Vancouver Institute

Susan Mertens is a respected arts critic, cultural commentator, and educator with an extensive career in both Canadian and international arts media. Her insightful art commentary has appeared in numerous publications and has been featured on radio and television broadcasts. As a senior art critic for the Vancouver Sun, she was introduced to the work of Jack Shadbolt, leading to a professional friendship that spanned twenty-five years. During her tenure as a Shadbolt Fellow at Simon Fraser University, she authored Jack Shadbolt: In His Words (2024), an edited collection of his poems, letters, and journals. Her project aims to bring Shadbolt’s legacy to life through a unique performative piece that integrates his words, sketches, and personal images. Ms. Mertens was born
in Toronto and educated at the universities of Carleton, Guelph and UBC in Canada, and the University of Cambridge, England, in philosophy.

Dr. Marina von Keyserlingk is internationally renowned for her research on the welfare, care, and housing of dairy cows and calves. Her work has set new standards in agricultural animal welfare, providing science-based solutions to improve the lives of animals in production settings. Before joining UBC’s Animal Welfare Program, Dr. von Keyserlingk worked as a research scientist in the animal feed industry. In 2018, she received the prestigious Hans Sigrist Research Prize from the University of Bern for her scientific contributions to sustainable animal-based food production. Dr. von Keyserlingk is also a director on Canada’s National Farm Animal Health and Welfare Council. She is committed to student mentorship and training in animal welfare science and supports the development of young scientists through collaborations with other institutions and programs such as the Emerging Leaders of the Americas Program.

Carol Off is a renowned reporter covering Canadian and international current affairs. She was the co-host of the multi-award-winning CBC radio program, As it Happens. A prolific writer, she wrote the best-seller The Lion, The Fox, and the Eagle: A Story of Generals and Justice in Yugoslavia and Rwanda (2000), The Ghosts of Medak Pocket: the Story of Canada’s Secret War (2005), Bitter Chocolate (2006), and All We Leave Behind: A Reporter’s Journey into the Lives of Others (2017), winner of the BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, and the 2018 Ontario Historical Society’s Huguenot Society of Canada Award. Ms. Off has been honoured with a Gemini (2002), a Television and Radio Artists’ John Drainie Award for Distinguished Contributions to Canadian Broadcasting (2008), and a Gabriel Award (2016). Her latest book is At a Loss for Words: Conversation in the Age of Rage (2024).

Dr. Daniel Heath Justice, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, is a leading scholar in Indigenous cultural and literary studies. His research explores questions of nationhood, kinship, and belonging, with a growing focus on intersections between Indigenous literatures, speculative fiction, and other-than-human peoples. His latest work is the co-edited anthology Allotment Stories: Indigenous Land Relations Under Settler Siege (2022). His book Why Indigenous Literatures Matter (2018) received the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Award for Subsequent Book published in 2018, and the 2019 PROSE award. In recognition of his contributions to Indigenous literary studies, Dr. Justice was awarded the UBC Killam Research Prize in 2015, and in 2010 the Ludwik and Estelle Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize at the University of Toronto. Other publications include Our Fire Survives the Storm: A Cherokee Literary History (2006), and The Oxford Handbook of Indigenous American Literature (2014).

Blair Thomson is an accomplished composer and orchestral arranger, celebrated for his recent 75-piece composition for orchestra and choir commemorating the centenary of Jean-Paul Riopelle, which was recorded and premiered by the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM) in 2022.
His work spans orchestral, ensemble, theatre, dance, opera, musical theatre, and film and television compositions. He has crafted over 250 arrangements for orchestras and ensembles, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Cairo Symphony Orchestra, CBC Radio Orchestra, I Musici de Montréal, l’Orchestre symphonique de Québec and the OSM. His notable commissions include compositions for Musica Camerata Montréal, Pentaèdre, Quatuor Claudel, l’Orchestre Métropolitain and the OSM. In 2014, his “La Symphonie rapaillé,” based on Gaston Miron’s poetry, won the prestigious Félix award for the category “Reinterpretation,” and his arrangements for Half Moon Run with the OSM in 2017 were lauded as groundbreaking.

Ronald Deibert is a global expert in digital technology, security, and human rights, known for his groundbreaking work on cyber security. His latest book, Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society (2020), based on his Massey lectures, won the 2021 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. He is also the author of Black Code: Surveillance, Privacy, and the Dark Side of The Internet (2013), along with numerous influential articles, chapters, and reports on internet censorship, surveillance, and cybersecurity. Dr. Diebert’s work has earned prestigious honours, including the University of Toronto’s President’s Impact Award (2017), Foreign Policy’s Global Thinker Award (2017), the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award (2015), the Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity (2014), and the Advancement of Intellectual Freedom in Canada Award from the Canadian Library Association (2014). He co-founded and was a principal investigator of the OpenNet Initiative and Information Warfare Monitor projects.

Dr. Lisa Tobber specializes in sustainable structural design and seismic resilience, developing systems for mid-rise and high-rise buildings that enable low-damage responses to major natural disasters and the climate crisis. Dr. Tobber leads the Build Better Cluster (BBC) research group, dedicated to advancing innovative construction materials and methods, particularly in precast concrete systems, to improve building safety and seismic performance. As the Principal’s Research Chair in Resilient Buildings, Dr. Tobber collaborates closely with industry and government agencies to generate practical, evidence-based solutions that enhance the sustainability and resilience of urban infrastructure. Her work is helping to set new standards in engineering practices in Canada and internationally. Dr. Tobber is also a champion for female engineers as the Principal’s Research Chair in Women in Engineering.

Dr. Heidi Tworek’s research examines the history and policy of communications, focusing on how new media technologies impact democracy. Her interest in democracy was spurred by writing her prize-winning book, News from Germany: The Competition to Control World Communications, 1900-1945 (2019). Dr. Tworek’s insights have been featured in major outlets including The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Politico, The Globe & Mail, The Financial Times, and CNN. She also contributes a monthly column for the Centre for International Governance Innovation, where she is a senior fellow. Additionally, she is a non-resident fellow at both the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Dr. Tworek co-edits the Journal of Global History and is a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s New College of Scholars, Artists and Scientists.

Dr. Christine Hughes’ research primarily focusses on HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI), including their prevention and treatment. She is also dedicated to expanding the role of community pharmacists in sexual health, with particular emphasis on STBBI screening, treatment, and vaccine administration. A member of the Canadian HIV and Viral Hepatitis Pharmacists (CHAP) Network, Dr. Hughes is an editor of the HIV/HCV Drug Therapy Guide drug interaction app. A prolific scholar, she has received several awards and recognitions for her practice and teaching, including the M.J. Huston Pharmacist of Distinction, and the Canadian Pharmacists Association Patient Care Achievement Award in Specialty Practice.