Self proclaimed ‘Canadian hockey mom’ Sheema Khan emigrated from India to Montreal at three years of age. Sheema enjoyed immersing herself in Quebecois culture and cheering for the Montreal Canadiens.

She earned her Masters in Physics and a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from Harvard University. She also completed post-doctoral research at MIT and McGill. She is trilingual in English, French and Urdu.

Sheema took on the science field as a research and development scientist and as an inventor of various drug delivery technologies. She is currently a patent agent for Shapiro Cohen LLP, an Ottawa-based intellectual property firm offering legal counsel.

Since 2002, Sheema has also offered commentary and insight into culture and religion in the Canadian landscape as a monthly columnist for the Globe and Mail. In 2009, a compilation of her columns was published in the book Of Hockey and Hijab: Reflections of a Canadian Muslim Woman.

In 2012, she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for service to Canada. In 2013, the Jeanne Sauvé Foundation celebrated Sheema’s columns on the intersection of culture, gender and religion in the contemporary landscapes. As the foundation’s keynote speaker, she challenged all Canadians to adopt inclusive practices.

Though she’s hung up her hockey skates, Sheema is often found on a soccer field both as a participant and as a coach.

Interested in Sheem’s take on our 2016 theme “Breaking Barriers”? Apply here by February 29th to be one of 250 audience members at our March 31st TEDxKanata event.

She is a serial entrepreneur, a role model, and a constant innovator. Her name is Janice McDonald, and she is a change agent in today’s business landscape.

You likely don’t even know it, but chances are you have bought or heard of a product from one of her companies. For me, it was a onesie for my daughter that read ‘iRock’ from McDonald’s company, iStyle Originals. How cute, I thought – a play on words adopting the Apple culture.

But it’s more than cute – it reflects McDonald’s ability to identify trends, and develop unique products with a broad appeal. It’s a testament to her entrepreneurial roots and successes.

It’s also not surprising that WXN recognized McDonald as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2013 and 2014. Or that she was awarded a World of Difference 100 Award in Washington from The International Alliance for Women and a National Leadership Award in 2011 from Canadian Women in Communications.

On March 26th, McDonald will be at TEDxKanata. You’ll want to hear what she has to say.

This blog post was written by TEDxKanata’s Director of Public Relations, Jennifer Stewart.

Mark is a seasoned leader of product teams, with experience in consumer electronics, automotive, and product design. His work has won international awards, including Best in Show in Automotive at CES 2012. He is a frequent presenter at technical and design conferences in Europe and North America.

He is fascinated both by emerging technologies and by the design challenges that these new technologies pose. His role as Playground Director at Fuel Industries in Ottawa gives him plenty of opportunity to stay ahead of the curve technologically, while staying grounded in human centered design principals.

As a young boy growing up on a farm in Southern Ontario, Jeremy Hansen turned his tree house into a spaceship. At the age of 12, he joined the Air Cadets and later became a CF-18 fighter pilot. A modern-day explorer, Jeremy has lived in underground caves, did geological training expeditions in the High Arctic and just generally craves adventure. On May 13, 2009, he was recruited by the Canadian Space Agency as one of two new astronauts after a year-long process.

While waiting for a flight assignment, LCol Hansen works as Capcom at NASA’s Mission Control Center—the voice between the ground and the ISS. He has recently acted as Lead Capcom for Expedition 39 as part of his current duties with the Training and Capcom branches. His responsibilities have also focused on establishing a new training program where astronauts simulate a week onboard the ISS to strengthen their expeditionary skills. In 2011–2013, he was assigned as Crew Support Astronaut for Expedition 34/35.

In addition to his day-to-day work, LCol Hansen remains committed to building and maintaining his skills; he takes training in spacewalk and robotics while continuing to learn Russian. He has taken part in geological expeditions in the High Arctic and participated in the European Space Agency’s CAVES program, during which he lived underground for six days. LCol Hansen also continues to fly the CF-18 fighter jet with the Royal Canadian Air Force and had the privilege to inspire young Canadians by flying the historical Hawk One F-86 Sabre jet.