Dr. Svein Andresen, BA ’81 (Economics), MA ’84 (Economics) – Public Service
Global Financial Regulation and Reform

As the Secretary General of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a body coordinating global financial reforms in the wake of the financial crisis, Svein Andresen is an influential figure in global financial regulation. Following his SFU studies and a PhD from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, Dr. Andresen’s work has centred on the policy challenges posed by a globalising financial system that remains overseen and regulated at national levels. During his distinguished 25 year career in economics and public service, he has made significant contributions to public administration and policy development. He has held leadership roles with several high-level international organizations, including the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Committee on the Global Financial System, and the FSB. In his current role, Dr. Andresen works closely with FSB Chairman and Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney to guide and govern international policy-making together with other global financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the BIS and OECD. The FSB was created by the heads of state or governments of the G20 countries in 2009 to build a more resilient global financial system. Since the financial crisis began in 2007, Dr. Andresen has shown leadership, stamina and dedication to assessing weaknesses in the international financial system, overseeing actions to address them, and coordinating and driving forward financial sector policies that promote global financial sustainability.

Dr. Jo-ann Archibald, MEd ’84, PhD ‘97 – Academic Achievement
Advocacy and Advancement of Aboriginal Education

Dr. Jo-ann Archibald (Q’um Q’um Xiiem), from the Sto:lo Nation, is one of Canada’s foremost Indigenous scholars and has made outstanding contributions to the advancement of Aboriginal education provincially, nationally and internationally. She is the Associate Dean for Indigenous Education, Director for the Native Indian Teacher Education Program (NITEP) and Professor in the UBC Faculty of Education. Dr. Archibald has dedicated her 40-year career to creating culturally relevant and community responsive teacher education and graduate education programs for Aboriginal students. Her visionary work has transformed the landscape of higher learning for all Indigenous peoples through excellence in curriculum and program development, policy, research, teaching and scholarship. She co-created SAGE (Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement) to provide culturally relevant support for Aboriginal graduate students. She also co-chaired the national Accord on Indigenous Education, a ground-breaking collaboration aimed at significantly improving Indigenous education across Canada. In 2004 she was a panelist in an education dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and other world leaders. Dr. Archibald received the 2000 National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Education and an honorary doctorate from Capilano University in 2012. Her inspiring contributions as a scholar and leader have improved the learning and lives of countless Aboriginal peoples and their communities.

Mr. Joel Bakan, BA ’81 (Psychology) – Professional Achievement
Author, Filmmaker, Legal Commentator, Law Professor

Joel Bakan is an internationally renowned legal scholar and commentator whose record of outstanding achievement spans more than 30 years. In 1981 Bakan won a Rhodes scholarship and received the Governor General’s gold medal as SFU’s top graduate. His post-graduate credentials include law degrees from Oxford, Dalhousie and Harvard, and articling as a law clerk with a Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice. Today he is an acclaimed law professor at UBC whose work examines the social, economic and political dimensions of law. He is considered an expert in constitutional and commercial law. He has won numerous awards for his scholarship and teaching, worked on landmark legal cases and government policy, and served frequently as a media commentator. He has published in leading legal and social science journals as well as in the popular press. His critically acclaimed international bestseller, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, inspired the award-winning documentary film, The Corporation. In his new book, Childhood Under Siege: How Big Business Targets Children, Bakan advocates for parents, citizens and communities to protect children from corporate targeting and exploitation. He is a popular and accomplished public speaker who has addressed business, government, academic and activist audiences locally and internationally. He critiques society not as a cynic but in an effort to raise our individual and collective consciousness and make our lives better.

Dr. John Spinelli, BSc ’79, MSc ’81, PhD ’94 (Math & Statistics) – Academic Achievement
Cancer Control and Prevention Researcher

Dr. John Spinelli is internationally recognized as one of Canada’s leading cancer epidemiologists and biostatisticians. He has spent much of his life working towards reducing the burden of cancer in Canada. His passion for population health led him to direct his efforts to identifying modifiable risk factors for cancer with the ultimate goal of prevention. He has made seminal contributions to our understanding of the etiology of cancer, including key findings on occupational and environmental causes. Dr. Spinelli was one of the first researchers to identify an increased risk of cancer in aluminum workers, and was a leader in demonstrating a link between PCB exposure and lymphoma. His work has been used worldwide by industry and workers’ organizations to reduce exposures and determine compensation for those exposed in the past. He actively shares his knowledge by teaching and mentoring junior scientists and graduate students at UBC and SFU. Currently, Dr. Spinelli is the Head of Cancer Control Research at the BC Cancer Agency, and his work investigates the effects of the interactions between genes and environmental exposures on the risk cancer. He is also the principal investigator of the BC Generations Project, part of a national prospective cohort study which will enable researchers to examine risks of cancer and other chronic diseases that would not be identifiable in any other way. The cohort will be an invaluable resource for researchers like Dr. Spinelli who envision a cancer-free future for Canadians.