Dinner Program

Hannah is a writer, storyteller, policy expert, and social media's inspirational best friend known by 120K people as @healthbyhannahb. Hannah focuses on inspiring and teaching women and queer people to be confident in themselves and their bodies. The Hannah Says podcast has many five-star reviews, and they have worked with global brands including UNIQLO, Vega, the BBC, and Neutrogena. Hannah thrives on rendering complex topics understandable. With an MSc. in Public Policy majoring in Social Change and Sustainability, Hannah combines an accessible and equity-based lens with an entertaining one to provide viewers with practical techniques to build self-confidence and improve their world.

Heidi Berger is the founder and president of The Foundation for Genocide Education, based in Montreal. She is also an award-winning video producer and former professor of communications at Concordia University in Montreal, and the child of Holocaust survivors. The mission of the Foundation is to ensure that the history of genocide is taught to every high school student in Canada. The Foundation has collaborated with the Quebec Ministry of Education and university professors on a universal guide on teaching about genocide which is now available online in English and French to every high school in the province and across Canada, reaching over 300,000 students. Our school presentation program includes survivors of genocide or their descendants, including those from the Holocaust as well as the Armenian, Rwandan, and First Nations communities. Heidi has been giving her own presentation based on her late mother’s video testimonial since 2009.

Heidi is an example of how the power of one person can make a difference in this world.

Josie is in her final year of her undergraduate degree, majoring in Criminology with a Certificate in Globalization and Governance. From an early age, she has been engaged in her community and has volunteered with various organizations. Most recently, Josie has become an active member of her local Hillel and Jewish Federation’s Community Relations Committee. Josie has had the honour of co-moderating a discussion with author and activist Ben Freeman and meeting with local politicians to discuss issues affecting the Jewish community. When confronted with anti-Israel views on campus, she strives to explain why such views are harmful and bring another perspective to the table. Her passion for public service and love of Judaism and Israel have inspired her to make positive change wherever she can.

A twenty-year veteran of the Canadian journalism industry, Mike is the Executive Director at Honest Reporting Canada, and is responsible for the day to day running of the organization, its media relations, financial management and project development. Mike’s focus is on delivering efficiency and professionalism as HRC moves into new technological and geographical spheres that includes the expansion of our media monitoring services in 2021 to include social media and Arabic-language Canadian news outlets, along with the launch of our Montreal office this past January that sees HRC scrutinize and engage with French-language journalists in la belle province. 

Mike was a former editor-in-chief, reporter, and anchor of various news programs and publications. A graduate of Carleton University’s renowned journalism program, Mike specialized in broadcasting and international reporting. 

Mike has testified before parliamentary committees and has given testimony to the Standing Senate Committee for Transport and Communications to express HRC’s concerns about the CBC’s reporting of Israel and the Middle East. Mike’s opinions and views are widely sought out for by Canada’s media and political elite. Mike’s work has been published in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, La Presse, Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen and many more. Mike is an occasional columnist for the National Post and the Times of Israel. Mike was previously recognized as one Canada’s Top 20 Under 40 Canadian Jewish leaders due to his dedication and significant contributions to Israel advocacy. 

Mike is also the immediate past President of the Village Shul and Aish Hatorah Learning Centre. 

Cary Kogan is a full-time professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Ottawa and the co-chair for the Network of Engaged Canadian Academics (NECA). NECA was inspired by the US-based not-for-profit Academic Engagement Network and shares a similar mission, that is, to promote academic freedom and freedom of expression, combat antisemitism, support research, education, and robust dialogue about Judaism and Israel in the academy, and oppose the denigration of Jewish identity on post-secondary campuses.

Professor Ayelet Kuper is a physician and interdisciplinary scholar whose work connects education, medicine, and health policy, known for her research about, and advocacy for, education for health equity in solidarity with many marginalized groups. Responding to rising antisemitism, she has expanded this work to focus on the experiences of Jewish learners, staff, and faculty members at academic and healthcare institutions as well as the downstream risks to Jewish patients and their families. A Harvard and Oxford graduate and Rhodes Scholar with a doctoral degree in Holocaust literature in addition to her medical and social science training, Professor Kuper is a faculty member at the University of Toronto.

Lisa Levitan is an award-winning educator taking immediate action to combat the normalization of antisemitism in schools. Passing unprecedented motions, changing policies and procedures, and creating numerous social media platforms, Lisa produced the first Jewish  Equity Coach position in the world, right here in our Nation's Capital. Ensuring that Never Again is more than just words, Lisa created Rise Up Ottawa reminding Jewish students, staff, and families they were not alone and that we belong…everywhere. Lisa continues to be a tireless and trusted advocate for our Jewish community confirming that even when all odds are stacked against you, the power of one is not to be overlooked.

“We must not hide. We must not run away. We must not combat hate with hate. We must Rise Up. TOGETHER. Because Never Again is right now.” LL 

Tim Uppal is the Member of Parliament for Edmonton Mill Woods and the Deputy Leader for Canada’s Conservatives. 

He previously served as a Minister in Stephen Harper’s Conservative government. 

Tim’s Private Member’s Bill C-442, The National Holocaust Monument Act, established the Canadian National Holocaust monument entitled Landscape of Loss, Memory and Survival, which was unveiled in 2017. 

Born in British Columbia and raised in Edmonton, Tim earned his MBA from the Ivey School of Business. 

He comes from a hardworking Canadian family who emigrated from Punjab, India. Tim and his wife Kiran are enjoying raising their three children: Kirpa, Nihal, and Fauja.