Meet the Conference Speakers

More speakers to be announced.

Michael Auer

Statistician, Psychologist

Dr. Michael Auer is a statistician and psychologist. He studied in Vienna, Austria and made his PhD with Prof. Mark Griffiths at Nottingham Trent University. Dr. Michael Auer published more than thirty peer-reviewed articles in the area of online gambling about subjects like limit setting, personalized feedback, self-exclusion and pop-up messages. This academic background and his commercial experience of more than fifteen years in the gambling industry lead to the development of a player tracking tool called “mentor” which is currently used by thirty different online gambling sits across the world. He is also a regular speaker at conferences and consults operators, regulators and policy makers around the world.

Foli Ekue

Managing Director, Playright

Foli Ekue, Playright’s managing director, has spent the past ten years running cloud-based technology companies in the customer loyalty space. Prior to this, he led the creation and global introduction of HP’s PC Workstation line. He started his career as a Schlumberger oilfield engineer. Foli is fluent in French and Spanish.

Alan Feldman

Distinguished Fellow, Responsible Gaming, UNLV International Gaming Institute

Mr. Feldman is an internationally respected figure in responsible gaming.  After a long and distinguished career in the gaming industry, he was appointed as a Distinguished Fellow of the International Gaming Institute at UNLV where he leads the Institute’s responsible gaming programs. Mr. Feldman also serves as Chair of both the National Center for Responsible Gaming as well as the Nevada Advisory Committee on Problem Gambling. Additionally, he serves as a member of the Gambling Research Advisory Committee for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

Marie-Claire Flores-Pajot

Research and Policy Analyst, Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction

Marie-Claire is a Research and Policy Analyst at the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. She completed her MSc in Health: Science, Technology and Policy from Carleton University in Ottawa. Her research experience includes scientific, clinical, and population-level research. Currently, she is part of the team developing Lower-Risk Gambling Guidelines. These new guidelines will help individuals who gamble, their close social networks and gambling operators and regulators make well-informed and responsible decisions about gambling.

Alison Gardner

Head of Corporate Responsibility, Camelot UK

Alison has worked as a Corporate Responsibility professional for 14 years, and has been at Camelot UK since June 2014. As Head of Corporate Responsibility, Alison is leading Camelot UK towards new ways of demonstrating the company’s strong vision and commitment to Player Protection, and building on a long history of responsible operations. Alison chairs the WLA Responsible Gaming Working Group, and the European Lotteries Responsible Gaming Working Group. »

Jade Luchauer

CSR Manager, International Game Technology (IGT)

Jade has worked at International Game Technology (IGT) as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Manager since 2014, where she focuses on: responsible gaming and corporate social responsibility; program & policy development; stakeholder relations; coalition building and technical writing; policy interpretation and problem-solving. She earned her MBA in Business Administration and BA in Business Management from Anderson University.

Flora Matheson

Research Scientist, St. Michael’s Hospital

Dr. Flora Matheson is a research scientist at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael’s Hospital and Associate Professor in Public Health and Criminology, University of Toronto. She works with the community to develop/evaluate solutions to eliminate social and health inequities.

Marisa Paterson

Director, Centre for Gambling Research (CSRM), Australian National University

Dr Marisa Paterson is the Director of the Centre for Gambling Research (CSRM) at the Australian National University. She holds a PhD in Anthropology, a Masters of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development and Bachelor of Arts (Psychology and Anthropology). Marisa specialises in qualitative research methods, with a particular research focus on gambling policy and regulation, social and Indigenous issues, social service delivery and program development.

Kahlil Philander

Assistant Professor, School of Hospitality Business Management

Dr. Kahlil S. Philander is an Assistant Professor in the School of Hospitality Business Management. He also holds an appointment as an Honorary Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney. His research interests are in the socio-economic impacts of gambling.

Alex Price

Senior Researcher, RGC

Alex Price is a Senior Researcher for RG+ and the Responsible Gambling Council with four years of experience in the gambling field and another ten years in public health practice, research and evaluation. During his time at the RGC, he has completed or is currently engaged in projects across several Canadian jurisdictions, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Alex has extensive experience in responsible gambling and harm minimization, having completed several projects on a variety of topics (e.g., low-risk gambling guidelines, video lottery in bars and lounges, sports betting, and self-exclusion).

Deirdre Querney

Registered Social Worker, City of Hamilton, Alcohol, Drug & Gambling Services

Deirdre Querney, MSW, is a Registered Social Worker with the City of Hamilton’s Alcohol, Drug & Gambling Services and has been a counsellor in the field of addictions since 2000. She is certified by the Canadian Problem Gambling Certification Board (CPGCB) and the Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation (CACCF). She has taught at the McMaster University Centre for Continuing Education in the Professional Addictions Studies Program since 2003. Deirdre’s current research interests include spirituality and addictions, the neurobiology of problem gambling and motherhood and addictions.

Janine Robinson

Director, Centre for the Advancement of Best Practices and Managing Director, RG+

Janine Robinson has specialized in the field of responsible gambling since 1998. As a leader in responsible gambling education and training, Janine has provided policy guidance internationally. Her advanced degrees in adult education, clinical care and community development, combined with a passionate interest in culture and gambling, bring a 360° perspective to RG solutions. Janine has also provided clinical care to people directly affected by problem gambling.

Stacy Shaw

Senior Product Marketing Manager, Oregon Lottery

Stacy Shaw is the Senior Manager of Product Marketing for the Oregon Lottery. In this role she leads go-to-market strategy for Lottery games and services, which recently included chairing a cross-functional team to introduce responsible mobile sports wagering in Oregon. She provides strategic direction for Lottery’s innovative Corporate Social Responsibility programs and has championed a customer- experience based approach to Responsible Gaming.

Sasha Stark

Senior Researcher, RGC

Sasha is Senior Researcher for RG+ and the Responsible Gambling Council. In her academic and not-for-profit work, she has engaged both Canadian and international stakeholders in the responsible gambling space. Her more recent projects focus on re-envisioning youth gambling prevention, developing and evaluating responsible gambling training for various levels of staff, participating in community-based gambling prevention programs, and exploring the implications of sports betting and cannabis expansion.

Shelley White

Chief Executive Officer, RGC

Shelley White is one of Canada’s foremost visionary leaders, and has dedicated her life and career to empowering organizations that create better futures for thousands of people in their communities. In 2017, she became the new CEO of the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC). Over the last 30 years, Shelley has also held a variety of executive positions also in the non-profit sector for the country’s most recognized and trusted national institutions, including United Way, Kidney Foundation of Canada and the YMCA.

Ben Wright

Head of Safer Gambling, Sky Betting and Gaming

Ben Wright has worked at SB&G for 12 years joining the business as internet gambling was really starting to accelerate. Ben’s historical background focused on working in the Trading area of the business. He moved into the Head of Safer Gambling role at the start of 2019 to drive and develop products and policies relating to Safer Gambling and ultimately ensure a safe environment for all of our customers.

Liz Yeigh

Vice-President of Social and Community Responsibility, OLG

Liz Yeigh joined the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation as Vice-President of Social and Community Responsibility in July 2019, where she is responsible for OLG’s responsible gambling policy and program development, including the PlaySmart and voluntary self-exclusion programs, municipal and community relations and corporate sponsorship.