Yazmine Laroche, ICD.D, was Canada’s first Deputy Minister for Public Service Accessibility and the first person with a visible disability to become a federal Deputy Minister. She has significant leadership experience, having delivered major initiatives in transportation, infrastructure, arts and culture, and human resources. In addition to service as the inaugural Chair of the DSO Board, she is a Director on the National Arts Centre Board of Trustees, where she chairs the HR Committee. She also serves on the Advisory Committee to the Auditor General of Canada and is a former Chair of the Board of Muscular Dystrophy Canada. In recognition of her accomplishments, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Carleton University, in 2019, and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.