VAUGHAN, ON

The Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association (CIBPA) Toronto Chapter hosted its 74th President’s Gala on Friday, October 2, 2026, bringing together a sold-out event of approximately 900 guests at the Venu Event Space. The event celebrated achievement within the Canadian-Italian business community while raising funds for local community and educational initiatives.

The milestone evening was made possible thanks to Deloitte; CIBC; Fengate; Masters Insurance; Cristina Ciccolini Memorial Fund; Zanchin Automotive Group; Fero International; Choice Properties; UniversalCare; Montecassino; Lavazza; Cadillac Fairview; Ital Florist; Decor-Rest; DOLCE Magazine; City Life and TLN Media Group.

Led by CIBPA Toronto President Sabrina Marrelli and Honorary Co-Chairs Andria Zanchin and Laura Zanchin, the evening honoured the recipients of the 2026 CIBPA Awards of Excellence. Immediate Past President Tony Cocuzzo served as Master of Ceremonies.

“The 74th President’s Gala is a profound testament to the enduring impact of the Canadian-Italian community,” said Marrelli.“Tonight, we do more than celebrate corporate and professional excellence — we honour a legacy of resilience, entrepreneurship, and community-building that defines our heritage. Seeing our community come together reinforces our commitment to empowering the next generation of leaders through the CIBPA Education Foundation.”

The highlight was the 2026 CIBPA President’s Award to Anthony Staffieri, President and CEO of Rogers Communications, recognizing his corporate and community impact across Canada.

The Awards of Excellence recipients include Sam Ciccolini (Lifetime Contribution Award), Michela Di Mondo (Woman of the Year Award), Jennifer Quaglietta (Professional Excellence Award), Ester Paris Mauro and Italo Paris (Business Excellence Award), Paul Golini (Community Leader Award) and Kira Serafini (NextGen Award).

The gala welcomed His Excellency Alessandro Cattaneo, Ambassador of Italy to Canada; The Honourable Justice Giuseppina D’Agostino, Judge of the Federal Court; The Honourable Justice Frank Iacobucci, Former Supreme Court Justice; The Honourable Stephen Lecce, MPP, Ontario Cabinet Minister; The Honourable Toni Varone, Senator; and Robert Allegrini, President & CEO of the National Italian American Foundation.

Proceeds will support the CIBPA Education Foundation — celebrating its 50th anniversary — and CIBPA Place for adults living with dementia.

Watch the Gala Highlights

To learn more about the evening’s celebrations, click here: CIBPA TORONTO 2026 update – Frame.io

About CIBPA Toronto:

Founded in 1952, the Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association (CIBPA) Toronto Chapter represents Italian Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area, fostering networks and charitable initiatives.

Media Contact Details
Isha Sharma
Dolce Media Group
Email: Send Email
Phone: 905.264.6789
Website: dolcemedia.ca

Election places the Open Sea Institute’s founders in a scientific lineage that includes Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace

LONDON, UK

Dr. Denise Joseph and Dr. Louis Joseph have been elected Fellows of the Linnean Society of London, the world’s oldest active biological and natural history society, whose historical membership includes Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, co-authors of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.

Founded in 1788, the Linnean Society is internationally recognized for advancing the study of natural history, biology, and the life sciences. Election as a Fellow reflects a sustained contribution to scientific thought and interdisciplinary achievement.

The Josephs are the co-founders of the Open Sea Institute (OSI), the privately held international psychiatry and executive advisory practice serving a limited circle of senior leaders, investors, and principals within the global wealth community. Denise and Louis Joseph, recognized for their long-standing commitment to servant leadership, are known for the development and stewardship of proprietary psychotechnological methodologies, including OSI’s founder-originated OSI-type Portfolio Intervention Framework and Deep Trace Protocol. Alongside their clinical and advisory work, Drs. Joseph have pursued a long-standing research program on the dynamics of living systems under stress across diverse taxa.

“The challenges facing global leadership today are not only economic or political—they are neurological, psychological, and ecological,” said Denise Joseph. “Our work has focused on the belief that healing the world’s highest achievers creates downstream benefits for organizations, communities, and the planet itself. Dr. Joseph and I are truly honored and grateful to be recognized by this historic, scholarly community as we prepare to bring forth what we believe could potentially be groundbreaking theory on how complex living systems hold together under pressure, and what that tells us about health at every scale. At OSI, we study living systems for the public interest and the public good.”

Much of that research is carried out through the Open Sea Institute Research Initiative System (OSIRIS), a privately funded, independent scientific initiative led by Denise and Louis Joseph and headquartered in the Nantahala National Rain Forest of the American Blue Ridge Mountains. OSIRIS studies how living systems, from ecosystems to the human mind, conserve coordinated function when demands exceed capacity, simplifying under strain and rebuilding as conditions allow. The work spans both ecology and neuroscience, examining the relationship between human health and ecological systems, an emerging area of interest examining how psychological wellbeing, cognition, and environmental context inform one another.

“A forest under drought and a mind under pressure are solving the same problem: how to keep working when there is not enough to go around,” said Louis Joseph. “Both simplify, both defend something, and both hold on to the machinery for coming back. As dual Director of Clinical Psychotechnology and Theoretical and Translational Research, I built OSI’s research arm to take that literally rather than treat it as a metaphor.”

The Linnean Society has historically served as a forum where ideas at the intersection of biology, ecology, and natural history are examined and advanced. As Fellows, Denise Joseph and Louis Joseph join an international network of scientists and thought leaders committed to advancing knowledge across the life sciences.

About the Open Sea Institute

The Open Sea Institute (OSI) is a principals led international psychiatry and executive advisory practice serving a select group of senior leaders, founders, investors, and institutions. OSI’s work centers on advanced psychological optimization, leadership resilience under complexity, and cognitive-ecological and prosocial approaches to mental health and performance. The Institute maintains a long-horizon focus on cognitive sustainability and systemic impact through leadership-level intervention. OSI is home to OSIRIS, The Open Sea Institute Research Initiative System (OSIRIS), a privately funded, independent scientific initiative led by Drs. Louis and Denise Joseph. OSIRIS is headquartered in the Nantahala National Rainforest on the American Blue Ridge Mountain Range.

Media Contact Details
Idina Silva
Opensea.Institute
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San Diego civil rights and police misconduct law firm says anyone who drove through El Cajon in the past six months, including people who live, work, or shop there, may be entitled to a damages award under California’s license plate privacy law

El Cajon, CA

McKenzie Scott PC, a San Diego civil rights law firm known for holding government agencies accountable and successfully handling police misconduct cases, is investigating potential class action claims against the City of El Cajon and Flock Safety on behalf of drivers whose license plate data may have been illegally shared with law enforcement agencies outside California.

If you drove through El Cajon–whether you live, work, shop, attend school, or visit family there–you may be entitled to a damages award. The firm is offering free, confidential case reviews at (619) 794-0451 and through its El Cajon Flock Camera Lawsuit page.

The investigation follows a lawsuit filed on October 3, 2025, by California Attorney General Rob Bonta in San Diego County Superior Court. The Attorney General alleges that El Cajon shared data from its Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras with out-of-state law enforcement agencies, even after his office warned the City in writing that the practice violates state law. In January 2026, the Attorney General asked the court to immediately halt the sharing. El Cajon officials maintain the City is following the law, and the case remains pending.

According to local news reporting, El Cajon has about 100 Flock cameras installed throughout the city. Records from Flock’s own transparency portal show more than 600 agencies have access to El Cajon’s license plate data, including police departments in more than 20 states.

“Every time you drive down Main Street or Fletcher Parkway, a camera records where you were and when. California law says that information must stay in California, not shared with federal law enforcement, immigration authorities, or out-of-state police,” said San Diego civil rights attorney Tim Scott, founding partner of McKenzie Scott PC.

Who May Qualify for an El Cajon Flock Camera Claim?

Flock cameras run 24 hours a day and photograph every passing vehicle, recording the plate number, vehicle details, date, time, and location. Drivers receive no notice. McKenzie Scott PC especially wants to hear from:

• El Cajon residents who drive in the city, including neighborhoods such as Fletcher Hills and Granite Hills
• Commuters who work or attend school in El Cajon
• Shoppers and visitors who shop, dine, attend services, see doctors, or visit family in El Cajon
• Drivers on major El Cajon streets, including Main Street, Broadway, Fletcher Parkway, Magnolia Avenue, and Second Street
• East County residents of Santee, La Mesa, Lakeside, Rancho San Diego, and Alpine who drive through El Cajon

You do not need to know which Flock camera captured your vehicle, or prove your data was shared, before contacting the firm. Consultations are confidential, and anyone may speak with a lawyer regardless of background or immigration status.

What Does California Law Say About Flock License Plate Data?

California’s ALPR law, Civil Code sections 1798.90.5 through 1798.90.55 (originally enacted as SB 34 in 2015), allows public agencies to share license plate reader data only with other California public agencies. The law also gives people harmed by a violation the right to file a civil lawsuit. Under Civil Code section 1798.90.54, a court may award actual and liquidated damages, punitive damages for willful or reckless violations, attorney’s fees and costs, and orders requiring the unlawful practice to stop.

The Attorney General’s lawsuit asks the court to declare El Cajon’s data sharing via Flock camera unlawful and order it to stop. It does not seek compensation for individual residents or drivers. A private claim may seek money damages for the people whose data was shared.

Why Claims May Target Both the City of El Cajon and Flock Safety

The City of El Cajon operates the Flock cameras and, according to the Attorney General, continued sharing data with out-of-state agencies after repeated warnings. Flock Safety builds, hosts, and manages the camera network and the national data-sharing platform that makes out-of-state access possible. Holding both accountable may give affected drivers the best chance to stop the sharing and recover compensation.

Time Is Limited

Lawsuits and government claims are often governed by strict timelines and statutes of limitations. Drivers who wait could lose the right to recover. McKenzie Scott PC encourages anyone who drove through El Cajon in the past six months to call (619) 794-0451 or request a free case review as soon as possible.

A Civil Rights and Police Misconduct Firm That Sues the Government

McKenzie Scott PC represents people whose constitutional and civil rights have been violated by government agencies, law enforcement, and corporations. The firm’s civil rights, police misconduct, and jail injury practice has produced results against government entities that include:

• An $85 million civil rights verdict (at the time, the largest-ever police-involved wrongful death damages award)
• A $16 million in-custody jail death settlement, the largest wrongful-death settlement ever against San Diego County
• A $1 million police-shooting death settlement that was the largest payment of its kind in National City’s history

Founding partners Michele McKenzie and Tim Scott are Stanford Law School graduates backed by a full team of trial attorneys. Michele McKenzie spent nearly 20 years at Federal Defenders of San Diego. The firm’s attorneys have been selected to the Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists. Learn more about the firm’s featured cases and media coverage. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

El Cajon Flock Camera Lawsuit: Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a Flock camera class action lawsuit in El Cajon?

California’s Attorney General has sued the City of El Cajon over its sharing of Flock license plate data, and private class actions have been filed against Flock Safety in California. McKenzie Scott PC is investigating claims against both the City of El Cajon and Flock Safety on behalf of affected drivers.

Who is eligible to file a claim?

Anyone who drove a vehicle in El Cajon while its Flock cameras were active may be eligible, including residents, commuters, shoppers, and visitors. Drivers who used El Cajon roads in the past six months should act promptly because of short government claim deadlines.

What compensation may be available?

California Civil Code section 1798.90.54 allows a court to award actual and liquidated damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and court orders stopping unlawful data sharing. Every case is different, and no outcome can be guaranteed.

How much does it cost to talk to a lawyer?

Case reviews are free and confidential. McKenzie Scott PC charges no fees unless the firm recovers compensation for you. Call (619) 794-0451 or start your free case review online.
Information about the El Cajon Flock camera investigation is also available in Spanish and Armenian.

About McKenzie Scott PC

McKenzie Scott PC is a San Diego civil rights law firm focused on civil rights, police misconduct, criminal defense, jail deaths, and personal injury. Led by Stanford-trained trial lawyers Michele McKenzie and Tim Scott, the firm holds government agencies, law enforcement, and corporations accountable when they violate people’s rights. The firm is located at 1350 Columbia Street, Suite 600, San Diego, CA 92101, and serves clients throughout San Diego County and East County. To schedule a free case evaluation, call (619) 794-0451 or visit mckenziescott.com/contact.

Sources

• California Attorney General: Bonta Sues El Cajon for Illegally Sharing License Plate Data (Oct. 3, 2025)
• California Attorney General: Bonta Continues Legal Challenge Against El Cajon (Jan. 21, 2026)
• California Civil Code sections 1798.90.5 through 1798.90.55; California Government Code section 911.2

Attorney Advertising. This press release is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Contacting McKenzie Scott PC does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. McKenzie Scott PC, 1350 Columbia Street, Suite 600, San Diego, CA 92101.