Sandra Pupatello, a former provincial politician, is an advocate for Ontario’s economic growth and development and a businesswoman with over 30 years of experience in public service, corporate leadership, and community engagement.

First elected as a Member of Provincial Parliament for Windsor West in 1995, she went on to serve as Minister of Economic Development and Trade, where she led trade delegations around the world. She also held several other cabinet positions, including Education, Women’s Issues, and Community and Social Services, and was Vice-Chair of Ontario’s Treasury Board.

Prior to entering politics, Ms. Pupatello worked and volunteered at various organizations in the non-profit sector, where she continues to be active today. She serves on the Board of Martinrea International and is a board member of the Saint Elizabeth Foundation. In 2012, she founded Canadian International Avenues Ltd, a management consulting firm.

Until her appointment to the Senate, she chaired the Toronto Port Authority Board of Directors and was a Senior Fellow and National Council Member of the C.D. Howe Institute. Previously, she served as Chair of Hydro One, Director of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Chair of the Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy. Additionally, she was the Founding Vice-Chair of Ontario Global 100 and the first woman President of the Fogolar Furlan Club of Windsor, where she served for 10 years on the Board of Directors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she co-founded and co-chaired Reshoring Canada to encourage intraprovincial trade.

Ms. Pupatello has received several awards and distinctions. She was named WXN’s Top 100 list of Canada’s Most Powerful Women.

She was named the Businesswoman of the Year Award from the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Windsor-Essex Chamber of Commerce, and the Innovation and Global Growth Award from the Bank of Montréal.

Ms. Pupatello holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Windsor, as well as a Corporate Director Certificate from the University of Toronto.

Sandra Pupatello is married to Jim Bennett from Newfoundland.

Jonathan Conricus is a senior fellow at the “Foundation for Defense of Democracies” and the owner of “Conricus Communications”. He recently retired as an IDF Lieutenant Colonel, after serving in the IDF for 24 years as a combat commander in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, as a military diplomat, foreign relations expert and international spokesperson. 

He was the first IDF officer to be seconded to the UN HQ in New York where he provided strategic analysis for UN peacekeeping. 

During the first three months of the war against Hamas, he represented the IDF in international media in hundreds of interviews across top-tier networks, often explaining complex situations on the ground, in addition to delivering dozens of updates on IDF social media accounts for millions of interested viewers around the world. Between 2017-2021, Jonathan served as the IDF’s International Spokesperson, responsible for the global public affairs, social media and public diplomacy of the IDF. 

Jonathan can speak about and answer diverse questions on any of the following topics: Israel and its military history, threats and opportunities; Israeli society; the Iranian axis of evil, focusing on Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad; Sunni extremism in the Middle East; counter-terrorism, Israel and the international media; UN peacekeeping forces, programs and bodies in the Middle East; Middle Eastern geopolitics. 

Jonathan is a proud Zionist, a strong believer in the crucial bond between the State of Israel and the Diaspora, and has so far dedicated his whole professional life to represent and defend the good name of the State of Israel in the world. Jonathan is native in Hebrew, English and Swedish, and intermediate in German and Arabic