Peter Harder is senior policy advisor to the Fraser Milner Casgrain law firm. He possesses a wealth of expertise in public policy as a result of his involvement at the centre of government decision making for over thirty years. Prior to joining FMC, Peter served for many years as a deputy minister in a number of federal departments, including Treasury Board, Solicitor General, Citizenship and Immigration, Industry and Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He is a member of a number of boards of directors and charitable organizations, including the United Church Foundation.

Bill Janzen recently retired from 33 years as director of the Ottawa Office of Mennonite Central Committee Canada (MCC). In this capacity he did advocacy work on a range of domestic and international issues of concern to MCC.  He also represented MCC on various coalitions including Project Ploughshares, Kairos, the Commission on Justice and Peace of the Canadian Council of Churches, the Canadian Council for International Cooperation, and the Social Action Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. His education includes a Ph. D in Political Science from Carleton and MA degrees in International Affairs and in Religion from Carleton and the University of Ottawa. He is married and has two adult children.

Kathy Vandergrift chairs the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children and is writing a Master’s Thesis on Public Ethics at St. Paul’s University. She was chief of staff for a mayor in Edmonton, Alberta, and then worked on Parliament hill during the 1990’s.  On the international level, Kathy worked to improve protection for the rights of children caught in armed conflicts, and on other development issues as policy director for World Vision Canada.  Within Canada, Kathy is a member of the Commission for Justice and Peace of the Canadian Council of Churches, has worked with Citizens for Public Justice, and helped launch Make Poverty History and Micah Challenge in Canada.

Paul Dewar has been the NDP Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre since 2006. He is an educator who has been involved in his teachers’ union and had earlier worked in Nicaragua for Tools for Peace. As an MP, he has worked on issues of national and local importance, including a campaign to have the National Portrait Gallery in Ottawa, to his position against cuts to important social programs. He lives in Old Ottawa East with his wife, Julia Sneyd, and their two children – Nathaniel and Jordan. 

Joe Gunn is executive director of Ottawa-based Citizens for Public Justice. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto, and an MA from the University of Regina. He opened the first Social Action Office for the Archdiocese of Regina, and later spent seven years serving refugees and working in NGO projects throughout Central America. Back in Canada, he served at the Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice and later as director of the Social Affairs office for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. He has also worked in the justice and ecology ministry of the Congregation of Notre Dame. He lives with his partner, Suzanne Doerge and their twins Daniela and Benjamin.
 
David Illman-White is the spiritual programs coordinator at Galilee Centre in Arnprior. Galilee is an ecumenical, multi-faith centre, committed to the exploration of the connection of spirituality with living a life of social justice. David is also the minister at St. Paul’s Eastern United Church in Ottawa. He was ordained by the United Church of Canada in May of 1987 and has served the Church in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, prior to arriving in Arnprior in 2001. David has a particular interest in the history of the social gospel movement in Canada.

Lloyd Mackey is a journalist based in the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery. From there he writes a weekly faith/political analysis column called OttawaWatch, found at www.canadianchristianity.com. He has been involved in community and Christian newspaper reporting, editing and publishing for over four decades in British Columbia and Ontario. He is also the author of several books, the latest of which is Stephen Harper: The Case for Collaborative Governance (ECW Press, 2006)

Dennis Gruending is an Ottawa-based author, consultant and a former Member of Parliament. He has been a newspaper reporter, a radio host and has written five books including the best selling Great Canadian Speeches. He is also a former director of information for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan and a Masters of Journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa.