Below are the latest episodes of Council Conversations! Each podcast has an accompanying blog post with information on the guest, their community and links to the topic items and data that was discussed. You can subscribe and download Council Conversations at your favourite podcast platform.
Latest Podcasts!
Episode 5.03 – Mayor Alison Warwick – Mayor of Thames Centre/Warden of Middlesex County
Alison has always had a strong interest in rural economic development and local tourism. She started her own business Warwick Equestrian Development Inc. in 1997. As an equine Canada certified coach she taught for many years as well as running a large boarding business and hosting annual horse shows. Alison also was a 4 H horse club…
Episode 5.01 – Aldo DiCarlo – Mayor of Amherstburg
Aldo DiCarlo (Born: October 26th, 1967) Personal Information Education Employment Elected/Appointed Roles A teaser below here the full conversation Thursday at 7pm To frame the conversation below are some topic areas.The first half of the show is standardized (more or less) with each guest talking through these themes. The second half of the show is…
Episode 4.04 – Stephen Mackenzie – President and CEO of Invest Windsor-Essex
Stephen MacKenzie is the President and CEO of Invest WindsorEssex responsible for advancing economic development to grow and sustain prosperity in Southwest Ontario, Canada. He has spent 27 years in economic development organizations in Connecticut, Nova Scotia and now Ontario. Prior to joining IWE, he served as the Executive Director of the Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise…
Episode 4.02 – Al Strathdee Mayor of St Marys
Al Strathdee was first elected Mayor in 2014 and is now serving his second term. He is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, with an Honours BA in History and Political Science and also is a graduate of the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Education. Al is a business small operator and has…
Episode 4.01 – Mayor Gary McNamara – Mayor the Town of Tecumseh and Warden Essex County
Born and raised in Cornwall, Ontario, Mayor McNamara and his family have called Tecumseh home since 1981. After working at Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd. as a Power Engineer for 28 years, Gary retired in 2011. He has been married to Heather for 47 years, is the father of two grown sons, and proud grandfather…
Episode 3.12 – Season 3 Recap
A look back on Season 3, the year and ahead on the podcast for 2022. You can listen at the link below on your favourite podcasting platform. You can listen here.
Episode 3.11 – Mayor Nelson Santos – Kingsville Ontario
Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos was first elected to Municipal Council in 1997 where he served two terms as a Councillor before becoming Kingsville’s first Deputy Mayor to be elected at large following the municipal amalgamations of Kingsville with the former Townships of Gosfield North and Gosfield South. Nelson Santos was elected Mayor of Kingsville in…
Episode 3.10 – Councillor Amy Martin, Ward 6 -Norfolk County
Amy Martin is a 33 year old, first term, municipal councillor for Ward 6 (Port Dover) in Norfolk County. Amy campaigned on being accessible and communicating with constituents and won with over 50% of the vote in her community. She’s the first female representative for ward 6. Teaser Tune in for the full conversation Thursday…
Episode 3.09 – Deputy Mayor Aakash Desai – Municipality of Grey Highlands
Aakash Desai moved to Canada in 2006 at the age of 15. Since then he has been a proud resident of Grey Highlands. He got involved in the public sphere in 2011 when he was elected to the Grey Highlands Chamber of Commerce Board. He was elected Vice-President in 2013. On April 29, 2014 Aakash…
Episode 3.08 – Jason Reynar – CAO of The City of Windsor
Rapidly improving our quality of life through local government innovation is Jason’s passion. As a lawyer and Chief Administrative Officer, he navigates through a haze of policy and regulation to find practical – sometimes disruptive – ways to deliver services, such as a public transit system powered by a ride-sharing app. Jason currently leads a team of…
Episode 3.07 – Shawn Micallef – Author and Columnist for the Toronto Star
Shawn Micallef is the author of Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto, Full Frontal TO, and The Trouble With Brunch: Work, Class and the Pursuit of Leisure. He’s a weekly columnist at the Toronto Star, a senior editor and co-owner of Spacing and teaches at the University of Toronto. His most recent book, Frontier City: Toronto…
Episode 3.06 – Megan Stacey – City Hall Reporter the London Free Press
Megan Stacey is the city hall reporter at The London Free Press. When not live-tweeting political debates or covering local government decisions, she also writes about social issues. She’s picked up Ontario Newspaper Awards for reporting on healthcare serial killer Elizabeth Wettlaufer, as well as the explosion that rocked London’s Old East Village. She lives in London…
Episode 3.05 – David Cassidy, President Unifor 444
Dave Cassidy is Unifor Local 444’s President representing 20,000 active and retired members in 31 workplaces that range from Automotive, Gaming, Energy, Transportation, Administrative, Waste & Recycle Management, Policing and Retirement Living. As a certified electrician, Dave is the Unifor National Chair of Trades, representing those working in the trades from the Pacific to the…
Episode 3.04 – Barb Swartzentruber – ED of Smart Cities Office, City of Guelph
Barbara Swartzentruber is currently the Executive Director of the Smart Cities Office at the City of Guelph. As winners’ of the Canada’s Smart City Challenge, the City and County of Wellington, are collaborating with public and private sector partners to create a data and technology enabled Circular Food Economy. Building on the principles of a…
Episode 3.03 – Bil Ioannidis – Ward 7 Councillor in the City of Kitchener
Bil was born and raised in Kitchener. He is a lifelong resident of Ward 7 where he currently lives, along with his wife Laura and his two children. Bil holds a degree from Carleton University and worked as a financial advisor with Investors Group where he specialized in retirement planning before turning his attention full-time to…
Episode 3.02 – Mayor Comiskey – Town of Ingersoll
The connections Mayor Ted Comiskey has to Ingersoll date back much farther than the beginning of his time of holding office. The Comiskey family came to Canada from Ireland in 1835, settling in the town now known as Ingersoll, Ontario. Growing up in Ingersoll, Ted attended Sacred Heart School and Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute, going…
Episode 3.01 – Michael Di Lullo CAO of Middlesex Centre
Michael Di Lullo was raised in London Ontario and attended Western University completing both his undergraduate and graduate schooling attending the Local Government Program. Michael has progressed as a Municipal Clerk onto a Senior Administrator with experience working across the Province in large urban such as Brampton to small rural in Huron County. He is…
Episode 2.12 – Season 2 Finale and Reflections
A discussion of my thoughts on Season 2 and a tease of Season 3 You can follow support Council Conversations on the following platforms.Twitter: https://twitter.com/SwoCouncilFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/SWOCouncilSupport on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/SWOCouncilWatcherLike or rate and leave a comment on your favourite podcast platform.Please like and comment where you get your podcasts! Music notesDeadly Roulette by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3625-deadly-rouletteLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Episode 2.11 – Mayor Darrin Canniff of Municipality of Chatham-Kent
Darrin’s passion is giving back to the great community he lives in. Besides co-chairing the 2018 International Plowing Match, Darrin is the past Chair of Mainstreet Credit Union, past Chair of Entegrus Inc., past co-chair of the United Way Campaign, past Director of the CKHA and past Chair of the Prosperity Roundtable. Darrin was first…
Episode 2.10 – Sarah Emons Councillor the Township of Southwold
Sarah grew up in the City of St. Thomas. She has a husband Theo and two sons – Alex and Nathaniel. Sarah has a BSc. Biology from the University of Waterloo and a MSc. Geography (Environmental Science) from Western University. Over the years, Sarah has worked for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Imperial Oil…
Episode 2.09 – Councillor Gary Kaschak – Ward 8 Councillor in the City of Windsor
Gary Kaschak was born and raised in the City of Windsor. As a lifetime resident of the city’s east end, Gary has come to know Ward 8 and the City of Windsor very well. He began his schooling at Coronation Grade School before graduating from W F Herman Secondary School. He continued on to post-secondary…
Episode 2.08 – Mayor Hilda MacDonald from the Municipality of Leamington
Born and raised in Leamington, Hilda MacDonald was elected Mayor of theMunicipality of Leamington on October 22, 2018. Mayor MacDonald servedas Leamington’s Deputy Mayor for one term and as a LeamingtonCouncillor for two terms. Mayor MacDonald sits on Essex County Council,and serves on many local boards as well as the Association ofMunicipalities of Ontario (AMO)…
Episode 2.07 – Stephen Bolton – CEO Libro Credit Union
The Head Coach since 2012, Stephen has been with Libro since 1988. He spearheaded the combination with United Communities Credit Union in 2013 while focusing on economic development in southwestern Ontario, while enabling and ensuring outstanding customer satisfaction levels. Stephen holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Windsor, and an Executive MBA from the…
Episode 2.06 – Mayor Aina DeViet of Middlesex Centre
Aina DeViet, was elected Mayor of Middlesex Centre in 2018 having served on Council since 2010 and County Council since 2016. In 2018, Aina was also elected to the Board of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and appointed as a County representative to the Board of Health (currently MLHU Vice-Chair, and Finance and…
Episode 2.05 – Councillor Jesse Helmer Ward 4 Councillor City of London Ontario
Sworn in as the city councillor for Ward 4 on 1 December 2014. He was re-elected in 2018 and is serving his second term on city council. He served as Deputy Mayor for two years, ending my term in Dec 2020. As a city councillor representing Ward 4 he considers his role as a legislator,…
Episode 2.04 – Deputy Mayor of London Josh Morgan
Josh Morgan is the Deputy Mayor of the City of London. He is an active member of the London community and was first elected to London City Council as Councillor for Ward 7 on October 27, 2014. He was re-elected to a second term on October 22, 2018 with support from 75% of voters. He…
Episode 2.03 – Deputy Mayor Kelly Elliot of Thames Centre
Kelly Elliott is the Deputy Mayor for the Municipality of Thames Centre, as well as Councillor with Middlesex County. She is a member of the Women’s Caucus of Middlesex County Council, Director with both the Ontario Good Roads Association and Federation of Canadian Municipalities and Board Member of the Middlesex-London Health Unit. She sits on…
Episode 2.02 – Dr. Zachary Spicer
Zachary Spicer is the Director of Research and Outreach with the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC). He holds a PhD in Political Science from The University of Western Ontario and began his career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Brock University after completing post-doctoral fellowships at the University…
Episode 2.01 – Dr. Mike Moffatt
Mike Moffatt is the Senior Director of policy and innovation at the Smart Prosperity Institute and an Assistant Professor in the Business, Economics and Public Policy group at Ivey Business School, Western University. In 2017, Mike was the Chief Innovation Fellow for the Government of Canada, advising Deputy Ministers on innovation policy and emerging trends.…
Episode 2.0 Prologue
In this prologue for Season 2, I thank all of the participants in Season 1. Share some of what I have learned and hope to improve. I announce I have launched Patreon so if you want bonus content, input on future conversations or just to support this work there is now a way to do…
Episode 1.07 – Armine Yalnizyan – Atkinson Foundation Fellow on the Future of Workers
Armine Yalnizyan is the Atkinson Foundation’s Fellow on the Future of Workers. She served as Senior Economic Policy Advisor for the Deputy Minister at Employment and Social Development Canada from 2018 to 2019. She helped lead the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Inequality Project from 2008 to 2017, and provided weekly business commentaries on CBC radio and…
Episode 1.06 – Councillor Nathan Colquhoun of Sarnia
Nathan is a director/owner of Storyboard Solutions, Refined Fool Brewing Company (author note: really good beer), Burger Rebellion and Cafe Mexico and city councillor for the City of Sarnia. You can follow Nathan on Social Media on Facebook and Twitter Hold for full episode To frame the conversation below are some topic areas. The first…
Episode 1.05 – Councillor Neil Anstett – Municipality of North Perth
I am pleased to be joined today by North Perth Councillor Neil Anstett. Neil was first elected to North Perth Council in 2018, and currently represents the Listowel Ward of North Perth. Neil currently serves on the North Perth Economic Development Committee, along with the North Perth Recreation Committee. Neil previously served as chair of…
Episode 1.04 – Councillor Eric Beauregard – Port Colborne On.
Eric Beauregard is a City Councillor of Port Colborne, and was first elected by his Ward Two constituents in 2018. Councillor Beauregard studied at Wilfrid Laurier University where he graduated with both his Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science. Currently, Councillor Beauregard is a licensed paralegal employed at Sullivan Mahoney…
Episode 1.03 – Councillor Chris Parker – Town of Tillsonburg
Chris Parker was born and raised in Tillsonburg. He has been married to his wife Rebecca for 4 years and they have a 2 year old Sheepadoodle named Teddy. He attended Durham College in Oshawa and graduated from the Law and Security Administration Program and is currently enrolled in the AMCTO Municipal Administration Program. Chris…
Episode 1.02 – Mayor Marcus Ryan Zorra Township
Marcus Ryan grew up in rural Clarington Township and attended Queen’s University where he graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has been married to his wife Theresa for 25 years and they are raising two children, Charlie and Fiona, near Uniondale. Marcus worked in the automotive industry for 10 years in a variety…
Episode 1.01 – Councillor Kelsey Santarossa
Kelsey Santarossa is a first-term councillor for the Municipality of Lakeshore, and when elected at 25 she became the youngest elected woman in municipal government in Ontario. Now 27, she is also working as a community engagement coordinator in settlement and workforce development, and is the founder and chair of the Youth Council Coalition of Canada,…
Episode 0.0 – Prologue – SW Ontario Council Project
Prologue – SWO Council Watcher Project Below you find the rough script of the prologue of the Prologue of the Council Conversation Podcast. You can listen below or on your favourite podcast platform OR you can read a summary! Welcome to Council Conversations, my name is Frazier Fathers the host of this podcast and initiator…
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