Norman is Executive Director with the Rural Ontario Institute and was previously Director of Policy and Stakeholder Engagement connecting with stakeholder organizations and leading collaborative projects and studies on matters relevant to rural communities, including several with OMSSA as a partner. In previous decades he was with the provincial Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs supporting rural community economic development and in strategic planning roles with regional municipal government. He holds a Master of Science degree in Rural Planning and Development from the University of Guelph.

Karen Milligan is the Executive Director for Ontario 211 Services, the governance organization for 211 service in Ontario. Prior to her time in the 211 system, Karen spent seven years developing her passion for community at United Way Ottawa, working on community-wide initiatives (including a Leadership Table on Homelessness, an employment initiative for people with disabilities, and an initiative targeted at youth addiction treatment and in-school education) where effective collaboration and developing strong partner relationships were the keys to success. Karen also spent several years in the private sector with Ford Motor Company, and in the hotel/tourism sector in business development. Karen is also a graduate of the Ivey Business School’s Community Shift Leadership program, class of 2016.

Michael is a planner with a background in applied socioeconomic research, financial analysis, land development and public policy analysis. Michael works at both the strategic and analytical levels of planning. Having come from a research background, Michael applies rigorous technical analysis, working to give policymakers the ability to turn insight into real-world solutions. Most recently, Michael has been involved in land use planning, economic development, retail/commercial market studies and employment lands policy planning.