Sara Austin
Founder & CEO
Children First Canada
Sara is a world class champion for children, with more than 20 years of global and Canadian experience. As the Founder and CEO of Children First Canada, she leads a national movement to make Canada the best place in the world for kids to grow up.
Sara holds an MSt/LLM with Distinction in International Human Rights Law from Oxford and an Honours BA in International Development and Women’s Studies from Dalhousie University. She has completed the Governance Essentials Program for Non-Profits with the Institute of Corporate Directors, the Maytree Foundation’s Public Policy Program and the University of Alberta’s Indigenous Partnerships Program.
Dr. Michelle Ward
Pediatrician, Associate Professor and Journalist
Michelle is an academic pediatrician who has spent 15 years working at the intersection of health care, social services and the law, specializing in child maltreatment pediatrics. She is currently the Division Head of Child and Youth Protection at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, an Associate Professor in the faculty of medicine at the University of Ottawa, and President of the Child and Youth Maltreatment Section of the Canadian Paediatric Society. She is also a health journalist whose work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, the National Post, CBC News, and Today’s Parent, among other places.
After completing a BScH in biology and psychology at Queen’s University, Michelle attended medical school at McMaster University and then paediatric residency at the University of Ottawa. She has just completed a fellowship in global journalism at the University of Toronto. She is board certified in pediatrics (Canada & US) and child abuse pediatrics (US). Her clinical work focuses on young people involved with the child welfare system while her research and teaching related to child maltreatment medicine, communications skills and advocacy. Outside of work, Michelle is happiest on her paddle board at the cottage with her family.