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Reconciliation Roundtable Gathering

4 November 2025 / Registration Open

The Reconciliation Roundtable is a dedicated space for PFC members to come together in solidarity, reflection, and resolve.

Rooted in The Philanthropic Community’s Declaration of Action, this gathering is about breathing life into the apology—moving beyond words to meaningful action.  

Each of us carries a different path and practice in this work, but here, we converge. This roundtable is a space to activate our collective and individual commitments, uphold accountability, and sustain momentum on our journey toward reconciliation.  

Through open dialogue with sector leaders and each other, we aim to deepen our understanding, elevate Indigenous voices, and explore how transparency and reciprocity can guide our path forward. This is not simply a meeting—it’s an opportunity to listen, learn, and move with purpose.  

Together, we are learning what it means not only to work on reconciliation, but to live it. 

Agenda: 

  • Opening with Elder Dorene 
  • Panel discussion about the history of the Declaration of Action 
  • Facilitated small group discussions led by PFC Members who are signatories to the Declaration 
  • Closing Reflections and Next Steps 

Speakers: 

  • Elder Dorene Bernard, Mi’kmaq Grassroots Grandmother 

Facilitators and Signatories 

  • Amanda Bernard, Director of Indigenous Programs, Laidlaw Foundation 
  • Anne Mark, Director of Programs, Catherine Donnelly Foundation 
  • Bill Mintram, Director of Indigenous and Northern Relations, Rideau Hall Foundation 
  • Brian Jackson, Program Director of Reconciliation, McConnell Foundation 
  • Chris Googoo, Executive Director of The Ulnooweg Indigenous Communities Foundation 
  • Erica McCloskey, Head of Indigenous Youth Leadership Program, Mastercard Foundation 
  • Janis Qavavauq-Bibeau, Program Manager, Pathy Foundation

Panelists 

  • Andrea Nemtin, Chief Executive Officer, Social Innovation Canada 
  • Bruce Lawson, Special Advisor to The Counselling Foundation of Canada 
  • Victoria Grant, O.C., ICD.d, Moving Red Canoe

 

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Reconciliation Roundtable Gathering

Registration

André Pawan Vashist

Director, Learning & Collaboration

A multi award winning social innovator, André has 20 years of experience in community wellbeing and transformations and is a facilitator of multi-stakeholder collaborations that are working towards social and ecological justice.

At his core, he is a dedicated family member with two children, a lover of the land with joy for being outdoors, a poet who expresses openly about life’s journey, and a passionate collaborator for a better world.   

Co-designing solutions to shared challenges is where André likes to infuse his magic by weaving identities with a healing centered approach - connecting the inner and outer work as we attempt transformations to solve societal challenges. Watch this TEDx Talk to learn more about André.

André is currently located on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek (Ah-nish-in-a-bek), Haudenosaunee (Ho-den-no-show-nee), Lūnaapéewak (Len-ahpay- wuk) and Chonnonton (Chun-ongk-ton) Nations, on lands connected with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum - also known as London, Ontario, and along the river, Deshkan Ziibi.   

The three Indigenous Nations that are neighbours to London, Ontario are the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation; Oneida Nation of the Thames; and the Munsee-Delaware Nation who all continue to live as sovereign Nations with individual and unique languages, cultures and customs.      

(This Land Acknowledgement is a first step towards reconciliation. Awareness means nothing without action. He continues to learn and take steps towards decolonizing practices, including being informed about the traditional lands, Treaties, history, and cultures of the Indigenous people across Turtle Island.)    

Jean-Marc Mangin

President & CEO

Jean-Marc has been President & CEO of Philanthropic Foundations Canada since 2019. He currently sits on the Government of Canada’s Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector.

Prior to PFC, Jean-Marc led a renewal process of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the largest national organization of Canadian researchers and scholars as its Executive Director.

He also has had a long career serving in international development with the UN, NGOs, and the Canadian Government in responding to global humanitarian disasters and development challenges. As CUSO Executive Director, he led a merger with VSO-Canada, and he was the first Executive Director of Global Call for Climate Action, a cross-sector civil society initiative supporting transformational change to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Born in Manitoba, raised in Quebec, and educated in BC and Ontario, he holds an MA in Political Sciences and Environmental Studies from the University of Toronto.

The land that Jean-Marc lives, learns and works on has been home to many Indigenous communities throughout time, and is the traditional unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin People.