UPEI hosts a Celebration of Women and Philanthropy

The University of Prince Edward Island and TD Wealth Private Client Group Media will host a celebration of Women and Philanthropy on Thursday, April, 21, from 4:30-6:30 p.m., in Don and Marion McDougall Hall, UPEI. During this event, a panel will present and discuss the findings of a TD report entitled "Time, Treasure, Talent: Canadian Women and Philanthropy." Published in 2014, the report was conducted independently by iNVESTOR ECONOMICS and provides reflections from the perspective of a group of female philanthropic leaders in our community. Some points from the report include:

•  Women are playing an increasingly important and influential role in the Canadian economy.
• Canadian women are likely to make more—and larger—charitable donations than men.
• Women and men are driven by different factors when making choices about donations.
• Women put greater emphasis on emotional connections with charities they support and do more research before donating.
• Women want to have long-term, open relationships with charities they support rather than be approached for one-time donations.
• Women feel that charities need to communicate better with donors, and they need to embrace new methods of communication, including social media.
• Women want to see more cooperation and consolidation among charities.
• Women feel that there needs to be more diversity among boards of directors of charitable organizations, which are currently dominated by men.

Featured speaker and panelist: Jo-Anne Ryan, VP Philanthropic Advisory Services, TD
Guest panelists: Alicia Bremner, Hon. Catherine Callbeck, Kathy O’Rourke, and Shauna Sullivan Curley, QC.

BIOGRAPHIES

FEATURED SPEAKER AND PANELIST
Jo-Anne Ryan is Vice President, Philanthropy, Wealth Advisory Services & Executive Director, Private Giving Foundation, TD Wealth. Jo-Anne joined TD Wealth in 2003. Jo-Anne leads the Philanthropic Advisory Services team within Wealth Advisory Services and is the executive director and architect of the Private Giving Foundation (PGF), the first donor-advised fund program launched by a financial institution in Canada that provides a structure to leave a lasting legacy in a simple and effective manner. Jo-Anne develops strategies to help clients in corporate philanthropy in their overall financial and estate planning.

Introducing Jo-Anne at the event will be Tara-Lynn Hughes, Senior Vice President of TD Canada Trust for Atlantic Region. Tara-Lynn is the proud leader of over 800 employees in 51 retail branches and support offices across all four Atlantic Provinces. Tara is responsible for delivering business results and growing market share, while also creating the legendary customer experiences that TD’s brand is built upon. A 20-year veteran of TD, Tara is an active member of TD’s Aboriginal Steering Committee and Women in Leadership Committees, and is an enthusiastic supporter of mentorship within the bank. She is also active in the community and chairs the “One TD” Atlantic Community Banking Community Banking Committee.

PANELISTS
Alicia Bremner is a proud UPEI alumna having received a Public Administration Certificate in 2007 and a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2009. Alicia also completed a certificate in Sports Management from the United States Sports Academy in 2010. She has been actively involved with UPEI since graduating as a past member of the UPEI Board of Governors and is currently president of the UPEI Alumni Association. Alicia has a passion for UPEI athletics where she previously coordinated the UPEI Men’s basketball academic program and continues to be an active financial supporter. She has worked in the IT industry for the past four and a half years with Cogsdale Corporation in Prince Edward Island and is currently working with Picis in Wakefield, Massachusetts, as a project coordinator.

Catherine Callbeck is a trailblazer for women in politics, provincially and nationally. In 1974 Catherine was elected to the PEI legislature and was named the first female minister of Health & Social Services. In 1998, Catherine was the first woman elected as the Member of Parliament for Malpeque and the second woman to be elected to the House of Commons. In 1993 Catherine was elected as leader of the Liberal party of PEI and served as premier of P.E.I. She made Canadian history, becoming the country's first elected woman premier. She was appointed to the Senate in 1997 and was named as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network in 2006. In 2008 Catherine was an inductee to the Canadian Women in Politics Hall of Fame. In 2014 Catherine retired from politics. In 2015 Catherine was named to the Order of Canada and has received several recognitions over the years. Catherine has served as director on numerous boards.

Kathy O’Rourke was born and raised in Summerside, the youngest child of 11 to D. Alex and Kathleen MacDonald. Kathy graduated from UPEI in May of 1992 and earned her CA designation in September of 1993. Kathy started her career with Grant Thornton in 1991 and in October of 2014 joined the senior leadership team for the firm and became the managing partner for Prince Edward Island. In 2014 the Institute of Chartered Accountants bestowed the Fellowship designation for her work in the community and service to the profession. Over the past number of years, Kathy has served on various boards. 

Shauna Sullivan Curley, Q.C., is a recently retired deputy minister and lawyer who currently serves as part-time ethics and integrity commissioner for the provincial government. A lifelong community volunteer, she is a member of the UPEI Board of Governors, a director of the PEI Division of the Canadian Cancer Society, and an elder and trustee at the Kirk of St. James in Charlottetown.