Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC) Conferences bring together community leaders, economic development professionals and entrepreneurs from across the country. These professionals attend EDAC Conferences to participate in sessions, network and listen to speakers sharing their innovative ideas and solutions to national and local challenges.
EDAC 2025 will be held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON from October 6 – 9, 2025. Monday is registration and Opening Reception, Tuesday-Thursday are sessions!
Amber Mac is a world renowned expert on all things marketing, technology, innovation, and transformation. Her popular Twitter feed boasts more than 120,000 followers from around the world, each eager to consume her hard-won insights on the next generation of business and consumer technology. Whether it be enhancing customer experience, understanding how to leverage AI, or building an unforgettable brand from scratch—as she’s done—Mac empowers leaders and organizations to take advantage of the digital revolution. Now the co-host of Marketing Disrupted—the Accenture-produced series that debuted as the #1 business podcast in the country—Mac explores how CMOs can adapt to the changing landscape and incoming hurdles that digital disruption will bring. And in the top-rated (and award-winning) podcast The AI Effect, Mac speaks to high-profile guests about the challenges and benefits of AI adoption in Canada, alongside Accenture’s Jodie Wallis. She also remains a regular business host and expert for Fast Company,CNN, Bloomberg TV, CBS, BNN, and The Marilyn Denis Show.
Mac is the bestselling author of Power Friending and Outsmarting Your Kids Online. She has delivered keynotes at more than 300 events around the world and moderated sessions with notable leaders like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, former FBI Director James Comey, and famed astronaut Chris Hadfield. Her digital agency AmberMac Media, which has worked with leading organizations from Microsoft to GE, recently teamed up with PayPal, Facebook, and the BDC to produce Her Turn: an online business competition for women entrepreneurs. “As a small business owner, I’m thrilled to promote women across this country who are launching and running companies that need help,” explains Mac, who also hosts the program.
Previously, Mac worked as a strategist for Razorfish and Director of Marketing for an e-procurement software company. After four years in the technology trenches, she joined Microsoft to build one of the first female-focused lifestyle portals.
Chris is an informative, entertaining, and insightful strategic humorist with a serious message: dare to be different and reach highest aspiration or join the burgeoning ranks of the unnoticed. Chris’ 30 years of award-winning community economic development experience in 90 communities has been dedicated to reconnecting people to the power of community-building. His dry sense of humour and no nonsense, cut-through-clutter style challenges conventions and leaves people with inspiration to “make community-building personal.”
Dr. Alissa Sklar is a communications strategy consultant with expertise in economic development, digital marketing, and social media. Based in Montréal, she works with agencies, organizations, and businesses to develop strategic messaging closely aligned with business development objectives. She specializes in content marketing and establishing thought leadership for brand awareness, focusing on white papers, blogs, webinars, podcasts, and conference presentations. Using a customized, collaborative approach with client teams, Dr. Sklar works to expand the reach of location brands in the highly competitive field of economic development.
Dr. Sklar’s clients have included ResearchFDI, British Columbia Economic Development (BCEDA), the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Research (CIER), Florida Power & Light (FPL), Oakland County Economic Development (MI), Bermuda Development Agency, and Golden Shovel Agency. She spent 11 years as the vice president of content marketing for GIS Planning and the fDi Intelligence Portfolio, a service from the Financial Times, where she led their marketing efforts, authored the copy for a complete website redesign, developed marketing collateral, conference presentations, webinars, and client support materials. Alissa is the co-author with Anatalio Ubalde of Economic Development Marketing & Priorities (2024), published by the Financial Times. Her recent white papers include Brain Gain: Workforce Attraction Strategies forU.S. Medical & Scientific Workforce in Crisis and How to Prepare Your EDO’s Tactical TariffToolkit.
Dr. Sklar has a Ph.D. and M.A. in Communication and Cultural Studies from the University of
Massachusetts at Amherst, and held a SSHRC post-doctoral fellowship with Concordia University’s School of Community & Public Affairs. She has worked extensively in both private and academic sectors, serving as a social media consultant for economic development agencies, a full-time faculty member at Concordia University’s Department of Communication Studies, a research faculty at McGill University, a blogger, and multiple award-winning journalist.
Sasha Bogdanovic is the CEO and co-founder of CityViz, an award-winning provider of the CityViz economic development data platform, used by communities and organizations across Canada to attract investment and boost economic growth. With over 23 years of experience as a data specialist, Sasha has delivered data products for provincial and local governments as well as the private sector.
He holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Science and was recognized as a top performer in the inaugural class of the Data Science Specialization by Johns Hopkins University and Coursera. Sasha was also a winner of the BC Housing Market Data Visualization Challenge by BC Stats and Innovate BC.
