
Loretta Chandler, Director – Office of Emergency Management
Loretta Chandler joined the City of Toronto in early November 2009 to enhance strategic leadership and strengthen the City’s ability to mitigate, prepare, respond and recover from major emergencies. Loretta led the Office of Emergency Management in providing the overall strategic framework for the City of Toronto’s consequence management planning and operations for the G20 Summit. The plan outlined the City of Toronto’s decision-making structure during the event. During the actual G20 response Loretta was the EOC Director in the Emergency Operation Centre which was activated 24/7 for 8 days.
Loretta was previously the Manager, Emergency Management for York Region where she led the development of the Emergency Management Program to ensure annual regulatory compliance and to build a disaster-resilient community since 2004. She has led the customization and implementation of the Incident Management System to the Region’s Emergency Plan and Emergency Operations Centre, fostering effective working relationships in a complex multi-agency environment. Her team has also established the Business Continuity Program for York Region, a cornerstone of any effective emergency management program.
Loretta has demonstrated leadership and management skills and ability to lead change supported by over twenty six years of diverse experiences working with York Region and the Ontario Public Service. She has worked in the Office of the Fire Marshal and as an Executive Assistant to the Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Safety Division, Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services and for the Ministry of the Environment.
Loretta has a Masters Degree in Public Policy and Public Administration from the London School of Economics, London England, an Honours Degree in Political Science from York University, Toronto, Ontario and The Masters Certificate in Municipal Leadership, Executive Education Centre, Schulich School of Business. She holds Emergency Operations Centre Level 3 Certificates of Achievement from the Justice Institute of British Columbia in Operations and Planning and was awarded a Certified Municipal Manager III Emergency Management Professional designation in 2007.
Sandy Di Felice, Director, Toyota Canada Inc.
A career communications professional with over 18 years experience, Sandy Di Felice is the Director, External Affairs for Toyota Canada leading a team responsible for government and public relations. She is responsible for all aspects of government, industry, advanced technology and powertrain, public relations, and the promotion of Toyota’s corporate reputation in Canada.
Prior to joining Toyota, Sandy was Assistant Vice President Corporate Communications Division, Honda Canada, Inc., with advertising, corporate affairs and public relations responsibility for the Honda corporate, Honda automotive and Acura automotive brands in Canada.
Prior to joining Honda, Sandy was International Manager for Mitsubishi Motors North America with responsibility for Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Washington, Detroit and New York.
Through experience in corporate, agency, government and not-for-profit sectors, Sandy has built and managed international strategic communications programs focusing on brand/reputation, issues management and stakeholder relations.
Sandy’s strong and diverse communications background includes her experience with prestigious communications firm Fleishman-Hillard Canada. Sandy is a graduate of University of Toronto.
Major Rick Shirran, Salvation Army
Major Rick Shirran was born in Toronto in 1952. His parents moved with the family back to Newfoundland in 1954, where he received his education before joining the Canadian Navy in 1969. He spent 12 years in the Navy first as a Radio Operator than as a Communications Technician, achieving the rank of Petty Officer 2nd class before taking early release in 1981. In September 1981, Rick, along with his wife Jane and three children, entered The Salvation Army College for Officer Training and they were commissioned as a Salvation Army Officers in June 1983. What followed was 24 years of Pastoral Ministry with Salvation Army congregations in Ontario, Bermuda and Manitoba. It was during his time in Windsor Ontario, that Rick became involved in Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN), having carried on his interest in communication from his time in the Navy through the hobby of Amateur Radio. This led in 1996 to his acceptance of the voluntary position of Territorial SATERN Director for The Salvation Army Canadian & Bermuda Territory. While on the island of Bermuda, his interest in Emergency Disaster Services began to grow. On returning to Canada in 2004 and after spending three years in pastoral ministry in Winnipeg, Rick was appointed as the Territorial Emergency Disaster Services Director for the Canada and Bermuda Territory in June 2007.
He has participated as a Emergency Disaster Services responder to such major events as 911 at New York’s World Trade Centre, Hurricane Fabian in Bermuda and the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.
He is a world traveler, having visited over 22 countries in his Navy days and since becoming a Salvation Army Officer. He enjoys Ham radio, golf, woodworking and is a member of the Salvation Riders Motorcycle Club.
Deputy Chief Peter Sloly – Toronto Police Service
Deputy Chief Peter Sloly is in his 22nd year with the Toronto Police Service (TPS). Peter Sloly has a Criminal Justice Education Certificate from the University of Virginia, Incident Command System Certification from the Justice Institute of British Columbia, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from McMaster University and a Masters in Business Administration from York University’s Schulich School of Business. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the University of Toronto Rotman Police Executive Leadership Program.
Peter Sloly is presently in charge of Executive Command which has 410 civilian and uniform staff and an operating budget of over $31 million and is comprised of 3 pillars and 12 business units.
Peter Sloly is a member of the Ontario Association of Chief’s of Police (OACP), the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA), the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and the Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers (ABLEO).
Dara Zarnett
Dara Zarnett is a Senior Projects Specialist at the Toronto Central Community Care Access Centre. She is responsible for the management and coordination of several organizational projects, including emergency planning and preparedness. Before coming to the CCAC, Dara worked in an acute hospital as a Strategic Healthcare Analysts. She has a Masters of Science in Health Policy, Management and Evaluation from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Queen’s University, and.
Breakout Speakers
John Ash, Chief, Integrated Public Safety Branch, City of Ottawa
Sergeant Tim Burrows
He is committed to the goal of reducing collisions, injuries and death in Toronto using mainstream and emerging technology media with the simple philosophy that, “Road safety is everyone’s responsibility.”
Tim has turned to using Social Media as a tool to communicate traffic safety messaging to support historic lines of communication with the media, the public and the internal members of the Toronto Police Service.
He has presented to many organizations and associations on the use of Social Media and has been published and highlighted on such on-line resources as Cops2Point0, ConnectedCops, The Huffington Post, Mashable, Law Enforcement Magazine and The Chief.
Loretta Chandler, Director – Office of Emergency Management
Loretta was previously the Manager, Emergency Management for York Region where she led the development of the Emergency Management Program to ensure annual regulatory compliance and to build a disaster-resilient community since 2004. She has led the customization and implementation of the Incident Management System to the Region’s Emergency Plan and Emergency Operations Centre, fostering effective working relationships in a complex multi-agency environment. Her team has also established the Business Continuity Program for York Region, a cornerstone of any effective emergency management program.
Loretta has demonstrated leadership and management skills and ability to lead change supported by over twenty six years of diverse experiences working with York Region and the Ontario Public Service. She has worked in the Office of the Fire Marshal and as an Executive Assistant to the Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Safety Division, Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services and for the Ministry of the Environment.
Loretta has a Masters Degree in Public Policy and Public Administration from the London School of Economics, London England, an Honours Degree in Political Science from York University, Toronto, Ontario and The Masters Certificate in Municipal Leadership, Executive Education Centre, Schulich School of Business. She holds Emergency Operations Centre Level 3 Certificates of Achievement from the Justice Institute of British Columbia in Operations and Planning and was awarded a Certified Municipal Manager III Emergency Management Professional designation in 2007.
Sandy Di Felice, Director, Toyota Canada Inc.
Prior to joining Toyota, Sandy was Assistant Vice President Corporate Communications Division, Honda Canada, Inc., with advertising, corporate affairs and public relations responsibility for the Honda corporate, Honda automotive and Acura automotive brands in Canada.
Prior to joining Honda, Sandy was International Manager for Mitsubishi Motors North America with responsibility for Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Washington, Detroit and New York.
Through experience in corporate, agency, government and not-for-profit sectors, Sandy has built and managed international strategic communications programs focusing on brand/reputation, issues management and stakeholder relations.
Sandy’s strong and diverse communications background includes her experience with prestigious communications firm Fleishman-Hillard Canada. Sandy is a graduate of University of Toronto.
Major Rick Shirran, Salvation Army
He has participated as a Emergency Disaster Services responder to such major events as 911 at New York’s World Trade Centre, Hurricane Fabian in Bermuda and the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.
He is a world traveler, having visited over 22 countries in his Navy days and since becoming a Salvation Army Officer. He enjoys Ham radio, golf, woodworking and is a member of the Salvation Riders Motorcycle Club.
Deputy Chief Peter Sloly – Toronto Police Service
Peter Sloly is presently in charge of Executive Command which has 410 civilian and uniform staff and an operating budget of over $31 million and is comprised of 3 pillars and 12 business units.
Peter Sloly is a member of the Ontario Association of Chief’s of Police (OACP), the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA), the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and the Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers (ABLEO).
Dara Zarnett