mentors - OCAD University

MENTORS
C
A
T
A
L
Y
S
T
2014
EXPERTISE:
Communications and Branding
ABOUT:
Kunle Bristow’s scope of experience working both in front and behind the camera with an A-list of
celebrities in media, and TV is his niche. He has shot, directed, and produced more than 1000
hours of filmed content spanning 15 years (airing online and broadcast on MTV, Bell Media, and
Rogers to name a few). In 2012, his contribution as documentary director on the Malton United
documentary project resulted in a Trillium Award nomination. Kunle was trained by the
International Cinematographer’s Guild and is a past member of the Director’s Guild. He has
produced corporate videos for a long list of clients, such as Victoria’s Secret, Ontario Health
Centres, Akzonobel/CIL Paint YAHOO!, Wal-Mart, and Horseshoe Resort, a Skyline Corporation
KUNLE BRISTOW
Company: Tantrum Creative Design Group
Title: Futurist, Partner
Email: kunlenow@gmail.com
Phone: 416.642.5795
brand. Bristow’s Master the Lens platform, housed at “LearnToBeOnVideo.com” is an
unprecedented platform for creating a company’s brand identity. An executive mastery series, it
provides professionals with access to the best thought leaders and subject matter experts in the
industry, delivering the skills, tools and connections needed to be an effective online video master
for branding your business. The platform repeatedly sells out and is endorsed by OCAD
University’s Business Incubator program. Kunle’s down to earth style often has resulted in him
being asked to make various media guest spots, including on Huffington Post Live. Kunle is
currently commissioned to shoot the “It Starts with you video” series for White Ribbon, the
world’s largest movement of men and boys working to end violence against women and girls,
promote gender equity, healthy relationships and a new vision of masculinity.
EXPERTISE:
E-Commerce, Business Developement, Consumer Research and Strategic Marketing
ABOUT:
Hailey Coleman, is the Offline Marketing Specialist at Shopify, Senior Marketing Manager and
Project Lead for TT Blues Canada Inc. and founder of Damn Heels, a line of classy, comfortable
and convenient flats designed to save women from their beloved damn heels. Hailey is a winner of
the Ontario Partnership for Innovation and Commercialization Business Plan Competition, and the
Slaight Communications Business Plan Competition. She was awarded the 2010 Committed
Entrepreneurship award, and has been praised for her ingenuity and savvy business sense by
some of Canada’s most prominent media outlets including: The Toronto Star, The Canadian
Business Journal and Canadian Business magazine. Hailey and Damn Heels were featured on the
HAILEY COLEMAN
Company: Shopify
Title: Offline Marketing Specialist
Other Associations:
• T T Blues Canada Inc,
Sr. Marketing Manager & Project Lead
• Damn Heels Inc.,
Owner & Founder
Email: hailey@shopify.com
www.shopify.com
premier episode of the 5th season of CBC Television’s Dragons’ Den.
MENTORS
C
A
T
A
L
Y
S
T
2014
EXPERTISE:
Digital strategy, Go-to-market planning, Marketing communication and Driving big change
ABOUT:
Debbie Dimoff is a Partner at Growing Legends Consulting Services and Senior Advisor to PwC
Consulting. She focuses on helping clients to make big changes happen successfully.
Debbie specializes in developing integrated customer and employee experiences online, on
mobile and on social media. She has launched many a digital transformation in her time — from
one of Canada’s first direct bank, mbanx to online dating at Lavalife.
She’s a versatile executive with over 20 years of experience in financial services and
DEBBIE DIMOFF
Company: Growing Legends
Consulting Services
Title: Partner
Other associations: Senior Advisor
to PwC Consulting
Email: ddimoff@sympatico.ca
communication technology; she has held executive positions in communications, banking,
professional services and insurance organizations and has advised emerging digital media firms.
Debbie is a frequent speaker and writer on digital change, customer-driven organizations and
careers in digital media. She is also a Board Director for Prosper Canada. Prosper Canada is
Canada’s leading champion of financial empowerment, working to expand economic opportunity
for Canadians living in poverty.
EXPERTISE:
Design, Strategy, Product Development and Commercialization, particularly in Med-Tech and
Technology Innovation Startups
ABOUT:
Lahav Gil is a senior Industrial Designer, entrepreneur and innovator with 25 years of experience in
design, strategy, business, product development and commercialization, particularly in Med-tech
and Technology Innovation startups.
Lahav is the CEO and founder of the Kangaroo Group (ISO 13485), a Toronto-based Industrial
Design and Technology Innovation hub, specializing in med-tech. Kangaroo operates a services
arm as well as a private technology innovation accelerator, leading and managing design,
LAHAV GIL
Company: Kangaroo Group
Title: CEO & Founder
Email: lahav.g@kangaroogroup.net
Phone: 416.653.9031 Ext. 222
www.kangaroogroup.net
innovation and the development of medical technologies and science into commercial grade
medical devices and investable, market ready companies.
He is also a co-founder and investor for several technology startups, the most recent one being
CanFocus Technologies, where he holds a lead management role. He consults to a number of
med-tech startups like Cellaegis Devices, and XOR Labs Toronto, as Executive Advisor on design,
product strategy, technology innovation, and medical device development.
Lahav is a passionate educator and coach. In recent years he has been lecturing at the Bezalel
Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem Israel, Masters program, on topics such as Design and
Strategy, Values Based Leadership Development, Design Thinking, Innovation Management and
Design Management.
MENTORS
C
A
T
A
L
Y
S
T
2014
EXPERTISE:
Business Development, Business Coach and Strategy Training
ABOUT:
Lalit is a former CEO turned educator, mentor, coach and investor in early stage enterprise. He is a
consultant, visiting faculty, judge and mentor; he is also the Program Director at TiE Institute.
Lalit has spent last few years building and leading innovative capital efficient entrepreneurship
programs to help aspiring entrepreneurs He has designed, put together and implemented a
successful program for educating aspiring entrepreneurs in Toronto; now in their fourth year. He
loves to learn, innovate, envision and implement and is passionate about innovation, impact, and
sustainable energy.
Lalit a former CEO of four different listed companies has over thirty five years of experience in
nurturing, turning around and growing businesses across different industry segments. He has
spent a lifetime in all functions of business and has extensive experience in Strategy, financial
LALIT GUGLANI
Company: TiE Institute
Title: Program Director
Email: lalit.guglani@tietoronto.org
restructuring, change management, business operation turnaround, sales, marketing, recruiting
and nurturing teams. He has guided organization on strategy and coached senior and middle
management in client organizations.
Lalit is an Engineer, MBA and has completed the Lean LaunchPad Educators Program of National
collegiate inventors and innovators Alliance at Stanford University.
toronto.tie.org
EXPERTISE:
Legal (IP and Start-Up)
ABOUT:
Kevin Holbeche is a partner and lawyer in Fasken Martineau’s IP group. He is a registered patent
and trademark agent in Canada and the US. Kevin has experience with a wide range of
technologies and is actively involved with Fasken’s communications, entertainment and media,
Asia / Pacific, life sciences, and startup practice groups. He also advises on design and copyright
protections. He specializes in IP portfolio generation, management and commercialization. Kevin
builds long-term working relationships with clients. He tailors a strategic approach to fit the
needs of each individual and company.
KEVIN HOLBECHE
Company: Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Title: Partner, Lawyer, Patent & TM Agent
Email: kholbeche@fasken.com
Phone: 416.868.3404
Twitter: @_kev
www.fasken.com
MENTORS
C
A
T
A
L
Y
S
T
2014
EXPERTISE:
Business Development and Marketing Communications
ABOUT:
Michael brings a diverse background in his new role at TRH having recently served as a
Relationship Manager at TD Commercial Banking. In that position, he was responsible for
facilitating the bank financing needs for a portfolio of clients as varied as mining companies, real
estate agencies, professional services firms, manufacturers, and non-profit organizations. Prior to
TD, Michael spent five years at Advance Planning/MS&L, where he led media relations campaigns
for clients such as Procter & Gamble, Woodbine Entertainment, Sunkist Growers, and Hasbro Toys.
Michael started his career in fundraising at Crescent School in Toronto, where he was responsible
MICHAEL KOSTOFF
Company: Temple Rock Holdings Inc.
Title: President
Email: michael@templerock.ca
for developing and implementing an alumni giving program and ongoing alumni relations
activities. Michael received his Honours Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier
University in 1999.
www.templerock.ca
EXPERTISE:
Business Networking for New Start-ups with Angels, Venture Capital and industry Contacts
ABOUT:
With more than a decade of experience with successful new businesses Mohan provides strategic
leadership as CEO. With strong connections throughout the academic community and passion for
education and relevant skill development in children, Mohan has assembled a team of experts to
design a curriculum that will prepare today’s youth for tomorrow’s challenges.
Mohan holds an M.B.A. for Science and Technology from Queen’s University, Kingston; and a
Hons. B.A.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Management Science from the University
of Waterloo, Waterloo. Mohan has been a member of the board of Ryerson University Faculty of
MOHAN NADARAJAH
Company: PlayLab Inc.
Title: CEO & Founder
Other Assiociations: Entrepreneurin-Residence at HalTech RIC
Email: mohan.nadarajah@playlab.ca
Phone: 416.807.4050
www.playlab.ca
Electrical Engineering. He has served as a board member of two additional companies as well as a
board member of Holistic Kriya Yoga Sang, a charitable organization.
Prior to his work with PlayLab, Mohan was a founder and president of TVI and CMR 101.3FM. He
mentored and supported more than 20 start-ups at the Xerox Centre for Engineering
Entrepreneurship & Innovation at McMaster University in his role as an Enterprise Development
Manager. Mohan has also provided direction and guidance for numerous start-up organizations in
his role as the Senior Commercialization Manager at the University of Toronto’s Innovations Group.
MENTORS
C
A
T
A
L
Y
S
T
2014
EXPERTISE:
Product Design and Product Retail Strategies
ABOUT:
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Paul developed his understanding of technology and design
while mixing paint and fixing windows in his father’s hardware store. It was here that the seeds
were sown for his future calling. He attended George Brown College in 1974 in Graphic Design and
upon graduating moved to Ottawa to work in the Canada’s first digital typography company.
While settling into his new digs he was frustrated while trying to find a window treatment suited
his practical and aesthetic needs. Motivated by this design challenge, Rowan solved the problem
by designing his own window treatment, a printed-paper window shade. He presented childhood
friend and entrepreneur Les Mandelbaum with the shade idea and Umbra (‘shade’ in Latin) was born.
PAUL ROWAN
Company: Umbra Ltd.
Title: Co-Founder & Vice President
of Inspiration
Email: paulr@umbra.com
Phone: 416.940.3238
www.umbra.com
For the past 30+ years, Paul, as Vice-President of Inspiration and founding partner at Umbra, has
dedicated his career to creating purposeful, intelligently designed products that people want. In
his own words, “We create product that we like–not market-driven but market-aware. We build
intelligence into our products and engineer value into them while keeping the price accessible.
The people who buy our products are never disappointed by the price and always delighted by
the design.
Paul devotes a fair amount of his time to the design community through design competitions and
mentorship programs all over the world. These competitions provide an invaluable educational
experience for the students who participate as it helps develop their skills and possibly have their
work produced for royalties awarded to themselves and their schools. To date Paul has worked
with the Pratt Institute, Art Center College of Design, California State University Long Beach,
Philadelphia University, OCAD University, Universidad EAFIT, Colombia and Pontificia Universidad
Javeriana, Colombia. Paul also speaks regularly to both students and teachers, often engaging on
current trends and movements in the industry (and often accompanied by a harmonica solo). In
the recent past he has spoken at Edinborough University, George Brown College, Ontario
Economic Summit, Iidex Design Show, the Schulich School, York University and the Tomas Bata
University of the Czech Republic.
MENTORS
C
A
T
A
L
Y
S
T
2014
EXPERTISE:
New Business Development, Venture Capital and Investments.
ABOUT:
Sunil Sharma is the Managing Partner at Extreme Venture Partners and was previously co-founder
of Extreme Startups, one of Canada’s leading technology accelerators. Backed by 5 of Canada’s
best venture capital funds, Sunil has co-lead investments into more than 18 companies. Sunil is
very active in the technology ecosystem across Canada and particularly in the Toronto-Waterloo
corridor, where he serves as EIR at Communitech. Sunil is co-director of the Founder Institute, the
world’s most global accelerator program.
Sunil has experience in equity investments, international diplomacy and building entrepreneurial
SUNIL SHARMA
Company: Extreme Venture Partners
Title: Managing Partner
Email: sunil@evp.vc
www.evp.vc
communities in both regional and global settings. He was the International Director of Canada’s
Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, while on assignment from Canada’s Department
of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He served as Canada’s representative to the World
Intellectual Property Organization in San Diego, California. Prior to that, he worked at the
Canadian Space Agency, managing industrial relations and building global capacity in satellite
communications sector. He also worked in entrepreneurial endevours including Startup Weekend
(co-organizer), the Canadian Innovation Exchange (Chief Evangelist), the Banff Venture Forum,
the Atlantic Venture Forum, the Quebec City Conference, the Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE). Mr.
Sharma earned a Bachelors degree in Economics from the University of Victoria and holds a
Masters degree in Industrial Relations from the University of Toronto.
EXPERTISE:
Branding and Market Access Strategy
ABOUT:
Tesla (Sandra) La Touche is an award winning brand visionary, specializing in customer loyalty
programs powerhouse. She has developed markets for multinational organizations across multiple
sectors of finance, retail and healthcare such as Wells Fargo Financial; The Brick; Future Shop;
Scotiabank; Pier One, Home Hardware, Johnson and Johnson, Smith and Nephew, and Q-Med to
name a few. She has delivered best practice Canadian marketing strategies to influence global
marketing teams, presenting in the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden and India. A healthcare sales
and marketing leader in the minimally invasive surgery, biologics and immersive technology
sectors, Tesla has a proven track record of success establishing start-up organizations to advance
TESLA LA TOUCHE
Company: Tantrum Creative Design Group
Title: Futurist, Partner
Other associations: Aptitude + Equipment Inc.
Email: Teslatouche@gmail.com
Phone: 647.763.8657
portfolios. As President & CEO of Aptitude + Equipment, she was selected for Canadian Women in
Technology Advisory Council. At Tantrum Creative Design Group, Tesla is the Lead Playa
supporting Tantrum Play!, the evidence for improved healthcare access and quality of life
outcomes for Canadian communities. She has served on the Board of Directors at various
not-for-profits to include CARP and Community Youth in Action.
MENTORS
C
A
T
A
L
Y
S
T
2014
EXPERTISE:
Protecting Copyright and Trademark Laws and Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights
ABOUT:
Vandana Taxali (B.A.Sc., J.D., LL.B) is a lawyer licensed in the Province of Ontario. She is a
graduate of the Faculty of Law University of Windsor and University of Detroit Mercy Law School
and has a B.A.Sc. from McMaster University.
Vandana has a background in publishing, music, film and television. After being called to the bar,
Vandana worked for a prominent intellectual property law firm, Barrigar and Moss, where she
practiced in the areas of trade-marks and copyright law. She then worked as Associate Counsel at
the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (now Access Copyright), a copyright collective that
VANDANA TAXALI
Company: Entcounsel
Title: Art Agent & Lawyer
Email: vandana@entcounsel.com
Phone: 416.865.0800
represents the reproduction rights of authors and publishers where she was responsible for all
licensing agreements, intellectual property matters and copyright infringement matters.
Later, she joined CHUM Limited, one of Canada’s leading media companies and content providers
which owns and operates radio and television stations across the country. CHUM’s content is also
provided to audiences on new media platforms, including interactive television, wireless services
and exclusive CHUM-branded Internet properties.
www.entcounsel.com
Project Involvements: NXNE Art 2013 (curation of some artists); The Artist Project 2014 (curated a
few installations); King East Design District 2014 (production and execution of art installations);
Children’s Discovery Centre (curating the reading room) planned for May 2015
EXPERTISE:
Legal and Networking
ABOUT:
Robert was born and raised in Toronto where he developed an appreciation for the unique
challenges facing small businesses by packaging nails and selling fertilizer in his father’s High
Park-area Home Hardware.
From those early beginnings, Robert’s winding path of exploration included working at Nishimura
& Partners (as a participant in the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s Work-in-Japan Program)
and articling with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP before hanging up his own shingle upon being
called to the bar of Ontario. In 2013, he co-founded Wakulat Dhirani LLP at the Centre for Social
Innovation which assists entrepreneurs, community groups and individuals in becoming active
participants in the social enterprise sector. The practice focus is on corporate and commercial law
advice including incorporation, governance, investment and contractual arrangements.
ROBERT WAKULAT
Company: Wakulat Dhirani LLP
Title: Partner
Email: robert@wakulatdhirani.com
Phone: 416.458.4841
www.wakulatdhirani.com
Robert has also volunteered with social enterprises by guiding early-stage not-for-profit projects
as a founding Board member of Fashion Takes Action, ZooShare Biogas Co-operative Inc. and the
Beach Community Energy Co-operative Inc. Robert graduated from Queen’s University with a
degree in Commerce and earned his Juris Doctor from the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto.
In operating as a lawyer, Robert has actively practiced the selling principles described in the book
“Never Be Closing” which seeks to demonstrate that his practice can connect members of his
network to resources, tools and people that make their businesses sing and that a mutually
supportive web of interdependence can be developed. He hopes to bring this philosophy to the
attention of the ICAT participants.
C
A
T
A
L
Y
S
T
FACULTY
MENTORS
2014
EXPERTISE:
Strategic Foresight and Design Innovation, Experience and Interaction Design, Creative
Direction and Typeface Design
ABOUT:
Greg Van Alstyne is an accomplished futurist, designer, educator and researcher with extensive
experience in creative concept development, writing, visualization, art direction, and design
management. His strengths include presentation, process facilitation, and team management, as
well as program development, group critique, and evaluation.
Greg’s career spans more than twenty-five years, including interaction, communication and
exhibition design, design strategy, strategic foresight and innovation consulting. He has developed
GREG VAN ALSTYNE
graphic, environmental and interaction design for publishers, agencies and brands in Canada,
OCAD University
Associate Professor, Faculty of Design
Director of Research, sLab
Email: gvanalstyne@faculty.ocadu.ca
Phone: 416.977.6000 Ext.434
and achieving sustainability. He was the inaugural director of the Institute without Boundaries, a
www.gregvanalstyne.com
United States and Europe. Greg’s MS thesis explored the role of digital media in understanding
post-graduate, interdisciplinary design program established by Bruce Mau Design and George
Brown College. He directed and mentored student teams in the conception, design and
production of Massive Change: The Future of Global Design, a multi-platform project including a
major exhibition, book, events and other public outcomes. Greg holds a BA (hons) and an MS in
Integrated Digital Media from Polytechnic Institute of New York University.
Greg’s current research interests include: design and emergence in innovation ecosystems; the
future of digital media; the future of the book.
EXPERTISE:
Physical Computing and Wearable Technology
ABOUT:
Kate Hartman is an artist, technologist, and educator whose work spans the fields of physical
computing, wearable electronics, and conceptual art. She is the co-creator of Botanicalls, a
system that lets thirsty plants place phone calls for human help, and the Lilypad XBee, a sewable
radio transceiver that allows your clothing to communicate. Her work has been exhibited
internationally and featured by the New York Times, BBC, CBC, NPR, in books such as
“Fashionable Technology” and “Art Science Now”. She was a speaker at TED 2011 and her work is
included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Hartman is based
in Toronto at OCAD University where she is the Associate Professor of Wearable & Mobile
KATE HARTMAN
OCAD University
Assistant Professor, Wearable &
Mobile Technology
Director, Social Body Lab
Email: khartman@faculty.ocadu.ca
Phone: 416.977.6000 Ext.4652
www.katehartman.com
Technology and Director of the Social Body Lab. She is also the director of ITP Camp, a summer
program at ITP/NYU.
C
A
T
A
L
Y
S
T
FACULTY
MENTORS
2014
EXPERTISE:
Business, Social Media Strategy and Technology
ABOUT:
Andrew Jenkins has provided social media strategy and social selling services to numerous mid to
large enterprises. His past experience includes consulting to Royal Bank of Canada as Head of
Social Media Strategy. He has spent the last twenty years working in Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) spanning social media, wireless, and e-business. He holds a BA
in Economics from Laurentian University, a BFA in Film Production from York University, and an
MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He also teaches
entrepreneurship at OCAD University and Digital Strategy at the University of Toronto’s School of
Continuing Studies.
ANDREW JENKINS
OCAD University
Instructor, Faculty of Liberal
Arts & Sciences
Email: ajenkins@faculty.ocadu.ca
Before his work in technology, Andrew was active in the film and television industry working on a
variety of film and television projects. He has also produced a film exhibited at the Toronto
International Film Festival as well as internationally.
EXPERTISE:
Electronic Design and Industrial Design
ABOUT:
Harry Mahler is a strategic innovator, designer and educator. He is an internationally recognized
designer, having worked in staff positions and consultant designer roles on projects in Canada,
Europe and Asia. With a keen interest in design innovation, Harry has worked on a broad range of
projects; including products from toys to medical equipment, from product branding to corporate
identity, including design research projects for SickKids, CMHA, Toronto Hydro and designing a
more sustainable squat toilet project for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in Bangladesh.
Mr. Mahler leveraged his undergraduate Industrial Design training at OCAD University and his
Masters of Industrial Design education from the University of Birmingham, England, his vast
experience, and his interest in complex design problems to become a partner with Axis Group
International Inc., a full service design consultancy, in 1989.
HARRY MAHLER
Harry has also combined his passion for design education with a flare for creating desirable
OCAD University
Professor, Industrial Design
Email: hmahler@faculty.ocadu.ca
Phone: 416.977.6000 Ext.1687
the Industrial Design Department, Faculty of Design at OCAD University and a adjunct Professor
products that enhance the human experience as both a professional designer and a professor in
in the Engineering department at McMaster University. Moreover, he has demonstrated an interest
in contributing to the design community through his work as the president of the Association of
Chartered Industrial Designers of Ontario and was recognized by his peers when he was elected
an Academician of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) for his contribution to the
development of visual arts within Canada.
C
A
T
A
L
Y
S
T
FACULTY
MENTORS
2014
EXPERTISE:
Experience Design, Strategic Design and Ambient Experience Design
ABOUT:
Principal investigator of the Ambient Experience Lab at OCAD University’s Digital Futures
Initiative, Job is a professor of Design at OCAD U and a design strategist at Vuka Innovation, a
Toronto based Strategic Business Design consultancy that helps unlock an organization’s capacity
to innovate. Job has been a fellow at the i-Think program, part of the Desautels Centre For
Integrative Thinking at Rotman Business School and was a design strategy consultant at Rotman’s
designworks.
In the Netherlands, Job was a Strategic Design Consultant at Philips Electronics in the Innovation
JOB RUTGERS
OCAD University
Professor, Faculty of Design
Director, Ambient Experience Lab
Email: jrutgers@faculty.ocadu.ca
Phone: 416.977.6000 Ext.438
Design Group. In his ten-year tenure at Philips Design he worked extensively in design research,
e-design and strategic design, ultimately developing the award-winning Ambient Experience
Design service and has implemented ambient experience
EXPERTISE:
Manufacturing and Maker-Factoring Expertise, User Experience and User Interface Design,
Mobile Application Development, The Internet of Things, Prototyping Processes, Social
Enterprises, Fund-raising and Bootstrapping Formats.
ABOUT:
​J orge Silva is a designer, engineer and entrepreneur who loves using irony and technology to
disrupt human patterns of exclusion. His upbringing as a privileged member of a loving — albeit
poor — Mexican family, allowed Jorge to be constantly exposed, from an early age, to the absurd
disparities of contemporary life, where some are given every opportunity to succeed, while many
others are systematically discriminated against. This realization, together with a hunger for social
justice instilled since childhood by his father, nurtured Jorge’s passion for issues of equity in the
JORGE SILVA
context of Disability.
A first generation immigrant, Jorge, age 23, arrived in Toronto, Canada, to pursue graduate
OCAD University
Inclusive Technology Developer,
Inclusive Design Research Centre
Email: jsilva@ocadu.ca
Phone: 416.977.6000 Ext.3962
http://jsilva.komodoopenlab.com
studies in Engineering at the University of Toronto. Jorge received numerous Research Awards
and published a variety of scientific papers, but it was his volunteer work with people with
disabilities which made him abandon traditional academic research in favour of hands-on applied
development with the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) at OCAD University. It is at the
IDRC were Jorge first helped develop Tecla, a technology that enables people with paralysis and
other severe mobility impairments, to control smart devices independently, without having to
touch the screen. In 2010, Jorge co-founded Komodo OpenLab with fellow Mexican engineer,
turned business man, Mauricio Meza, in order to commercialize this technology. Today, Tecla,
proudly made in Canada, is distributed to over 20 countries, where people with disabilities can use
it to obtain equal access to cutting-edge mobile technologies. This is Jorge’s proudest
achievement to date.
C
A
T
A
L
Y
S
T
FACULTY
MENTORS
2014
EXPERTISE:
Foresight and Ethography
ABOUT:
Suzanne is a Foresight Analyst, Mentor, and Educator. She comes to OCAD University from
SMARTlab in the UK where she was Deputy Director and Principal Research Fellow in Technology
Futures. She also works with the CFC Media Lab where she holds a Faculty post. She was formerly
a member of Nokia’s Insight & Foresight group, which studied emerging trends and identified new
business opportunities created by disruptive technological and market developments.
Previously at Sapient Corporation, a business and technology consultancy, Suzanne was the
Discipline Lead for the Experience Modeling (XMod) group in London, where she created and
managed this group of diverse social scientists. She was also a Director in the User Experience
SUZANNE STEIN
Group, overseeing Creative development and articulation as well as the Research offerings. Prior
OCAD University
Associate Professor, Faculty of Design
Director, Superordinary Lab
Email: sstein@faculty.ocadu.ca
Phone: 416.977.6000 Ext.4650
communications and design firm. Suzanne is a PhD candidate at the London School of Economics
to this, she was the Director of Insights and Director of Project Management at Xcorporation, a
and founder of the research company, ‘Everyday Life’. She was also the Canadian juror for the UN
Task force, the World Summit Awards and has held Mentorship positions with the Interactive
Project Lab and various advisory boards.
EXPERTISE:
Creative Design Thinking and Business Management
ABOUT:
Dr Alia Weston has an expertise in the areas of creative design thinking and business
management. She has an undergraduate degree in Jewellery design, a postgraduate degree in
business studies and consolidated her expertise in these areas by completing a cross-disciplinary
PhD which bridged the areas of creativity and management and focused on creativity in the
informal economy. In particular, she explores creative engagement (and related practices such as
innovation, entrepreneurship, art and design) of disenfranchised communities, creativity in
resource constrained environments and the implications of creativity for transformative action
and social development.
DR ALIA WESTON
Alia’s experience extends from teaching business to arts/design students as well as creativity
practice to business students. In addition to her academic activities Alia runs a jewellery design
OCAD University
Assistant Professor of Creative and Business
Enterprise, Faculty of Liberal Arts & School of
Interdisciplinary Studies
Email: aweston@faculty.ocadu.ca
business designing and making a range of jewellery.