Alison Lawton | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | Canadian |
Alma mater | Concordia University, Simon Fraser University |
Notable work | Uganda Rising |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Alison Lawton (born May 29, 1970) is a Canadian social venture philanthropist, social advocate, and business investor.
Alison Lawton was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She attended the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, after which she started volunteer work for Earth Day International. This fundraising work led her to approach David Richardson who convinced her to join Investor First Financial to learn about investing. [1]
Lawton graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies from Concordia University in 1995. [2] After graduating, she joined Investor First Financial in Vancouver, BC where she started her business career in private equity sales in the areas of syndicated software, film, television, real estate and tax shelter offerings. [3]
In 1997, Lawton founded her own private equity boutique investment firm, Winfield Venture Group Ltd, [4] now known as Mindset Venture Group Ltd.
Lawton completed a Master of Arts degree in Applied Sciences at Simon Fraser University in 2006. [5] Her thesis focused on "the role of the media in creating value in financial markets." [3]
In 2000, Lawton married Canadian businessman and philanthropist Frank Giustra. They separated in 2007 and have two children together.[ citation needed ] Lawton is currently in a relationship with Venezuelan actress and model Patricia Velásquez.[ citation needed ]
In 1998, Lawton was one of three founding partners of Vancouver-based leading tech incubator IdeaPark Ventures, Inc. that was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. [3] In 2000, IdeaPark sold to Itemus Inc – a dot com incubator co-founded by Goldcorp mining magnate Ian Telfer. [6]
Lawton continued her business career by investing in start-up companies and was an early stage investor in Alida (previously known as Vision Critical [7] ) and Yoga. [4] Other portfolio companies included BC based software start-ups Sosido Networks, Strutta, and Tyze Personal Networks. Alison served on the Board of Directors of Vision Critical, [7] now known as Alida, as well as the advisory board of LX Ventures Inc. [8]
She was an early investor in the Acumen Fund, [9] one of the first impact investment funds in the US. She partnered with Richard Branson’s Virgin Unite and the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing to launch Canada’s first social impact investment fund, the MaRS Catalyst Fund, [10] now known as Amplify Capital. [11] Alison’ is also a founding investor and a board member of Canada's first health related social impact bond, Activate, created by the Heart & Stroke Foundation in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada and the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing. [12]
Lawton continues to invest in early stage companies with rapid growth potential through her Vancouver-based private boutique investment firm Mindset Venture Group Ltd.. [13] Mindset Venture Group Ltd invests in a variety of industries including consumer products, with a focus on health & wellness and food & beverage, as well as SaaS, fintech, healthtech.
In 2005, Lawton was appointed Chair of the Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS campaign for UNICEF Canada. Some of her campaign initiatives included producing the Unite against AIDS concert series, including artists Avril Lavigne, John Mayer, and Sarah McLachlan, and UNICEF's first Canadian art auction, Unite with Art. The events raised funds for UNICEF, as well as the consciousness around HIV/AIDS and how it redefines childhood for millions of children worldwide. [1] Alison also produced a 25-minute educational documentary for UNICEF; Hope in the Time of AIDS featured Stephen Lewis and was narrated by Pierce Brosnan. [14]
Lawton met Lloyd Axworthy, former Director of the University of British Columbia's Liu Institute for Global Issues and former Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, in 2004. He encouraged her to cover the forcible conscription of children in Uganda's civil war. [3] After a trip to Uganda she struggled with how to properly publicize the plight of the Acholi children in Uganda and consulted with former President Bill Clinton, whom she met while touring Africa with UNICEF and the Clinton Foundation. On request from the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education, she flew to India to present her work and also consult with the Dalai Lama. The spiritual leader told her to stop worrying and "work from a place in your heart." [15] What started off as an educational video that Axworthy could use for lobbying, ended up becoming "Uganda Rising", a full-length documentary that chronicled the 20-year civil war in the country. [16] Written and co-directed (with Jesse James Miller) by Pete McCormack, and narrated by Kevin Spacey, it screened at more than 25 film festivals worldwide and was the recipient of the Best Documentary Award at several festivals including WT Os International Film Festival and Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. [17]
In 2006, Lawton founded Mindset Media Society, now known as Mindset Social Innovation Foundation. Mindset Foundation is a registered Canadian charity. [18] Lawton also joined the Board of Directors of the Sarah McLachlan Foundation in 2006. [19] The Sarah McLachlan Foundation is a registered charity [20] that primarily supports the Sarah McLachlan School of Music which provides free music education to at-risk youth. [19]
Lawton donated $1M to the University of British Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in 2009 to establish the International Reporting Program. [21] The International Reporting Program (IRP) ran for ten years and gave journalism graduate students the opportunity to report on under-reported global issues. The students of the first year of the program won an Emmy for the investigative journalism short film 'Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground’. [22] After the completion of the IRP, the UBC Global Reporting Program (GRP) launched in 2020. [23] Lawton holds the position of Honorary Chair of the GRP's Advisory Board. [24]
In 2009, Lawton launched the Open Health Initiative as the new focus of Mindset Foundation. Research commissioned by the Foundation identified that the North American public had limited awareness of the problem, and supported the launch of the Access Our Medicine Initiative in 2014. [25] Since then, over 130,000 people from 160 countries have signed a declaration calling on stakeholders to work together to find solutions. [26] Mindset Foundation's support of social innovators also led Lawton and her team to partner with the Dispensary of Hope, a US 501(c)(3) charitable medication distributor based in Nashville, TN, on a $200M drug recovery program through a commitment to action through the Clinton Global Initiative. [27]
In 2019, Pain BC, a non-profit organization advocating for the treatment and support of people living with chronic pain, approached Lawton to help expand its offering across Canada. Mindset Foundation supported Pain BC's partnership with the Angus Reid Institute, that led to the commissioning of an independent research study on chronic pain in Canada. [28] [29]
Lawton is also a supporter and donor to the UBC CampOUT! initiative, a summer leadership and learning camp for queer, trans, Two-Spirit, questioning, and allied youth from across BC and the Yukon. [30]
Lawton joined the World Refugee and Migration Council's Canadian Task Force Against Global Corruption [31] in 2023. One focus of the task force is to promote the repurposing of frozen and seized assets, in accordance with Canada's Special Economic Measures Act and its regulations. Lawton published a paper on the viability of creating The Canadian-Ukrainian Social Impact Reconstruction Trust Fund [32] to aid victims of the unlawful occupation of Ukraine by Russian forces.
Lynda Chalker, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey,, is a retired British Conservative politician who was the Member of Parliament for Wallasey from 1974 to 1992. She served as Minister of State for Overseas Development and Africa at the Foreign Office, in the Conservative government from 1989 to 1997.
Jacqueline Novogratz is an American entrepreneur and author. She is the founder and CEO of Acumen, a nonprofit global venture capital fund whose goal is to use entrepreneurial approaches to address global poverty.
John Spencer MacDonald, was a Canadian engineer, businessman, and academic. He was co-founder of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), an aerospace, information systems, and technology company. MacDonald served as the chancellor at the University of Northern British Columbia from 2010 through 2016.
Jean Case is an American businesswoman, author, and philanthropist who is chair of the board of National Geographic, CEO of Case Impact Network, and CEO of the Case Foundation. She is married to AOL co-founder Steve Case.
Frank Giustra is a Canadian businessman, mining financier and global philanthropist, who founded Lionsgate Entertainment. He is also the CEO of Fiore Group of Companies and co-chair of the International Crisis Group think tank. From 2001 to 2007, he was the chairman of the merchant banking firm, Endeavour Financial, which financed mining companies. Since 2005, he has been involved with the Uranium One controversy after a $31.3 million donation to the Clinton Foundation.,, ,, ,.
Awa Marie Coll-Seck is as Senegalese infectious diseases specialist and politician who served as Minister of Health of Senegal from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2012 to 2017. She also served as former Executive Director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and is on the board of directors of several notable global health organizations. She is an agenda contributor of the World Economic Forum.
The Transition Program for Gifted Students, often called the University Transition Program (UTP), is an accelerated secondary school program for gifted students funded by the BC Ministry of Education's Provincial Resource Program with hosting, educational support and financial assistance from the University of British Columbia (UBC), and administered by the Vancouver School Board in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Each year, the program accepts around 20 new students between the ages 12 and 15, half of which are from outside the Vancouver School Board. Over the course of two years, students complete required five year high school curriculum along with some university coursework. When they graduate from the program, the students are usually accepted into UBC earlier than they would if they had graduated from a regular high school.
UNICEF, originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. The organization is one of the most widely known and visible social welfare entities globally, operating in 192 countries and territories. UNICEF's activities include providing immunizations and disease prevention, administering treatment for children and mothers with HIV, enhancing childhood and maternal nutrition, improving sanitation, promoting education, and providing emergency relief in response to disasters.
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Aditya Jha is an Indo-Nepalese Canadian entrepreneur, philanthropist and social activist. A globetrotter, his business portfolio consists of several startups and company turnarounds with interests in Canada, Nepal, Thailand and India. He also runs several philanthropic initiatives through his Private Charitable Foundation, promoting education and nurturing entrepreneurship to increase opportunities for the less fortunate. Jha takes special interest in nurturing prosperity and financial independence amongst Canadian First Nations (aboriginal) communities and individuals through education scholarships at top Canadian universities and a project that nurtures entrepreneurship. Jha is 2012 inductee to the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian award.
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Dominic Barton, known as Bao Damin in China, is a Ugandan-born Canadian business executive, author, and diplomat. He is the current chairman of the private investment firm LeapFrog Investments as well as the chancellor of the University of Waterloo. He served as the Canadian Ambassador to the People's Republic of China from 2019 to 2021. Prior to this, Barton was the Global Managing Director of McKinsey & Company, the global consulting firm, from 2009 to 2018 and has previously served as Chairman of Teck Resources and as Non-Executive Director at the Singtel Group in Singapore and Investor AB in Sweden.
Dr. Gary Birch, is a Canadian Paralympian, an expert in brain–computer interface (BCI) technology and executive director of the Neil Squire Society. In 1975, Dr. Birch was involved in an automobile accident which resulted in injuries to the C6 and C7 area of his spine making him a low-level quadriplegic. He was one of the original players of Murderball, and won several medals in the 1980 Summer Paralympics in the Netherlands. In 2008, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. He continues to champion accessibility through his Research and Development work in assistive technologies at the University of British Columbia, the Rick Hansen Institute, and the Neil Squire Society.
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Paul Lee is a Canadian video game developer, venture capitalist, businessman, and entrepreneur. He is the former President of Electronic Arts, a video game and interactive software company.
Christopher Fabian is a technologist who works for UNICEF. He founded technology and finance initiatives in both the public and private sector, including the creation in 2006, of UNICEF's Innovation Unit.
Teresa Wat is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 provincial election. She represents the electoral district of Richmond North Centre as a member of BC United and was appointed Minister of International Trade, and Minister Responsible for the Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism on June 10, 2013, by Premier Christy Clark. While provincial minister of trade, Wat worked to court Huawei, China Poly Group, and other companies to invest in British Columbia.
B. Brett Finlay, is a Canadian microbiologist well known for his contributions to understanding how microbes cause disease in people and developing new tools for fighting infections, as well as the role the microbiota plays in human health and disease. Science.ca describes him as one of the world's foremost experts on the molecular understanding of the ways bacteria infect their hosts. He also led the SARS Accelerated Vaccine Initiative (SAVI) and developed vaccines to SARS and a bovine vaccine to E. coli O157:H7. His current research interests focus on pathogenic E. coli and Salmonella pathogenicity, and the role of the microbiota in infections, asthma, and malnutrition. He is currently the UBC Peter Wall Distinguished Professor and a Professor in the Michael Smith Laboratories, Microbiology and Immunology, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Co-director and Senior Fellow for the CIFAR Humans and Microbes program. He is also co-author of the book Let Them Eat Dirt: Saving Your Child from an Oversanitized World and The Whole-Body Microbiome: How to Harness Microbes - Inside and Out - For Lifelong Health. Finlay is the author of over 500 publications in peer-reviewed journals and served as editor of several professional publications for many years.
Ravi Venkatesan is an Indian business executive and venture capitalist who has been the chairman of Microsoft India, chairman of the board of Bank of Baroda, and co-chairman of the board of Infosys. He is the UNICEF Special Representative for Young People and Innovation. He is also the founder of Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship and a venture partner at Unitus Ventures.
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