John Vaillant

John Vaillant is an author and freelance writer whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and The Walrus, among others. His latest book, Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast, is a #1 national bestseller. In addition to winning the Baillie Gifford Prize (UK) and the Writers’ Trust Shaughnessy Cohen Prize, Fire Weather was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award (US), and the Writers’ Trust Non-fiction Prize. It was named one of the ten best books of 2023 by The New York Times, among many other prominent publications.

John Vaillant is a keynote/plenary speaker at the 2024 Fall Parkland Conference, The Road Ahead.

Quinn Benders

Quinn Benders (he/him) is currently serving his second term as President of the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA), bringing years of union involvement to the role. His leadership is defined by a focus on member engagement, promoting equity and access, democratic renewal and building strategic alliances. Additionally, Quinn has a long-standing passion for community organizing with the hopes of fostering meaningful change.

Carissa Halton

Carissa Halton is an award-winning writer, speaker, and facilitator. Her writing has appeared in Today’s Parent, CBC, Postmedia newspapers and more.  Her 2018 book of essays, Little Yellow House: Finding Community in a Changing Neighbourhood, explores the resilience of her downtown Edmonton neighborhood where she lives with her family. In Fall 2025, her novel about the women at the forefront of clashes between Communist, Fascist, and government forces in the Crowsnest Pass will be published by NeWest Press.

Julie Hrdlicka

Julie Hrdlicka (she/her) has spent the past 25 years dedicated to community work, using her skills to build, collaborate, and organize for social change. She has lived and worked in Israel, served as a human rights observer in Iraq in 2003 and 2005, and was elected as a School Board Trustee for the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) in both 2015 and 2017. In 2024, she launched Conflict Revolution, a mediation and facilitation business.

Andy Longhurst

Andy Longhurst, MA, is a health policy researcher, political economist, and PhD candidate in the Department of Geography at Simon Fraser University. He is also a research associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Andy is a plenary speaker for the session "Healthcare in Crisis" on Saturday (Nov. 16), at 4:00 PM.

Nora Loreto

Nora Loreto is a writer and activist based in Quebec City. She’s the editor of the Canadian Association of Labour Media and a freelance writer who writes for magazines and online platforms across North America. The Social Safety Net (Dundurn 2024) is her fourth book. Nora co-hosts the popular podcasts Sandy and Nora Talk Politics with Sandy Hudson and The Daily New. She is the president of the Canadian Freelance Union.

Nora is a plenary speaker on Saturday, Nov 16, for the session "Can we save Canada's social safety net?"

Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah

Debbie is the Co-Director of Policy and Advocacy at Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights. Before joining Action Canada, she was the Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity (CCGSD) and has been instrumental in advancing the rights of 2SLGBTQ+ youth and communities. She has held several advocacy and policy-oriented positions in government and non-profit organizations, including Oxfam Canada and Global Affairs Canada.

Gillian Petit

Gillian Petit is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Calgary. She holds a PhD from the University of Calgary and a JD from Queen’s University. Her research focuses on Canadian income and social supports spanning several areas including tax policy, municipal policy, poverty policy, and access to justice. She has advised expert panels, published peer-reviewed journal articles and co-wrote a book on basic income. She works on intersectionality-informed, data-driven solutions to economic and social issues.

Ginetta Salvalaggio

Ginetta Salvalaggio is a practicing Edmonton family physician, Professor with the University of Alberta Department of Family Medicine, and Associate Scientific Director with the Inner City Health and Wellness Program. She co-leads a community based program of research with structurally vulnerable people who use drugs. Her academic interests include social accountability, co-design in healthcare, and partnered advocacy.

Ginetta Salvalaggio is a plenary speaker at our 2024 Fall Parkland Conference. Her talk on Sunday (Nov. 17) is entitled "Disinformation: The First Step in Dismantling Systems of Care." 

Kim Siever

Kim Siever is a labour journalist with The Alberta Worker, an independent, startup media outlet that focuses on labour and politics. He also uses his platform to advocate for the working class.

Jared Wesley

Jared Wesley is Associate Dean (Graduate Studies), a professor of political science, and member of the Black Faculty Collective at the University of Alberta.  He leads the Common Ground research team, which is examining the intersection of public opinion, political culture, and public policy in Western Canada.

Silas Xuereb

Silas Xuereb is a Researcher and Policy Analyst with Canadians for Tax Fairness and a Fellow with the World Inequality Database. His research on the causes and consequences of economic inequalities has been published by academic journals, Oxfam Canada, Campaign 2000, and the World Inequality Lab. Supported by a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship, he is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in political economy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.