AI Summit: Speakers
Attend engaging and insightful conversations with a diverse community of AI experts from across industries.
Ana Serrano
Panelist
Ana Serrano is President and Vice-Chancellor of OCAD University, co-founder of DemocracyXChange, and an award-winning leader in digital media and cultural innovation. She previously founded the CFC Media Lab and IDEABOOST at the Canadian Film Centre, and has helped shape national conversations on democracy, technology and culture.
David Fleet
Panelist
David Fleet is Principal Scientist and Site Lead for Google DeepMind in Toronto, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Toronto and CIFAR AI Chair with the Vector Institute. His research spans computer vision, machine learning, image processing, visual neuroscience and computational biology. In 2026, David was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Fartash Haghani
Panelist
Fartash Haghani is Director of Enterprise Data and AI at the City of Toronto, where he leads the enterprise data and AI portfolio for one of North America's largest municipalities. He brings a background spanning software engineering, data science and AI product development, including senior leadership as Associate Vice President of Applied AI and Data Products at Canadian Tire Corporation.
Grace Lee Reynolds
Panelist
Grace Lee Reynolds is CEO of MaRS, leading the organization through its next phase of growth and impact. With nearly 30 years of experience in public, private and philanthropic sectors, Grace is passionate about fostering economic potential and social impact through innovation and placemaking. Since 2010, MaRS-supported ventures have raised $19 billion in capital and contributed $29.6 billion to Canada’s GDP.
Ivey Chiu
Moderator
Ivey Chiu is Head of AI Research Partnerships & AI for Good at the TELUS AI Accelerator, where she leads projects in human-AI interaction, people analytics and sustainability. She collaborates with leading research organizations and has been recognized by the Global Generative AI Association, Women in AI and TELUS for her work and leadership.
Jackson Leween Two Bears
Panelist
Tékeniyáhsen Ohkwá:ri (Jackson 2bears) is a Kanien’kehà:ka (Mohawk) artist and cultural theorist from Six Nations of the Grand River and Tyendinaga. 2bears is currently Associate Professor of Art Studio and Indigenous Studies, Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Indigenous Arts Research & Technology, and Director of the Onkwehonwe Research Environment (ORE) at Western University.
Jacqueline Lu
Panelist
Jacqueline Lu leads Helpful Places, a social impact enterprise advancing Digital Trust for Places and Routines (DTPR), an open standard that makes the use of data, sensors and AI legible to the public. The standard is now advancing through a formal development process with the Standards Council of Canada. Jacqueline also serves as Urbanist-in-Residence at the University of Toronto's School of Cities.
Javier Ruiz-Soler
Panelist
Javier Ruiz-Soler, PhD, is a Senior Technology and Policy Advisor at the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario with a PhD in Political Science from the European University Institute. His expertise spans responsible AI, privacy and digital policy. A former CIGI Fellow, he works at the intersection of innovation, public policy and democratic governance, advancing trustworthy AI.
Katherine Hay
Panelist
The Honourable Katherine Hay, appointed to the Senate of Canada in 2025, is a leader in health, innovation and social impact. Former President and CEO of Kids Help Phone, she champions AI, emerging technologies, the brain economy and youth mental health, bringing a solutions-focused perspective to Canada’s future.
Kathryn Hume
Panelist
Kathryn Hume leads AI Engineering at the Vector Institute. Prior to joining Vector, she held multiple technology leadership roles in financial services and AI, including Tangerine Bank, RBC and Borealis AI. She held leadership roles at AI startups integrate.ai and Fast Forward Labs. She has served as a guest lecturer and adjunct professor at the Harvard Business School, Stanford and the University of Toronto.
Layla El Asri
Moderator
Layla El Asri is Director of Machine Learning Research at RBC Borealis in Toronto. She leads research in responsible AI as well as projects exploring how to apply generative AI in the financial domain. She is also a sessional lecturer for the Rotman Master of Management Analytics where she teaches about Generative AI.
Manjula Selvarajah
Emcee
Manjula Selvarajah is a national technology columnist and guest host for CBC Radio. As the host of the podcast Solve for X, she explores the latest Canadian tech innovations shaping the world and their impact on society.
Mary Wells
Panelist
Dr. Mary Wells is Dean of Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Mary was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2026 and served on Canada’s federal AI Strategy Task Force. She is a member of the TRuST Collective, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, and served as Chair of Engineering Deans Canada.
Moe Hosseini-Ara
Moderator
With more than 30 years of public library experience, TPL City Librarian and CEO Moe Hosseini-Ara has led transformative projects including expanding hours, modernizing branches and strengthening safety and security. He believes public libraries are essential to bridging the digital divide and providing equitable access to emerging technologies and skill-building programs.
Pamela Robinson
Moderator
Dr. Pamela Robinson FCIP RPP is a professor at the School of Urban & Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her current research asks: how should we rightsize Canadian municipal AI governance and how do we engage the public in AI governance? She is an Advisor on TPL’s Innovation Council and serves on the Board of Directors for the Metcalf Foundation.
Patricia Thaine
Panelist
Patricia Thaine is Co-Founder, Chief AI Officer and Chair of Limina (formerly Private AI), a Microsoft-backed company whose technology is used by some of the world's largest enterprises to build and deploy AI safely. A World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and a Maclean's Power List honouree, she has spent over a decade building machine learning systems in regulated industries.
Sarah Yaffe
Moderator
Sarah Yaffe is the inaugural leader of TPL’s Centre for Democracy, a space designed to equip Torontonians with the understanding, capabilities and confidence required for meaningful and active civic engagement. For more than 20 years, she has directed teams and major initiatives in equitable community building. Sarah currently serves as President of the Board for YWCA Toronto.
Sean Caffrey
Panelist
Sean Caffrey is Executive Director of the University of Toronto’s Acceleration Consortium, an initiative building self-driving labs that use AI and automation to accelerate scientific discovery. He co-led the Consortium’s development, securing a $200M grant, and has more than 15 years of research administration experience and leadership across sectors.
Sean Mullin
Panelist
Sean Mullin is a Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, where his work focuses on AI, sovereignty and economic competitiveness. Sean previously served as Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada for Economic Affairs. He also founded and led the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship.
Shion Guha
Panelist
Shion Guha is an Assistant Professor of Information and Computer Science at the University of Toronto, Director of the Human-Centered Data Science Lab, and Faculty Advisor on AI and Cities at the School of Cities. His work has shaped federal AI governance in Canada and is cited in the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and the UNDP Human Development Report.