Alex is the President and CEO of the New Brunswick Business Council (NBBC). At NBBC, Alex works to create a growing and competitive economy by convening subject matter experts and stakeholders to advance bold, transformative, economic, social, and environmental public policy in New Brunswick. Alex has extensive experience in immigration, community growth planning, and labour market development. He previously served as Executive Director of the New Brunswick Multicultural Council (NBMC), where he was the provincial spokesperson on immigration, newcomer settlement and multiculturalism in the province.
Alex holds a bachelor's degree from the University of New Brunswick's Renaissance College Leadership Program. He is also an alumnus of the Governor General of Canada’s Leadership Conference, the Banff Forum, and the 21inc. Leadership Program.
Andrée Caissie Savoie is Vice-President – Corporate Affairs of Imperial Manufacturing Group, a family-owned group of companies which operates in the HVAC and building products manufacturing, flat roll steel services, and commercial real estate sectors located in Richibucto and Dieppe, NB as well as in 14 additional locations in Canada and the United States.
Having worked for the family business for over 25 years in various roles, her responsibilities include overseeing Customer Service, Marketing, and Corporate Affairs. She currently leads the COVID-19 operational plan and champions Imperial’s Immigration Strategy alongside the human resources department. She has become an advocate for private businesses within the province, participating to the Economic Immigration Lab lead by NouLab in partnership with the University of New Brunswick and being a panelist in several immigration summits. Andrée is a member of the Wallace McCain Institute’s EChO program.
She holds a Marketing Diploma, a BA in Organizational Management, and an EMBA. Andrée lives in Richibucto area with her husband and her three children.
The Honourable Anne McLellan, P.C., O.C., A.O.E., served four terms as the Liberal MP for Edmonton Centre, during which she was Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Minister of Health, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and Minister of Natural Resources.
Ms. McLellan joined Bennett Jones LLP in its Edmonton office in July 2006.
Ms. McLellan serves on the boards of Summit REIT and Invest Alberta Corporation. Among her many community commitments, she is chair of the boards of Pearson College UWC, TELUS Edmonton Community Board and the Institute for Research on Public Policy. She also serves on the board of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.
Ms. McLellan is Co-Chair of the Coalition for a Better Future, a diverse group of over 130 organizations working together to focus on sustainable, inclusive economic growth.
In May 2015, Ms. McLellan became Dalhousie University’s seventh Chancellor, a position she held until May 2020.
In July 2009 Ms. McLellan was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada and in October 2013 she received the Alberta Order of Excellence.
From 1980 – 1992 Ms. McLellan was a professor in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Law and served as both Associate Dean 1985 – 1987 and Acting Dean 1991 – 1992 of the Faculty. Ms. McLellan holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Law degree from Dalhousie University and a Master of Laws degree from King's College, University of London.
Caroline Pietroski (she/her) is a fourth-year honours student at St Thomas University, studying Economics and Environment and Society. Originally from Toronto but has found herself in Fredericton to not only pursue her education but also her passion for hockey, being the goalie of the university’s women's hockey team.
She has worked on the BoostNB project in association with Pathways to Professions for the past 2 summers, most recently taking on the role of Student Project Mentor. Caroline aspires to take her education to the next level upon graduation so that she can be more informed to aid in creating a better, more sustainable future.
David is the President of Jupia Consultants Inc., an economic development consulting and research firm based in New Brunswick. David has more than 25 years’ experience working with industry, not-for-profit organizations and governments across Canada. Previously, he was Chief Economist with the Government of New Brunswick. In that role, he worked with the Premier and Cabinet on the development of economic policy, economic development and people attraction strategy.
He is a long-time columnist with Brunswick News, author of the It’s the Economy, Stupid! newsletter and co-host of the weekly Insights podcast with Don Mills. David chairs the United Way of Greater Moncton board of directors and is on board of New Brunswick’s largest immigrant settlement agency, MAGMA.
Dr. Herb Emery is the Vaughan Chair in Regional Economics at UNB. Herb focuses his research on the development of the Canadian economy and the persistence of long-standing regional disparities from the perspective of the economic fundamentals of growth in a small open economy. His academic career began at the University of Calgary where he was Full Professor in Economics and Research Director for The School of Public Policy. From 2010 to 2015, he served as Managing Editor of Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de politiques, Canada's foremost journal examining economic and social policy.
The Vaughan Chair in Regional Economics was initiated in the late 1980s with an endowment from the A. Murray Vaughan family. The Vaughan’s supported recruiting someone who could both enhance understanding of key economic issues in New Brunswick and the Maritimes and help develop policies to increase the overall prosperity of the region.
By working with governments, the private sector and non-profit organizations, the Vaughan Chair provides leadership and capacity in policy development for the region, making Atlantic Canadian provinces leaders in collaboration and creative solutions.
Joseph Drost is a Master of Arts in Economics student at UNB and has an undergraduate degree from UNB in Political Science and Economics. Joseph’s research for his master’s report is focused on developing tools to measure inequality in the Maritime provinces.
Last summer he worked with the Boost NB team updating the province’s economic progress in several key areas. He’s looking forward to entering the workforce and working in public policy.
Ketan is an accomplished immigrant entrepreneur who has built and currently runs a successful tech company Let’s Nurture which has a team from 6 different countries and speaks 10 different languages. Ketan is also a dedicated Rotarian, working to promote peace and understanding in their community.
As an alumni Global Shaper from the World Economic Forum, Ketan is part of a network of young leaders working towards shaping a better world. In addition, Ketan has founded a not-for-profit organization Moncton Cares that focuses on helping newcomers integrate into society and providing them with resources and support to succeed. Ketan is also currently VP of the Indo-Canada Association of Greater Moncton, a Member of the Entrepreneur Working group and the Vulnerable Newcomer Group at Local Immigration Partnership Moncton, and Ketan is on the board of the New Brunswick Business Immigrant Association(NBBIA).
Ketan is also actively involved in the Google Developers Group (GDG) and the 100 Men Who Care organization. Furthermore, Ketan is a mentor to Indian start-ups, sharing their knowledge and experience to help them succeed. With their business acumen, community involvement, and mentorship.
Dr. Paul Mazerolle is UNB’s 19th president and vice chancellor. An internationally recognized criminologist with degrees from the University of New Brunswick, Northeastern University and the University of Maryland, Paul is also a professor in the department of sociology at UNB.
Paul’s career has included academic leadership positions in the United States, Australia and Canada. After joining UNB in 2019, Paul implemented a comprehensive consultation process to inform UNB’s new strategic vison, UNB Toward 2030. The aspirational and transformative strategic vison is focused on the growth and impact of the University locally, nationally and globally.
Paul is fiercely dedicated to leading an institutional effort that creates a return to economic growth through innovation, entrepreneurship and social cohesion for not only UNB, but the Province of New Brunswick. Paul is a member of the New Brunswick Business Council, the New Brunswick Ministerial Economic Advisory Board, the National Advisory Research Committee for Universities Canada and Chair of the Cyber Security Ecosystem in the province.
The Honourable Lisa Raitt joined CIBC Capital Markets in January 2020, having previously worked in both the public and private sectors. Ms. Raitt’s current focus is on senior client coverage and business development with clients in the energy, infrastructure, and industrial sectors, which align closely with her deep expertise.
Prior to her current role, Ms. Raitt was the President and CEO of the Toronto Port Authority. She was elected into the House of Commons in 2008, where she went on to hold three senior portfolios serving as Minister of Natural Resources, Minister of Labour, and Minister of Transport. Most recently, Ms. Raitt was the Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada.
Ms. Raitt holds a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Francis Xavier University and a master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Guelph. She possesses an LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Ontario bar in 1998. In 2020 Ms. Raitt was named a Woodrow Wilson Center Global Fellow of the Canada Institute.
Ted McDonald is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Melbourne, Australia.
He is the founding Director of the NB Institute for Research, Data and Training, New Brunswick’s only provincial administrative data centre. He is the Chair of the Canadian Research Data Centre Network Academic Council and a member of the CRDCN Board.
Dr. McDonald is also on the executive committee of Health Data Research Network Canada, and is the New Brunswick lead of the Maritime SPOR SUPPORT Unit. In 2019 he was co-winner of the Mike McCracken award for Economics Statistics, awarded by the Canadian Economics Association, and was a University Research Scholar 2020-2022.
Tianjiao Yang is in her fifth year at the University of New Brunswick, where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Economics. When she graduates, Tianjiao hopes to pursue a master’s and Ph.D. in Economics and use her love of economics to show the beauty of the discipline to people and provide ideas to improve the economy. Outside of school, Tianjiao enjoys swimming, cooking, and trying different kinds of food.
