With almost a decade of professional experience, Dr. Ahmad possesses a solid pharmaceutical background as a registered pharmacist, with a Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Florida. Upon graduating from the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, she enjoyed meaningful opportunities in retail, hospital and home care settings. She successfully learnt a diverse set of skills, while keeping in tune to critical developments in clinical practice.

In a fast pace environment, she provides genuine care to patients, upholding the significance of identifying as well as resolving medication-related issues. Her approach has extended beyond clinical practice, and into teaching students in formal as well as informal environments.  In fact, she had the pleasure of teaching and learning from students registered in the University of Toronto Doctorate of Pharmacy program (EPE/APPE) as well as students in Sheridan College’s Faculty of Applied Health and Community Studies and the Peel District School Board. 

Some of the courses Dr. Ahmad lectured at Sheridan College include Basic Physiology and Pharmacotherapeutics, Introduction to Pharmacology, and Advanced Concepts in Pharmacology.  As an instructor, her teaching philosophy is one that is individualistic and valuable to the student, coupled with self-reflection and continuous learning.

Dr. Minna Allarakhia is faculty at the University of Waterloo and Founder of Engaged Thinking Associates. Dr. Allarakhia’s academic research and professional activities focus on: designing for sustainability, personalizing sustainability for and empowering consumers through responsible consumption.

Haitham Amar currently works as a Lead Data Scientist in the field of online commerce and SaaS. He is also a sessional instructor at University of Waterloo teaching various graduate level AI courses. He has been working in the field of data analytics and AI since 2010. He is a member of the Centre of Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (CPAMI) at the University of Waterloo. He received his Ph.D. degree in the field of communication and information systems from University of Waterloo. He also received his MASc. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and his B.Sc. degree in Computer Engineering from University of Tripoli.

His current research interests revolve around market analysis, recommendation systems, machine learning, artificial intelligence, pattern recognition, situation assessment and decision aid systems, vehicular localization, cognitive radios, trip planning and applied game theory.

Tara is a healthcare and information technology specialist, working for Hamilton Health Sciences as the data analyst for their Cardiac & Vascular Surgery Program. Completing multiple projects to enhance the delivery of health care to the cardiovascular population of Hamilton-Haldimand-Niagara-Brant region is her passion.

Tara believes that the quality of data informs real-time patient care and drives program initiatives and improvements. With over 20 years of healthcare data expertise Tara is also certified as a clinical research associate, working with McMaster Vascular Surgeons coordinating their research for the last 9 years. Tara’s most exciting adventure has been mentoring clinical research associate graduates from McMaster University enhancing their practical experience with Canadian research.

Michael Angell (he/him) is a PhD Candidate in the department of English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University. His research focuses on the relationship between gender and self-hood in early fiction. His other research interests include animals in eighteenth century popular culture and Restoration drama. He is also completing a graduate diploma in Gender Studies and Feminist Research.

He is passionate about teaching English, and has taught English in Canada and overseas for almost ten years. He loves to cook, read, attend the theatre, and enjoys new foods.

Mary Armellini is the owner of an independent human resources consultancy firm. She is a certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) with over 25 years of successful business experience in people and project management. She has taught at McMaster for over 10 years.  

Edward Asare-Quansah is a Senior Manager, Forensics and Litigation Support Services at MNP’s Toronto office. He is a chartered accountant with over 20 years of business and accounting experience and has specialized in investigative and forensic accounting since 2006. He is also a certified fraud examiner and has a diploma in investigative and forensic accounting from the University of Toronto. Edward has taught forensic accounting and accounting courses at various University’s across Canada, and abroad, since 2007. Edward has been teaching at CCE since 2016.

Michael Ayers has been involved in senior care and hospitality throughout Canada and the United States for 40 years. He has been an administrator, vice-president of operations and owner of long-term-care and retirement communities and is now an adviser to the retirement home industry as a consultant.

Michael has also been an accreditation surveyor, board and committee member and presently an educator with the Ontario Retirement Communities Association, which represents over 700 retirement communities in Ontario. Throughout his career, Michael has provided educational opportunities for thousands of retirement community staff and managers through in-person and web-based educational presentations. He is a passionate advocate for seniors and for managers and staff who have chosen senior care as a career.

In mid-career Michael honed his hospitality skills as the owner/operator of a small cottage resort, bed and breakfast and apple orchard in Prince Edward County, Ontario. Michael now lives in Ontario cottage country where he and his wife adopt senior dogs who need a loving home.

Emily Baillie is a digital marketing instructor and content marketing consultant. She is a member of the Canadian Marketing Association. Through her business Compass Content Marketing she provides content and digital marketing strategy counsel to clients including MasterCard, Northern Ontario Travel, United Way, Adoption Council of Ontario, Tourism Simcoe County & more.

Since 2014, she has taught social media and digital marketing courses in the GTA. She also leads digital marketing workshops and corporate training sessions across Ontario. In 2004, Emily graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with an Hons. BA in Communications Studies and in 2010 she earned a Certificate in Strategic Communications from University of Toronto. She is a Chartered Marketer with over 15 years of experience in the marketing industry.

Dr. Iris M. Balodis is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University and a faculty associate with the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research. She is a core member of the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research as well as Director of the Integrated Neuroscience of Motivation and Change (IN-MaC) Laboratory.

Her overall research program covers different aspects of reward and stress processing across various at-risk populations. This includes substance-based disorders, such as cannabis or alcohol use disorders, non-substance-based disorders, including gambling disorder, as well as other disorders characterized by problems with impulse control, such as binge eating disorder.

Chris Barrett is the Executive Vice President for the Rank Higher Group of Companies. He holds a B.Comm. with a double major in Marketing and Economics from the University of Windsor and an M.B.A. from Wayne State University. He also earned a certification in “Theory of Constraints: Cause and Effect Logic Problem Solving” from Wayne State University. Chris has taught at McMaster since 2013.

Dr. Min Basadur is Professor Emeritus of Innovation & Organizational Behaviour at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University and Founder of Basadur Applied Creativity. He began developing his insights about creative thinking and complex problem-solving at Procter & Gamble where he received three U.S. patents and created a corporate-wide innovation consulting practice. Min integrated his work into award-winning doctoral research and received his PhD in Organizational Behavior at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Business. His Simplexity Thinking™ system and the Basadur Innovation Profile are used globally by major organizations including eBay, PepsiCo, Fox Studios, Procter & Gamble, John Deere, and NASA, among many others. His books, The Power of Innovation and Design-centered Entrepreneurship, became instant CEO need-to-reads. Min also teaches in popular MBA programs in Asia and Europe and for the Directors College of the Conference Board of Canada.

Sally Bean is the Director of the Health Ethics Alliance & Policy at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Bean earned a B.A. in Philosophy & English, an M.A. in Bioethics and Public Policy and a Juris Doctorate. After law school, Bean completed a two year fellowship in Clinical & Organizational Ethics through the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics. She also currently serves in the following academic capacities: an Adjunct Lecturer in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, an Associate Member of the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto, and an Adjunct Lecturer at Osgoode Hall School of Law at York University. Additionally, Bean serves as a member of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, Board Member of the Canadian Association for Practicing Healthcare Ethicists and Canadian Bioethics Society, Chair of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) Community of Practice, and is a member on the Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee. Her research areas of academic interest pertain largely to health institution and health system ethics with an emphasis on health law and policy.

Bio to come! 

Kevin is a Human Resources Professional with over six years of HR and Labour Relations experience.  Kevin was previously a Labour Relations Consultant at Coca-Cola Limited where he was the primary Company negotiation lead and successfully bargained several union collective agreements. Kevin transitioned to Loblaw Companies Limited leading a team of HR generalists and recruiters in the largest distribution centre in the Loblaw Supply Chain network. Most recently, Kevin transitioned into a Senior Manager for Change Management overseeing several business transformational initiatives.  

Kevin leverages his collaborative style and strong business acumen to truly understand his clients business to gain influence. His leadership style allows for autonomy and trust to create high-performance HR teams. 

Kevin has completed his Masters in HR Management degree at York University. In addition, he holds Bachelors of Commerce degree at Ryerson University.  

Rav Bhathal has spent the last 15 years teaching business and specifically marketing. He has a wealth of industry experience being an entrepreneur and running his own Marketing and Event Management company.

Rav is a strong believer in differentiated instruction, and understands that every student is an individual, varying his teaching style and evaluations to help bring out the best in each student. He uses all his real-world experience in his instruction, providing students with a modern and current day perspective, mixed in with traditional textbook and theory.

Rav holds a B.A., B.Comm, and M. Ed.

In his free time, Rav enjoys reading about all things business, and loves fitness, sports, and music!

Dr. Michael Biocchi completed his PhD, Masters of Science and Bachelor of Computer Science. Michael is also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Michael has worked in higher education for over 10 years. He started as a staff member working at a university doing application development. He moved into the role of Manager of IT and then soon after became the Director of IT. During these years, he also taught part-time at both the university and college levels. In 2018, he left his industry job to pursue his teaching career where he is now a full-time professor within a Computer Science department. He has taught a variety of courses including Security and Privacy, Project Management and Artificial Intelligence.

Michael also runs a consulting business. He works with businesses in developing risk assessment, policy creation, business continuity planning, disaster recovery planning, and security awareness. He has provided online training to thousands of people across the world teaching about security and privacy.

Kerry is the HR Director with Intelligent Imaging System, and its subsidiary company Drivewyze, a technology leader disrupting the transportation industry with some of the most advanced imaging systems and technology applications.

As the Head of Talent, she is accountable for leading our HR strategy that enables growth and scalability while preserving the core values and culture the founders, and our team members, believe in. Having this accountability with an organization built upon disruptive technology and innovation is an exciting mandate!

Over the course of 20 years, she has held roles focused on talent acquisition, talent management, employee and labour relations, employee branding, employee engagement, learning and development, and HR planning. She has led large-scale implementations in complex, multi-national environments and multidisciplinary teams. She thrives when supporting, enabling and facilitating the development of others.

She has a Bachelor of Commerce specializing in Organizational Behavior and a Certificate in Adult Education. She is also a Chartered Professional in Human Resources with CPHR/CHRA Canada. She believes the pillars of organizational viability starts with aligning HR strategy and planning to business strategy, goals and objectives. Add in a culture that truly values employees, combined with strong leadership, and you will have an organization poised for great success.

Tracey has 20 years of experience in the financial services industry working directly or indirectly with personal, commercial and corporate clients to help them achieve their financial goals. She is the President and Chief Financial Fitness Trainer at Bissett Financial Fitness Inc. Tracey completed her Honours Bachelor of Commerce Degree at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and Masters of Business Administration Degree at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 2007, Tracey furthered her financial education by becoming a CFA Charterholder. Tracey has been teaching at CCE since 2016.

Nicole Bleiwas is a senior marketing executive who has a passion for delivering brand and business breakthroughs.

At Coca-Cola, Nicole led business planning and built shopper marketing and revenue management capabilities. Nicole served as VP, Strategy, Insights, and Marketing Operations with Kraft Heinz. In this capacity, she created a consumer-centric insight framework that resulted in the successful launch of new products. Most recently, Nicole launched a Direct-to-Consumer startup, bringing to market an innovative functional beverage brand.

Nicole has a BA in Statistics and an MBA in Marketing.

Golda Naana Boakye is a Clinical Team Professional who has over fifteen (15) years’ experience in a wide range of therapeutic areas in clinical research that has contributed to the growth and success of four (4) different organizations.

Ms. Boakye served as a Sr. CTM with global CTM operational responsibilities and sometimes as a backup project manager at a large global CRO. During her time in operations, she provided trial management leadership and oversight over cross-functional teams in a projectized matrix environment. She was responsible for the delivery of clinical trial operational activities across multiple studies.

Golda has expertise in financial management, project and change management, people resource management, training, vendor management, oversight of clinical monitoring, trial management and close out with TMF delivery for global and regional studies. She worked as a Clinical Research Associate with increasing responsibility and seniority for 7.5 years on global and regional monitoring studies in Canada, the Bahamas and the US. She provided leadership as well as direct staff oversight of the conduction of multiple projects from feasibility process of all new studies, study start-up to close-out, including scope of work, risk management, business development, contracting, budget development and review. In addition, Golda provided project management, timelines, and planning to achieve strategic targeted clinical and financial goals. She is responsible for the clinical deliverables as well as for leading the team of CRAs.

Ms. Boakye also holds a MSc in Clinical Research from the University of Liverpool.

Amanda is a health information and privacy strategist who understands the complex needs of any type of healthcare organization, from large hospital systems to private physician practice. Amanda is passionate about supporting leaders in creating privacy conscious environments and managing health information in a world steeped in technological innovation.

Over the last 12 years, she has developed a unique perspective when it comes to the delivery of healthcare. From her beginnings as a hospital unit clerk, to her current work as a Health Information Management professional, Amanda has developed the best inside experience and perspective in order serve her learners.

As a knowledgeable industry professional, Amanda has also worked as an instructor at post-secondary institutions since 2015. Amanda is certified with the Canadian Institute of Access and Privacy Professionals (CIAPP-C) and with the Canadian Health Information Management Association (CHIMA). She holds both a Diploma of Health Information Management from Algonquin College/CHA Learning and Certification as Medical Office Assistant and Unit Clerk from MacEwan University. She is currently completing her Bachelor of Health Administration degree through Athabasca University.

Aaron Brox is a consultant in business intelligence and analytics in the Greater Toronto area. With a degree in Humanities from McMaster, an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and almost 20 years of experience in corporate training, adult education design and business intelligence, he works with companies to turn data into information and builds tools to give them insight into their organization and industry.

Brox brings his experience in the banking and insurance industry and his skills in adult training to McMaster’s Big Data Analytics program where he teaches data management and modelling.

He believes that with the current “democratization of data” there is now a bottleneck for turning that data into useable information. “There’s a huge need for skilled analysts who can be the crystal ball for businesses. Picking up big data skills is a strategic advantage in the marketplace.” He also predicts that data security is one of the next big challenges for the developed world, and big data experts will need to have data visualization skills to help organizations stay compliant with the changing legal landscape.

Funlayo Buraimoh is a Project Leader in Clinical Operations with over 14 years of experience in the Pharmaceutical Industry as well as in Academia. She has a BSc in Biochemistry (Unilag), MSc in Biotechnology (Hertfordshire, UK),  Association of Clinical Research Professional Certified Professional ACRP CP® & Certified Scrum Master CSM®.

Her personal core values are being passionate, courageous, and strategic.

She is recognized as a go-to resource person, and problem solver; able to build authentic, credible, and trusting relationships with internal and external clients. Outside of work, she loves hosting events, making sumptuous meals, and Karaoke.

Lesley Calvin is a leadership coach, trainer, certified eSpeaker, and is highly revered as an emotional intelligence specialist with a warm, impactful approach to her coaching, training and speaking engagements. As a former higher education administrator and leader of people and departments, Lesley has dedicated her passion-driven career to the personal, professional and leadership development of individuals and organizations.

Lesley has a master’s degree in organizational leadership (MAOL), designation as a Certified Professional Coach (CPC), a PCC professional designation by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), and certification as a Mastermind Facilitator.

Additionally, Lesley is one of few Leadership Development Master Practitioners with the expertise to administer, assess and train the Energy Leadership Index (ELI) and the Emotional Intelligence Assessment (EQi-2.0) both recognized by Forbes in their top 3 assessments for professionals and leaders. With this unique and specialized combination, Lesley works with individuals and teams to identify strengths and development areas, to elevate results, fuel positivity and foster engagement.

Working with individuals and organizations to build emotionally intelligent high performing leaders and organizations is her mission. Fostering awareness of self and others, increasing empathy, adaptability and a positive mindset in times of change and stress is her deliverable.

Mohamed Camara has extensive work experience in Risk Management, Finance and Internal Audit in various industries ranging from Consulting, Banking, Mining to Engineering. Over the past decade, Mohamed helped organizations and clients understand and manage risk by performing risk assessment and leading compliance, financial and operational audits. Additionally, Mohamed helped develop and implement control environment to reduce and mitigate major risks.

Mohamed is bilingual in French and English and graduated with a Bachelors in Economics and MBA from Kedge Business School in Bordeaux, France. Mohamed also holds the CPA, CRMA and CFE certifications.

Anthony Cameron is a clinical research professional with over 20 years of experience developing and managing clinical trials in both academia and industry.

Anthony has worked in most areas of clinical development from working in a university lab to working as a Clinical Research Associate, a Global Clinical Team Manager and Project Manager to Director of Clinical Operations.

Passionate about making clinical trial participation available to all Canadians, Anthony has been an advocate for rural centres to have access to new medicines, thereby extending the geographic range of the idea research site. In connection with his belief that clinical trials education is important for the industry at the post-secondary level, Anthony experiences to share and thrives on mentoring individuals with like-minded interests of bringing cutting edge medicine to everyone.

Hamilton Candundo has over 10 years of experience in project management as a Project Manager and Instructor. He has managed projects in technology, government, research, and health care industries.

Hamilton has experience in online learning, teaching project leadership, scheduling and stakeholder management. Hamilton also has expertise with various project management information systems including Microsoft Project.

Hamilton holds a Bachelor of Sciences and Health Studies degree, a Master’s in Public Health, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Pam is thrilled to be joining the McMaster Continuing Education team. She has over 20 years experience in the human resources field, and looks forward to sharing her knowledge and experience as a practitioner with her students. She is currently the chief human resources and equity officer at Wilfrid Laurier University and is a member of the university’s executive leadership team.

Previous roles include Assistant Vice President, Human Resources and Director, Total Compensation. She holds an honours Bachelor of Arts degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Master of Human Resources Management degree from York University.

Jonathan Carrigan is a founding member of a new corporate transformation office at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) that oversees and guides MLSE’s Vision 2020 digital transformation initiative. Prior to this role, Jonathan established and lead MLSE’s Business Intelligence Centre of Excellence, which includes analytics, database marketing, and digital marketing (social, mobile, web), where he worked with senior leadership to apply data analytics across the business; and develop omni-channel marketing strategies for data acquisition, customer engagement, and revenue generation. Before joining MLSE Jonathan lead Digital Product Development and Design at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), where he operated at a national level in support of strategic planning across business lines, including News, Sports, TV, and Radio. Jonathan has an MBA and he speaks regularly at industry events and conferences in Canada and abroad.

Jean-Francois Cecile is a seasoned Project, Program and Portfolio Management professional with over 20 years of project management experience along with experience in software development, risk management, and technology consulting. As a Project Director for leading consulting firms such as Avanade and Hitachi, he has delivered complex Microsoft enterprise solutions for large organizations in Canada and the US, including Pratt & Whitney, Direct Energy, Bell and CIBC. He holds a number of professional certifications, notably PMP, CSM and PRINCE2. He has extensive experience setting up Project Management Offices (PMOs) and improving PMO functions for organizations including Metrolinx, and has deep expertise with various tools such as MS Project and CA Clarity. He is an experienced continuing education instructor.

Lynn currently works as a Clinical Team Manager for PRA Health Sciences in Victoria BC. She has a professional degree in Nursing and first worked in critical care for about 10 years. As with many people, she “fell” into research by accident and immediately loved it. In fact, she loved it so much, that she completed a Masters of Health Sciences majoring in Clinical Research Administration.

Throughout two decades within the research arena, she has worked for Pharma, CRO, device, and private clinics. With over 30 years of experience in Clinical Research, she has held such positions as study coordinator, CRC, site manager, CRA,Project Manager, Clinical Trial Lead, and Manager of Clinical Operations. This broad scope of exposure has allowed her to see varying perspectives and understand the needs of sponsors, CROs and sites alike.

Being a dual citizen, she has had the privilege of experiencing firsthand the work environments in both the USA and Canada. On a personal note, Lynn lives near Windsor, Ontario on beautiful Lake St. Clair and enjoys fishing, gardening, and being outside. She has a blended family with six children all together and one child still at home, in her third year of dental school. She lives with her husband, her daughter, an Irish Wolfhound named Otis, a Labradoodle named Milo, a Cat named Susuwatari, and a bird named Mickey.

Dennis Cheung holds a Bachelor’s of Health Studies at York University and a Masters of Health Informatics at the University of Toronto. He has worked in a number of healthcare organizations ranging from hospitals, non-profits, to government and international organizations. Dennis is currently working at the Canadian Health Institute for Information (CIHI) as a Program Lead within the Architecture and Standards team with academic affiliations with the University of Toronto as adjunct facility for the IHPME department and an instructor with McMasters Centre for Continuing Education, Health Informatics program. Dennis currently teaches interoperability standards and data standards within the field of health informatics.

Amanpreet Chhina is a Professor of International Marketing at a leading Toronto college. She holds a Ph.D., an M.B.A., and a B.A (Economics Honours)., all from the University Business School, Panjab University. She has over 14 years of post secondary teaching experience and has taught courses at McMaster since 2013.

Paul Chipperton is the CEO of CanFocus Technologies Inc. and the Managing Director of EiGR Consulting. He sits on the board of directors for SenoSENSE Inc. and Navut Inc. Paul holds an M.B.A. from McGill University and a B.Sc. in Applied Chemistry from the University of Northumbria. He lectures to the MBA programs of Queens and Ryerson Universities on the topics of Venture Finance, Innovation, Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Marketing, and has taught courses at McMaster since 2014. 

Dom Cianflone is the founder of Synergy Management Consulting Professional Corporation and lead instructor in the Synergy Leadership Development Program. With 20 years of experience across many industries, his practice areas cover strategic planning, accounting and financial management, balanced scorecard development, sales coaching, leadership development training, and non-profit governance.

Dom currently teaches at McMaster University and has taught at the Schulich School of Business at York University where he has been nominated for teaching excellence. He is an instructor in the Schulich Executive Education Centre and has held teaching appointments at the University of Toronto, Wilfrid Laurier University, and Ryerson University. He has taught courses in managerial and cost accounting, financial accounting, performance management, management control, strategic planning, human resource management, financial management, and professional selling.

A passionate, enthusiastic, and engaging speaker, he integrates his consulting experience into his coaching and instruction. He is a published author and has written content for CPA Canada’s Professional Education Program. He is a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant, a Fellow Certified Management Accountant, a Certified Management Consultant, and a Certified Sales Professional. The Fellowship is the highest designation CPA Ontario confers, and is awarded for outstanding career achievements as well as outstanding service to the community and the accounting profession.

He is a past member of the Board of Directors and the Governance and Nominating Committee of CMA Ontario and a past member of the Governance Committee of United Way Peel Region. He actively volunteers his leadership skills with a global non-profit organization with nearly two million members.

Gordana works as a research associate at the University of Toronto and a lecturer in the Engineering faculty at McMaster University. She received her Ph.D. (1984) in Physical Metallurgy, from the University of Belgrade, in the former Yugoslavia. As a research scientist, she has worked on projects for Ontario Hydro Technologies, Manufacturing Research Institute (MMRI), McMaster University, University of Toronto, Dofasco, Stelco, Dana, GM. Gordana won the International Scientific Exchange Award from the NSERC of Canada and she has over 120 journal and conference publications.. She has taught at CCE since 2013.

Rosemarie (Rosie) Clarke is an instructor in the Applied Clinical Research Program.

She is a Registered Nurse with specialties in Critical Care and Infectious Disease. Rosie currently holds the position of Clinical Research Manager and Project Manager at the University Health Network in Toronto. She specializes in Clinical Research Operations and has over 20 years of experience coordinating and managing clinical research studies. Rosemarie has been responsible for the startup and implementation several clinical trials internationally and nationally including a fully decentralized COVID study. She currently oversees a research team of investigators, coordinators and analysts.

Rosie is a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) with the Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA) and has presented at several of their research conferences and education forums.

Laura Cole is a corporate facilitator with a special interest in leadership and soft skills development.  Her experience covers a wide variety of industries including franchises, small businesses, medical and academic institutions and not-for-profits.  With over 15 years experience, Laura is fluent in multiple facilitation techniques to help create an engaging and supportive learning environment.

Laura is the founder of Your Latitude, a corporate training and coaching firm, and a professor with the Business Faculty at Mohawk College.  Laura has an Honours Degree in Communications and a Diploma in Mediation from McMaster University, and has an MBA. 

Raye Ann Comeau is a Certified Payroll Manager and a Chartered Professional Accountant (Certified General Accountant). Raye Ann has held various roles in both Accounting and Payroll and is currently the Manager of Payroll at the Regional Municipality of Halton. In 2018 Raye Ann & her team received a Halton Excellence Award for the successful implementation of a net payroll system. After teaching at a local college a few years ago, Raye Ann is exited to instruct the Canadian Payroll Association certification courses at McMaster & is looking forward to working with her students on their learning journey.

Karen Ann Conlon is a certified Health Information Management (HIM) Professional with the Canadian Health Information Management Association (CHIMA) with over 17 years of experience in the healthcare sector. She holds academic certifications in Health Information Management from CHA Learning and Health Care Leadership and Management from McMaster University. She serves as a committee member for various healthcare organizations within northern Ontario.

Over the course of her career, Karen Ann has worked in various health care settings, in a variety of roles. Some roles have consisted of Information Technology Support, Clinical Application Analyst and Project Coordinator. Currently, she serves the Timmins and District Hospital as the Manager of Information Services/Technology, Admitting, Health Records, Telemedicine and Privacy Officer.

Karen Ann is committed to providing leadership in the areas of HIM, technology and privacy and is passionate about sharing her experience with students as an instructor at McMaster University Continuing Education.

Outside of work, Karen Ann enjoys spending time at the cottage, fishing, kayaking, and hiking with her husband and two teenage children. Completing the family is Journey, the black lab.

Hello! My name is Christine Cooke and I am excited to be your instructor for this course. I have been teaching online and in-person taxation courses at McMaster University since 2013.

I am a full-time professor in the Lawrence Kinlin School of Business at Fanshawe College, teaching all levels of Taxation and Small Business Management in the Bachelor of Commerce – Accounting & Management Degree Programs. I made the switch to Education full-time in 2018 and previously worked in Public Accounting for 18 years, focusing on Small Business Management & Taxation for a variety of clients in many industries.

I hope that I can provide you with a combination of both academic and practical knowledge that you will find valuable!

David Corenstein has 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry in departments such as clinical research, marketing, sales and pharmacy. Over the past 20 years, David worked in Argentina and Canada for the most prestigious international contract research organizations in the international clinical research industry.

He worked in all phases from I to IV and all therapeutic areas including CNS, cardiology and oncology. In addition to his life and immigration experience, David has the need and passion to share the knowledge and skills to succeed in the Canadian clinical research market with the new CRA generations.

Christine is a seasoned Human Resources Professional with over 20 years of experience in consulting, designing and implementing HR programs. She has worked with employees and management at all levels in various industries to implement leading edge compensation, performance management and talent management programs and solutions.  She completed her MBA at McMaster University and has spent her career passionate about learning and supporting both individuals and teams to improve their performance and effectiveness through coaching and personal development.

Currently she is an Organizational Development and Design Consultant with McMaster University. Christine consults with and develops programs and tools to support university staff through change, improving team effectiveness and managing talent. During her career, Christine has held a number of HR leadership roles across various industries and consulted with a leading 
HR Talent Management software provider. She has also been a facilitator/teacher at both the high school and university levels and has a passion for music and singing. 

For more information about Christine and her credentials, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christineccosta

John Costantino currently works at Sun Life Financial where he has held several senior management roles within Finance, Risk Management and most recently as Assistant Vice President (Finance IFRS17) leading the conversion to the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 17). He has also had finance related roles with the Toronto Dominion (TD) Bank and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP).

Mr. Costantino holds the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA) designation and is also a CPA mentor within the profession, where he provides guidance on the competency development of CPA students and facilitates the development of the profession’s values, ethics, and attitudes.

Mr. Costantino also holds the Canadian Risk Management (CRM designation), a Bachelor of Business Administrative Studies (BAS) and a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from York University.

John D’Alessio is the director of Operating Technology & Innovation for Stelco. John is an experienced Director in process technology with over 25 years of demonstrated history of working in the mining and base metals and steel industry. John has overseen projects that include metal extraction with expertise in pyrometallurgical processes, process health monitoring and control, process engineering and technology, project engineering, advanced analytics, digitalization, operational excellence, and lean six sigma methods. Mr. D’Alessio earned a B.Eng. degree in Materials Science in 1993 and an M.Eng. degree in 1996, both from McMaster University. Mr. D’Alessio has held a sessional faculty position at McMaster University since 2007 and is currently instructing courses in both the Walter Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology and the MCE Metallurgy of Iron Steel Program. He also held the committee chair position from 2011 to 2017 for the McMaster University Blast Furnace Ironmaking Intensive Short Course.

Mr. D’Alessio has co-authored many technical papers, received the J.F. Moore Prize for outstanding student of Metallurgy for the Class of 1993, has been a member of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST) since 1994, became a Professional Engineer registered with the Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) in 1998, holds the 2006 and 2020 Kapitan Award for best paper, the J. E. Johnson Jr. Award for 2008 and earned his Black Belt for Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in 2013.

Mr. D’Alessio has been actively serving the academic community, continues to serve as a committee member for the McMaster University Blast Furnace Ironmaking Intensive Short Course, and worked closely for many years in liaison with Purdue University Northwest (formerly Purdue University Calumet), Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation, in ironmaking research and is a board member for the Steel Manufacturing Simulation and Visualization Consortium (SMSVC) and the Canadian Carbonization Research Association (CCRA).

Dr. Jeff D’Souza is an Instructor in the Applied Clinical Research program at McMaster University. His research focuses on applied ethics, with particular interests in Bioethics, Health Equity, and Social Justice. Jeff is currently employed at The Institute for Better Health at Trillium Health Partners where he works to promote the safety, welfare, and rights of research participants. Jeff previously worked for the Institute on Ethics and Policy for Innovation at McMaster University, where he consulted on a wide-range of health and ethics-related issues – including prophylactic, diagnostic and therapeutic standards of care, reputational risks, and research involving novel healthcare technologies – for various international stakeholders, including partners at the World Health Organization, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Jeff holds a PhD in Philosophy from McMaster University, a Master of Arts in Philosophy from Ryerson University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of Toronto.

Tiffany Da Silva has spent the past 15 years working in all facets of digital marketing. Throughout her career she has worked on over 500 websites and over 150 companies including Achievers, Breather, Canada Post & Shopify. She holds her MBA from Norwich University. In 2012, Tiffany was named one of the Techwomen Canada of 2012 by the Government of Canada and Canadian Consulate General of San Francisco/Silicon Valley. She has spoken all over the world about imposter syndrome in tech, and was named one of Marketing’s 25 most influential leaders on Mashable. Currently, she is a growth marketing consultant for startups & enterprises, as well as, the founder of flowjo.co.

Long Dam is a subject matter expert with the Project Management Institute (PMI) and is a key contributor to the latest PMBOK® Guide – Seventh Edition and is an active member of the PMI Lakeshore Ontario Chapter (PMILOC).

He has 15+ years of Project, Program and Portfolio Management experience from different industries such as leading edge technology, private, public, government, higher education, insurance and financial sector. He is passionate about the community of Hamilton and he serves on the board of directors for the BGC Hamilton-Halton. Long also teaches at a number of other Ontario Colleges.

Long is a life-long learner and have obtained the following Certifications & Credentials through the years:

• PMI Agile Hybrid Project Pro Micro-Credential (AH-MC) – 2020
• PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) – 2020
• PMI Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP) – 2017
• PMI Program Management Professional (PgMP) – 2015
• PMI Project Management Professional (PMP) – 2010
• Management of Portfolio – Foundation & Practitioner (MoP-P) – 2019
• Microsoft Certified Educator – Technology Literacy for Educators: 21 Century Learning Design – 2021
• Microsoft Certified Professional Specialist – (MCP) – 2016
• Information Technology Infrastructure Library v3 (ITIL V3) – 2008

Dr. Andrea Darzi is a Medical Doctor by training and a Health Research Methodologist and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Michael G. DeGroote National Pain Centre at McMaster University. Dr. Darzi’s research interests focus on research methods, prognosis research, systematic reviews, and guideline development and adaptation. Dr. Darzi’s teaching philosophy is informed by aspects of team-based learning and transformational teaching approaches that promote individual and team-based critical thinking for solving complex problems with advanced preparation.

Darcy Davis is a Senior Web Developer with the Waterloo Catholic District School Board. He holds a BFA from the Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design, a Web Specialist Certificate from Conestoga College, and a B.Ed. from the University of Western Ontario. He has taught courses in our Web Design program for the last nine years.

Laura De Luca is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) who leverages her broad range of experience across sectors in her role as an instructor. For over 12 years as an educator, Laura has been engaging students at the undergraduate level and with CPA Ontario (previously CGA). Laura’s concentration is in the areas of auditing and business information systems. 

As a principal consultant, she advises clients on audit, risk, control, and governance. She facilitates training on behalf of the IIA North America to audit professionals globally. Laura’s current academic focus is looking for new ways to integrate technology in auditing applications and engage students in an evolving learning environment. 

Nitin Deckha is an educator, researcher and facilitator, with a PhD in Anthropology. He teaches courses on intercultural communication, social transformation, gender issues, and the transformation of work at the University of Guelph-Humber. Nitin recently completed a Master’s Certificate in Adult Training and Development and is a Certified Training and Development Professional. In addition to teaching, Nitin crafts and facilitates learning in the areas of diversity and inclusion (D&I) and leadership development.

Yvone Defreitas is the Director of Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness at the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) where she is responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring the Centre’s human resources plans and programs.

As a senior human resources management professional with over 20 years of experience in human resources management, Yvone provides the centre with council and expertise related to administration, management services, recruitment, health and safety, performance management, training, development, employee relations, labour relations, compensation and benefits.

She is a certified member of the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) – (CHRP, CHRL) since 2009.

Shannon has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and has obtained her Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP) and Canadian Risk Management Diploma (CRM).

Shannon spent the previous twelve (12) years working with municipalities in the Province of Ontario. Her work there was primarily focused on Risk Management including contract reviews, special event risk assessment and management, trail risk assessment and management, training and development for all levels of staff, communications and marketing. In her most recent role, Shannon Devane is Vice President, Risk and Operations at JLT Canada in the Public Sector Division.

Shannon has also presented to numerous conferences and association groups on Risk Management for the Public Sector.

A senior leader in the Information Technology profession with 30+ years experience in the Telecommunications area with strong technical and managerial skills. Guido was instrumental in driving a number of key technical architectures in his various roles as a developer, Director, Enterprise Architecture and Senior Manager/Information Architect . These included establishing, executing and driving the strategy and tactical architecture of large-scale information systems, Data Warehouse/Business Intelligence and Big Data environments.

Guido is well aware of the data challenges faced by businesses and is enthusiastic in sharing his experience and knowledge to better prepare our next generation of IT and business leaders with the proper skills and experience for the new data based economy.

Guido has a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Math and Computer Science.

Mark Dottori is a strategic sports communications and marketing professional and academic with more than 20 years’ experience working for such organizations as the Canadian Football League, the Toronto Raptors, Callaway Golf, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee, and most recently, the House of Commons in Ottawa. 

An accredited public relations professional (APR) from the Canadian Public Relations Society, Mark also earned an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University and his doctorate in sport communications and strategy at the University of Ottawa.

Mark has taught various courses in sport management at the University of Ottawa, Laurentian University, the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, and Algonquin College, where he organized an academic partnership with the Forces and Families Open (PGA Tour Canada). He has also taught public relations at McMaster University and remains active in the golf industry assisting in the media operation of the RBC Canadian Open and the PGA of Canada Training Academy.

Kimberly is passionate about building sustainable, long-term growth through world-class HR practices. She is known for having strong expertise in Strategic Planning, Total Rewards and HR Change Management.  A visionary HR transformational leader, with high energy and high EQ, she embraces the challenge of transforming organizations and leading new, innovative human capital initiatives to gain competitive advantage.

Kimberly has a Master’s of Arts Degree in Leadership and People Strategy from the University of Guelph and obtained her HR Management Certificate from Seneca College.  Kimberly holds a CHRL designation with the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario along with a Six Sigma Yellow Belt in Change Management.

Kimberly’s HR experience ranges across several industries including Retail, Aerospace, Pharmaceutical and now Senior Retirement Living.  Currently, she heads up the Human Resources division for V!VA Retirement Communities, a premiere brand focusing on independent living communities for retirees where they can “Live, Love and Laugh”.

Diane is an independent healthcare strategist and quality improvement consultant with over 20 years of health sector experience. With a degree in Neuroscience from University of Alberta and an adult education certification from NAIT, she has designed and facilitated several courses for McMaster University. She has implemented various technologies across the health-sector in two provinces and has worked on many healthcare projects in various capacities such as leading strategy work in palliative care and surgical services, developing resources and tools for persons and family/caregivers, co-designing engagement evaluation surveys and websites, and connecting different healthcare organizations working on similar initiatives. Diane currently participates on several steering committees for Interior Health and BC Cancer and is working on pan-Canadian programs with organizations such as Partnerships Against Cancer and Healthcare Excellence Canada. Diane’s specialties include:

Strategic Planning in Healthcare Healthcare Business Analysis [Clinical] Workflow Mapping and Referral Management Health Policy Privacy & Legislation Data Integrity & Quality Assurance Incorporating Person and Family/Caregiver Perspectives into Health System Change Health Technology Implementation and Management Digital Health Optimization Practice Automation Coaching Health Sector Project Management and Course Design Facilitation and Training

Diane believes in Universal, Portable, Publicly Administered, Accessible, and Comprehensive Canadian Health Care and also in giving back to support health system change initiatives.

Kathy has taught adult learners for over 20 years in both professional and higher education settings. After earning several professional designations, she uses her experience to assist students interested in preparing for industry qualifying examinations such as those leading to the CPA, CFP, and CFA professional designations.

She has been teaching students online since 2018 and has developed several online courses in corporate finance and managerial accounting. Kathy feels comfortable with many different pieces of education technology, from online course hosting platforms to course authoring software.

Kathy has experience teaching at Conestoga College, Wilfrid Laurier University and Sheridan College, as well as many years of corporate training. She has taught over 20 different courses in managerial and cost accounting, financial accounting, financial management, corporate finance, personal finance, and personal income tax.

Kathy holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts (Accountancy) from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from Heriot-Watt University. She also holds several professional designations: Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Her personal interests include her family, fitness, and continuous education.

Steve Fletcher has been an Occupational Health and Safety Professional for the past 24 years. He believes in lifelong learning and the fact that you are never too old to learn something new. Steve has graduated from three Ontario Colleges, and is a three-time graduate of McMaster University in Human Resources, Labour Studies, and Occupational Health and Safety complimented with a Masters of Public Administration from Western University.

Steve’s career has given him significant experience in the healthcare, education, municipal and industrial sectors of Ontario workplaces. He has been teaching with McMaster in the Human Resources program for the past 15 years and has a passion for helping students thrive and enjoy the learning experience.

Alison Foo specializes in clinical data management, clinical monitoring, stakeholder management and trial management. She previously worked for contract research organizations as well as in the academic/non-profit sector and has worked on all phases of clinical trials. She has mentored many graduate students on how to start a career in clinical research and is passionate about teaching professional skills and simulating real-world experiences. 

She has a BScH from Queen’s University, a MSc from the University of Toronto, and is PMP certified from the Project Management Institute. Her other interests include volunteering, spending time with her rescue dog, learning a new language and cooking.

Grant Fraser, M.Ed., M.B.A., is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold numerous businesses over the last 30 years. Mr. Fraser began his career working as an account manager for the Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank of Canada before entering the golf business. In 1995, he started the first professional golf management (PGM) program in Ontario at Humber College and was named the college’s “Innovator-of-the Year” for doing so. In 1999, Mr. Fraser departed Humber College to launch the Golf Management Institute of Canada (GMIC), and the PGM program at Niagara College in 2000. For over 25 years, Mr. Fraser has taught hundreds of golf management students the business of golf.

Mr. Fraser is also an award-winning writer and photographer for Ontario Golf News and Flagstick magazine, two of Canada’s leading golf publications. He is the publisher of GolfTheWorld.ca, a golf and travel website that showcases golf destinations around the world. He has been writing about and photographing golf courses since 1995 when he published his first book, called “50 of Ontario’s Greatest Public Golf Courses.” He has written two other books since then entitled Golf Access and Golf Smart and has been on several ranking panels over the years including Score Golf Magazine, Ontario Golf Magazine, Fairways Magazine and the Traveling Golfer.

Mr. Fraser is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA). In addition, he is the past president of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) and past president of the Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC).

As past president, Fraser continues to serve on the board of directors of GJAC as well as the Canadian Junior Golf Association (CJGA) and the Golf Management Institute of Canada (GMIC). He is also on the Hall of Fame selection committee for Golf Ontario and the PGA of Canada. In 2018, Fraser served as the Pro-Am Committee Chairperson of the RBC Canadian Open, and in 2019 was made an honorary director of the PGA of Canada.

Rob Fraser has more than forty years of experience at ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton, Ontario. He has worked in Quality, Metallurgy and Customer Service in the Steel Making, Hot Rolling, Cold Rolling, Galvanizing, Shipping and Commercial areas.

Robert is a graduate of the Mohawk College Quality Assurance Certificate program and a graduate of the McMaster University Metallurgy of Iron and Steel Certificate program, class of 1995.

Jennifer A. Frost has over 13 years experience in adult higher education and over 20 years experience in business communications. Jennifer is currently a Educational Technology Training and Support Specialist at Sheridan College. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Business in Information Systems, a Master of Business Administration (MBA), and a Master of Educational Technology (MET) with an emphasis in Adult Education. Jennifer has been teaching at McMaster CCE since 2016

Ben Gallivan is a Registered Psychologist (Alberta) and Recreation Therapist who has been working in the field of addiction for over 18 years. During his career Ben has worked as an Addiction Counsellor, Supervisor, and Provincial Co-ordinator for Alberta Health Services / AADAC. In addition, Ben operates his own successful private practice and teaches courses for Mt. Royal and Athabasca Universities. When not at work, Ben can be found spending time with his family and seeking adventure. He holds multiple certifications through the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides and enjoys spending as much time wandering through the hills as possible.

Bruce Garrod is among the most active project management trainers in Canada. Beyond coast-to-coast deliveries in Canada, he has also conducted training in Washington DC and New York City as well as in England and most recently the Philippines. His style is one where he brings the theory to life by incorporating his 20+ years of private and public sector experience in project and program management. He has worked with well over 7000 attendees and takes pride in adjusting his approach to the needs of each individual.

Having delivered projects and programs ranging from international telecommunications networks to corporate rebranding initiatives, Bruce has in-depth experience in all aspects of project management. Whether it be schedule, budget and risk planning or leading a team of project managers, he has experiences classroom attendees are sure to benefit from.

Bruce is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP)® with a Masters Certificate in Project Management, an Engineering Technologist graduate and is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI)®.

Cole Gately is a part-time instructor at McMaster University and Mohawk College, and is a faculty member at Hamilton’s Neighbourhood Leadership Institute. He works full-time in Hamilton’s homelessness sector as a community-based educator focusing on frontline workers serving Hamilton’s homeless population. Prior to this he worked for 12 years as Street Outreach Coordinator at City of Hamilton and has earned a Master of Arts degree in Adult Education and Community Development from the Ontario Institute in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto.

Since the late 80s, Cole has been a community activist involved in a range of intersecting social movements, including anti-poverty, anti-racist, feminist, LGBTQ and sex worker rights.

Laera is currently working in health analytics in healthcare planning, and has over 10 years experience in healthcare, research and epidemiology, focused mostly in Toronto and Southern Ontario.  Laera completed her Bachelor of Science with majors in Biology and Psychology at Sam Houston State University and her Master of Public Health specializing in Epidemiology at the University of Toronto.  

Richard Godsmark is the Director of IT Strategy and Services at McMaster University.

Richard has more than 25 years of experience working in Information Technology, with the last 20 years in the Canadian higher education sector. Richard has both his Bachelor of Information Technology, and Master of Information Technology with Distinction. He also maintains a number of industry certifications from ISC2 and ISACA such as the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional/Canada (CIPP/C), received from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

Richard has been an active member of the IAPP, has held several IAPP KnowledgeNet Happy Hours in Hamilton and was on the IAPP Canadian Advisory Board from 2017-2019. Richard also spent several years on the McMaster Research Ethics Board (MREB) reviewing research protocols involving human participants to ensure that research was conducted in an ethical manner and abided by the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS). Richard has a keen interest in Artificial Intelligence, specifically with respects to the ethical use and the privacy implications.

Mark Goliger is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Right at Home Canada. A transformational leader with years leading Sales and Operations in entrepreneurial organizations in Aviation, Travel, Software, Leadership Training and Healthcare industries. Mark has personally trained hundreds of managers from dozens of different industries. Mark has a Black Belt in Six Sigma as well as an MBA from the Schulich School of Business. He has been teaching at CCE since 2016.

Denis Gravelle is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategist at Devant, a subsidiary of Academica Group, leading career and skills development projects in collaboration with industry and academia. An experienced educator and trendsetter, his focus lies primarily on workforce development and skills training in the age of disruption. Denis has held previous leadership positions in adult learning and workforce development at Seneca, Humber and Fanshawe Colleges, and earned his BA from Western and MEd from OISE University of Toronto. He has extensive facilitation experience teaching software applications and training at Fanshawe, Brock, Michener Institute, and in the corporate setting.

Dragica Grbavac is the President and Managing Director of Uvidi Management Group. She is a Risk Management and Regulatory Compliance practitioner who has worked with organizations on 3 continents. Dragica has worked across multiple industries leading large scale IT, regulatory, risk and operational change programs, guiding clients through their initiatives; from strategy to execution. She shares the knowledge and best practices for facilitating change for the future, managing risks, achieving compliance and minimizing any downside.

She teaches what she has applied for more than 25 years, and continues to stay current with leading practices. Dragica contributed to the development of the ISO31000 standard for risk management. She is an internationally recognized expert in ERM, whose methods have been and continue to be taught in renowned international Executive Education Programs.

Andréa Grebenc is a Consultant at CompuStep Inc. Her clients include the City of Burlington, WSIB, Toyota Canada, Ministry of Agriculture, and more. She holds a B.Sc from Wilfred Laurier University. Andréa has taught in McMaster’s Web Design and Computer Training programs including Dreamweaver, Microsoft Outlook, and other Microsoft workshops for over 12 years.

Jim is currently the Vice- President of the Telco, Agency and Media (TAM) group at Environics Analytics, the largest Predictive Analytics firm in Canada. His role is to develop products suitable for these organizations, especially for the fast-emerging programmatic field. He began his career at A.C. Nielsen, creator of the famous Nielsen Television Ratings, where he had integral roles in the development of the first People Meter survey, and the industry-standard advertising measurement classification system. Jim has also been on the agency side, at DAC Group, where he developed consumer models based on segmentation, and for Generation5, a consumer research firm. In all, Jim has spent over 30 years working with data within the media industry.

Jim has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, focusing on Econometrics from the University of Waterloo, and several certificates in Human Resources and Marketing from Ryerson University.

Janet Guevara is the Director of Privacy at Canada Health Infoway. In her role, she is responsible for designing, developing, and overseeing the organization’s privacy program. Previously she has worked as a Manager of Access and Privacy where she was responsible for managing the daily operations of the hospital’s privacy program. Janet has 15 years of experience in health care privacy, health records management and served as an Interim Chief Privacy Officer. For over 10 years, Janet has also served as a privacy representative on hospital Research Ethics Boards with a strong commitment to enhance privacy in research. She has completed a Master of Arts in Political Science and has also completed a Health Law Certificate from Osgoode Hall Law School. She is a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) and continues to expand her privacy education as a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

Lisa Gulesserian is a Learning and Development professional with a focus on leadership, career and women at work.

Lisa has been working in the learning & organizational development space for 15 years, in Canada, the UAE and Australia. In Canada, she worked at the University of Toronto, KPMG and Ernst & Young supporting regional people development initiatives. Lisa spent two years in Abu Dhabi, UAE as a Leadership Development Consultant at Knowledge Group, including a focus on women at work and in leadership.

She is currently working towards her PhD in Work and Organizational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School, with a focus on the platform economy, gender roles and gender equality. She also works as a Leadership Research Fellow, designing and delivering leadership training programs to young women at the Women’s College within the University of Sydney. Lisa currently teaches at McMaster University, tutors at the University of Sydney Business School and has taught at George Brown College.  

Lisa holds a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Toronto, and the Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) Designation through the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA). 

Pedram Habibi has a BSc in Physics, a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer and Communication Networking and a Masters of Engineering in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Pedram has worked in telecommunications in Iran (Ministry of Information and Technology) and Canada (Bell Canada) as a Voice and VOIP Specialist Manager. Pedram has many years of experience as an IT consultant and network administrator. Pedram is currently teaching at Centennial, Sheridan, Seneca, Lambton, Georgian, and Conestoga Colleges. Pedram’s interests are Big Data, Cloud, IOT, Cyber Security and Networking.

Jennifer is a value-centred leader, relationship builder and highly skilled facilitator with an incredible breadth of knowledge and experience in developing leaders, project groups, specialist teams and emerging talent.   Her extensive career in a leading Fortune 500 company has provided the first-hand experience in a multitude of functional areas and at all leadership levels. As a respected culture bearer for the organization, she held many leadership roles, including Store Manager, Director of Learning & Development and as Vice President, Human Resources for many years. In these roles, she was responsible for cultivating and delivering innovative programs to build succession, employee satisfaction, expansion and business growth. This work with her team, gained recognition as one of Canada’s Best Employers, year after year.

Jennifer is honoured to partner with the McMaster community and the Continuing Education team. She is a proud graduate of McMaster University and holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Corporate Communications. Today, Jennifer is the owner of J. Hagen & Associates Inc. and founder of TeamTRUST®.  She is a Certified Professional Master Business Coach, Executive Leadership, and Group Development expert specializing in the Integrated Model of Group Development and GDQ and the Hogan Assessment process.  Jennifer’s passion is to support authentic leadership growth by harnessing the best of education, business strategy, and people – together.

Owais Hashmi is a Senior Data & AI evangelist who has a passion for using A.I to solve business problems cross-industry globally. Currently employed at Microsoft he helps organizations innovate and progress through their data-driven journey. Owais brings a blend of both industry and academia. His experience spans across industries including Telecommunication, Financial Services, Retail, Startups, Media & Entertainment etc. He holds a Masters in Management Analytics (MMA) from the Smith School of Business and an MBA from Lucas (San Jose State).

Susan Hodkinson is the COO at Crowe Soberman LLP Chartered Accountants in Toronto, Ontario, where she has management responsibility for the operations of the firm, including finance, information technology, human resources, facilities and marketing. Ms. Hodkinson’s background includes over 20 years of management in professional services firms, as well as five years as Senior V.P. of Operations for ClubLink Corporation, Canada’s largest owner, operator and developer of private and resort golf courses. She is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and has completed Executive Education programs at Queen’s University and the Anderson School of Business at UCLA. She is a member of the Women’s Leadership Council of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and the International Women’s Forum, and in 2009 was awarded the Women’s Post Glass Slipper award for her contribution to the advancement of professional women and her work in the community.

Born and raised in Burlington Ontario, Jonathan moved to St. Catharines to attend University which paved the way for his career in finance, starting in Toronto. In 2009 he made his way west to Calgary, which is now home with his growing family of 3. Jonathan moved to Calgary to enter the surety industry, and since then, has strived to learn as much as possible about the industry. Jonathan is passionate for this line of business and welcomes every opportunity to train and share his knowledge and expertise with younger and new staff alike.

In his current role as Assistant Vice President, Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company, Jonathan oversees the company’s Prairies surety operation and is responsible for training and mentoring new staff in the surety industry, recruitment processes, alongside creating the company’s budgeting and strategic plans.

As a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Len obtained his Chartered Accountant (CA) designation with Clarkson Gordon (now Ernst & Young) back in 1985 and also holds the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and the Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) designations.

Len received his undergraduate degree from McMaster University and has spent over 30 years in a variety of highly competitive, diverse, and complex environments touching on higher education, technology, healthcare, transportation, and manufacturing within the contexts of private and public company settings, non-profit entities as well as government. Most of Len’s career has been devoted to the internal audit discipline (almost 30 years) focusing on operational audits, advisory services and special investigations. He has held positions with Bunge Canada and Canadian National Railway and provided consulting services to Canadian Pacific Railway, McMaster University and Audit Services Canada prior to joining the Internal Audit department at McMaster. Since 1994, Len has been facilitating auditing and accounting courses for McMaster’s Centre for Continuing Education. 

Catherine Howson is an instructor in the Addiction Education Program at McMaster University. Her expertise involves counselling and treatment for various mental health conditions including substance use disorders, trauma, mood and anxiety disorders, grief and relationship concerns. She enjoys mentoring emerging therapists and provides clinical supervision for graduate students throughout their internships and beyond.

Catherine obtained a Master of Arts Degree in Counselling Psychology from Adler University. She also works as a Cognitive Behaviour Therapist with Lifeworks and has a private counselling practice.

Becky Idems is a doctoral candidate in social work at McMaster. She has worked in feminist anti-violence services, homeless shelters, and
supportive housing since 2001. Becky’s work and research focuses on
centring the voices and experiences of marginalized communities within
services, organizations, and classrooms. For the past decade, she has
worked in community engagement, supporting racialized and LGBTQ youth to create
relevant services, educational programs, and social spaces for themselves and
each other.  

Her recent accomplishments include designing and implementing
a multi-year equity and inclusion audit of a large urban
environmental nonprofit, and developing curriculum for McMaster CCE’s new
Leadership in Community Engagement certificate program. 

Munaza is a certified clinical research professional, with 22 years of experience in clinical research, mostly in the academic health care environment.

Over the years, she has managed studies across multiple therapeutic areas, such as Oncology, Cardiovascular Surgery, and Endocrinology, to name a few. She has worked in both adult and pediatric settings, and has experience with all phases of clinical trials.

Munaza has been on Faculty at several excellent academic institutions over the last 10 years. She has developed course content for several postgraduate clinical research programs in Canada. She also sits on the N2 Clinical Trials Education and Awareness Committee.

Munaza thoroughly enjoys teaching, and strives to create a culture of learning within the virtual classroom, where students are encouraged to take risks in the discussion, feel confident starting conversations, and therefore drive their own instruction. Instead of using a traditional lecture-style format, Munaza’s philosophy is to engage her students in a two-way dialogue.

Julianne Jones has close to 15 years of professional experience in business and information technology management, program and project management development and delivery. Julianne’s expertise is concentrated on Project/Program Delivery Strategy, Agile Project Management Transition, Organizational Change Management, Project Trouble Shooting & Recovery Assessment and Project Management Maturity Development.

She has worked internationally in Canada, U.S.A., India and Europe developing and delivering programs and projects across several industries for national and global clients. Julianne holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto, and is both a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Certified Scrum Master (CSM). She is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Caroline is an experienced HR Business Partner with over 15 years in the industry within global organizations where she has held advisory roles leading talent strategy, organizational effectiveness and optimization as well as change management.

For the last couple of years Caroline has been teaching aspiring HR professionals and sharing what the real world of HR is like and how to apply what you learn into a successful HR Career.

Caroline is a life-long learner as she is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Business Administration with a focus on HR and Leadership.

Outside of the office, she enjoys hiking, reading and thinking about the next new dish to try!

Syeda came to Canada as an International student from Bangladesh to pursue her Masters of Industrial Relations and Human Resources at the University of Toronto (MIRHR). She decided to stay in Canada and obtained her PR. Syeda understands the challenges newcomer face when coming to a new country and is passionate about not only sharing her experience but providing advice on how to make your job search successful.

Syeda’s focus areas consists of talent management, recruitment, leadership, performance management, organizational effectiveness, career development and strategic HR.

Irameet is Post-Doctoral Researcher with University of Toronto Scarborough with a PhD in Management from India. She is teaching various courses in Business Management, Human Resource Management and Career Development at Conestoga College, Sheridan College and Toronto School of Management – Niagara College since 2019.

Irameet is also working as subject matter expert for Business Courses at McMaster University. She is a passionate researcher and her current research work focuses on enriching the online learning and teaching experience. Prior to this, Irameet was working as Associate Professor with various Management Institutes in India for 6 years. She has also worked in India as a Human Resource professional for 10 years in the pharmaceutical and recruitment sector, looking after the functions of recruitment, performance management and training.

Diana Kawarsky is President of The Soft Skills Group Inc.www.TSSG.ca, an on-the-job learning boutique firm based in Toronto. She is a senior training & development professional with 20 years of experience in delivery, design & consulting with Fortune 500 companies, universities & colleges in Canada, the USA, Mexico and Europe. An energetic, results-oriented consultant, Diana takes great pride in influencing the human side of business. Her experience has breadth from working with a variety of professionals from new hires to seasoned executives, C Suite level; totaling over 15,000 clients to date.

Keith Keindel is the executive director of the Canadian Golf Industry Association (CGIA). Prior to this leadership role, he served the post of Senior V.P., International, for Callaway Golf. A graduate of the prestigious General Electric School in Tennessee, Mr. Keindel is an industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in the retail business, including positions as president of Converse Canada and Spalding Canada. He has demonstrated a strategic vision for the businesses he has managed and is contributing to the business of golf by serving as a member of the board of directors of the Golf Management Institute of Canada. He is an avid golfer and is passionate about educating individuals with an interest in the golf industry.

Julija Kelecevic, MD, PhD (ABD) is a Regional Ethicist who works for Hamilton Health Sciences. In her role, she supports a number of hospitals and community organizations in the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant (HNHB) and Waterloo Wellington (WW) Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) in the areas of clinical, research, and organizational ethics. Julija is also an Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct) with the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University. She also teaches as a sessional instructor for the Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours Program and the Health Research Methodology Program at McMaster University. Julija also conducts research in different areas of applied health ethics, focusing on vulnerable populations.

Stephanie Kersta holds an Honors Bachelor of Science with a specialist in Psychology, and a Masters of Science in Psychology. Additionally, she holds a number of certifications, namely, a post-graduate certificate in Addictions and Mental Health Counselling and including advanced training in Solution-Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia and Psychometric Assessments.

As a complement to her strong clinical education, Stephanie has incorporated additional evidence-based holistic certificates to further round out her training, including certifications in four mindfulness and meditation clinical modalities.

Stephanie holds teaching positions at multiple post-secondary institutions including, McMaster University, Durham College, and Ontario Learn. As a member of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario she has a clinical psychotherapy practice where she primarily treats anxiety, depression, self-esteem and insomnia. Stephanie is a certified trainer with LivingWorks for both safeTALK and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Trainings (ASIST) as well as with the Mental Health Commission of Canada for Mental Health First Aid and certifies hundreds of individuals per year.

Stephanie has a strong clinical interest in the interplay between chronic stress and the development of physical and mental health conditions and has been published in the field of motivation and addiction, and has presented at international and national conferences.

She is also the co-founder of Hoame, North America’s largest modern meditation studio and frequently works with Fortune 500 companies providing mental health and mental wellness consulting and training.

Reena is a CPA, CA and recently pursued a Master of Education degree at the University of Toronto. She has previously held teaching-assistant and lecturer roles for university accounting courses. She enjoys mentoring and coaching students in academic and career planning.

Sami Khoury served as a US open source officer, linguist, and analyst for over 15 years. A subject matter expert in Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) tradecraft and operations and in large scale public data collection and mining, Mr. Khoury became a sought-after training developer, designer, and instructor, delivering training to intelligence, law enforcement, and military personnel worldwide in diverse subject areas ranging from OSINT procedures, tools, and methods to natural language processing and machine learning.

Sumeet Khullar is a finance professional with over 20 years of industry experience in a variety of roles, including financial reporting, audit and internal controls, and risk management.

His experience includes roles with large Canadian public companies, organizations on the venture exchange and educational institutions. This work is supported by his educational background which includes a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto, an EMBA from the Sandermoen School of Business and articling at KPMG, one of the big four accounting firms.

Sumeet currently teaches at the Lawrence Kinlin School of Business, Fanshawe College, focusing on accounting, tax and auditing courses. He is an active member of the Board of Trustees for the London Waldorf School, an independent school in the heart of London with a unique pedagogy.

As a Total Rewards Professional over the last 10 years, David Kierstead has extensive experience in the Telecommunications, Marketing, Manufacturing, and Contact Center sectors. In a variety of roles, David’s focus has been supporting the design, implementation, and measurement of Total Reward programs (compensation, benefits, perks, programs, systems, and policies).

David currently holds the position of Director, Total Rewards for Mosaic Sales Solutions.

Nerissa Knapp is a Business Communications and Marketing consultant, with over fifteen years of industry experience. The combination of her hard and soft skills equips her with the tools to help people and organizations grow and work collaboratively and effectively.

Nerissa has experience creating business and integrated marketing plans, brand management strategies, social media campaigns, product life cycle pricing strategies, digital marketing etc. She has strategically planned and coordinated multimillion-dollar business expansions for various industries and conducted macro-environmental and risk analyses.

Nerissa designs and delivers customized courses and training programs to support individuals and organizations, identify strengths and development areas, maximize team effectiveness and foster engagement. As an accredited Mediator and Communications Coach, Nerissa fosters a safe space for clients to be seen, heard, and understood while sharing difficult stories. She brings out underlying issues in a respectful manner and empowers clients to reach mutually beneficial resolutions.

Nerissa has experience working in the private and public sectors, including government municipalities and airports, the Ontario Courts, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) and School Boards. Nerissa is passionate about facilitating learning and development in adults to empower them to maximize their learning potential to achieve their goals. She incorporates Adult Learning Principles in her material, engages learners via experiential learning and applies concepts to relevant real-life professional experiences.

Nerissa holds an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA), a BA in Marketing and Psychology, advanced certification and training in Conflict Management and Mediation, Instructing Adults, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and Career Development.

Paula Kocsis is the Director of Privacy and Information Access at Sinai Health in Toronto, Ontario. In her role, Paula is responsible for staff and patient privacy and freedom of information across the organization.

Paula has ten years of experience in various healthcare privacy roles at the University Health Network and eHealth Ontario. In addition to an MBA in Health Services Management and a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from McMaster University, Paula has obtained designations from the International Association of Privacy Professionals and the Project Management Institute, and is Six Sigma Black Belt certified.

Paula is excited to join the Privacy Management Continuing Education Program and looks forward to interacting with other privacy professionals and learners.

Kris Krishnan is the President and CEO of GVK International Inc., a firm offering management consulting services. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), a Professional Engineer (P.Eng), a Certified Management Consultant (CMC), and a Project Management Professional (PMP). He holds an M.Eng. from McMaster University and a M.B.A. from the University of Toronto. He has more than 35 years of experiences in a varied industries and has taught at McMaster since 1992.

Dr. Matilda Essandoh Laar is an instructor in the Nutrition, Health, and Wellness Program at McMaster University. Her research interests focus on the role of food environments in the food security and health of mothers and children in low-resource settings; nutrition education in health systems; and the development of monitoring and evaluation tools in the agriculture, nutrition, and health nexus in low-to-middle income countries. She has taught courses in nutrition and public health at McMaster’s School of Interdisciplinary Sciences and in tertiary education institutions internationally.

Matilda obtained her PhD in Human Nutrition from McGill University and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Minnesota, USA.

Nilay Lad is an Executive at Laurentian Bank of Canada and sits on the board of numerous Canadian and UK based start-ups who are solving complex problems within the financial services, insurance and real estate sectors. With over 15 years of experience in leadership roles at top FTSE 100 companies in Canada and Europe, his skill set lies within financial management, product development/strategy, digitalization, thought leadership coaching, direct/digital marketing, campaign strategy, and understanding and surviving the start-up ecosystem.  

During the early stages of his career, Nilay become passionate about coaching, teaching and mentoring others as he realized that giving back and growing others helps him grow personally and drives positive change. Throughout his career, Nilay has led various programs to help grow talent and has spent many years teaching and inspiring students within Canadian institutions and globally.

Zohra is an educator and international development practitioner. She has worked in the international development field for ten years in Canada, the United States, Kenya, India, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. Her passion is program management and implementation, curriculum and instructional design, teacher professional development, youth skills, leadership, and mentorship, multi-stakeholder relationships, and strategic partnerships.

Zohra pursued her BA in International Development Studies at UCLA and completed her Masters of Education at OISE University of Toronto. She has worked on several international projects which includes 21st Century Skills development, curriculum reform, higher education policy, citizenship, peace-building, and refugee education.

Jason Lamb is an education-technology specialist living in Hamilton, Ontario. He currently works at McMaster University as a member of the MacPherson Institute.

Jason holds a Bachelor of Arts in combined multimedia and theatre & film studies, as well as a Master of Education from Memorial University

As a cultural ethnographer and former adjunct professor of sociology at the University of Lethbridge, Paul’s PhD research focused on digital health and the emerging social web. Paul transitioned from academia into the agency world in 2013 as head of digital at Cohn & Wolfe and, more recently, as VP Strategy at Cossette, where he led brand strategy on the Canopy Growth portfolio during the legalization of cannabis in Canada. Paul has owned two independent record labels that have released 100+ albums by emerging Canadian musicians over the last 10 years and has a deep understanding of Canadian culture from years of touring coast to coast.

Kathryn (she/her) is an HR Professional and Educator who works within the global employment industry. Throughout her career, Kathryn has worked with hundreds of companies. She believes in the importance of educating in all areas of work and life, empowering folks to recognize their potential as a leader and peer. Kathryn has worked with innovative teams throughout her career, been awarded team accolades for innovation and was humbled to receive personal career awards. 

Kathryn is a certified career and employment specialist, adult educator and member of professional associations Human Resource Professionals Ontario (HRPA-CAN) and the Society of Human Resource Professionals (SHRM-USA). She holds a Degree in Adult Education from Brock University and a Master of Education Degree from Queen’s University. She is currently pursuing Doctorate studies in Adult Learning from the University of Calgary. 

She teaches courses in Organizational Behaviour and Wellness in the Workplace. 

Rowena Leung is a Toronto-based Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator. For almost 15 years, Rowena has practiced dietetics in a variety of settings including: family health team, diabetes education centre, long term care home, retirement home, industry, media, private practice and hospital. Providing care for the aging population has been a personal passion of Rowena’s since completing her undergraduate studies at Western University; therefore, Rowena has been involved in providing patient centred care for the aging population for almost 20 years.

Rowena is also very passionate about mentoring and educating individuals. She is currently enrolled at OISE and is pursuing a Masters of Education in Adult Education and Community Development. Rowena looks forward to sharing her practical knowledge with students as students engage in this comprehensive course about healthy aging.

Jamie Liddicoat is a Canadian Tax Manager at Hub International. He worked previously for KPMG Chartered Accountants and Deloitte Chartered Accountants. Jamie has been a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) since 2004.  He holds a BComm in Accounting from the University of Northern British Columbia.  Jamie has taught Accounting courses at McMaster since 2009.

Janice Locke is the owner of Janice Locke Business and Financial Consulting. Her prior positions include working as President and CEO of StoreImage Programs Inc. and as the North American Divisional CFO of John Crane Automotive. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. Janice holds a B.Comm from McMaster University. She has taught courses at McMaster since 2010.

Cecilia Lui, Founder & Director, ILIA Connect

Originally from Hong Kong, Cecilia has spent her 30+ years career between Canada and the Asia Pacific working for multinationals across sectors and industries in corporate administration, communications, business development and learning & development.

Cecilia holds an MA in Communications from the California State University, is a Certified Practitioner of Lumina Learning psychometric for self-team/leadership development and has credentials for Coaching, NLP, Career & Business Planning.

Cecilia has been adjunct lecturer at HKUSPACE (International Business Communication Skills) and Hong Kong Baptist University for its Communication Master’s Program.

Peter MacDonald is an Employment Development Consultant for the City of Hamilton, Department of Emergency and Community Services. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from McMaster University, a B.Ed. in Adult Education from Brock University, and an M.A. in Labour Studies from McMaster University. Peter has taught at McMaster since 1995.

Heather is a results-driven Human Resources professional with over 30 years of progressive corporate experience, 25 of which were with Bank of Montreal. Heather is an exemplary leader who has served as an integral part of Senior Management Teams and has successfully led major Human Resources projects and program initiatives – from the business up to the enterprise level. 

A strategic thinker, passionate leader of change and an effective communicator and facilitator, she excels in fast paced and changing work environments and in addition to building and maintaining strong relationships, she has broad coaching and leadership experience both corporately as well as in a wide array of charitable and community organizations. For the past 11 years she has been a career and life transition coach both privately and for Felix Global Corp. supporting clients at all levels including executive.

In addition to her coaching practice, she has drawn on her vast facilitation experience, providing leadership and Human Resources training to a variety of corporate clients including Loblaw Group of Companies, Bell Canada, Blackberry, Region of Peel, Bank of Montreal, Astrazeneca, CIBC, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Scotiabank, Mohawk College Enterprise, BDC, TD Bank, Algoma Steel, First Ontario Credit Union, City of Hamilton and Peel Leadership Center to name a few.

Giving back to her community is very important to Heather.  With 30 years of experience in the Not For Profit sector, she currently sits on the Board of ART for Cancer Foundation. Other previous board memberships include the International Institute of Business Analysts, Alzheimer Society of Canada, Alzheimer Society of Ontario and Community Outreach for Persons with Addictions. She has also served in an advisory capacity with numerous councils and charities, including Junior Achievement of Ontario, Junior Achievement of Canada and The Learning Partnership and has found time to mentor students at Dalhousie, Ryerson and McMaster Universities.  For the last 10 years, as a volunteer mentor with Futurepreneur, she has supported seven different young entrepreneurs in Guelph, Oakville, St. Catharines and Welland, Ontario.

Heather received her BA and BEd from the University of Western Ontario in London.  While she lived in Mississauga with her husband and family for 34 years she now calls Niagara on the Lake home.  In her spare time she undertakes extensive home and garden restoration projects, walks her two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, practices yoga and writes feature articles and poetry.

Kim Madden earned her BSc in Health Studies from the University of Waterloo and her MSc and PhD in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University. She has worked as a research coordinator for the past 9 years on some of the largest clinical trials in orthopaedics, and is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at McMaster. Her PhD thesis focused on improving transparency and quality of the intimate partner violence literature. Her primary areas of research interest now include joint replacement surgery, non-opioid pain management, and surgical infections.

Paul Maher is a continuing education instructor in the Human Resources Management program. Paul has over twenty (20) years experience within HR Management, Recruitment, Training & Performance Management across military and manufacturing environments. He has been teaching at the post-secondary level since 2006, and with McMaster since 2008. Paul is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL), holds a Bachelor of Science from Memorial University of Newfoundland, a Master of Business Administration from Saint Mary’s University, an HR Management Diploma from Sheridan College, a Strategic Human Resources Leadership certificate from Cornell University, as well as a Master of Education (Post Secondary Studies) from Memorial University of Newfoundland. Originally from Newfoundland & Labrador, Paul is a proud ex-Reservist, and in his spare time likes to stay active in the outdoors, in the gym and in the kitchen.

Umair Majid currently works at McMaster University on health policy evaluations for government agencies and the University Health Network in Toronto, ON on patient engagement strategies in hospital planning, service delivery, and evaluation. He is also an investigator at Hamilton Health Sciences and Sinai Health System and has collaborated with both public and private health care organizations on various initiatives across Canada and around the world.

Umair’s undergraduate is in Life Sciences and has a Master’s degree in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University and a Master of Education (lesson planning, curriculum design, and program evaluation) from Queen’s University. In the past, he has been involved in teaching and instruction of both graduate and undergraduate courses, as well as designing and evaluating courses and programs at McMaster University. He has taught in the life, health, and social sciences. Umair’s primary expertise is research methods of qualitative research in health policy work. Currently, he is finishing a Ph.D. in health services management and organization at the University of Toronto looking at how to strengthen the impact of organizational vision on hospital performance.

I am a Certified Payroll Manager and a Chartered Professional Accountant (Certified Management Accountant). My career has included various roles in both Accounting and Payroll. I have been a volunteer with the Canadian Payroll Association for a number of years on various committees and serving on the Board of Directors. I have been involved in instructing Canadian Payroll Association certification courses in the classroom, and online as well as delivering Professional Development seminars. I look forward to getting to know you and sharing our experiences.

Patsy Marshall is President of Train on Track, which specializes in the human side of business (customized training workshops and keynotes), along with organizational effectiveness. She has been in adult education for 38 years and continues to teach at various other schools in Southern Ontario. Patsy has held full-time senior leadership positions in health care and financial services. She holds an M.Sc. and B.A.Sc. degree from the University of Guelph, along with many awards including the J. David Stewart Award from Conestoga College for excellent teaching and leadership, and was the recipient of the Woman of Distinction (Education and Training) Award from the YMCA-YWCA of Guelph in 2012. Patsy has been teaching at CCE since 2016.

Gillian Martin holds a Bachelor’s of Health Administration from Ryerson University and a Master’s of Adult Education (hons) from Memorial University, as well as certification through the Canadian Health Information Management Association (CHIMA).

She has primarily worked in hospital settings and Public Health and has held many positions such as Privacy Officer, HIM Coordinator, NSQIP Surgical Clinical Reviewer, Clinical Analyst, HIM Administrator and Clinical Coder. Gillian currently works as a Senior Patient Relations Specialist in the Quality, Risk, Patient Safety and Patient Relations department at Niagara Health in an effort to improve patient experience and safety. Additionally, Gillian is Chair of the Health Information Management Program at HealthCareCan and involved in areas such as program planning, previous learning assessments (PLAR) and faculty/student support. Gillian is also an instructor at HealthCareCan in the biomedical courses which include Medical Terminology, Pathophysiology & Anatomy and Physiology. Gillian is passionate about all aspects of health information and enjoys sharing that passion and knowledge with her students.

Gillian also enjoys engaging in artistic endeavours such as calligraphy, resin and clay art and crafting. Additionally, she loves spending time with her family which includes her two daughters and travelling.

Nancy M. Martini has taught adults in a Continuing Education setting with enthusiasm for 10+ years.  Nancy graciously joined McMaster CCE in 2019 commencing with Management Accounting.  Her work experience of 25 years has ranged from industries of distribution for lighting and decorative surfaces, to manufacture of transport vehicles and housing – in both corporate and family-owned settings.  Nancy incorporates her real-life experiences in all of her classes in an effort to match and solidify learning experiences.  She has one goal in teaching – to facilitate a warm, kind and knowledgeable experience where the student simply learns.  Today Nancy is working full-time as a Director of Finance and Administration for a manufacturing company in Burlington, Ontario; she volunteers at several non-profit organizations including sitting on the school council for her three children.

Jeff May holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Economics from Laurentian University and a Master of Education from Nipissing University. As owner of The May Development Group, he has provided large organizations with professional development consulting, management and leadership development, and succession planning since 1996. Some of his clients include Agricorp, Guelph Hydro, Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Wilfred Laurier University, and many more. In addition to his successful career, Jeff has also taught and/or designed in person and online courses for many Canadian and international schools.  Jeff has taught at CCE since 2011.

Kathi McBride-Anderson is a Human Resources Management Consultant with Insight HR Solutions. Previously she worked for the municipal sector in various human resource management roles. Kathi is a Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP), a member of the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA), and its Hamilton Chapter. She holds a Business Administration Diploma from Mohawk College, as well as Certificates in Industrial Relations and Human Resources Management. She has taught Human Resources courses at McMaster for over 10 years

Donna McCarty is a clinical research professional with over 20 years of experience within the clinical trials environment, working both in the academic setting and within industry.

Donna, currently holds the position of Clinical Research Manager within the Ontario Clinical Oncology Group (OCOG), an academic-based clinical trials development and coordination organization, located within the Department of Oncology within the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON. OCOG works with clinician investigators to design, conduct, analyze and publish clinical trials with a focus primarily on cancer research, and a secondary interest in venous thrombosis research. Donna oversees a research team that includes Physician Research Associates, Faculty Statisticians, Clinical Research Coordinators, Ethics & Regulatory Affairs, Data Management Assistants, Information Technology Programmers and Quality Analysts as well as institutional contract specialists and financial personnel.

Donna is also involved with research program development for the Escarpment Cancer Research Institute (ECRI), a joint partnership between McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences, located in Hamilton, ON, that focuses on research through a collaborative process that involves clinician experts from the Juravinksi Cancer Centre Disease Site Teams and ECRI Scientists.

Donna is a member of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) and received certification as a Clinical Research Professional with the Society of Clinical Research Associates (SoCRA). Donna is involved with a number of research organizations including the Network of Networks (N2), having participated as member of the SOP Development Committee and the Initiative to Streamline Clinical Trials Working Group.

Clinical trials hold the key to the development of new treatments and therapies for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders. It is an exciting field where collaboration, dedication and continued learning are part of the day to day environment.

Colin McDougall, M.B.A. is a serial entrepreneur with nearly 20 years’ experience in the golf industry, including senior management roles with a golf equipment manufacturer, sports marketing agency and as special consultant to a global leader in indoor golf simulation. Bearing an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business, Mr. McDougall has been an active supporter and mentor to an array of new startup ventures while continuing to work on several businesses of his own, including a long-drive media property called Thunderball and a golf simulation program called SuperShot.

Mike McEleny is a Professor of Business at a leading Southern Ontario college. He is a Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP), holds a B.A. in Management Economics from the University of Guelph, and recently completed an M.B.A. in Leadership and Sustainability from the University of Cumbria. He has taught at McMaster since 2014.

Dr. Meghan McGee is an instructor in the Nutrition, Health, and Wellness program at McMaster University. Her expertise covers different lifestyle aspects of nutrition, obesity, and wellbeing. This includes healthy eating, physical activity, sleep, and breastfeeding. She is a talented science communicator and also works as a freelance journalist reporting on nutrition research.

Meghan obtained a PhD in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Toronto and is a research collaborator at the Hospital for Sick Children and Sinai Health.

Keith McIntyre is the CEO and owner of the KMAC Group and BLUEPRINCE Consulting. For over 30 years, Keith has worked with some of the world’s best-known companies to help them grow their sales. Keith is a member of the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA), the Sponsorship Marketing Council Canada, the Point of Purchase Advertising Institute, and the Retail Council of Canada. Keith holds a B.Comm. from McMaster University. He has taught courses at McMaster since 2012.

Dario Medina is a Senior Business Intelligence Analyst for Wealth at TD Bank in Toronto. In his role he builds operational dashboards and scorecards for various business lines to support their strategic objectives. Dario has also held senior business intelligence and leadership roles at Scotiabank, Bell before coming to Canada from Peru, Praxair. He has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Software Engineering, a Masters of Software Engineering and an MBA from McMaster University.

Mary Megali (Ph.D, MBA) has led the design, development, and execution of strategic HR projects for Top 50 Employers in healthcare, telecom, and commercial real estate. She has led teams for national and global organizations that have contributed to HR’s plans to align and help achieve corporate objectives.

She is both an HR and teaching professional who is regularly invited to speak at universities and professional conferences on various topics such as HR planning, employment branding, recruitment, and social media for HR.

Dr. Megali holds a PhD, an MBA, Six Sigma Black Belt certification, and is an active member of the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA). Mary is also a systems, digital learning, and investment enthusiast.

Claudia is extremely enthusiastic about supporting individuals in achieving their career-related goals. She has over 15 years of diverse and progressive experience in recruitment, program coordination, and job development for a number of non-profit employment services in the greater Toronto community. She currently works as the Manager of Co-operative Education at The University of Guelph where she ensures that work-integrated learning programs meet the needs of students, employers, and the university. 

Claudia is a graduate of the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Sociology with postgraduate certificates in Human Resources Management and Adult Education. She completed her Master’s Degree in Education at Central Michigan University. 

Rajibul Mian is a Statistician. He has extensive teaching and professional experience in distinguished Healthcare Institutes and Medical Research organizations. He is currently working at McMaster University, Department of Medicine. His professional background and interest encompass Biostatistics, Computational Statistics, Statistical Modelling, Data Analytics, and Data Science.

Rajibul holds PhD in Statistics from the University of Windsor.

Michael Michalski is a member of the teaching staff in the McMaster University/Mohawk College Bachelor of Technology Program (BTECH) where he teaches Human Resources Management and Organizational Behaviour. He has over 30 years of experience in the fields of Finance and Human Resources Management. Michael holds an M.B.A. in Human Resources Management and a B.A. in Economics, both from McMaster University. He has taught courses at McMaster since 1993.

Bio coming soon! 

Jim Miles is the Assistant Vice President, Commercial Lines at Aviva Canada’s Mississauga Branch. He has earned the Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP) designation, the Canadian Insurance Professionals (CIP) designation, and the Canadian Risk Management (CRM) designation. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from McMaster University. He has over 30 years of experience in various fields including insurance, risk management, finance, strategic planning, operational management, and marketing. Jim has taught at CCE since 2016.

Glenn Mills has spent most of his professional career in retail running big-box operations, including most recently as general manager of Sport Chek in Toronto. For 10 1/2 years he worked with Golf Town, Canada’s largest golf retailer, where he built and ran the flagship store in Mississauga, taking on subsequent roles as regional manager, Director of Human Resources, Director of Training, Development & Recruitment, and Director of Facilities Management & Procurement. During his Golf Town tenure, he was instrumental to the company’s growth from 1 to 47 stores, and from 12 to 1,600 employees, with $350 million in annual sales. Mr. Mills’ progressive career has been combined with an executive-level education in HR, legal issues and organizational behaviour. He possesses superb purchasing and general management experience covering all areas of retail store operations.

Aaron Mitchell is an Instructor, Artist, and Designer. He holds a Fine Arts degree from OCAD University; a Graphic Design degree from Akureyri College of Art and Design; a Post-Baccalaureate degree in Teaching/Administration from Iceland Academy of the Arts; and a Certificate in Web Development from Seneca College. He has taught courses in the Web Development & Design program at McMaster since 2011

Elizabeth is a dynamic Instructor and Facilitator with over 15 years of experience helping young adults to navigate the labour market, using a variety of teaching methods to accommodate diverse learning styles. Her experience includes resume development, interview preparation, networking, career advising, instructing and mentoring students. Elizabeth’s passion is to help and motivate students to jumpstart their own careers. Elizabeth possesses a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering, Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing Management, Master in Business Administration, and Certificate in Instructing Adults.

Helen Montoux has been an instructor for continuing education at McMaster since 2013.In addition to teaching, Helen works during tax season as a reviewer. Other work experience includes 10+ years working at both public and private accounting firms, and 15+ years working as Director of Finance of a large social services corporation. Helen holds a BA in Economics from the University of Guelph, a Business Administration Diploma from Mohawk College, and has earned both CMA and CPA designations.

Brian Mossop is the General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club – host of the 2023 LPGA CP Women’s Open and 4-time host of the PGA Men’s Canadian Open.

Brian has over 15 years of diverse general management experience at public, semi-private and private golf clubs in both for profit and non-profit settings. Brian’s educational background includes a golf operations diploma from GMIC, an undergraduate degree from UBC and a Master’s in Business Administration from Queen’s University. Brian is also actively involved in the club management development space and is the President of the Pacific Branch of the Canadian Society of Club Managers (CSCM).

Brian has extensive experience in planning, implementing and executing strategy in diverse settings and is particularly passionate about developing others, marketing and financial strategy.

Bradley Munro is the Principal at RS4 Marketing Group, a Toronto-based consulting firm. His previous positions include Vice President of Rogers Communications and General Manager of Bell Canada. He holds an M.B.A. from Queens University. Bradley has taught both in-class and online marketing courses at McMaster since 2008.

John Nashid has over ten years of experience in teaching, health care and consulting sectors.  John works a project manager with the Strategy Department at SickKids hospital providing strategic support across all programs. He has previously worked at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton as a Quality Consultant, providing strategic and continuous quality improvement support.  John received his MBA and Bachelor of Kinesiology from McMaster University, and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Certified Managerial Accountant (CMA).  John has been teaching at CCE since 2016.

Tarek Nasr is a member of the Ontario College of Pharmacists and a professor at Sheridan and Selkirk colleges. He has been active in the community pharmacy field for over 15 years where he always strives to provide sincere patient care through counselling, medication review clinics and specialized methadone/suboxone dispensing.

Nasr lectured many courses such as pharmacology, pharmacy dispensing, pharmacotherapeutics, and professional practice in both in-class and online environments. He truly enjoys the experience of interacting with students from every province through NAPRA’s National pharmacology Bridging program, and he prides himself on contributing to the success of hundreds of students across Canada while taking their big step towards becoming certified healthcare professionals and members of the College of Pharmacists in their provinces. Part of his teaching interests include course development and the gamification of education, and he is currently engaged in developing the advanced dispensing courses in Sheridan college. In the meantime, Nasr is the academic advisor for both the pharmacy tech and the community pharmacy assistant programs in Sheridan College’s Faculty of Applied Health and Community Studies where he genuinely gives full support to students to reach the best of their abilities.

Ramy is a Canadian engineer, designer and maker. Ramy leads strategy and design teams, working directly with end-users to create innovative and differentiated customer experiences based on user insights and advanced data analytics. Combining tools and practices from the worlds of Design Thinking and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, Ramy ensures that delivered solutions meet end-user needs and leverage the incredible potential that data can provide in the Design Thinking process.

Ramy has worked with some of the world’s most influential brands including Apple, Nike, and Air Canada. Currently, he is working with one of Canada’s leading banks as well as a commercial real estate developer to build internal innovation best practices. Prior to that, Ramy led the Retail Innovation team for Mattel, working with brands such as Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Fisher Price to create engaging new user experiences.

Ramy is in his first year of teaching Design Thinking, but has previous teaching experience at the Universities of Waterloo and Toronto.

Nozwelo Ndebele is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CGA) and Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE). She has over 15 years of accounting experience which includes teaching in the post-secondary sector, working in Public Accounting, and the private sector. Nozwelo graduated from Brigham Young University Utah with a Master Of Accountancy. 

Saeed’s (Sam) professional career started at US Naval Academy and Maine Maritime as an Engineering Officer. Later, he worked for over 20 years at GE aviation as the Director of global sales for the military fighter jets, small commercial aircraft, helicopters, maintenance services, spares and ground equipment programs.

Saeed’s professional career include senior executive management roles in the Defense, Aerospace, Power, Energy, Education, and Business Consulting industries such as Sr. adviser/consultant at TPG, senior business management consultant at Siemens for Smart Grid, Sr. consultant at Toronto Hydro on Energy Efficiency/Conservation Demand Management and Sr. consultant at Southern California Edison on Demand Side Management & Energy Efficiency.

Saeed (Sam) has a degree in Marine Engineering (Steam & Diesel) from Maine Maritime, a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering, a MS degree and PhD in Industrial Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston Massachusetts. His educational experience includes teaching assignments at US Army, Northeastern University, University of California, University of Toronto and Ryerson University. He also has over 30 professional certifications and diplomas including Professional Engineer (PE), Engineering Leadership Programs (ELP), Manufacturing Management Programs (MMP), Project Management (PM), Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Energy Systems Auditor (ISO 50001), Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt (GB), Blackbelt (BB), Master Blackbelt (MBB), Sustainability Management, Occupation Health & Safety (OSH), Global Procurement, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Operations Management (OM), Total Quality Control (TQC), Product Development Management (PDM), Quality Management System (QMS), Manufacturing Materials & Processes (MMP), Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF), New Product Introduction (NPI), Organizational Change Management (OCM), Professional Negotiation Management (PNM), Product’s Commercialization program among others.

Saeed (Sam) is currently Academic coordinator for Sustainability Management & Enterprise Process Excellence and Green Economy certificate programs, Course/program developer and lead instructor at Ryerson University. He continues with senior consulting assignments within the private, public industries and government agencies based on demand.

Quang Nguyen is a data scientist with experiences working for IBM Canada in Advanced Analytics and AI practice as well as IBM Quantum Computing Ambassador team. He also did several postdoc research in academic institutes such as Korean Astronomical and Space Institute, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics. He finished his post and undergrad in Europe.

Christina Nolan is a marketing/business consultant. She has worked in marketing and communications for over fifteen years in financial services, where she has managed everything from online banking and product offers to niche marketing offers for Students, Youth and Newcomers.

In her spare time, you can find her with a camera in hand or with her hiking shoes on. She is a firm believer in giving back and volunteers with the Alzheimer’s Society Music Project as well as TIFF if time allows.

Jeffrey O’Leary works as the Group Controller and FPA Lead for Karl Storz Medical Devices. Previously he has worked for Maple Leaf Foods and Wolseley Canada in various Marketing, Sales and Finance roles.

He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of New Brunswick, a Master of Business Administration and has earned the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Chartered Marketer (CM) designations.

Currently a member of the American Board of Forensic Accounting, Jeffrey is a Doctor of Business Administration student and currently teaches online and in-person courses at McMaster.

Gail Ordogh is currently a Digital Marketing Manager, Integrated Communications specializing in Social Media with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. In this position she is the business lead and subject matter expert for National and Regional campaigns for brands like LOTTO 6/49, LOTTO MAX, NHL LOTTO, LOTTARIO and CASH FOR LIFE as well as the Chairperson of the Inter-Provincial Lottery Corporation Social Media Working Group. Her work experience at companies like Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Pelmorex Media and Panoff Publishing Inc. gave her the opportunity to work on beloved brands like The Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, Coca-Cola, Molson, The Weather Network, Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines just to name a few. She holds a B.A.A from Ryerson University, and B.Ed from Niagara University and AQ Qualification from Queen’s University for Communication Technology. This is her first year teaching at McMaster.

Lisa Orr is a nationally recognized etiquette expert and entrepreneur. She currently runs two businesses, Orr Etiquette and LaBroga. Orr Etiquette is Lisa’s etiquette and protocol consultancy that delivers training and education in all areas of etiquette and protocol to organizations, universities and schools. Lisa also appears and contributes regularly as an etiquette expert on a variety of Canadian media platforms including CTV’s The Social, The Huffington Post, Kiss Radio and The Toronto Star. LaBroga is a startup fashion accessory business that Lisa successfully launched on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter in 2016. Lisa holds an M.B.A. and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. Lisa has been teaching at McMaster since 2017.

Dr. Max M. Owens is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University and is a core member of the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research.

Max’s research program addresses how neurobiology translates into the ability to engage in self-control and how differences in neurobiology contribute to substance use disorders and psychopathology. He also studies the effects of using psychoactive substances, such as cannabis and tobacco, on cognition and neurobiology. Max’s research uses a variety of methodological approaches including magnetic resonance imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging, behavioral economics, machine learning, and network modeling.

Linda Papadopoulous is the Vice President, Corporate Risk Management at Pearson Dunn Insurance Inc. She has earned a Chartered Insurance Professionals (CIP) designation, a Canadian Certified Insurance Brokers (CCIB) designation, and a Canadian Risk Management (CRM) designation. Linda holds a B.Sc. in Accounting and Finance from Deree College, the American University of Greece. At McMaster she has taught Risk Management courses and facilitated corporate training workshops since 2000.

For more than ten years, Scott Parker has taken his brand of creativity and used it successfully in a number of courses across Ontario. Scott holds a BBA from the University of Western Ontario in addition to several computer certifications, which have served to enhance student’s learning. In addition, Scott will embrace the latest methods of teaching for the best in student achievement.

Scott has recently also become interested in the ethical aspect of cyber-security development, not because he has all the answers but because he has a lot of questions. In his spare time, he enjoys travelling, hiking, cooking, and reading.

Deepti Patki began working in the field of clinical research in 2009 after receiving her Masters in Clinical Research Management from the University of North Texas Health Science Center, USA. Ms. Patki has held various roles in clinical research management and has worked extensively on Phase II/III/IV industry sponsored clinical trials as well as Investigator Initiated clinical trials. She currently works in Clinical Operations at a global CRO. Deepti is passionate about teaching to help advance the clinical research workforce.

Her expertise lies in informed consent and clinical research project management. She has delivered seminars on various clinical research topics to professionals for continuing education as well as clinical research students.

Deepti has been a member of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) since 2010 and has also served on various committees for the ACRP.

Mark Peco is a seasoned educator, consultant and team builder with expertise in data management, analytics and process improvement. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering from the University of Waterloo and works with clients to identify and implement key capabilities needed to drive impact from their investments in data and analytics.

As a faculty member with leading organizations Mark develops and delivers courses, seminars and workshops to business and technology professionals on a broad range of data related topics. He teaches companies on a global basis how to implement and govern “intelligent” business solutions.

Mark is a Certified Business Intelligence Professional (CBIP) at the mastery level and maintains his professional focus at the intersection of business, operations, and technology. He enjoys advising and facilitating management teams as they learn new concepts, how to shape new data-driven business strategies and how to achieve success.

Mike Piczak has been an educator, trainer and consultant since the early 1980s. He has taught at Mohawk College and McMaster University for over 30 years in addition to conducting numerous training sessions in the corporate setting.

His interests and teaching include interpersonal skills management, strategy formulation, intra/entrepreneurship, sustainability, six sigma methods and project management.

He has a dozen publications to his credit in addition to a number of conference papers on various aspects of engineering/management education. Finally, he regularly updates a student manual for learning Microsoft Office Suite products.

Bio to come! 

Janet Pitts is a certified Health Information Management (HIM) Professional. She holds a Bachelor of Health Administration (Post Diploma) from Athabasca University and an Associate Degree in Health Record Administration from Douglas College, New Westminster, BC. Over the course of her career, Janet has worked in in various health care settings, in a variety of HIM roles. Some roles have consisted of Senior Data Coordinator/Analyst, Clinical Trials Data Coordinator, Release of Information Officer, Consultant, and Coder. Janet teaches Health Information Management II on-line and has previously taught Managing Health Privacy & Security. She has worked on course development for Health Information Management II. Janet has been teaching at McMaster Centre for Continuing Education since 2015.

Carolyn Plater-Zyberk works on an emergency crisis team at Mackenzie Health Hospital and Trillium Mississauga Hospital. She also operates a private counselling practice specializing in addictions and mental health with a focus on youth and young adults. She is a member of the College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers and the Ontario Association of Social Workers. Carolyn holds a B.A. in Psychology from York University, an Addiction Careworker Diploma from McMaster University, and a M.S.W. from the University of Toronto.

Heather Pollex has been involved in education for over 35 years, having worked full-time in a series of progressively senior educational roles in the health care sector. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from McMaster University; a B.Sc. in Nursing from the University of Toronto; a M.Sc. in Teaching from McMaster University; and a Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) from the University of Toronto. Her doctoral research focused on organizational culture and change.

She has been a sessional instructor at McMaster since the early 1990’s.  In 2018, she assumed the part-time position of Experiential Learning Coordinator to support instructors as they incorporate experiential learning in their respective courses.

Steve is an Ottawa-based housing research consultant and part-time lecturer at Carleton and McMaster. Widely recognized as one of the leading housing policy experts and thought leaders in Canada Steve has over 35 years of experience in the housing sector, initially in the non-profit sector, local government and with CMHC before establishing Focus Consulting Inc. in 1994. Since then he has completed over 200 research reports covering all aspects of housing as well as urban issues, both in Canada and internationally.

Steve regularly advises several national and provincial housing associations, many municipalities and provinces on housing programs and policy, development of comprehensive housing strategies and financial feasibility.

His recent publications include: Current State of Rental Housing in Canada’s Cities, Chapter 5 in The Future of Affordable Housing: Planning and Design Innovation (2020), editor Sasha Tsenkova, University of Calgary, Recovery for All Proposals to Strengthen the National Housing Strategy and End Homelessness (2020) for the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness; and Envisioning a Modernized Social and Affordable Housing Sector in Canada (2018).

Sarah Precious is an educator, facilitator, and leader in engagement and mental health, with a Master’s in Leadership and Community Engagement. She teaches Sustain 2SS3 at McMaster, has taught at Mohawk College and facilitated training and presentations on mental health, suicide prevention, Developmental Assets, and co-designed various trainings with individuals with lived and living experience. With over 15 years of experience, she is a strong advocate for community engagement and believes in the power that co-designed services can have on transforming services and systems. In addition to teaching Sarah serves as the Manager of Engagement and Communications for the Greater Hamilton Health Network and provides consulting services.

Skye is currently employed with the Saskatchewan Health Authority as a Certified Health Information Management Practitioner working in Acute Care and Mental Health.

She holds a joint Honours Bachelor of Arts in History and Ancient Greek and Roman Studies and graduated from Fleming College Health Information Management Program in 2014. Immediately after graduation, Skye moved to Saskatchewan to begin working for the former Prairie North Regional Health Authority. While there, she was a member of the NACRS Implementation Committee, to implement NACRS coding in the health region, which has expanded to most Acute Care facilities in Saskatchewan.

After the provincial amalgamation into the Saskatchewan Health Authority, Skye currently sits on the Provincial Coding Steering Committee. She is currently working on her Coding Specialist Program with CHA Learning.

Ryan Price is an artist and educator living in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with an extensive background in traditional and interactive media. Ryan holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in photographic studies from Ryerson University as well as a master’s from McMaster University in Communications and New Media. He has worked as an instructor as several post-secondary institutions and was the design director of a weekly newspaper, overseeing editorial production. Ryan has many passions, all of which tie into art, technology, and education.

Adam Prokop has taught and developed accounting, finance, general business, and operations courses at several Canadian universities. He has worked in a number of different sectors including finance, energy, real estate, and government. He currently works as a Senior Risk Analyst and consultant in the real estate industry.

Mr. Prokop holds the Canadian Risk Management (CRM) designation, the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA) designation, the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from McMaster University, A Master in Finance (MFin) from Queen’s University, a Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Organizational Psychology from University of London, and a Master of Science (MSc) in Supply Chain Management from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Deirdre Querney is a Registered Social Worker with the City of Hamilton’s Alcohol, Drug & Gambling Services and has been a counsellor in the field of addictions since 2000. She is certified by the Canadian Problem Gambling Certification Board (CPGCB) and the Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation (CACCF).

Deirdre holds a B.A. in Psychology and a B.S.W., both from McMaster University, as well as an M.S.W. from the University of Toronto. She has taught at the CCE since 2003. Deirdre’s current research interests include spirituality and addictions, the neurobiology of problem gambling and motherhood and addictions.

Sahar has over a decade of experience in the areas of corporate banking, retail finance and operations and is currently a Senior Director managing the Pharmacy Transformation team at Loblaw Companies Limited.

Sahar’s focus area is in Finance, Strategy, Operations, Budgeting and planning. Her experience includes working on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, leading business cases and various investment opportunities in the healthcare and retail space. Sahar holds a MBA from the Schulich School of Business and is a designated CPA.

Sally Ramsammy is a financial leader with over 20 years experience in accounting and management in the manufacturing and higher education sectors. Sally started and expanded her accounting career in automotive manufacturing with Dana Corporation and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. Sally has also obtained an array of experience in higher education by working in various financial roles in southern Ontario universities. She is currently employed at Wilfrid Laurier University as the Manager of Financial Operations in the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics.

Sally holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a diploma in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University as well as achieving her CPA, CMA designation from the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario and CHRP designation from the Human Resources Professionals Association.

Gurprit Randhawa is the Lead (Senior Manager) for Learning Strategy and Design in the Department of Learning and Performance Support at Island Health in Victoria, BC. In this role, she leads the design of evidence-based learning strategies to facilitate organizational changes, such as the adoption, use, and optimization of the electronic health record (EHR). Prior to this, Gurprit was the Manager for Clinical Improvements & Informatics at Island Health and led the Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE), EHR Adoption, Use, Research & Development (EAURD), and Provider Learning and Knowledge Translation (PLKT) teams.

Gurprit has a B.Sc. (with Distinction) in Health Information Science, M.Sc. (with Thesis) in Health Informatics, and Ph.D in Health Informatics from the University of Victoria (UVic), as well as a graduate certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (LATHE) from UVic’s Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies. Her research work focuses on electronic medical record adoption and use, end-user support, and quality improvement.

Gurprit received national recognition from COACH (Digital Health Canada) as the recipient of the Founding President’s Award (2010) and the Steven Huesing Award and Scholarship (2016).

Tami is a Registered Psychologist in the province of Alberta and a member of the Psychologist Association of Alberta (PAA). She has a graduate degree in Counselling Psychology and has been working in the field of addictions and mental health for more than 25 years. Over the years, Tami has supported the field of addictions by developing curriculum, facilitating professional development courses and supporting the development and implementation of National and Provincial initiatives related to Substance Abuse Prevention.

Clinically, Tami has held roles with Alberta Health Services within inpatient, outpatient, and rural based environments; offering opportunities to work with individuals in a number of diverse settings, including schools (K-12), justice and social service agencies. As an instructor, Tami can also draw upon her past experiences as a supervisor and clinical consultant to addiction counsellors, social workers and family therapists, providing care to youth and their families in outpatient, day treatment, and voluntary/involuntary detoxification programs.

In addition to McMaster University, Tami is also an online instructor for Mount Royal University’s Addiction Studies Certificate program and she balances her clinical time between her own private practice in Calgary and a small clinic in Cochrane, AB.

Jill Reiner is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) passionate about building people and culture strategies to optimize and accelerate employee performance and business growth and success. With over 25 years’ experience working in Human Resources, Jill’s diverse human resources and people development background includes talent and performance management, leadership development, change leadership, and individual and organizational effectiveness. Her broad industry experience spans the performing arts, engineering consulting, health care, high-tech design & manufacturing, non-profit organizations, and financial services.

Jill’s education includes a BA in psychology, postgraduate diploma in Business Administration, certificate in Human Resources Management, and a postgraduate certificate in Applied Organizational Leadership & Development.

Lawrence Reiter has almost 20 years’ experience in the Pharmaceutical Research Industry in Clinical Operations, Project Management, Quality Assurance and Compliance. His experience includes monitoring and project management across a wide variety of therapeutic areas to include drug and device studies across all phases.

Lawrence has worked in multiple regions around the world and manages global studies in over 40 countries. In addition, he is accredited by and remains in good standing with the Society for Quality Assurance as a Registered Quality Assurance Professional in Good Clinical Practice (RQAP-GCP).

Lawrence is an experienced lecturer in GCP having been directly involved in the setup and running of a non-profit training organization in South Africa that provided training across global regions to both Sponsor and site staff. 

Somayeh is a visionary executive advisor with more than a decade experience as entrepreneur, sustainability professional, process excellence and optimization specialist as well as being a proven professional architect.

She has master’s degree (M.Arch) in sustainable design with extensive experience and expertise in sustainable architecture. Driven by her strong passion, she pursued education at wider perspective of sustainability leadership and business management. She obtained her credential in Green Economy and Sustainability Management & Enterprise Process Excellence programs from Ryerson University as well as Business Sustainability Management program at University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. She is also a LSS certified Blackbelt (CBB) from American Society of Quality (ASQ).

Somayeh won the sustainability first place award in 2008 at the MIPIM International competition in Architecture Design and has been collaborating with Pictet and Cie Swiss Bank on the Prix Pictet project on sustainability.

Somayeh is currently a lead instructor and course development specialist for the Sustainability Management, Lean Six Sigma continuous improvement and Green Economy certificate programs at Ryerson University. She is pursuing her academic ambition to be an academic lecturer in sustainability within global universities and continue her consulting and entrepreneurship activities within the global markets.

Peter Sacco is a part-time post-secondary instructor. He is a member of the Ontario Association of Counselors, Consultants, Psychometrists, and Psychotherapists, as well as the Canadian Mental Health Association. Peter holds a B.A. in Psychology from Brock University; an M.A. in Counselling from Niagara University; an M.A. in Theology from the Southern California Graduate School in Theology; and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from American Pacific University. He has taught at McMaster since 1997.

Dr. Behnam Sadeghi, Pharm D, MPH, PhD is a pharmacy doctor with a master’s degree in public health and a PhD in health research methodology from McMaster University. He is an assistant professor in the anesthesia and health research methods, evidence and impact departments at McMaster University and a research methodologist at Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care.

Behnam is also part of various professional organizations, including Cochrane Anesthesia group, Cochrane Iran advisory board, International Epidemiological Association, and GRADE Working Group. His research focus is evidence synthesis methods (including systematic review and meta-analysis, network meta-analysis), evidence-based medicine and clinical practice guidelines, and comparative effectiveness and safety of interventions in pain management, peri-operative care and anesthesiology.

Hilary Sadler is the Marketing and Public Relations Manager at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. She has senior level experience in community and corporate communications, integrated marketing communications, and public relations. Hilary has worked for both not for profit and for profit organizations developing and implementing community partnerships.  Hilary is a member of the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS).  Hilary has taught courses at McMaster since 2008. Hilary was the recipient of the CCE Instructor Award for 2013/14

Tory Salisbury has over 20 years of professional experience in project and process management as a Consultant, Coach, Facilitator and Project Manager.

She has managed and consulted to organizations in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. in the technology, aviation, insurance, health care, government, banking, telecommunications, manufacturing, energy and utility industries. She has consulted to several organizations on their project management maturity, from evaluation of capability to design and set-up of Project Management Offices (PMOs). She has also provided coaching to Project Managers and technical staff requiring a quick turnaround in learning and skills transition. Tory has a background in Psychology; a Masters Certificate in Project Management and is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP).

Elisa Salmoni Way is a communications manager with the Government of Canada. She has worked in marketing and communications for over fifteen years and has worked across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors leading a variety of digital marketing files. She currently leads the website, intranet site, social media and advertising files for an economic development agency and is working with her team to expand their digital marketing efforts and metrics. Elisa has successfully managed teams in sales, marketing, communications and retail environments as well as seven-figure operating budgets. Elisa has taught marketing, market research and economics part-time at the post-secondary level over the last ten years.

Elisa graduated from Laurentian University in 1999 with her B.A. Honours (English) and in 2001 with her M.B.A. In 2006 she earned certificates in Teaching and Training Adults and Volunteer Management from Humber College. Elisa is a current member of the International Association of Business Communicators.

Ankit is a financial risk manager with over 12 years of experience in credit risk, investment analysis and reputational and strategic risk management. He has international experience and has worked in credit rating agencies, corporate banks, and crown corporations.

Ankit enjoys teaching and mentoring students and has been engaged in various capacities in the academia for the past 10 years.   

Ankit holds a Bachelor of Commerce and MBA degrees (earned from state university in India). He also holds CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and FRM (Financial Risk Manager) designations and is an active member of the local CFA society.

Val Sarjeant is a Health, Safety, Wellness (HSW) Specialist with the City of Hamilton and has worked for over 30 years in the HSW field primarily in the government sector. He is a graduate of the Safety Engineering Technology program at Humber College. An advocate for safe and healthy communities, Val chair’s the MentorAction Working Group, a program of Interval House of Hamilton, to engage men as leaders in the campaign to end gender-based violence through the implementation of communication and mentorship strategies. He is also a physical literacy instructor with McMaster’s Department of Athletics and Recreation for the last 8 years.

Adrian Seeley is the Senior Director of Media Sales at Narcity Media Group and has cultivated 15 years of experience helping small to midsize Canadian publishers with their digital advertising and online presence. To begin his career, Adrian was one of the first social community managers in Canada on behalf of several Fortune 500 companies, winning multiple awards personally and for clients. After launching his own business, he transitioned to social media buying, managing publisher networks, stacks, and ad sales for small to medium-sized Canadian businesses, helping them generate significant revenue growth.

Eric earned a Bachelor of Science (Zoology/Botany) and a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) (Physiological Psychology) from the University of Manitoba, followed by a Master of Science (Psychology/Electrophysiology) from McMaster University. He worked for ~9 years at the Research Institute of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto (Division of Neuroscience) studying the basic physiology of patent ductus arteriosus, then returned to Hamilton in 1998 and joined the G. Singh lab at the Hamilton Regional Cancer Centre. In that lab, he developed and applied a variety of animal models relating to angiogenesis and breast/prostate cancer bone metastasis.

In 2004, he enrolled in the Medical Sciences Graduate Program at McMaster and completed a Doctor of Philosophy (with distinction) in Physiology and Pharmacology, with a research focus on glutamate intercellular communication and the persistent skeletal pain that results when cancer spreads to bone. During his PhD, he discovered and characterized a connection between the normal oxidative stress protection mechanisms of cancer cells and the bone pain and pathology associated with bone metastasis. He followed his PhD with a Post-Doctoral Fellowship (Bone Metastasis Pain) in the department of Pathology & Molecular Medicine. After working for several years as a staff Research Scientist in Pathology & Molecular Medicine, he is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesia, teaching full-time, primarily for the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) program. He teaches courses in all four years of the BHSc program in Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Pain, Cannabis, Information Literacy, and Research Skills. Eric is also the Chair of McMaster’s Animal Research Ethics Board.

Eric lives in Dundas with his wife and two adult sons. He spends his free time making stained glass art, reading, hiking, and watching any airplane that goes by (he used to be a pilot). Eric is also an avid amateur photographer.

A list of his research publications can be found via his Publons/Web of Knowledge Researcher ID (http://www.researcherid.com/rid/K-6765-2013).

Nigar obtained her medical degree from the University of Istanbul and completed her post-graduate training in Internal Medicine and Nephrology. Following her Master’s in Clinical Epidemiology, she pursued her PhD in Health Research Methodology at McMaster University. Her PhD research focused on the application of GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) methodology in chronic kidney disease mineral and bone disorders.

Her expertise in research methodology includes clinical trials, prognosis research, evidence synthesis and knowledge translation. Additionally, she has contributed to a variety of educational activities, including teaching graduate-level courses.

Nigar has an advanced certificate in Teaching and Learning. She has over thirty publications in peer-reviewed journals. Nigar is passionate about teaching clinical trial methodology, including the design, execution and analysis stages.

Joydeep is currently employed at ArcelorMittal Dofasco as a Senior Research Leader, Primary Processes – Continuous Casting. He earned his Master’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology He earned his Ph.D. at the Department of Material Science and Engineering from the University of British Columbia in 2002. He has been teaching at McMaster since 2007.

Adrienne Serrao is an Intercultural Coach and Trainer, bringing over 20 years of experience working with senior leaders. Having lived as an expatriate herself for 8 years in China, Adrienne has first-hand awareness of the challenges of living and working overseas. She has worked with a wide range of clients from all sectors, conducting both workshops and leading intensive coaching assignments for those relocating to Canada.

In addition to her intercultural experience, she brings over 16 years of experience in leadership and professional development, both face to face and virtual. Adrienne is also an ICF-certified coach, with CCPC designation from the Coaches Training Institute (CTI) and has specialized in career coaching for over 15 years. Adrienne holds a MA in Leadership and Organization Development, is EQI 2.0 certified (Emotional Intelligence) and holds a certificate in Global Inclusion.

Mian Shah is a goal-oriented leader with passion to spread the power of artificial intelligence. He earned his MSc in Artificial Intelligence with Robotics from University of Hertfordshire (UK) in 2013.

He has worked in the industry for the last many years and is currently employed with Oracle Corp as Software Developer helping with development of chatbots and NLP systems to solve business problems. Mian also teaches data science and programming courses at Sheridan College and has taught previously at Humber and Durham colleges.

Mian’s areas of interest include Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, Blockchain technology and systems automation. Mian enjoys completing fun hobby projects such as turtle-bot navigation, object recognition, automated doggy door, 3D printed robot arm, etc.

Coming soon!

A 33-year veteran of the packaged goods, retail, agency and sport administration industries, Scott Simmons is a seasoned C-suite executive who has held senior leadership positions in sales and marketing with a focus on both business development and client retention. Simmons has served as CEO of Golf Canada (2007-2017), an organization consisting of over 1,400 member clubs and 300,000 individual members. Most recently, he was appointed President of Ontario Craft Brewers, the association representing small, independent craft brewers in Ontario. Scott has also worked in senior leadership positions at Brewers Retail Inc. as well as Proctor & Gamble.

Lorraine Simpson-Spence, M.Ed, CHRL, has been a key contributor in adult education, distance education and human resources management for the past 14 years. She holds a Master of Education in Open, Digital & Distance Education and a Bachelor of Human Resources and Labour Relations from Athabasca University. She is also a Certified Human Resources Leader and has held both leadership and single contributor roles in corporate human resources management.

Lorraine teaches online and face-to-face at the post-secondary education level and has worked extensively on the instructional design, development and delivery of various human resources online courses. She is passionate about supporting adult learners from diverse backgrounds in achieving their academic and professional goals and believes it is a privilege and an honour to be a part of their learning experiences.

Her current academic interests include student success, lifelong learning, instructional design, online learning, constructivism, community of inquiry, qualitative research etc.

Melissa Singh is a Senior Manager of Data Science at TD Bank in Toronto. In her role, she leverages Big Data technologies to build out platforms to support an Enterprise Data Lake and Machine Learning use cases. Melissa has developed a deep foundation in Big Data Analytics through various roles at TD including Big Data Engineering, Data Science and lead for a Big Data Centre of Excellence team. Before joining TD, she worked as a Software Engineer at IBM and holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Software Engineering from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.  

Peter started strategic studies as a West Point Cadet and earned a baccalaureate degree in Journalism and Speech Communication via Concordia University in Montreal and the University of Maine and complemented this with a Master of Business Administration in Management from Centenary College in New Jersey. He also earned a diploma and professional designation as a Communications and Advertising Accredited Professional (C.A.A.P.) from The Institute of Canadian Advertising (Now Institute of Communication and Advertising). Peter owns a marketing and business communication consulting company called Sachem Strategies Inc.

Jennifer Skelly RN, PhD is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing, McMaster University. She has been actively involved in developing continence care standards and education for nurses over the past 25 years in an effort improve access to continence care for Canadians.

Her clinical experience in continence care is extensive. She was the Director of Continence Programs at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (1994 – 2019) as the first nurse-led continence service in Canada. She works collaboratively with primary care, urology, gynaecology, and physiotherapy.

Dr. Skelly’s clinical practice focused on conservative methods of managing urinary and fecal incontinence. She has been involved in the development and revisions of the RNAO BPGs Prompted Voiding and Managing Constipation (2000, 2005, 2011). She co-chaired the new Best Practice Guideline (BPG), A Proactive Approach to Bladder and Bowel Management in Adults, due to be released Fall 2020. She established the Nurse Continence Advisor (NCA) Distance Education Program offered by McMaster (1995 – 2019) and the Canadian Nurse Continence Advisors Association (CNCA) (www.cnca.ca) in 2000 to ensure a standard of excellence in the role of continence nursing.

Glenn Skrubbeltrang is a Certified Professional Accountant (CPA) and a university lecturer. He holds a BA from Wilfred Laurier University and an MBA from Brock University. He has taught both online and in-class accounting courses at McMaster since 2009.

Eleanor Smith, a 1996 Humanities Graduate of McMaster University, has been working in the of the field of Information Technology since 2000, when she started working at Dofasco as an Oracle Database Administrator. Eleanor was proud to have been part of the team to deliver their first electronic steel ordering solution . Since 2000, she has performed various roles involving software engineering, project management and infrastructure architecture. Eleanor enjoys teaching technical topics and has been known to inject literary references to Catcher in the Rye in her classes. Past teaching engagements include programming courses at Mohawk College; and in the summer of 2017, Eleanor traveled to Chennai, India to provide corporate training to new hires for Fidelity Investments.

Glenn Smith is the Sole Proprietor of Zeitgeist Marketing Ltd, a company that provides consulting and interim/contract marketing, business planning, management and implementation services. Previously he worked as VP of Strategic Marketing at Diageo Canada Inc. and VP of Marketing at World Wrestling Entertainment Canada. Glenn holds a B.A. in Psychology and an M.B.A., both from McGill University.

Ernesto is the founder of Kamaleidos Change Solutions, a consulting business focused on people change management in organizations. Over the last 25 years, Ernesto has worked in public- and private-sector industries in Canada and internationally in different capacities in the Human Resources, Learning & Development, Project Management & Change Management specialty fields. His work experience covers a diverse range of industries such as Manufacturing, IT Consulting, Healthcare, Telecommunications, Transportation, Retail, Education, and Banking.

Ernesto is an active member of the HRPA, I4PL, and PMI professional associations and holds a master’s of Industrial Relations from Queen’s University, an HR Management Certificate with Honours from Sheridan College and the CHRP & CHRL professional designations. He is also a certified Trainer (CTDP), Project Manager (PMP), Change Manager (Prosci) and most recently, a certified coach (ACTP) by the International Coach Federation (ICF).

In 2017, Ernesto joined McMaster University Continuing Education as an instructor for the HR program where he has taught Strategic HR Management and the Talent Acquisition online course where an Experiential Learning Project (ELP) is key for students to develop implementable solutions to recruitment and selection needs.

Mandeep Somal is a graduate of Brock University with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Business Communications and Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Teaching, Learning, and Development. She is also accredited as an Ontario Certified English Language Teacher (OCELT) and has an International Certificate in Teaching English as an Additional Language (ICTEAL).

Mandeep has been teaching adult higher education in Japan and Canada since 2005. In Japan, Mandeep taught English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at Mukogawa Women’s University and at the corporate level. In Canada, she has taught in the English as a Second Language (ESL) and post-secondary streams of higher education at Mohawk College and Humber College. Mandeep focuses on teaching students academic and workplace communication for the real-world. Her specialization is in using multi-media and project-based learning (PBL) to engage and develop students’ skills. Mandeep has been a facilitator in the creation of several student produced video projects and documentaries on topics pertaining to newcomer youth in Canada. Moreover, she supervises and mentors student-teachers in developing their abilities as educators in order to help them obtain their TESL certification.

Mandeep enjoys teaching and working with individuals of diverse backgrounds. She believes that shared knowledge and collaboration fosters growth, inspiration, and learning in students, teachers, and professional colleagues.

Karim is Statistician by training, a Certified Analytics Professional, an active member of the American Statistical Association, and a DASCA certified Senior Data Scientist. He’s also a former Fulbright scholar at U.C. Berkeley. His past teaching experience includes Big Data Analytics courses and Capstone project supervision at Ryerson University and Sheridan College. Karim has also held multiple senior analytics positions in the public service of Canada and Ontario. He’s most passionate about non-linear dimension reduction methods.

Rod Speake has 27 years of established leadership success in the golf industry and 17 years as a Class A Superintendent. Rod is currently working at DLF Pickseed Canada where he is a professional sales representative. Rod graduated from Seneca College’s Golf Management program in 1995 and has worked at many golf courses including: Cedar Brae Golf and Country Club Bay of Quinte Country Club, Westview Golf Club, Deer Creek Golf Club and Mill Run Golf Club. Rod’s work experience is in golf course maintenance and project management. He has completed many projects over the years such as new clubhouse construction, bunker renovation, tee deck construction, and an award-winning, million-dollar creek diversion project.

Volunteering is also something Rod has done throughout his career. He has served as vice-president of the OGSA, conference chair for the OGSA show, supported the CGSA, and coached minor hockey for the past 8 years – currently for the Minor Pee Wee AAA team of the Clarington Minor Hockey Association.

Rod has lived in Bowmanville for the last 3 years with his wife Patricia and two children, Patricia is a dental hygienist, Braydon has just started High School and Kailyn is in her first year at the University of Guelph. Summer time is spent golfing and spending time with the family at the boat in Bobcaygeon.

Linda Spence is a Senior Human Resources Consultant, with many years of experience in a variety of HR leadership roles. A gifted consultant, facilitator and trainer, Linda has a unique ability to help organizations align their HR policies and practices with their mission, vision and core values, and to support these efforts through the implementation of current best practices. Her expertise is in delivering supervisory and management development programs.

Linda is also the lead facilitator in McMaster University’s successful New Manager Orientation Program. A graduate of one of Canada’s top business schools, Linda combines business savvy, experience in a variety of HR leadership roles, skill as a facilitator and trainer, and her talent as an actor to turn ordinary learning experiences into engaging and memorable adventures.

Joanne Speziale is a graduate of the McMaster University Human Resources Management Diploma Program and has been an HR Practitioner at this very University for 32 years. She has been instructing Human Resources Management with McMaster Continuing Education since 2016.

Additionally, she is a long-standing member of the International Personnel Management Association (IPMA), GTA Chapter.

Joanne’s Human Resources career has encompassed intermediate and senior level management roles enabling her to acquire extensive experience in a wide variety of HR components including but not limited to: recruitment and selection; job development, analysis and evaluation; compensation and benefits; employee and labour relations; orientation, training and development; leadership and management practices; HR planning; and strategic partnering. The position that she retired from as Manager, Human Resources Services, permitted her to cultivate and utilize her broad, in-depth knowledge of HRIS, payroll operations, supervision and performance management, and lead and instruct fellow HR practitioners in human resources best practices.

Chris Spraakman has 15+ years of Business Analysis and Project Management experience in the public sector, higher education, insurance, and financial service industries. Using this experience, he has taught Business Analysis and Project Management for the past 6 years.

He is passionate about current issues in Business Analysis and he has spoken at a number of industry conferences and has had his research published in academic journals.

Chris previously studied at York University’s bilingual campus (Glendon College) and York’s Schulich School of Business. He is a Sergeant in the Canadian Artillery Reserves where he has served for the past 25 years and where he was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for leadership.

Claire St. Pierre is a Licensed Public Accountant based in Hamilton, Ontario. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Certified General Accountant (CGA) who has taught all levels of financial, management accounting, taxation, and finance courses. Claire has also acted as a SME for various courses and authored program audit case studies and online materials for CGA Canada and CGA Ontario.

Craig Stephenson has a unique blend of formal training and education in various courses in the area of social sciences and law at the university level, as well as practical teaching experience at the college and university level. He graduated from McMaster University in 1987 with of a B.A. in Social Science. From 1988 to 1991, he attended University of Toronto Law School, graduating with his LLB. He was called to the bar in 1992.

From 1993 until, 1998, Stephenson ran a successful sole practitioner legal practice in Brampton, Ontario. He practiced in a variety of areas including Corporate and Small Business Law; Real Estate Law; Estate Law; Employment Law; Administrative Law; Tort Law; Small Claims Court Law; Criminal Law and; Family Law.

In 1998, he decided to devote himself to teaching full time and since then has taught law courses at both the college and university level, in conventional classroom formats, as well as online and through distance learning. Stephenson also has done private corporate training through the Canadian Institute of Traffic and Transportation, in the area of Transportation Law.

In 2017, he co-authored Canadian Business Law Today, a textbook specifically designed for courses that require concise business law coverage. Fundamental topics of Canadian business law such as the court and legal system, tort law, contract law, employment law, property law, and business organization are introduced and discussed, with Stephenson being the lead author on all chapters dealing with contract law.

Lori Stephenson is the principal consultant of Pivotal Learning, a coaching and facilitation company that helps individuals at all levels become more professionally and personally effective. She specializes in the areas of leadership and team development, coaching, emotional intelligence and facilitation. Lori’s experience spans human resources, operations and communications for Accenture and CIBC. Her clients include groups in both the private and public sectors. She holds a BA from the University of Western Ontario, Certification in Adult Education, Public Relations and numerous assessment tools. She has been an instructor with McMaster since 2012.

Patricia is a Kingston-based, housing policy research consultant who also taught housing courses at the Queen’s University School of Urban & Regional Planning since 2008. She is also a professional, certified evaluator (CE) who worked for two decades at Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation (CMHC) on major national housing evaluations of social housing programs, family violence initiatives, Indigenous housing, among others, and actively presented papers at many major national and international conferences.

Since launching her consulting practice in 2008, Patricia has completed over ten evaluation reports and twelve major housing research studies. Examples of recent publications include: Pilot Well-Being Assessment Tool on the Community Housing Sector for Canadian Housing Transformation Centre (CHTC) (2020), Review of Tools & Resources in Community Housing for CHTC (2019), Social Inclusion in Housing in Canada, Research Report for CMHC (2019), Shared Equity Housing in Canada, Financing Models (CMHC 2018), and Business Transformation in the Non-Profit Housing Sector for Housing Partnerships Canada and BC Housing (2017).

Patricia is active locally as a member and Chair of the Social Planning Council of Kingston & District, advocating for improved housing and social well-being. In 2020-21, she hosted a series of webinars on housing issues and a community housing forum. Her contributions include: “Backgrounder on Community Benefits Tools for Affordable Housing” and Webinar Presentation on Tiny Homes.

Vidhi Thakkar has completed her PhD in Health Policy from the Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation. Vidhi is a recipient of the CIHR Health Systems Impact Fellowship, where she is a leading a project on supporting caregivers in the BC Healthcare system. Vidhi also received a Masters of Science in Experimental Surgery from McGill University and her Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) at McMaster University.

She has worked for more than 7 years in the health system with organizations with provincial Ministries of Health, hospitals, several universities, and Cancer Care Ontario. Her research interests include evidence-informed policy making, health informatics, health data, patient engagement, and health care accountability.

Vidhi was actively involved with the Canadian Association of Health Services and Policy Research and was also a board member for the Justice Emmett Hall Foundation. She has also won the Gordon Cressy Leadership Award at the University of Toronto. Vidhi currently teaches HTH 110: Health Informatics Data Analysis, HTH 400: Epidemiology, and HDA 102 and HDA 103 in the Health Analytics program. She brings to the Department her expertise in student advising, student leadership development, and Health Data Analytics.

Valerie Thompson is a Senior HR Leader and Business Partner with over 25 years of global, multi-industry experience. She has been an instructor with McMaster University’s Centre for Continuing Education since 2018. Valerie holds both the CHRP and CHRL professional designations through the HRPA, as well as additional change management, agile and workplace mental health and well-being certifications.

Visit Valerie’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vthompsonchrl

Lucas Thung worked with public and private organizations in industries such as fiber optic, cement, automotive, consumer packaging, healthcare and higher education. He provides training and teaches various courses (i.e. communication, project management, statistics, strategy, information technology, finance, quality management, reliability, Lean Six Sigma, law, marketing, risk management) for corporations, colleges and universities. Lucas is passionate about teaching and enjoys interacting, motivating, and learning together with his students.

Lucas holds Master’s degrees in Business Administration (MBA), Engineering (MEng) and Information (MI) from University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and Faculty of Information. He also holds various certifications / designations including Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB), Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (CMQ/OE), Professional Engineer (PEng), Project Management Professional (PMP) and Stanford Certified Project Manager (SCPM). Lucas is a volunteer and a member of American Society for Quality (ASQ) and Mensa Canada.

Jodi Travers is a Human Resources Professional currently working as a Labour Relations Manager for the Electrical Contractors Association of Ontario (ECAO). In this role, her main responsibility is to provide counsel and advice on all labour relations matters including the collective agreement, grievances, and collective bargaining. She also provides training on labour relations in the construction industry to ECAO members and assists with other functions including government lobbying and member events. She was elected to the Ontario Construction Secretariat Board in January 2019 where she works with other trade representatives on initiatives and research that positively impact unionized trades in Ontario. 

Jodi was previously employed in a variety of Human Resources and Labour Relations positions for the Ontario Government over a fourteen-year period, specifically at the Ontario Energy Board, Ontario Clean Water Agency, and the Ministry of Labour. In these roles, she provided advice and consultation to managers and employees on workplace health, safety, WSIB, and wellness-related matters, and on all aspects of labour relations, including grievances, discipline and harassment, and all aspects of human resources including employee engagement, talent management, leadership development and recruitment.

A significant strength, and one on which Jodi prides herself, is working collaboratively with labour partners and industry affiliates to find mutually beneficial industry solutions. 

Jodi completed her B.A. at McMaster University in Labour Studies and earned a post-graduate diploma in Human Resources Management from Seneca College. She completed the Advanced Program in Human Resources Management at Rotman School of Management and is currently taking courses at Stitt Feld Handy Group to obtain an Executive Certificate in Conflict Management from University of Windsor Law School. Jodi earned a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation in 2014.

For more information about Jodi and her credentials, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joditravers/

Carol Tristani is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and a Professor at a leading Ontario community college. She worked previously for the Certified General Accountants of Ontario. She holds both a BSc in Mathematics and an MBA from McMaster University, as well as a B.Ed. in Adult Education from Brock University. She has taught for over 20 years and currently teaches Financial Accounting courses at McMaster.

Frank Tristani is the Principal of FNT Management Services Ltd., a consulting firm specializing in management training, executive coaching and strategic planning. Previously, he spent over 30 years in the banking industry working with a major national bank. Frank is a Certified Financial Planner, a member of the Canadian Institute of Financial Planners, and a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers. He also holds a designation from the Canadian Securities Institute and a BComm from McMaster University. He has taught in-class and online courses at McMaster for the last 6 years.

Dr. Anna Tubina is an instructor in Health and Wellness Coaching program at McMaster University. Her expertise lies in the areas of health behavioral change, motivational interviewing as well as principles and fundamentals of health and wellness coaching profession.

Anna is a Certified Functional Medicine Health Coach, Registered Health Coach with the Health Coach Alliance of Canada, as well as Certified Appreciative Inquiry & Change Practitioner. Additionally, Anna is certified to work with Highly Sensitive People.

For the last several years Anna has dedicated herself to the field of positive behavior change, in health & wellness industry as well as in the corporate settings. In her private health coaching practice, she focuses on helping people with Sensory Processing Sensitivity to make health-promoting lasting lifestyle changes and establish healing self-care practices.

Anna holds a PhD in Applied Economics from Saint-Petersburg State University, Russia, and has a decade of combined experience in academic teaching, organizational change & development workshops and health and wellness group coaching facilitation.

Nancy has worked in various parts of Canada for over 20 years in a variety of business sectors, including legal, pharmaceutical, technology, and education. She is an educational consultant with more than 10 years of experience as an educator, and has worked with colleges, school boards, and both private and public organizations in developing courses, delivering workshops and teaching in many modes, including face-to-face, blended and online formats. She is currently a faculty member at Sheridan College.

Her educational credentials include a B.A. in English from the University of Toronto, a B.Ed. from Brock University, and a M.Ed. in Distance Education from Athabasca University. Her certifications include a CTDP (Certified Training and Development Professional) and TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language.) Nancy has been teaching at McMaster CCE since 2017.

Rouzbeh Vatanchi has been helping businesses improve performance through practical, effective and fully-compliant talent management strategies.

As a Senior HR Business Partner and an educator, Rouzbeh oversees the HR function for a number of entrepreneurial businesses and teaches aspiring HR professionals, as well as business leaders how to effectively, and successfully, align their people strategies with their business objectives. For Rouzbeh, delivering real value to learners and peace of mind to his clients are the most rewarding part of his career.

Outside of the office, Rouzbeh enjoys hiking, reading, and sampling overpriced craft beers!

Sue Vaughan is the President of Experience Expanded Inc. She is also a mentor for students with learning disabilities and a certified hypnotherapist. Sue holds a Diploma in Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University. She has taught courses at McMaster for over 15 years.

In 1997 Susan Vaughan left the corporate world after 20 successful years and founded Experience Expanded Inc. Although greatly rewarded and recognized within the information technology field, Susan now focuses her talents and energy helping individuals improve the quality of their work and personal life with highly rated experiential workshops, one-on-one coaching, and her proprietary Self-Love Diet. Susan earned a diploma in Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University which she has applied in designing and facilitating a variety of workshops for large organisations, universities, and in the health sector.

Dr. Kelsey Vercammen is an instructor in the Nutrition, Health, and Wellness program at McMaster University. Her research portfolio focuses on nutritional epidemiology, with particular areas of interest including causes and points of intervention for obesity and food insecurity. Kelsey currently works as an Epidemiologist with the Public Health Agency of Canada. Prior to this, she worked as an Epidemiologist for The Regional Municipality of York.

Kelsey obtained her PhD in Population Health Sciences and Master of Science in Epidemiology at Harvard University. She is also an alumnus of McMaster University, where she obtained her Bachelor of Health Sciences.

Andrea is a Senior Human Resources Leader and Business Partner with over 20 years of experience in consulting, designing, implementing and communicating HR and Total Rewards programs. She has worked in diverse industries with executive leaders and employees to develop and implement effective total reward strategies.

Andrea holds a Bachelor of Arts from York University (Glendon College) and a post-graduate certificate in Gerontology from Laurentian University. Andrea is a long-standing member of the Human Resources Professional Association and holds both the CHRP and CHRL professional designations.

Van Vu has been a McMaster University Continuing Education instructor since 2010. She is a member of the College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, the Ontario Association of Social Workers, and Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation. Van holds an MSW from Wilfred Laurier University specializing in both individual and family counselling. Van has completed post graduate training in addiction and trauma counselling. Van is also trained and have practice experience utilizing Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)- for couples, Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, Solution Focused and Narrative Therapy, Family Systems Therapy, and Mindfulness.

Trained as a family therapist, Van currently provides therapy in the Hamilton area. Van also worked as an addiction therapist for several years at an addiction agency providing consultation, training, and treatment to individuals and their families. Van’s past clinical work experience also included forensic assessment services, children’s mental health treatment, clinical supervision, and over 10 years of experience working as a Probation Officer in both community and custodial settings.

Van’s unique ability to foster connection and learning extends beyond the therapeutic relationship. She excels in guiding learners through the complex terrain of theoretical approaches and treatment modalities, deftly integrating theory into critical self-reflexive practice. Van has developed and facilitated workshops, groups and staff-in services on various topics. She previously instructed for the MSW program at the University of Windsor and she also taught at Sheridan College.

Dr. Li Wang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesia, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, and a faculty scientist and health research methodologist with Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Pain Research and Care, McMaster University. Dr. Wang’s research interests focus on acute and chronic pain, health research methodology, and systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Dr. Wang’s teaching philosophy is informed by a learner-centered approach that promotes active learning and critical thinking.

Renée Wetselaar is a two time graduate of McMaster University. In 1986 she received a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Art History and in 2007 her Masters in Globalization and the Human Condition. She is currently a Senior Social Planner at the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton. Her work focuses on SPRC’s priority areas of Housing and Homelessness and Equity and Inclusion. Renée is an excellent facilitator and leader in strategic planning and policy development, community development, evaluation and collaborative partnership development

Currently, Renée is the Vice Chair of Hamilton’s Rental Housing Sub Committee, the President of the Board of Directors of Wellwood, a local cancer resource centre, the former chair of the Arts Advisory Commission for the City of Hamilton and a past member of the Cultural Policy Roundtable for the City of Hamilton. Renée has also volunteered her time with the City of Hamilton’s LGBTQ Advisory Committee to which she was appointed for the 2011-2014 term.

Renée was awarded for her community service work with the Queens Golden Jubilee medal in 2003 and Woman of the Year in the Arts for Hamilton in 2004. She lives in Hamilton with her partner Deirdre Pike and is the mother of a twenty-something son. Renée is also a visual artist, practicing out of her home studio in the Strathcona neighbourhood.

Stephen White has been an instructor with McMaster Continuing Education since 2018. He is also a part-time faculty member with the Randy Pilon School of Business at Sheridan College in Mississauga.

His background spans over forty years work experience across a variety of public and private sector organizations including Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank, Assurant Solutions, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Office of Premier and Cabinet. In addition to his Human Resources’ experience Stephen is an ICF accredited Career and Executive Coach, and owns his own company, Competitive Edge Coaching, based in Burlington. He is also affiliated with Career Compass Canada, a leading national outplacement and HR consulting firm.

Stephen holds a B.A. in History & Political Science from McMaster University, as well as Masters degrees in Public Administration and Industrial Relations from Queen’s University, and a Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education from the University of Saskatchewan. He is active in the Halton Chapter of the HRPA, and has been a guest speaker at several area events.

Andrew brings over 17 years of sales, marketing, product management, and business development leadership for growth phase technology companies where he focuses on developing and executing product and marketing strategies from product-market-fit, to steady, scalable, revenue. He builds high-performing teams that grow market traction by deeply empathizing with the customer’s problem in order to craft exceptional customer experiences that solve for these challenges in ways that are different enough and matter enough to truly salivate over and engage. Andrew holds an MBA from the Queen’s School of Business. He has taught at McMaster since 2016.