Meet The Experts

Meet the team that gets to the bottom of the newest scams, including psychologists, investigators, advocates and other insider experts.

Ainsley Cunningham (Host)
Ainsley Cunningham is the Manager of Education and Communications with the Manitoba Securities Commission. During her 23-year tenure with the Commission she has been responsible for the development and delivery of saving and investing programs for Manitobans.

Her passion for teaching financial literacy concepts is evident in the creative nature of the programs that the Commission has developed and the personal manner in which she interacts with learners.

As Manager of Education and Communications, Ainsley has represented the Commission on both national and international investor education committees. Prior to her government service Ainsley spent several years working in the securities industry as well as teaching in the public school system. Ainsley holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education degrees as well as a Certificate in Management from the University of Manitoba.

 

Laura Tamblyn Watts
Laura Tamblyn Watts is the President and CEO of CanAge, Canada’s national seniors’ advocacy organization. Laura is a passionate advocate for a variety of urgent issues affecting older Canadians, including long-term care and home care, financial security, elder abuse, health care, ageism, and inclusion of marginalized communities.

Laura previously served as Chief Public Policy Officer at the Canadian Association of Retired Persons before establishing CanAge at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She currently teaches the Law and Aging course at the Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto, where she is also a Fellow of the Institute for Life Course and Aging. Having served as past chair, Laura is currently an executive member of the Canadian Bar Association’s National Elder Law section and a board member of the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE network), PACE Independent Living, and Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario.

 

Jason Roy
Jason Roy is Senior Investigator with the Manitoba Securities Commission and has over 23-years of experience in securities fraud investigations. Roy is former Chair of the Canadian Securities Administrators Investment Fraud Task Force, and has presented to audiences across Canada, the United States and Europe on binary options and other securities fraud. He serves on the CSA Enforcement Committee and the North American Securities Administrators Association Enforcement Section. He has also testified in securities fraud cases in Canada and the United States. Jason has a degree in Criminology from the University of Manitoba and a degree in Criminal Justice from Rainy River Community College.

 

David Cheop
David Cheop Q.C. is Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Manitoba Securities Commission and Chief Administrative Officer of The Manitoba Financial Services Agency responsible for regulation of the securities and real estate industries as well as the oversight of credit unions, trust companies, and the insurance industry in Manitoba. Cheop was formerly vice-president and chief compliance officer for IG Investment Management Ltd. and Mackenzie Financial Corporation. From 1986 to 1998, Cheop served as the deputy director/secretary for MSC. Mr. Cheop is also a director honorary counsel for a number of charitable organizations, and has received the prestigious City of Winnipeg Community Service Award and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

 

Detective Mike Streilein
Mike Streilein is a member of the Winnipeg Police Service’s Financial Crime Unit. Along with being an investigator, Mike is also the coordinator of the Winnipeg Police Service’s annual Fraud Prevention Month campaign.
Mike is passionate about fraud awareness and prevention and has put on numerous presentations to members of the public, as well as members of the Winnipeg Police Service.

 

 

Dr. Moira Somers
Dr. Moira Somers is a financial psychologist, neuropsychologist, and behavioural scientist based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She consults to organizations around the globe on issues pertaining to money and mental health, financial non-adherence, and behaviourally smart interventions for financial services. She is the author of Advice that Sticks: How to Give Financial Advice that People Will Follow.

 

 

Jana Taylor
Jana Taylor is the Deputy Public Guardian and Trustee for Legal Services and legal counsel to the Public Guardian and Trustee. She started her legal career at the PGT as an articling student in 2001 and has continued as legal counsel since her Call to the Bar in 2002. She presently oversees the Legal Department of the PGT and deals with matters ranging from family matters to estate litigation and financial abuse matters. She has been involved in a number of educational sessions put on by the Law Society and the PGT, including sessions on the prevention of financial abuse, the role of litigation guardians and civil matters involving minors.

 

Connie Newman
Connie Newman is the Executive Director (lead consultant) for the Manitoba Association of Senior Centres – Age Friendly Manitoba Initiative (MASC – AFI). MASC – AFI is a member association currently with 64 member Centres throughout Manitoba.

Connie is 73 years young and,  holds an M.Ed. in Administration from the UofMB. She retired from education in 2004, but before that was a junior high teacher/principal for 34 years in St James Assiniboia School Division.

She believes in active aging and all that it means – keeping one’s mind and body active helps her to assist those around her who may need information and support as we all age together. Giving to back, giving to others is important. We can all give in some form – it makes our Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada a much better place.

 

Jake van der Laan
Jake van der Laan is the Director, Information Technology and Regulatory Informatics and the Chief Information Officer with the New Brunswick Financial and Consumer Services Commission (FCNB) in New Brunswick, Canada.
Jake earned a BBA in 1988, an LLB in 1991, a BScCS in 2010 and a MCS in 2021. He has been a member of the New Brunswick bar since 1992. He is certified as a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) as well as an Information Systems Professional (ISP) by Canada’s Association of Information Technology Professionals. He is a contributing author to the Handbook of Blockchain Law, published by Wolters Kluwer in 2020