2026 Workshops
Choose from four trendy workshops, specific to local industry needs
We encourage our industry to send their employees who manage or lead the specific topics below.
Whether it be HR management, IT, Operations, Sustainability - they should be here!
AI in Manufacturing: Applying Privacy Rules with Confidence
AI is increasingly part of modern manufacturing — supporting everything from equipment monitoring to quality control to the rise of generative AI in business operations. With these tools come new questions about privacy, responsible data use, and how to stay ahead of emerging risks. At the same time, organizations that build strong practices now can strengthen their resilience and position themselves as leaders in a rapidly evolving landscape.
In this interactive 90-minute session, we’ll explore common AI uses in manufacturing environments and use them as a starting point to examine potential privacy implications. Drawing on participants’ experience, we’ll discuss how thoughtful AI adoption and solid privacy practices can reduce risk, support compliance, and build trust with employees, partners, and customers.
We’ll also connect these practices to the broader theme of organizational resilience — the idea that staying informed, intentional, and adaptable with AI is part of remaining competitive and future-ready.
Participants will leave with:
· A clearer understanding of how different types of AI raise different privacy considerations
· Practical tools and questions to support responsible AI use
· Insights on how strong privacy practices can become a strategic differentiator
· Guidance to help shape policies and training that reinforce organizational resilience
This session is ideal for HR professionals, operations leaders, owners, and managers who want to navigate AI in a way that strengthens both operational performance and long-term resilience.
Heather Cayouette, CEO & Founder, Firefly Strategic Consulting
Heather Cayouette is Founder and CEO of Firefly Strategic Consulting. With over 20 years of experience, she helps small and mid-sized organizations build smarter, safer, and more scalable operations.
Heather brings deep expertise in strategy, organizational and change management, governance, program development, information technology, and privacy. A Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/C) and Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT), she specializes in aligning strategy and systems through a risk management lens, with a particular focus on operational reviews, IT strategy, privacy, and AI readiness.
Passionate about privacy and its role in society, Heather believes privacy doesn’t have to be complicated. She works closely with organizations to build programs that are effective, achievable, and sustainable.
Heather is the author of the upcoming book, Reset the System: A Practical Guide to Rethinking the Way You Work — to Power Why You Do It.
Proudly sponsored by
Owners/Operator - Succession or Sell?
Terry Windrem, President & CEO Park Place Financial Group
Terry brings more than 40 years’ experience in financial, succession and estate strategies to his partnership with Park Place. After successfully building several companies, including Terry G. Windrem Insurance Agencies, the two companies merged in spring 2018 with Terry in the role of President and CEO at Park Place Financial.
Terry works with clients to establish long-term relationships, building his successful business on the highest levels of trust, service, integrity and operational excellence. He is consistently recognized in the community and by his clients for helping business owners develop tax deferred insurance strategies, investments, succession and estate plans. Park Place Financial and their partner, Peak Benefit Solutions, specialists in employee benefits, have grown to be known leaders in Central Ontario.
Proudly sponsored by
Pat Doyle, CEO, Pat Doyle Consulting
Pat Doyle helps organizations build culture by creating moments worth remembering—and sharing. As the founder of Pat Doyle Talks, Pat Doyle Culture Consulting and Durham Promotional Products, he believes that storytelling is the heartbeat of community.
Proudly sponsored by:
Smarter Manufacturing: Energy Conservation, Process Optimization, & Environmental Compliance Essentials
Presenters:
Join us for a practical session designed for small to medium-sized manufacturers. This workshop will explore actionable strategies to reduce energy costs, optimize processes, and maintain environmental compliance - helping your business improve efficiency, profitability and sustainability.
Proudly sponsored by: