The Vancouver Institute

Tanya Talaga is an investigative reporter for the Toronto Star, and has been nominated five times for the Michener Award in public service journalism. Her book Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death and Hard Truths in a Northern City won the 2017 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, the 2018 RBC Taylor Prize for non-fiction, and the First Nation Communities Read: Young Adult/Adult Award.

A special cello and piano performance by Dr. Santa J. Ono, the President and Vice-Chancellor of UBC, and his brother Dr. Momoro Ono, an Adjunct Professor of Fine and Performing Arts at Creighton University. Special location only for this lecture: UBC’s Old Auditorium.

André Picard has written extensively on Canadian public health issues. His most recent books include A Matter of Life and Death: Public Health Issues in Canada, and The Path to Health Care Reform: Policies and Politics.

For over 40 years Dr. Scott McIntyre has been an active promoter of the Canadian cultural industry. He was a founding partner of Douglas & McIntyre Publishers, which during his tenure published some 2000 books.

Dr. Javier Corrales’ research focuses on democratization, presidential powers, foreign policy, and sexuality. He has published extensively on Venezuela, Cuba, and Argentina for academic outlets as well as The New York Times.

Dr. Robert Butler’s research interests include the social behaviour of crows, ecology of herons, and migration of birds. He has delivered public lectures at scientific conferences in Canada and around the world.

Dr. Lisa Cooper’s research interests include the history of archaeological exploration and archaeological practice in “Greater Mesopotamia” (ancient Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey), particularly in the early 20th century. She is currently part of the Central Zagros Archaeology Project in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Dr. Mark Tyndall is a Professor of Medicine at the School of Population and Public Health at UBC. Dr. Tyndall has fostered a number of community-based collaborations that have led to change to health policies, and has advocated for enhanced harm-reduction interventions and the de-criminalization of drug use.

The Honourable Louise Arbour, O.C., G.O.Q., L.L.D., Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, has published extensively on criminal law and given innumerable addresses on both national and international forums.

Dr. Oliver is a prolific scholar writing on a variety of feminist themes such as the ethics of surrogate motherhood, reproductive technologies, affirmative action, adoption, family values, and war.

Dr. Kelsey conducts research into emotional responses to the culture of “doom and gloom” that permeates environmental issues. Her work has appeared in New Scientist, BBC Wildlife, Conservation Magazine, and numerous online sites.

Ms. Off is a renowned reporter covering Canadian and international current affairs. She wrote the best-selling book 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) and Bitter Chocolate (2006).

Dr. Owen is the founder of the international affairs media platform OpenCanada.org. Prior to his appointment at McGill, Dr. Owen was Assistant Professor of Digital Media and Global Affairs at UBC, and Research Director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University.

Dr. Cameron co-founded the Institute for Future Legislators at UBC, the world’s first school for politicians. His most recent book, Political Institutions and Practical Wisdom (2018), explores how to cultivate the character and judgment necessary to become a wise practitioner.

Dr. Tolstoy is a prolific researcher. Her findings have been published in distinguished peer-reviewed scientific publications, such as Science and Nature magazines.

Prof. Silverman’s career spans more than five decades. A former director of UBC’s School of music, he has played with the Chicago, Sydney and BBC (London) Symphonies, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as every major orchestra in Canada.

Before joining Science Magazine in 2016, Dr. Wadman was a freelance reporter covering biomedical research — including gene therapy, Alzheimer disease and autism — for Nature, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Dr. Khan is a prolific author and community activist. Her first crime novel, The Unquiet Dead (2015), won a Barry Award and the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel.

Speaker: Professor Andrzej Weber, Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta Dr. Weber is the director of the Baikal-Hokkaido Archaeology Project, an international multidisciplinary team of scholars…

Dr. Foster is a Canada Research Chair in Quantitative Proteomics, and recipient of the 2017 Genome BC Award for Scientific Excellence. His research identifies disease resistance genes in bees and covers such topics as pathogen invasion, infection and the mapping of protein interactions.

The Honourable Steven Point (Xwĕ lī qwĕl tĕl) is a member of the Skowkale First Nation. He was first elected Chief at age 23 in 1975. Since then, he has served as chief for a total of 15 years.

Professor Wade Davis is an award-winning anthropologist, ethnographer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker.