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As the child of two French-Canadian educators, Françoise spent her early years in Nunavik, the northern expanse of the province of Québec, Canada. Growing up in the Arctic had a powerful impact on her view of the world and shaped her social justice lens towards exploring the impact of burnout, secondary traumatic stress and empathic strain on all members of a community.
Françoise studied at Columbia University and then finished her Master of Counselling Psychology at the University of Toronto. Before becoming a specialist in organizational stress and trauma-exposed work, she was a frontline mental health professional as a crisis counsellor in post-secondary education and provided employee assistance to members of the Canadian Armed Forces for 10 years.
Françoise is the Executive Director of TEND, a consulting firm that offers education and training to a broad spectrum of workforces encountering stress and intense workloads. She has been invited to speak to organizations across the world including the Los Angeles Police, Cirque du Soleil, the Office of the Chief Coroner, West Fargo PD, the Government of Canada's Youth Justice Department, the National Indigenous Circle Against Family Violence and many others.
Françoise is a Registered Psychotherapist in the province of Ontario, a founding member of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Consortium and author of The Compassion Fatigue Workbook, as well as numerous articles and publications.
Dr. Michael Wohl (Ph.D. Univ. of Alberta, 2003) is a Professor of Psychology at Carleton University. Work in his Carleton University Gambling Laboratory (CUGL) focuses on, among other things, factors that predict disordered gambling (e.g., erroneous beliefs, financial focus), facilitators of responsible gambling (e.g., monetary limit setting and adherence) and means to overcome barriers to behaviour change (e.g., nostalgia for life lived before the addiction behavior hold). Members of CUGL also examine the potential pitfalls and possible harm-minimization utility of rewards program membership.
Dr. Wohl has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers. His work has been cited over 17,400 times. He is the receiptient of, among other recognitions, the International Center for Responsible Gambling’s Research Achievement Award, National Council on Problem Gambling’s Research of the Year Award, Carleton’s Research Achievement Award and Carleton University’s Graduate Mentorship Award. To facilitate his gambling research, Wohl has received research funding from, among other organizations, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, Gambling Research Exchange, International Center for Responsible Gaming and Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
Angelle Sasseville, Vice President, Policy & Public Affairs, AGLC
A love of storytelling and social service initially drew Angelle Sasseville to public service nearly 20 years ago. Angelle’s background in government and stakeholder relations, and communications combined with her experience in issues management and policy development make her both a skilled leader and tactician. Now, with 14 years of progressive experience at AGLC, Angelle champions the business opportunities that directly benefit our province and the social responsibility programs that help Albertans make better choices when interacting with the gaming, liquor and cannabis industries. As a leader dedicated to a growth mindset, Angelle continuously challenges herself and her team to lean into each other’s expertise and find avenues to innovate how AGLC supports and educates Albertans.
Dan Keene, Vice President, Gaming, AGLC
Dan Keene joined the AGLC in December of 2012 as Manager, Casino Products after long tenures with Molson Breweries and Century Casinos Inc. Dan’s first area of responsibility was managing a team of gaming product specialists who were charged with determining which slot games and platforms would come onto the floor of Alberta’s casinos and VLT locations. Dan has held a variety of positions within the Gaming Division at AGLC including, Senior Manager, Gaming Products and Director Gaming Business. Dan is now Vice President, Gaming. He currently supports his managers who run the retail training team, technical compliance, retail services, supply chain, technical services and electronic gaming operations teams. Dan was co-lead on the development of Alberta casinos provincial wide consumer loyalty program Winner’s Edge and helps to drive operations for PlayAlberta.ca, Alberta’s only regulated online gambling site.
Matt Becigneul, Manager, Strategic Policy, AGLC
Joining AGLC over 18 years ago, Matt has become a subject matter expert in the fields of gaming, liquor and cannabis policy and research. Matt’s connection to responsible gambling runs deep, having worked closely with the Alberta Gambling Research Institute (AGRI) for several years as the liaison between AGRI and AGLC. Matt is a member of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada and the International Association for Public Participation. Matt leads a team of public policy professionals responsible for facilitating changes to legislation, regulations and policies in the gaming, liquor and cannabis industries. Matt’s team frequently conducts public and stakeholder engagement activities with a focus on enabling business opportunities and reducing red tape, creating an environment for responsible choices that deliver economic and social benefits for Albertans.
In his spare time, Matt can be found out in the community volunteering with several non-profit organizations or in local hockey arenas coaching his three kids.
Seamus Strutt, Manager, Gaming Programs, AGLC
Seamus Strutt serves as the Manager of Gaming Programs at AGLC. With a tenure spanning a decade, Seamus has been instrumental in multiple roles within the organization. He is deeply committed to the ongoing development of responsible gambling initiatives throughout Alberta.
William “Ted” Hartwell, Executive Director, Nevada Council on Problem Gambling
William “Ted” Hartwell has a Master’s degree in Anthropology from Texas Tech University and he recently retired from a 32-year position on the research faculty of the Desert Research Institute (DRI) of the Nevada System of Higher Education to become the Executive Director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG). He is a longtime member of the National Council on Problem Gambling.
William was the Principal Investigator of a DRI study examining the impact of problem gambling in Native American tribal communities in Nevada. He is in long-term recovery from gambling disorder himself, and has promoted awareness, prevention and treatment of problem gambling for the NCPG for more than a decade. He has spoken publicly and personally on this issue on many occasions and is dedicated to humanizing and illuminating the illness of disordered gambling. He provides annual lectures on this topic for the UNLV Boyd School of Law Gaming Regulation and the University of Utah Gaming Regulation classes, as well as for many other departments within the higher education system.
He was a regular participant for many years in the UNLV International Gaming Institute’s Responsible Gaming Ambassador training program for Las Vegas Sands Corporation and has consulted to MGM Resorts International and the US-Japan Business Council in their efforts to develop business related to the first Integrated Casino Resorts in Japan.
William introduced the NCPG’s youth gambling awareness and family gambling awareness programs into the Clark County School District in Nevada and he has recently developed educational programs for local schools on the topics of video gaming awareness and student-athlete gambling awareness (SAGA). He successfully secured an NFL-sponsored Agility Grant for the NCPG through the National Council to implement SAGA in several Nevada high schools.
In addition to serving at the pleasure of four Governors on the Nevada State Advisory Committee on Problem Gambling, he was the 2014 Shannon L. Bybee Award recipient for his continuing work on advocacy, outreach and research on the issue of problem gambling. In 2021, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Council on Problem Gambling.
He lives in Las Vegas, where he is also a professional cellist with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, a devoted husband to a recent Russian immigrant, a past soccer and volleyball coach and the proud father of a precocious 19-year-old daughter and three cats.
Ross Pambrun, Artificial Intelligence; Machine Learning; Innovation expert; Métis and Fire Captain
Ross Pambrun, is a Metis business leader and CEO of the Memphis group. He is has formally been a podcast host, nurse, firefighter captain, owned a business in occupational safety and is presently studying AI and Cybersecurity at MIT and Harvard. With over two decades of service in emergency management and fire science with the City of Calgary, his experiences have molded his understanding of technology's vital role in public safety and environmental monitoring. Beyond firefighting, Ross is an acknowledged expert in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, focusing on innovative solutions for environmental monitoring, wildfire mitigation, business innovation, animal conservation and species translocation.
Ross has successfully founded and led multiple businesses throughout his career selling each venture as has a passion to create new business opportunities through exploring new ideas. His passion for innovation and strategic thinking has propelled him to the forefront of business leadership, where he guides organizations to leverage cutting-edge technologies and drive sustainable growth. He is the previous owner of a successful health corporation, has a background in energy and academic health that compliments his role in developing business relationships within community. He has been involved in countless infrastructure protection projects and environmental management. His team's role in principal development extends into cyber-innovation, cloud technology and software development using today's latest available tools. As a business leader, Ross is at the forefront of leadership, adapting to change, systems implementation and aligning people with process for organizational growth.
Chris Koch, Renowned Motivational Speaker
Chris Koch doesn’t let limitations or obstacles stand in his way. Despite being born without arms and legs, Koch grew up like any other small-town kid — playing road hockey, causing mischief at school and helping out on his family farm. Neither he or his family treated his disability like a tragedy, and instead used it to fuel his dreams. Today, Koch is a motivational speaker who inspires his audiences to continually challenge themselves and build the life they dream of.
Born in Lethbridge, Koch was raised in the small farming and ranching community of Nanton, Alberta. Early on, he learned that he would not be raised with pity or sympathy. Sure, he had to do things a little differently and some tasks took him a little longer to complete than others, but he was determined to be just like the rest and was always treated just like the rest. After all, he still had a good head on his shoulders and with that, anything is possible.
Koch loves sharing his story and spreading his message of, “If I Can…” An avid traveler, marathoner, and farmer, his presentation reflects his full life. Simply put, Koch says, if I can do what I’ve done so far in my life, what’s stopping others from doing the same?
Glenn Pothier, President, GLPi
Glenn Pothier is the founder and president of GLPi — a strategy, engagement, facilitation and communication-consulting firm focused on helping clients to operate successfully and communicate effectively in complex environments. GLPi develops and executes powerful, compelling strategies and provides a full-range of outreach and meeting facilitation services. For over two decades, Glenn has helped countless organizations from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors to develop new approaches, nurture ideas and reposition themselves (and/or their initiatives) to meet the challenges of a changing operating environment.
