2026 Leadership Forum

About Chief Bill Fordy

Chief of Police Bill Fordy is a 35-year police veteran.

He previously served as Deputy Chief with the Niagara Regional Police for over 6 years, leading service delivery model reviews; enhanced engagement with the community; implementing business intelligence processes to streamline internal communication; developing and implementing a respectful workplace policy and workload study to measure the pressures placed upon our front-line police officers.

About Hamza Khan
Hamza Khan believes the future of work is more human, not less. He's on a mission to help organizations revolutionize leadership and rehumanize the workplace by adopting a bold "people first" approach. Khan is a two-time bestselling author and multi-award-winning entrepreneur whose TEDx talk "Stop Managing, Start Leading" has been viewed millions of times. As a world-renowned keynote speaker, he empowers audiences to amplify human potential through collaboration and technology while prioritizing long-term impact. Khan is the Co-Founder of SkillsCamp, an award-winning learning and leadership development company whose clients include FIFA, Shopify, Peloton, Deloitte, Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz, The United Nations, and hundreds of colleges and universities. These world-leading organizations trust Khan to enhance modern leadership, inspire purposeful productivity, nurture lasting resilience, and navigate constant change. Khan’s latest venture, Saige, is an AI-powered leadership development platform that upskills leaders for the wisdom economy. He is also a visiting scholar, top-ranked university educator, and the bestselling author of The Burnout Gamble: Achieve More by Beating Burnout and Building Resilience and Leadership, Reinvented. As a respected thought leader, his insights have been featured by notable media outlets such as Inc., Bloomberg, and Business Insider. 

Inspector Lina Dabit (Ret.)
Royal Canadian Mounted Police

About Lina Dabit

Lina Dabit joined the RCMP in 1994 and started her career in British Columbia where she spent thirteen years posted to detachments up and down eastern Vancouver Island. She was lucky for the opportunity to work a variety of duties ranging from uniform patrol, drug section, major crime, intelligence, border integrity, and running a police boat while working solo in the Gulf Islands.

After transferring to Ontario in 2008, she focused on organized crime and national security, and as an Investigative Interviewing Subject Matter Expert, she went on to establish the RCMP interview team in Ontario.

She was commissioned to Inspector in 2017 and became the commander of the Air Marshal Toronto Field Unit. In 2021, she was selected to lead the Cybercrime Investigative Team in Ontario. She is currently working to establish an innovative operational Cyber hub focused on collaboration between federal, international and private sector partnerships.

Leadership in Crisis - The Lapu-Lapu Festival Attack
Vancouver Police Department

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Panel Session
Police Leaders Navigating Change & Crisis: Experiences & Perspectives

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Speakers:
Chief Mark Crowell, Waterloo Regional Police Service
Chief Thai Truong, London Police Service
Deputy Chief Roger Wilkie, Halton Regional Police Service
Chief Cheryl Gervais, Treaty Three Police Service

Moderator: Paul Pedersen, OACP Executive Director

About Paul Pedersen 

Paul Pedersen started his role as Executive Director with the OACP on June 24, 2024. He has more than 40 years of exceptional experience in policing having served in senior leadership positions with York Regional Police and Chief of  Police of the Greater Sudbury Police Service.

Paul holds a Master of Public Administration from Western University along with a Diploma in Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University and is a graduate of Executive Leadership programs from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Business, the National Police Improvement Agency in the United Kingdom and the Senior Management Institute for Police through the Police Executive Research Forum in the United States.

Paul is a proud Officer of the Merit of the Police Forces and a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal and the Police Exemplary Service medal as well s being invested as a Member in the Order of St. John.

Paul is passionate about community engagement serving on the Board of St. John Ambulance as the Vice-Chair, the Chair of the Sudbury Food Bank, the Chair of the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics, and a past President of the Cambrian College Board. He participates in a wide variety of community events connection with diverse and multicultural communities all thorough the year.

Keynote Speaker - Dr. Geoff Leonardelli
Leadership & Resiliency

About Dr. Geoff Leonardelli

Geoffrey Leonardelli is a Professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management with a cross-appointment to the Department of Psychology. His research discoveries focuses on intergroup relations, self and identity, diversity, and interdependence. His research translations target how people can improve their leadership skills, team dynamics, and negotiator effectiveness. This work has been published in the Journal of World Business, Psychological Science, and Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. Geoff is Director of the Self and Identity Lab (SAIL). He serves as Associate Editor at Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, and sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology and Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology.

Crisis at Toronto Raptor's Parade

Toronto Police Service

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Panel Session

Critical Leadership: Women's Perspectives

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Speakers:

Superintendent Heather Lachine, Ottawa Police Service

Lauren Jackson, Chief Administrative Officer, Peel Regional Police

Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue, Toronto Police Service

Chief Superintendent Dana Earley, Ontario Provincial Police

Moderator: Inspector Valarie Gates, Barrie Police Service

Leadership Decisions Post-Critical Incidents

Peel Regional Police

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Keynote Speaker - Kevin Rempel
Mastering Leadership - A Framework

About Kevin Rempel

Kevin Rempel brings the Hero Mindset to every presentation.  He delves into change management, mental health, and resilience, delivering his inspirational message about adopting The Hero Mindset, where you focus on small things that make a big difference to help you too, become a hero in your own story.

After being paralyzed at the age of 23 in a motocross accident, Kevin not only learned how to walk again, but overcome the mental battle of depression, addiction and living with a disability to rebuild his life, and eventually reach the Paralympic podium as a medalist in sledge hockey.

Kevin also shares his experience in how both his freestyle motocross accident and his dad’s hunting accident that left each of them paralyzed with spinal cord injuries were preventable, and what lessons can be drawn upon to help employees recognize when to listen to their inner voice. These insights have also helped Kevin encourage organizations to create a culture of psychological safety where speaking up about mental and physical health is welcomed and encouraged.

Having lived the unimaginable, Kevin’s direct delivery style combined with compelling storytelling, grips audiences to their seat as they discover the unique qualities that Kevin has acquired exist within themselves. Raw and engaging, Kevin teaches mental resilience strategies to create healthy individuals and winning teams.

In addition to corporate presentations, Kevin is also a business coach for athletes and leaders using strategies from The Hero Mindset Blueprint to help build confidence, adopt healthy and predictable patterns, and accept radical responsibility in cultivating a confident and empowered mindset to drive results and embrace change.

Town Hall

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