Peter Lougheed Speaker Series

photo of a crowd of people watching a speaker

2025-26 Series

This year's lineup includes the following upcoming speakers and topics:

Leadership & Reconciliation — with Sheryl Lightfoot & Nicole Lugosi-Schimpf

Date: April 2, 2026

Time:

  • 11:45 a.m. - Light lunch served
  • 12:00 p.m. - Formal event begins

Location: City Room, 5th Floor, Peter Lougheed Hall

Reconciliation demands courage, humility, and a long view. Join us for a fireside chat with a distinguished leader in Indigenous politics and rights, whose work at the United Nations has shaped global conversations about Indigenous Peoples' human rights obligations under international law. Exploring Canada's role and responsibility in this global space, this conversation asks what reconciliation truly requires of leaders, in Canada and worldwide. Pull up a chair and join an open, respectful dialogue rooted in lived expertise and shared global responsibility.

The Peter Lougheed School of Leadership and the Peter Lougheed School of Politics and Democracy are proud to co-host this fireside chat featuring visiting guest Dr. Sheryl Lightfoot, Professor, University of Toronto, and Dr. Nicole Lugosi-Schimpf, Associate Professor, University of Alberta.

Dr. Sheryl Lightfoot

About Dr. Sheryl Lightfoot

Dr. Sheryl Lightfoot, (Anishinaabe, Lake Superior Band) is a globally recognized expert in Indigenous rights and global politics. She is a Professor in Political Science and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. She currently serves as the Vice Chair, North American Member, and former Chair of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP). Dr. Lightfoot’s research addresses Indigenous-state relations, the implementation of Indigenous rights frameworks, and the evolving role of Indigenous self-determination in reshaping global politics. She is a leading authority on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), examining its transformative potential in policy and practice. She is the author of Global Indigenous Politics: A Subtle Revolution (2016), and co-editor of Indigenous Peoples and Borders (2024) and The Handbook of Indigenous Public Policy (2024).

Dr. Nicole (Nykkie) Lugosi-Schimpf

About Dr. Nicole (Nykkie) Lugosi-Schimpf

Dr. Nicole Lugosi-Schimpf, Métis ( Otipemisiwak) and Eastern European, is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. Nicole’s work crosses the disciplines of Indigenous Studies and Political Science, and her research examines structural racism and polarization in Canada and Central Eastern Europe with a focus on International Indigeneity, Indigenous representation, reclamation, and nehiyawewin (Cree) language revitalization. Nicole uses discourse analysis, critical frame analysis, auto-ethnography, and arts-based research methods in her work. She has published in journals such as: Critical Studies in Education, Millennium Journal of International Studies, and Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy.

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Past Speaker Series

Peter Lougheed Speaker Series (formerly Lougheed College Lectures) started in 2015. See a full history of the lectures below, and if the speaker has given us permission to share, click the link in the title for a recording of the presentation.

  • September 16, 2025 : The Untaught Lessons: What School Doesn't Say Outloud — Drew Dudley (Watch the Recording)
  • October 24, 2025 : Design Thinking: Shaping the Future with People in Mind — Lyall Samaroden (Watch the Recording)
  • January 13, 2026 : Strategic Planning for Your Student Club or Association — Carissa Halton (Recording not available)
  • February 25, 2026: Fostering Social Innovation: The Role of Entrepreneurship and Research in Addressing Homelessness, Addiction, Poverty, and Crime in Urban Centres — U of A Chancellor Nizar J. Somji (Watch the Recording) 
  • April 2, 2026: Leadership & Reconciliation - Sheryl Lightfoot and Nicole (Nykkie) Lugosi-Schimpf (Watch the Recording) 

  • Emily Salmon: Inclusive Business Leadership (Nov 26, 2024)
  • Drew Dudley: Leadership as an Everyday Practice (Nov 26, 2024)
  • Emerson Csorba: Preparing for Canadian Geopolitical Independence: How We Prepare for an American Annexation and Pursue Unconventional Alliances (Feb 27, 2025 - Watch the Recording)
  • Myeong-Gu Seo: The Psychology of Leadership: Unpacking Biases, Emotions, and Behaviours for Effective Leadership (Mar 20, 2025)

  • Tsun-Yan Hsieh: Positive Influence: The First & Last Mile of Leadership (Sept 8, 2023)

  • Jennifer Curtain: Leading with Kindness (April 4, 2023)

The 2021-22 Public Lectures were organized around the theme of Leadership Skills for an Altered Present. Engaging key leadership competencies, each of our renowned speakers offered their unique perspectives on a distinct skill, and reflect on the impact that our pandemic experience has made to our understanding and practice of leadership. Covering mentorship, team-building, good relations, advocating for a point of view, and self-compassion, among others, the lecture series provoked, equipped and inspired audience members with new ideas and approaches with which to make a difference in their lives and communities.

This year's lineup included the following speakers: 

  • Ian Chisholm: Mentorship in Complex Times (September 22, 2021 - Recording no longer available)
  • Digit Murphy: A Coach's Approach to Decision Making (October 14, 2021 - Watch the Recording)
  • Lorne Tyrrell: Teamwork in Action: Canada’s Vaccine Task Force (November 25, 2021 - Watch the Recording)
  • Jesse Lipscombe: Advocating for a Position (February 3, 2022 - Recording not available)
  • Patricia Makokis: Serve with Humility: Leadership is Action, Not Position! (March 3, 2022 - Recording not available)
  • Kristin Neff: Self-Compassion: How to Effectively Motivate Yourself with Encouragement Rather Than Criticism (April 7, 2022 - Recording not available)

This season was organized around the theme of leadership and public institutions. Governments, courts, universities, cultural institutions, public health agencies, financial regulators and other offices charged with ensuring the public good face special scrutiny from the people they serve. We expect our tax-funded institutions to deliver value for money, and to act ethically and responsibly to ensure citizen well-being. And we have high demands for accountability and responsiveness. What does it take to lead such organizations, especially when the decisions are fraught and the stakes are high? How do public leaders engage the people they serve in decision-making? How do they address dissent and controversy? What are the consequences of “fake news,” the growing skepticism around expertise, and political polarization for the necessary work of serving the public good? Our speakers addressed these challenging issues with their hard-won insights from the front lines.

This year's lineup included the following speakers:

  • Tricia Smith: Leadership in the Olympic Movement in Canada (Sept. 17, 2020)
  • James B. Stewart: Leadership in the Newsroom: has the Media Lost its Bearings? (Oct. 22, 2020)
  • Cindy Blackstock: Reforming the Repeat Offender: Ending Canada's Discrimination toward First Nations Children (Nov. 19, 2020 - Watch the recording)
  • Tyler Waye: 10,000 Days: How to Navigate the Unknown Future of Work (Jan. 21, 2021 - Watch the recording)
  • Irshad Manji: Moral Courage for Messy Times (Hosted in partnership with the Edmonton Public Library's Forward Thinking Speaker Series on Feb. 18, 2021 - Watch the recording)
  • Persis Drell and Heather Zwicker: Universities and COVID19 – One Year After. Perspectives from the United States and Australia. (March 18, 2021 - Watch the recording)
  • Dr. Deena Hinshaw: Leadership in Public Service: We are All in this Together (Hosted in partnership with the School of Public Health on April 15, 2021 - Watch the recording)

  • Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell | Why do we Lead?
  • Dr. Ray Muzyka & Lieutenant General Christine Whitecross | The End of Hierarchy
  • Dr. David Rast | Leadership, Influence, and Psychology
  • Dr. Deryk Beal, Kelly Falardeau, & Dr. Arya Sharma | Barriers to Participations
  • Margot Ross-Graham | Emotional Intelligence
  • Mark Tewksbury | Ethical & Moral Dimensions of Leadership