Selection Panel

Marie-Lison Fougère led a successful 32-year career within the Ontario Public Service, holding various senior-level positions and overseeing a range of public policy portfolios and ministries.

Throughout her professional journey, Fougère demonstrated outstanding knowledge and expertise as a public policy maker, notably in elementary, secondary and post-secondary education. She spent many years in the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, where, as assistant deputy minister, she was responsible for a diverse range of policy files such as tuition, capital planning, credit transfer, skills training and apprenticeship.

She was first appointed deputy minister in 2015 and worked in this capacity until her retirement in March 2023. She served as deputy minister in different ministries, including Training, Colleges and Universities, Seniors’ Services and Accessibility, Long-Term Care, Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity and Francophone Affairs.

Fougère holds a bachelor’s degree from Dalhousie University and a master’s degree from York University. She is fluent in French, English and German.

Adrienne Galway is the president and CEO of the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT) and a distinguished senior leader in post-secondary education. Her career includes work in program development and quality assurance, public relations and communications, federal and provincial government relations and strategic partnerships.

Prior to joining ONCAT, Galway spent over 10 years serving in several senior positions at George Brown College, most recently as the associate vice-president of government and external relations.

Before joining George Brown, she served as the senior advisor to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities and as the education policy advisor to the leader of the official opposition of the government of Ontario. She has taught political science, Canadian studies and education policy at the University of Toronto and the State University of New York at Buffalo and has extensive experience working with and serving on governance boards in the university, college and not-for-profit sectors.

Galway holds a PhD in higher education from the University of Toronto.

Neil Hetherington is the CEO of Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank. Previously, he was the CEO of Habitat for Humanity in Toronto and New York City for 16 years. He holds degrees or certificates from Huron University, Seneca College, Harvard Business School, and the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. He obtained his MBA from Western University's Ivey Business School.

Hetherington was named one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 in 2005. He has received distinguished alumni awards from Huron University, Royal Saint George's College, Western University and Seneca College. He was awarded Queen Elizabeth's Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals in 2002 and 2012. In 2018, he received the Premier's Award for outstanding Ontario college graduates for excellence in business.

Dianne Martin has been a nurse since 1979. She first graduated as a registered practical nurse (RPN) and later, in 1998, as a registered nurse (RN). She subsequently earned a master’s degree in leadership from Royal Roads University. She is dually registered as both an RN and an RPN.

Martin is currently the chief executive officer of the Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario. She has held several leadership positions, including professional practice co-ordinator at an Ontario hospital and senior policy analyst with the former Nursing Secretariat of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

In 2016, she received the Premier’s Award, which recognizes college graduates whose achievements have made a difference in Ontario. In 2020, she was named a charter fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing.

The daughter of a nurse and mother to a nurse, Martin holds in the highest regard all those who devote themselves to caring for others.

As vice president and head of 2SLGBTQ+ and Black customer segments, TD Bank Group, Al Ramsay and his team design and execute innovative customer strategies which are considered leading edge within the financial industry across North America.

He has served on numerous work committees and boards championing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Currently, Ramsay is a board director of the Canadian Opera Company and Rainbow Railroad. He is also a member of Toronto Metropolitan University's alumni advisory committee and is a trusted advisor to the Canadian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

In 2022, he was honoured by the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention with the Lifetime Advocacy Award, the recipient of the Black on Bay Ball Trailblazer Award and named one of Canada's 100 Most Influential Black Canadians. In 2023, he was inducted into Sheridan College's Pilon School of Business Hall of Fame. And most recently, he was honoured with Toronto Metropolitan University's Alumni Awards of Distinction.

Candice White brings more than a decade of executive leadership in the public sector, with additional experience in construction and retail. She has overseen multimillion-dollar capital projects, organizational transitions and service-delivery reforms in both provincial and municipal contexts.

Since joining Skilled Trades Ontario in November 2024, she has led the transfer of three core apprenticeship responsibilities, worked closely with partners and kept a strong focus on the client experience. Under her leadership, the agency launched a province-wide marketing campaign aimed at youth, parents and educators, and streamlined operations to improve service delivery.

She has served on the York Region Wastewater Advisory Panel and the board of the Ontario Clean Water Agency. A graduate of Loyalist College’s Honours Business Program in Accounting, she also holds credentials in business and municipal governance.