Our past speakers

FWD50 conference features the world’s leading public servants, tech innovators and academics to share their knowledge and chart the course of digital government. Since 2017 we've welcomed hundreds of speakers from around the world that are paving the way in civic innovation. Learn more about all our speakers that have graced the FWD50 stage over the years!

2023 Speakers

Jennifer Pahlka

Author of "Recoding America: How Government Fails in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better"

The Honourable / L’honorable Anita Anand

President of the Treasury Board, Government of Canada

The Honourable / L'honorable Terry Beech

Minister of Citizens’ Services, Government of Canada

Nele Leosk

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador at Large for Digital Affairs, Department of Digital and Cyber Diplomacy, Estonia

Robyn Scott

Co-founder and CEO, Apolitical

Tom Loosemore

Partner, Public Digital

His Excellency Saeed Al Mulla

Executive Director, Customer Experience Affairs, Department of Government Enablement, Abu Dhabi

Dr. Alexis Wichowski

Professor of Professional Practice & Program Director, MS in Technologies, Columbia University School of Professional Studies

Gulsanna Mamediieva

CEO, Digitality GovTech Center of Excellence

Daphnée Nostrome

Head, Digital Talent Strategy, Benefits Delivery Modernization, Service Canada

Dr. Wafa Snaineh

President, Gov. Design Academy
Board Member, The International Foundation for Customer Experience in Government

Uchenna Moka-Solana

Founder & President, MokSol Impact LLC

Pooja Warier Hamilton

Chief Partnerships Officer, Apolitical

Sean Boots

Former federal public servant
Open government program manager, Government of Yukon

Andrew Greenway

Partner, Public Digital

Jacqueline Lu

President & Co-Founder, Helpful Places

Catherine Luelo

Chief Information Officer, Canada

Ryan Androsoff

CEO & Founder, Think Digital

Xiaopu Fung

Director, Product Design, Digital Credentials, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), Government of Canada

Melissa Tullio

UX Designer, Code for Canada

Aaron Snow

Fellow, Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation

Dorothy Eng

Executive Director, Code for Canada

Jorge Lopez

Vice President and Distinguished Analyst, Gartner

Meghan Hellstern

Facilitator & Trainer, Think Digital

John Houweling

Director Data, Analytics & Visualization Services, Corporate Services, Regional Municipality of York

Victoria Thibeau

Head of Management Consulting and Solutions, Application Services, Fujitsu North America, Inc.

James Duncan

Co-founder and Principal, Stance Global

Aaron Reich

Chief Technology Officer, Avanade

Mirko Kleiner

Thought Leader, Lean-Agile Procurement

Ebony Sager

Director Digital Strategy, Ontario Digital Service (ODS)

Kris Lovejoy

Global Practice Leader, Security & Resiliency, Kyndryl

Anna Hirschfeld

Director, Public Digital

Skaidra Puodžiūnas

Director of Ontario Relations, Council of Canadian Innovators

Angelica Quirarte

Federal Partnerships Director, Tech Talent Project

Wyatt Tessari L'Allié

Founder & Exec. Director, AIGS Canada

Matt Jukes

Head Coach, Digital by Default Academy

Benjamin Bergen

President, Council of Canadian Innovators

Honey Dacanay

Director-General, Digital Policy | Office of the Chief Information Officer, TBS

Alec McCauley

Chief Executive Officer, Thrive Health

Martha Edwards

Lead Service Designer, BC Public Service

Stig Parfrey

User Research Operations Lead, US Digital Response

Teresa D'Andrea

Chief Transformation Officer, Associate Deputy Minister’s Office, Enterprise Pay Operations, Public Services & Procurement Canada, Government of Canada

Long Dinh

Service Design Project Lead, City of Seattle

Tamara Srzentić

Fmr Minister of Digital, Media & Public Administration, Montenegro
Tech ambassador, entrepreneur & scholar

Sam Sebastian

Vice President, Google Cloud Canada

Jamie Joyce

Department Director, Internet Archive

Riley Ohler M.Ed

Service Designer | Client: Government of Alberta Seniors, Community and Social Services, J5 Design

Andrea Mills

Executive Director, Internet Archive Canada

Denise Gomes

Senior Director, CTO Branch Management, Shared Services Canada (SSC)

Stefanie Couture

Partner, Workforce Consulting, PwC Canada

Blair Neufeld

Executive Director, Product, Government of Alberta, Technology & Innovation

Isa David

Manager, Digital Talent & Leadership, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), Government of Canada

Kent Aitken

Director, Digital Academy, Canada School of Public Service

Dea De Jarisco

Senior Product Director, Digital Talent Careers, Government of British Columbia

Katy Lalonde

Assistant Deputy Minister of Digital Innovation and Product, Ontario Digital Service (ODS)

Hillary Hartley

Chief Executive Officer, U.S. Digital Response

Amy Kirtay

Director, Digital Strategy | Digital Investment Office, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Government of British Columbia

Dr. Liz Christie

a/Senior Policy Analyst, Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)

Andee Pittman

Human-Centred Design Lead , Treasury Board Secretariat

Phillip Bland

Global Government Advisor, Qualtrics

Elizabeth Dussault

Director, Channel Experience, Benefit Delivery Modernization, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)

Fernanda Araiza Guzmán

User Experience Leader, Mexico City's Digital Agency for Public Innovation (ADIP)

Lucas Cherkewski

Government of Canada

Vanessa Thomas

Government of Canada

Karen Hay

Digital Transformation Lead for Health Industry, Go-To-Market Strategist | Salesforce Public Sector

Nitin Vengurlekar

Chief Technology Strategist, Government & Education, Oracle

Richard Amos

Global Transformation Strategist, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

Rim Khazall PhD.

Senior Strategic Advisor, Canadian Border Service Agency

Kimberley Hutchinson

Senior Analyst, Digital Academy at the Canada School of Public Service

Jessica van Onselen

Director of Marketing and Communications, Apolitical

Chantal Smith

Founder Associate, Exponential

Neil Bouwer

Visiting Professor of Practice | Max Bell School of Public Policy

Anthony Pitfield

Senior Go-To-Market Lead for Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, AWS Canada

Anna Wong

Director, Digital Talent Development , Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), Government of Canada

Alexander Howard

Director of the Digital Democracy Project

Ramy Nassar

Founder, 1000 Days Out
Author, AI Product Design Handbook

Christine Lau

a/Director, Service Health, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Treasury Board Secretariat, Government of Canada

Aura Cifuentes

Digital Government Expert and Scholar, Columbia Institute for Global Politics

John Cousens

Managing Director, Public Sector Canada, Google Cloud Canada

Delta Flood

Impact Assessment Coordinator, Matachewan First Nation

Sean Power

Executive Officer & Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Indigenous Centre for Cumulative Effect (ICCE)

Marie-Ange Gravel, PhD

Senior Manager, Environmental Assessment Division, Environmental Protection Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada

Dr. Morgan Kahentonni Phillips

Indigenous (Kanien’kehá:ka) Research Consultant

Barbra Webber

Head of Digital Learning and Frameworks, Central Data and Digital Office, UK Government

Peter Near

Field Chief Technology Officer, VMware Canada

Brad Greyeyes-Brant

Senior Consultant, Daniel J. Brant & Associates

Jean-Clément Chenier

Senior Director, OEE/EETS, Natural Resources Canada

Mike Badour

General Manager – CRM Experience Transformation, Canada Post Corporation

Robert Butler (Host, Workshop stage)

Canada Free Agent: Senior Marketing Advisor, Global Affairs Canada

Amanda Bernardo (Host, Industry Innovations)

A/Director, Change Management and Service Design, Enterprise Transformation, Shared Services Canada (SSC)

Alistair Croll (Host)

Co-founder & Chair, FWD50

2022 Speakers

2021 Speakers

2020 Speakers

2019 Speakers

2018 Speakers

2017 Speakers

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