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Our Speaker Program

Tuesday 11 April

Women's role in UN Peacekeeping

Shelagh Stevens

   Shelagh Stevens is a Probus Perth club member who has had significant Canadian Peacekeeping experience. On Wednesday March 2, Shelagh will give us an overview of her military experience with an emphasis on the role women have played in these longstanding United Nations peacekeeping missions.
   Shelagh enrolled in the Regular Officer Training Plan (ROTP), graduated with honours from the University of Guelph, was commissioned as a logistics officer and served in the typical roles at unit, base and at National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) in Ottawa. At NDHQ, she served on the Joint Staff which was heavily involved in the deployment to and redeployment from various peacekeeping missions.
   In 1987 Shelagh served her first peacekeeping mission in Egypt (1.5 years) with the Multinational Force and Observers, followed in 1989 by her first UN peacekeeping tour in Namibia (UNTAG) (one year), another in Croatia (UNPROFOR) (seven months) and was then seconded in 1995 for three years to UN headquarters in New York where she served in what would now be the Department of Field Support. Upon her return to NDHQ, she filled the role of a United Nations arrangements position (negotiated arrangements between the Canadian military and the UN for deployments of Canadian peacekeepers to UN missions).
   Shelagh left the military at the beginning of July 2004 and before the end of the month, started working for the UN as a logistics Section Chief at the UN mission in Côte d'Ivoire (CDI). After almost two years, she left CDI in 2006.
   Back home in Canada, Shelagh soon found her extensive military experience put to work as a contracted instructor with the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre. She was recruited to give UN Staff Officer courses on Peacekeeping Logistics in Canada and at various overseas locations including the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra Ghana and the Kenyan peacekeeping centre in Nairobi.

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Tuesday 9 May

The Dream of World Peace -- Could Canada lead the Way

Helen Peacock

   Helen Peacock is the Founder of Pivot2Peace, a member of the Canada-wide Peace and Justice Network.  She is also a Chapter Coordinator for World Beyond War – a global movement to end all wars with members in 190 countries. And she is a Rotarian, Past Peace Chair for District 7010, and currently Rotary’s Coordinator for Mutually Assured Survival.  In April 2021, Helen gave a presentation in which she advocated for Rotary to endorse the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).  The presentation went viral – with Helen talking to Rotarians in India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Canada, United States, Russia, and more.  Rotary grassroots support to endorse the TPNW grew by 50% and is still growing.  Helen holds a BSc and MSc in Math and Computer Science. 
   In her early career, she worked as a Corporate Executive/Consultant while exploring, outside the office, the “why am I here” question.  The two paths came together when she formed her own consulting company, Turning Point, to raise consciousness in large organizations (Motorola, Cara Operations, Hydro One) through her unique Leadership and Teambuilding programs.  
   Helen’s mission in retirement is to help raise Peace Consciousness on the planet so that we no longer tolerate the use of War as a means to resolve conflict.  She is fortunate to have traveled to 114 countries and is truly a “global citizen”.

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Suggestions for future speakers are welcome. Please email speakers@probuswesternottawa.ca

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Previous Speakers

Where a speaker's name and topic is underlined, this is a link to additional information.

2022-23	September	October	November	December	January
	Malaya Zehr --                  Inuit Culture and Larga Bafin	Paul Allen --                    When Tobacco Was King	Nick McCarthy --           The Governor General's Foot Guards	Martha Baltron -- Hospice Care Ottawa	Janet Mason --            The Living Classroom of the Carp River
	February	March	April	May	June
	Ian MacKay -- How the Vikings changed the English language	Jill Heinert -- The Art and Science of Cave Diving	*   *	*   *	*   *
2021-22	September	October	November	December	January
	Tim Moses --      Preparing for the End of Life	James Powell --         The Assassination of D’Arcy McGee	Nick McCarthy: Beechwood -- Canada's National Military Cemetery	James Jordan -- Celebrating over 100 years of The War Amps	Michele Vinèt --      Writing Behind Bars
	February	March	April	May	June
	Benoit Bazinet --         The Bees of Beechwood	Jacqueline Gori --  Filling the Gap with Furry Feet	Dawn Doyle --          Discovering the Azores	*Michael Boole --- Money Laundering, Human Trafficking & Child Exploitation	John and Jan Milnes  British Home Children
2020-21	September	October	November	December	January
	COVID-19 Pandemic There was No Meeting	COVID-19 Pandemic There was No Meeting	COVID-19 Pandemic There was No Meeting	COVID-19 Pandemic There was No Meeting	John Boyko Sir John's Echo
	February	March	April	May	June
	Tim Burrows - Should Your Next Car Be Electric?	Jacqueline Gori - Partners with Paws	Jaqueline Gori --         Life Changing Experiences with her Service Dog	Roman Talkowski --      Climate Change	John Boyko--               How Canada fought in the Vietnam War
2019-20	September	October	November	December	January
	Maggie McDougall Understanding Medical Cannabis	Tony Atherton The Decline and Fall of the Daily Newspaper	Col. Claude Desgagne The UN mission to Haiti	Brian Hull Ending world hunger from the bottom up	Mags Gaulden The Power of DNA
	February	March	April	May	June
	Dr. Judith Rygiel	Sue Williams	COVID-19 Pandemic There was No Meeting	COVID-19 Pandemic There was No Meeting	COVID-19 Pandemic There was No Meeting
2018-19	September	October	November	December	January
	Gary Sealey -- LRT Discussion.	Allan Symons -- Two Centuries of Canadian Clocks	Brian Tackaberry - Thw lost generatio: Eastern Ontario during WW1	Valerie Knowles - Well Known Ottawa Personalities from the Past	Dean Verger and Ruth Stewart-Verger - Connecting Through Story
	February	March	April	May	June
	Jennifer DeBruin - In Search of Home	Beth Sweetnam for Tony Atherton - Embarrassing Moments	Beth Porter - Accidental Friends - Stories from My Life in Community	Pam Thompson - Art in Canada	Terry Colfer - The Middle East
2017-18	September	October	November	December	January
	Bruce Di Labio -- Birds in the Ottawa region	David Smith --  Einstein: his life and works	Greg Matte  --  From Helmets to Hardhats	Charlotte Gray --              The Promise of Canada	Peter  Hamer -- EMR -- Electronic Medical records
	February	March	April	May	June
	Sue Garvey -- Cornerstone Housing for Women	Kate MacNeil  -- The Ottawa Carleton Wildlife Centre	Dr. John Hardie --         A dental murder mystery	Rachel Boere -- Arctic experience with Students on Ice	Judith Cox -- Purple Carrts, Honey Bees and Magic
2016-17	September	October	November	December	January
	Howard Clifford -- The Wild Child, involving youth with nature	Frank Hitchens --         Are we alone in the universe?	Richard Brisson -- The Enigma Machine	Service Clubs -- Dwight Brown, Rotary, Linda Leinan, Lions	Barrie Kirk -- Automated vehicles are here to stay
	February	March	April	May	June
	Dawn and Peter Doyle: Our cruise to Iceland	Rick Baker  --  CARP	Caroline Midgley and  Jeannie Mathews --  Home care options	Randy Boswell -- Digital databases help re-discover our past	Brock Godfrey -- Mass marketing fraud awareness
2015-16	September	October	November	December	January
	Cheryl Cooper: Tall Ships and the War of 1812	Jonathan Moore: The Franklin Expedition ship Erebus discovery	Kanina Dawson: My Afghan war experience	Ian Smillie: Blood diamonds in Africa	Jane Madigan: Service dogs and anxiety disorder
	February	March	April	May	June
	Michele Leboldus: Our heritage and the next generation	Robert Hannaberry: "Sooner or Later" housing/ care needs	Gerda Kraft: Making refugees feel welcome	Jim Holmes: Kanata Theatre and the community	Dr. Andrew Frank: Memory loss and Alzheimer's
2014-15	September	October	November	December	January
	Joyce Trafford --           The Carp Fair	Joy Forbes --                 The One-Room Schoolhouse	Miriam Rawson -- Matthew House and the Ottawa Furniture Bank	Don Wiles -- Uranium in my Bones	Matt Craig  -- The Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority
	February	March	April	May	June
	Norm Christie  -- Canadian war graves -- Our Sacred Places	George Laidlaw -- The joys of Canadian history	Roddy Bolivar -- The Carp Road Corridor BIA	Brian Hartley -- Bridging the  Chasm	Nelson McDougall-- The NAC Orchestra
2013-14	September	October	November	December	January
	Mac Evans --             Canada's Space Program	Bob Slack - the Canadian Snowbirds	Dr. Andew Burtch The Korean War	Doug Harvey-Smith DesignAbility	Dr. Tim Pychyl -- Procrastination
	February	March	April	May	June
	Nadine Fowler and Cristina Myers -- The Queensway Carleton Hospital	Barry Risk -- Canada Customs    "The Thinner Blue Line"	Dave Brown -- After 10,000 columns	Guy Thatcher -- Walking the Camino de Saint-Jacques	Terry Currie --              The great Fire of 1870
2012-13	September	October	November	December	January
	Dr. Kent MacDonald -- President Algonquin College	Karen Bell -- Seniors Nutrition	Ronald Cohen -- Sir Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa	Dr.Janet Biggar and Jim Jamer -- Empowering youth in Africa	Dr. Aisha Sherazi -- Women in Islam
	February	March	April	May	June
	Ian Farthing -- St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival	Matt Warin -- US Embassy         Trafficking in persons	Peter van Boeschoten -- Ottawa Older Adult Plan	Helen Forsey -- Eugene Forsey and the Senate	J.F. Sauriol --  Computer Security for Seniors
2011-12	September	October	November	December	January
	Max Keeping -- Community Ambassador	Mayor Jim Watson	Guy Parent -- Veterans Ombudsman	Jamie Lunn -- The War Amps of Canada	Allison Knight -- Office of the Information Commissioner
	February	March	April	May	June
	Barbara Carriere -- Kilimanjaro grannies	Grete Hale --     Baker's daughter	Hon. Bill Rompkey -- Senate reform	Hon.Peter Milliken -- longest serving Speaker of the House of Commons	Rotary Club and Ottawa Police -- The ABC's of Fraud