Neurodiversity is an umbrella term that includes Autism, ADHD, Learning Disabilities, and co-occurring mental health challenges. Individuals with neurodivergent brains may not think or behave in a ‘typical’ fashion. Yet, these differences are to be valued and accepted as an aspect of diversity rather than as abnormal or problematic. In this workshop, we will explore the strengths that neurodivergent employees can bring to your teams, how to identify the challenges they may face, and how you can accommodate their learning differences. From this workshop, you'll learn: Understanding of what neurodiversity is and how it impacts employment; Identify key areas where neurodivergent employees struggle and; Identify Accommodations for each subset of their struggle. Meet your facilitator: Keith Gelhorn, Founder & Chief Empowerment Officer, ADDvocacy ADDvocacy was started in 2012 as a social enterprise focused on supporting neurodivergent youth and adults navigating their transition to post-secondary, the workplace and/or entrepreneurship. We also facilitate peer-led professional development training for employers and educators on creating neuro-inclusive workplaces and classrooms.  

Strategic planning is a critical, but often flawed process for many companies – especially those in high-growth mode. This workshop will dissect some common pitfalls that leaders make during their strategic planning process and how to avoid them. We’ll take a kaleidoscope view of varying stakeholder perspectives on the strategic planning process and examine techniques and considerations for how to encompass those perspectives to maximize the effectiveness and buy-in of your strategic plan. In this workshop, you'll learn: Become aware of common pitfalls to avoid in the strategic planning process; How to take a multi-stakeholder approach to strategic planning to ensure success and buy-in and; Communication strategies to support organizational understanding and adoption of your strategic plan. Meet your facilitator: Mary Jane (MJ) Leslie, Founder & Principal Consultant, Chapter 3 Ltd.  MJ is the owner of Chapter 3 Ltd., a consulting company that specializes in helping start-up companies and small businesses overcome obstacles and achieve growth objectives. With a background in communications and a career spent building start-up companies, MJ works with clients to identify gaps and improve business operations within marketing, client care, sales operations, and communications.

Technology is complex. Managing it doesn’t have to be. Tech teams, projects and services are often black boxes to business owners. In this workshop, we explore how to navigate tech decision-making and strategy from the perspective of a non-technical founder or leader. We’ll discuss strategies for distilling technology choices down to plain terms your business understands. We’ll also cover high-level approaches to choosing a technology partner, and managing tech teams, projects and products. In this workshop, you'll learn: How to evaluate tech decisions in terms of risk & benefit, profit & loss; Methodologies for managing tech projects and how to choose what’s right for your situation and; How to choose a technology partner or vendor and how to measure success. Meet your facilitator: Gavin Mullen, Founder and Principal, Nellum Technologies Gavin has been building and leading software teams and projects for 20+ years and has worked with organizations ranging from small local businesses to multi-billion dollar transnational enterprises. Breaking through the jargon and complexity often associated with managing technology, he brings a simplified, plain language, business-first approach.