Khalil Shariff has served as Chief Executive Officer of Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC), a leading Canadian global development agency, since 2005. He was previously with the Toronto office of McKinsey & Company, an international management consultancy, where he advised governments, financial institutions, and health care providers on strategy, organization, and operational improvement. He has also served in various research and policy capacities with the Harvard Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations. He currently sits on the Boards of the Global Centre for Pluralism, the Rideau Hall Foundation, and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and served a term as an elected School Trustee in his hometown of Richmond, BC, in his youth. He holds a B.A. from the University of British Columbia and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Irfhan Rawji is an investor and entrepreneur. He is Managing Partner at Relay Ventures, and Managing Partner at Realize Capital Partners. He is also the Founder & Executive Chair of MobSquad, an innovative Canadian firm that focuses on bringing technology talent from around the world to Canada.
Irfhan serves on the boards of The Logic (Chair), National Bank of Canada (TSX:NA), and Wilmington Capital Management (TSX:WCM). Irfhan is actively involved in civic affairs, currently volunteering as Board Chair of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, Board Chair of CIFAR, Board Member of Business and the Arts, Board Member of the Aga Khan Museum, Member of the Canada Council for the Arts, and Co-Chair of the $205MM Glenbow Reimagined capital campaign. Additionally, Irfhan serves as a member of the New Economy Advisory Committee of the Alberta Securities Commission, the National Advisory Committee of The Walrus, and is an Advisor to the Canadian Urban Institute, Windmill Microlending as well as Platform Calgary. Previously Irfhan has served on multiple other boards including the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada (Chair), Chatter Research (sold to Stingray Media, TSX:RAY), PBA Land & Development, Glenbow Museum (Chair), Sage Properties (Special Committee Chair; sold to Shepherd’s Care), imagiNation150 (Finance Committee Chair), Venture for Canada (Finance Committee Chair), Creative Calgary (co-Founder and co-Chair), Harvard Business School’s Global Alumni Board, Calgary’s Bid Exploration Committee for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Finance Committee Chair), The Organic Box (sold to Calgary Co-Op), and Canadian Western Bank (Special Committee Chair; sold to National Bank of Canada).
Irfhan holds an MBA with High Honors from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar, and also holds a BCom with Honours from the University of British Columbia where he was a Wesbrook Scholar. He is a recipient of The King Charles III’s Coronation Medal, The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, the Heart & Stroke Foundation’s Award of Merit, the Sauder School of Business’ Teaching Excellence Award, Business and Arts’ Arnold Edinborough Award, and UBC’s Alumni Builder Award. Irfhan is a Fellow of Glenbow Museum, was a Jarislowsky Fellow with the University of Calgary, and is a member of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 (2017).
A professional with a depth of corporate and non-profit experience, Zai Mamdani leverages her education and experience to provide strategic leadership and operational guidance. Zai holds a Bachelor of Arts in Human and Social Development from the University of Victoria and a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Development.
Zai is active in both the corporate and non-profit sectors. In the past, she has provided leadership and guidance at Strategic Group, the company she co-founded, in support of the organization’s vision for community partnerships and corporate sponsorships. Most recently, Zai has been the driving force behind the YYC Local Food Distribution Hub. Looking for ways to use philanthropic dollars to make a lasting economic impact, she established the YYC Food Security Fund, which raises money to finance innovative solutions to the systemic issues facing our community’s food security challenges. One of her current projects uses the philanthropic YYC Food Security Fund to incubate and organize a Local Food Distribution Hub. By understanding and addressing some of the barriers faced by the industry and supporting local farmers and producers to get their products to market, the distribution hub provides meaningful economic impact.
Zai has been a Board Member with The Institute for Canadian Citizenship over the past 4 years and is currently serving as Chair of the Governance Committee. She is also a Member of the Board of Governors for Glenbow Museum and with The Walrus. In addition, Zai is an active and valuable contributor to other non-profit organizations, including the City of Calgary, the University of Calgary Office of the Provost –Inclusion and Diversity Group, the Dean’s Advisory Group in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Calgary, and an active advisor to multiple Arts and Culture organizations in her capacity as a Community Leader and Advocate. Zai strongly believes that Arts and Culture are essential to inclusion and belonging.
Building upon the strengths of the organizations she is passionate about; Zai has a demonstrated track record of identifying and capitalizing on new opportunities and collaborations. She is passionate about organizations that promote vibrant, thriving, and inclusive communities. Participating in initiatives that advocate for food security and a minimum standard of living for all is an area of great interest to Zai. In particular, the “new Canadian” demographic from an aspect of belonging and inclusion and advocacy for new Canadian Citizens. She participates with the City of Calgary on several initiatives and advises the Mayor’s Office in brainstorming ways to activate a community action plan to impact social change. Zai is also a trusted advisor to the University of Calgary President’s Office.
Zai and her family live in Calgary, Alberta.
Martin Katz is Founder and President of Prospero Pictures. One of the most prolific feature film producers in Canada, Katz’s credits include Hotel Rwanda, which was nominated for three Academy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards, and Bronwen Hughes’ Stander, which the London Observer called “the greatest heist film since Reservoir Dogs.”
Maps to the Stars starring Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack and Robert Pattinson, represents Katz’s fourth collaboration with celebrated director David Cronenberg, following A Dangerous Method, starring Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender, Cosmopolis, starring Robert Pattinson, Paul Giamatti and Juliette Binoche, and Spider, starring Ralph Fiennes.
Katz’s most recent television project Spectacle: Elvis Costello With… is an Award-winning series co-produced with Rocket Pictures. It features some of the most renowned musicians in the world in conversation and performance with Costello, including Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Elton John, Norah Jones, James Taylor, Herbie Hancock, Lou Reed and Sting, among others.
Katz holds degrees in law from the University of Toronto and the Université de Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne) and has served as Professor of Law at the French-language Université de Moncton and as Special Lecturer in Intellectual Property Law at the University of Toronto. Katz is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, a Director of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and Chair of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.
John Ralston Saul is an award-winning essayist and novelist. His 16 works, including Voltaire’s Bastards, A Fair Country and The Comeback, have been translated into 29 languages in 38 countries. Saul is the Co-Founder & Co-Chair of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, President Emeritus of PEN International, and Co-Founder & Honorary Chair of French for the Future. He is a Companion in the Order of Canada and a Member of the Order of Ontario.
In A Fair Country: Telling Truths about Canada, he argues that modern Canada is profoundly shaped by Indigenous ideas. He is general editor of the Extraordinary Canadians biographical series and contributed his own biography of Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine & Robert Baldwin. In 2012, he published his first novel in 15 years, Dark Diversions: A Traveller’s Tale. The Comeback, his latest release, explores how Indigenous peoples are empowering themselves for a grand return to a position of power and influence.
Saul is President Emeritus of PEN International, and Founder and Honorary Chair of French for the Future. Saul is a Companion in the Order of Canada, a Member of the Order of Ontario, a Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France and an Officer in Germany’s Order of Merit. His many literary awards include Chile’s Pablo Neruda Medal, the Governor General’s Award, and the inaugural Gutenberg Galaxy Award.
The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Canada’s 26th Governor General from 1999-2005, is universally acknowledged to have transformed the office during her six years at Rideau Hall and to have left an indelible mark on Canada’s history. She is the bestselling author of the 2014 CBC Massey Lectures Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship, Heart Matters: A Memoir, Room for All of Us: Surprising Stories of Loss and Transformation, and a biography of Dr. Norman Bethune. She has made the astonishing journey from a penniless child refugee to an accomplished broadcaster and distinguished public servant in a multi-faceted lifetime and has received numerous prestigious awards and honorary degrees in Canada and abroad.
In 2005, Madame Clarkson co-founded the Institute for Canadian Citizenship to help new citizens in Canada integrate into Canadian life. In 2006, she established the Clarkson Cup, the championship trophy for Women’s Hockey. Since 2007, she has been the Colonel-in-Chief of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. A Privy Councillor and Companion of the Order of Canada, she lives in Toronto.
