You’re Invited! Cocktails With A Consulate: Canada Edition

Raise a glass with us as we launch Cocktails With A Consulate, a new in-person event series hosted in collaboration with members of the Los Angeles Consular Corps. Each gathering will pair uniquely themed cocktails with a conversation on the global discourse, creating space to strengthen Los Angeles’ diplomatic relationships.

This inaugural event will feature  Zaib Shaikh, Pacific Council member and Consul General of Canada in Los Angeles, in partnership with the Canadian Consulate. He will share insights on Canada’s recent election, a preview of national priorities for the upcoming G7 Summit, and discuss bilateral relationships between California and Canada,  reflecting on maintaining effective diplomatic collaboration in an unpredictable global landscape.

We’re honored to have Dawn Nakagawa, President, Berggruen Institute, preside over the evening's program.

We’re blending the best of Canada and California, starting with a drink that unites flavors from both sides of the border. In true Canadian style, we’ll toast the evening with a signature Maple Collins - a fresh twist on a classic cocktail as vibrant and layered as the ties that connect us.

Attire: Business Casual

RSVP: Please confirm your attendance by noon on Friday, May 23rd.

Come for the cocktails, stay for the conversation. We can’t wait to raise a glass with you!

Guest Speaker

Zaib Shaikh began his mandate as Consul General of Canada in Los Angeles in December 2018. He is the Government of Canada’s senior representative in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada.

He comes to the posting after an extensive career in the media and entertainment industries, having worked as an actor and producer in theatre, film and television. His work includes acting roles in Deepa Mehta’s film Midnight’s Children, as well as starring in the CBC comedy series Little Mosque on the Prairie, which has been seen in more than 80 countries. Mr. Shaikh co‐produced the special Long Story Short: CBC Turns 75 and co‐wrote, directed and co‐produced the film Othello: The Tragedy of the Moor. He also co-founded and served as an artistic producer of the Whistler Theatre Project in British Columbia.

From 2014 until his appointment in 2018, Mr. Shaikh was the Film Commissioner and Director of Entertainment Industries for the City of Toronto. In that role, he oversaw and grew the city’s screen, music, live festival, sporting event and tourism sectors, helping to double the value of film production in Canada’s largest city, which surpassed $2 billion in 2016.

Mr. Shaikh has served as a board member for the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion and, most recently on the board of AFC (formerly the Actors Fund of Canada). He has served on juries and committees for the Gemini Awards, ACTRA Awards, Ontario Arts Council, and Theatre Ontario Youth Program as well as an ambassador for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and for Amnesty International Canada.

Mr. Shaikh is married to Ms. Kirstine Stewart. They have two children.

Presider

Dawn Nakagawa is President of the Berggruen Institute. Since joining as the Institute’s first employee, Dawn has helped the Institute to grow into an organization of global reach and influence. Prior to the Institute, Dawn was Executive Vice President of the Pacific Council on International Policy, a global leadership network dedicated to enhancing awareness of and developing solutions to global challenges. She also co-directed the project on California’s Adaptation to Climate Change, recruiting the taskforce that would later be appointed as California Adaptation Advisory Council to the state. Dawn earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and an undergraduate degree in Political Science from McGill University.