Keynote Speakers
Opening Ceremonies Speaker
Banquet Speaker
Dr. Andy Knight
Founder of HSMUN
W. Andy Knight is Provost Fellow, Black Excellence and Leadership at the University of Alberta and former Chair of its Department of Political Science. Knight has served as Director of the Institute of International Relations (IIR), The University of the West Indies (UWI), Trinidad & Tobago where he co-founded and directed the Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean (DAOC). He is the past co-Editor-in-Chief of the African Security Journal and International Journal, both globally prestigious peer-reviewed publications, and he founded the Caribbean Journal of International Relations and Diplomacy in 2013 during his secondment in the Caribbean. Professor Knight was co-editor of another highly regarded and award-winning journal — Global Governance -- from 2000 to 2005. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC), he was named by Venture Magazine among Alberta’s top 50 most influential people and, by the Black Business and Professional Association of Canada, the Harry Jerome Trailblazer. He served as an Advisory Board Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Welfare of Children and directed the Peace and Post Conflict Studies Certificate Programme in the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies (OIS) at the University of Alberta. In March 2007, Dr. Knight was appointed by the Canadian Foreign Minister to the Board of Governors of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and served in that position until 2011. He was appointed Distinguished Professor at the University of Alberta in 2021 and was awarded the 2021-22 Fulbright Distinguished Chair in International and Area Studies at Yale University. In March 2023, Professor Knight received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for his valuable contributions to the province of Alberta. In June 2023, McMaster University conferred upon Knight an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa. Last year, Professor Knight received the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award.
Dr. Kristopher Wells
Canadian Senator
Dr. Kristopher Wells is an educator and a champion for the 2SLGBTQI+ community who has used research and advocacy to help advance diversity, equity, and human rights in Alberta and across the country.
Dr. Wells started his career as a teacher in St. Albert Public Schools, before completing Masters and PhD degrees focused on sexual and gender diversity in education. He later worked as a diversity consultant for Edmonton Public Schools, where he helped develop the first standalone sexual orientation and gender identity school board policy in Western Canada. From 2012 to 2018, he was Assistant Professor and Faculty Director of the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services at the University of Alberta. He then became MacEwan University’s first Canada Research Chair and served as the founding Director of the MacEwan Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity.
Dr. Wells has dedicated his life to the promotion of 2SLGBTQI+ rights, serving on a number of community organizations and boards, including the Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities, REACH Edmonton, the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee, the Edmonton Police Chief’s Community Advisory Council, and the LGBTQ2+ National Monument Committee. He has helped create initiatives such as Camp fYrefly, the Alberta GSA Network, and Pride Tape, which has been adopted by all teams of the National Hockey League and in other countries around the world.
Dr. Wells served as the Editor-in-Chief of the international Journal of LGBT Youth and has been an invited scientific expert for many national and international organizations. In recognition of his contributions, Dr. Wells has received several awards and accolades, including the Alberta Centennial Medal, the Alberta Award for Study of Canadian Human Rights and Multiculturalism, the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s Public Education Award, and the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal.
Dr. Wells holds a Bachelor of Education, a Master of Education, and a Doctor of Philosophy, all from the University of Alberta. He is a lifelong resident of Alberta and in 2024 was appointed to the Senate of Canada by the Governor General upon recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada.