International Education Adviser for the Government of Scotland

Dr. Avis Glaze is one of Canada's outstanding educators and a recognized international leader in education. From classroom teacher to Superintendent of Schools and Director of Education, this award-winning educator has experience at all levels of the school system. She was one of five Commissioners on Ontario's landmark Royal Commission on Learning, setting directions for the future of the education system. As the Province's first Chief Student Achievement Officer and Founding CEO of the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, she played a pivotal role in working with educators to improve student learning, achievement and wellbeing. She served as Ontario's Education Commissioner and Senior Adviser to the Minister of Education. She taught in faculties of education (York and University of Toronto), and was appointed Professor in Residence at the Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa. Currently, she is President of Edu-quest International Inc., offering a wide range of educational services and speaking engagements across the globe. A highlight of her career was an invitation from Queen Sonya of Norway to address the issue of 'Can schools build better societies' with principals at her awards ceremony.

Dr. Glaze is a consummate capacity builder and inveterate learner who continues to take courses at every opportunity, for example, training in Visible Learning (Certified Trainer), Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and the assessment of emotional intelligence. She co-authored Breaking Barriers: Excellence and Equity for All, High School Graduation: K-12 Strategies that Work, and a series titled, Class Interrupted - strategies for system, school and classroom improvement. Her most recent book, Reaching the Heart of Leadership (2017) is a testament to her people-oriented and outcomes-focussed approach to educational leadership.

Avis has worked with educators in over 50 countries and (U.S.) states, receiving several honorary doctorates some 40 awards for international contributions, including the Robert Owen Award, the first of its kind offered in Scotland. She has served as International Education Adviser to organizations such as Curriculum Services Canada, Learning Forward, and to governments such as South Africa, New Zealand and Scotland.

Avis believes that this is the Golden Age of Education and that educators are strategically placed to enhance life chances and to work, with indefatigable zeal, to build upon their current successes. She encourages all those engaged in this noble enterprise to intensify their efforts to improve their schools with a sense of urgency. As engaged citizens, we have a responsibility to ensure that all students achieve to the maximum of their potential, regardless of background or personal circumstances. For her, students must become solution finders who are prepared to contribute to nation building and prosperity.

Ambassador Susan E. Rice served President Barack Obama as National Security Advisor and U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations. In her role as National Security Advisor from July 1, 2013, to January 20, 2017, Ambassador Rice led the National Security Council Staff and chaired the Cabinet-level National Security Principals Committee. She provided the President daily national security briefings and was responsible for coordinating the formulation and implementation of all aspects of the Administration's foreign and national security policy, intelligence, and military efforts.

As U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) and a member of President Obama's Cabinet, Rice worked to advance U.S. interests, defend universal values, strengthen the world's security and prosperity, and promote respect for human rights. In a world of 21st Century threats that pay no heed to borders, Ambassador Rice helped rebuild an effective basis for international cooperation that strengthened the United States' ability to achieve its foreign policy objectives and made the American people safer.

Ambassador Rice served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 1997 - 2001. In that role, she formulated and implemented U.S. policy towards 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and oversaw the management of 43 U.S. Embassies and more than 5,000 U.S. and Foreign Service national employees. Rice was co-recipient of the White House's 2000 Samuel Nelson Drew Memorial Award for distinguished contributions to the formation of peaceful, cooperative relationships between states. From 1993-1997, she served as Special Assistant to President William J. Clinton and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House, as well as Director for International Organizations and Peacekeeping on the National Security Council staff. From 2002-2008, Rice was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, where she conducted research and published widely on U.S. foreign policy, transnational security threats, weak states, global poverty and development. She began her career as a management consultant with McKinsey and Company in Toronto, Canada. She has served on numerous boards, including the Bureau of National Affairs, National Democratic Institute and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

Rice received her Master's degree (M.Phil.) and Ph.D (D.Phil.) in International Relations from New College, Oxford University, England, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She was awarded the Chatham House-British International Studies Association Prize for the most distinguished doctoral dissertation in the United Kingdom in the field of International Relations in 1990. Ambassador Rice received her B.A. in History with honors from Stanford University in 1986, where she was awarded junior Phi Beta Kappa and was a Truman Scholar. In 2017, French President Francois Hollande presented Ambassador Rice with the Award of Commander, the Legion of Honor of France, for her contributions to Franco-American relations.

A native of Washington DC, Ambassador Rice is married to Ian Cameron, and they have two children.

The YMCA of Greater Toronto is a charity that has been tackling the most critical health and social issues in the GTA for more than 160 years. The YMCA's research-based curricula and programs provide opportunities for personal growth, social development, leadership, and recreation in safe, caring, and welcoming environments - underpinned by a strong and active commitment to diversity and social inclusion.

This commitment manifests itself in the YMCA of Greater Toronto's partnership in the recently released Black Experience Project, its outreach initiatives to welcome and support Syrian refugees to the GTA, as well as its focus on using the Social Determinants of Health to guide the design and execution of its wide-ranging programs, including child care, employment services, education and training programs, immigrant services, youth leadership development, outreach and intervention, health and fitness programs, camps, youth housing, and volunteer development.

Serving the population of the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Peel, York, and Halton plus Dufferin County, last year the YMCA of Greater Toronto made 557,540 connections with people across 438 locations. Along with the support of donors and community partners, the YMCA's 5,734 full- and part-time employees and 5,268 volunteers are dedicated to delivering diverse and inclusive programs that build healthy communities.

The YMCA of Greater Toronto believes that everyone in the GTA should have the ability to realize their potential to stay healthy - physically, socially, and mentally. This critical mission means many things, including serving all ages and income levels, ensuring that children and youth have equal access to opportunities, and valuing the diversity of people and communities as assets that contribute to the social, political, and cultural enrichment - of the YMCA, the Greater Toronto Area, and beyond.