Keynote speaker and performers

Keynote speakers

Prasanna Ranganathan (he/him) 

Prasanna Ranganathan is a documentary producer, human rights lawyer, diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and belonging (DEIAB) consultant/advisor, speaker, author, correspondent, writer and arts columnist. Prasanna currently leads Prasanna Ranganathan Consulting, a consulting practice focused on DEIAB, Talent and Human Resources, and inclusive content.  Prasanna is the recipient of numerous awards including, most recently, the David C. Onley Award for Leadership in Accessibility. 

Proudly claiming his identity as a racialized, queer person with a disability (blindness), Prasanna is a board member of the Disability Screen Office and a past board member of Inside Out (the largest LGBTQ2+ film festival in Canada). Prasanna is a seasoned speaker, providing the annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) inclusion and accessibility workshop, speaking at the TIFF Industry Conference, delivering anti-bias and accessibility training to the Sundance Institute, and serving as a Guest Lecturer at the University of Southern California Annenberg Inclusion Initiative on inclusive storytelling. 

Prassana will deliver the keynote address There’s no place like home: Sharing stories, changing lives at the Opening Plenary. 

 

Rob Wesseling, President and CEO, Co-operators 

As President and CEO, Rob oversees Co-operators commitment to building a sustainable, resilient, and financially secure society for Canadians and their communities. Delivering on the organization’s strategy, he directs its ongoing evolution from an insurance-focused company to a holistic financial-services provider – one that offers multi-line insurance and investment products, and personalized advice. 

On the global stage, Rob is the Chair of the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) and its charitable foundation and is a member of the Insurance Development Forum (IDF) Steering Committee. He also shares his expertise on the Sustainable Finance Action Council (SFAC) and the Investment Advisory Board (IAB) of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). 

Rob holds a BA with distinction in Theoretical Mathematics and an M.Sc. of Applied Statistics from the University of Guelph. He also holds a Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) designation. 

Bob will deliver the keynote address at the National Business Meeting. 

 

Performers

 

Beny Esguerra 

Beny Esguerra arrived as a child to Tkaronto (Toronto, Canada) from Bacatá (Bogotá, Colombia) as a political refugee with his parents, who were involved in cultural work and human rights activism. Today, he is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist/producer, spoken-word poet, arts educator and community worker. In 2021, he was chosen as the laureate of the 2020 Ontario Arts Foundation Arts Educator Award. Most recently, his songs–from the 2022 JUNO nominated album Northside Kuisi–have been nominated for collaboration of the year at the 2022 International Indigenous Hip Hop Music Awards and have won Music to Life’s Hope Rises II song writing contest and international call for songs for social justice. 

Beny will perform at the Opening Plenary.