HUMAN CAPITAL FLIGHT AND BRAIN DRAIN
Professor Wong is the author of many academic articles and several books, including Healthy Democracies: Welfare Politics in Taiwan and South Korea and Betting on Biotech: Innovation and the Limits of Asia’s Developmental State, both published by Cornell University Press.
He has been a visiting scholar at Harvard, Oxford, and other institutions in the US, Asia, and the UK. He has worked with international organizations and governments in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. Professor Wong’s current research focuses on poverty and innovation. He is also working with Professor Dan Slater (Chicago) on a book about Asia’s development and democracy, currently under contract with Princeton University Press.
Professor Wong received a B.A. (Hons.) in Political Science from McGill University in 1995, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science, in 1996 and 2001, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Isaac Olowolafe Jr. is an award-winning real estate broker, entrepreneur, angel investor and philanthropist. In 2016, Isaac launched Dream Maker Ventures—a private equity firm that provides mentorship and capital to small and medium sized businesses. A year later, the venture has taken off into successful heights
Isaac received a Bachelor in Economics from the University of Toronto. He has received numerous awards and recognition, including a Harry Jerome Business Award, an Enterprise Business Award by Planet Africa, an Arbor Award from the University of Toronto, and many more worthy recognitions.
In 2015, Isaac made a generous $100,000 donation which named the Dream Maker Realty Digital Media Experience Lab in Ryerson’s iconic Student Learning Centre. In the start of 2019, Isaac will be launching a First of a Kind, Black Tech Incubator out of a Canadian University.
Aisha Addo thrives on working to make the world a better place for women.Although she’s a graduate in Business Admin & Accounting,her true passion and dedication lies in ensuring girls around the world are provided with the guidance and resources that help them identify their true purpose and calling to reach their full potential.
Aisha founded Power To Girls Foundation, a non-profit organization to offer young girls the mentors and role models that were absent during her own youth.
She is also the recipient of the Young Black and Gifted Award for Community Service and was also named a Black Diversity Group Role Model and One of 100 Black Women to Watch in Canada and among the 150 Black Women making history in Toronto. She’ll be bringing her fire, passion, and awe to the conference this year.
Nitish Bissonauth is a bilingual broadcast journalist who has previously worked with CTV news in Saskatoon and the French CBC in Edmonton. He’s an experienced reporter with a strong history in the media industry, a strong media and communication professional with a masters degree focused in digital media from Ryerson University. He’ll be able to use the knowledge he’s acquired over time working in the media industry to access how the media might perpetuate or help to mitigate the impacts of brain drain.