Letter from the Editor
June 3, 2025 - Letter from the Executive Director
As of yesterday, I have officially been CDL’s Executive Director for 17 months; having completed a full calendar year, and nearly a full Fiscal Year, I am excited to have this space to reflect on all we have built and accomplished together.
This first edition of the relaunched Hearsay Magazine, has been a long time in the making, and this space will serve as a forum for the CDL community from coast-to-coast, to connect, share and learn.
When I joined CDL on January 2, 2024, I was lucky to find myself at the head of a well-respected organization that prides itself on being a welcoming and collaborative community. I want to personally thank some very special ladies – Heather Vaughan and Susan Gunter, who alongside many board members, made an early and special effort to welcome me into the CDL Community.
This week we kick off celebrations of CDL’s 30th Anniversary, with three events, in three days, the Association’s most ambitious undertaking since ‘the before times’; last night we celebrated the stars of the Association, today we are live at the OBA Conference Centre for the newly renamed, Annual Litigation Conference, and tomorrow we will cap off the week’s Celebrations with the Women’s Caucus Annual Luncheon.
This year the CLE Chair, alongside myself and our Director of Education and Events – Mary-Ellen Thibodeau, set a goal to confirm our Educational Offerings earlier, and to open registration with fulsome agendas that could help members make informed decisions about where and when to spend their Professional Development dollars.
During the 2024/2025 Year we have supported, hosted or will host 19 programs offering CLE Credits, as well as 5 networking and social events. Each event and program are Chaired by 1 or 2 highly engaged members, with countless others contributing their time and talents to program development and delivery.
We have already begun to confirm the dates for the 2025/2026 Events and Educational Season’s signature events, with registration already open for the 2025 Women’s Caucus Retreat, October 24-26 in Niagara-on-the-Lake; this popular event will sell out!
This year we also welcomed Amy Mosquera to our team, as Interim Manager of Membership and Marketing, you can see the results of Amy’s hard work at our live events, as you familiarize yourself with our new website, and especially in our growing LinkedIn following (nearly 1000 followers).
The renewal of Hearsay is one of 13 Objectives of the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan, the development of which I was proud to support as Executive Director. In the coming weeks and months, we will be strengthening our Governance frameworks, policies and procedures, and completing the budget for Fiscal Year 2025/2026 to align with our newly identified priorities.
Our next issue – due out September 2, 2025, will wrap up our current year, explore our ongoing relationship with DRI – following the inaugural DRI North America session in Toronto in August, presented in cooperation with CDL, and provide insights into the year ahead.
Until then, I want to thank all members of CDL for your continued support and engagement. Have a happy and safe summer, and please watch your inboxes as we begin to open registrations for the 2025/2026 Events and Education Season.
This first edition of the relaunched Hearsay Magazine, has been a long time in the making, and this space will serve as a forum for the CDL community from coast-to-coast, to connect, share and learn.
When I joined CDL on January 2, 2024, I was lucky to find myself at the head of a well-respected organization that prides itself on being a welcoming and collaborative community. I want to personally thank some very special ladies – Heather Vaughan and Susan Gunter, who alongside many board members, made an early and special effort to welcome me into the CDL Community.
This week we kick off celebrations of CDL’s 30th Anniversary, with three events, in three days, the Association’s most ambitious undertaking since ‘the before times’; last night we celebrated the stars of the Association, today we are live at the OBA Conference Centre for the newly renamed, Annual Litigation Conference, and tomorrow we will cap off the week’s Celebrations with the Women’s Caucus Annual Luncheon.
This year the CLE Chair, alongside myself and our Director of Education and Events – Mary-Ellen Thibodeau, set a goal to confirm our Educational Offerings earlier, and to open registration with fulsome agendas that could help members make informed decisions about where and when to spend their Professional Development dollars.
During the 2024/2025 Year we have supported, hosted or will host 19 programs offering CLE Credits, as well as 5 networking and social events. Each event and program are Chaired by 1 or 2 highly engaged members, with countless others contributing their time and talents to program development and delivery.
We have already begun to confirm the dates for the 2025/2026 Events and Educational Season’s signature events, with registration already open for the 2025 Women’s Caucus Retreat, October 24-26 in Niagara-on-the-Lake; this popular event will sell out!
This year we also welcomed Amy Mosquera to our team, as Interim Manager of Membership and Marketing, you can see the results of Amy’s hard work at our live events, as you familiarize yourself with our new website, and especially in our growing LinkedIn following (nearly 1000 followers).
The renewal of Hearsay is one of 13 Objectives of the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan, the development of which I was proud to support as Executive Director. In the coming weeks and months, we will be strengthening our Governance frameworks, policies and procedures, and completing the budget for Fiscal Year 2025/2026 to align with our newly identified priorities.
Our next issue – due out September 2, 2025, will wrap up our current year, explore our ongoing relationship with DRI – following the inaugural DRI North America session in Toronto in August, presented in cooperation with CDL, and provide insights into the year ahead.
Until then, I want to thank all members of CDL for your continued support and engagement. Have a happy and safe summer, and please watch your inboxes as we begin to open registrations for the 2025/2026 Events and Education Season.