Mark Zimmerman
As CIO & Senior Advisor, ICT at MaRS Discovery District, Mark Zimmerman has been working in the information and communication technology industry for more than 15 years. He’s worked with some of the biggest companies in the industry, but he’s also worked with very early stage start-ups; being able to wear an entrepreneur’s hat. Mark uses his experience to help clients in the areas of B2B enterprise software and SaaS business models as well as security and privacy.
Mark has also served at ConnectedN as president; BCE as vice president of new ventures; Nextair as vice president of sales and marketing; AT&T as director of product management and Netcom Canada in business services.
Follow him on Twitter @markzim
Carolyn McGregor
Professor Carolyn McGregor is the Canada Research Chair in Health Informatics at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada.
Dr McGregor has led pioneering research in Big Data, analytics, event stream processing, temporal data stream data mining, business process modelling, patient journey modelling and cloud computing. In the 1990s she led two of the earliest business analytics implementations in Australia for one of the largest banks and the largest retailer. She now progresses her research within the context of critical care medicine, mental health, astronaut health and military and civilian tactical training. She has been awarded over $10 million in research, consultancy and infrastructure funding. She has led the establishment of two IT start-up companies internationally and has published over 130 research publications and 7 patents internationally.
She has extensive collaborative relationships with healthcare organisations, researchers and industry in several countries around the world including Canada, Australia, USA, China and Ireland. In 2013 her Artemis project was awarded the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) Ingenious Award in the Not for Profit Category. In 2014 she was awarded membership in the Order of Australia, general division, for significant service to science and innovation through health care information systems. She is regularly called upon by the media as an international specialist in health informatics and Big Data.
To learn more, follow her on Twitter @CP_McGregor
Fiona Deller
Fiona is the Executive Director, Policy & Partnerships at the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO). She focuses on knowledge mobilization, translating HEQCO research into public policy, building relationships and partnerships with key stakeholders and the postsecondary community, and keeping up on new and interesting trends.
Prior to coming to HEQCO, Fiona worked as the postsecondary education coordinator at the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) where she focused on federal/provincial/territorial relations in postsecondary education, quality assurance, government funding of PSE, student financial assistance and credit transfer, among others. Fiona has also worked for both the provincial and the federal governments in PSE-related positions. Fiona is a doctoral candidate at OISE/University of Toronto in the field of theory and policy of higher education and teaches program evaluation at Ryerson’s School of Politics and Public Administration.
Follow her on Twitter @fmdeller
Jeff Grieve
Innately a consensus-building individual, Jeff is a proven community leader with more than 30 years experience in information technology and higher education. At Western University, he was responsible for developing, delivering and supporting critical and strategic campus IT infrastructure services, including collaborating on bridging technology initiatives with Fanshawe College, London Health Services Centre and research hospitals.
His involvement with LARG*net and the City of London explores opportunities to advance London’s connected communities objectives, which also integrates business interests with LARG*net’s skills and relationships. Previously, Jeff served in senior roles at TD Canada Trust and today, he is the newest member of ORION's Board of Directors.
Dave Williams
Dr. Williams is the president and CEO of Southlake Regional Health Centre. As Southlake connects to our network this year, this marks the beginning of a massive York Region connectivity initiative: Dr. Williams has led Southlake to push the envelope in digital infrastructure, improving healthcare as e-health becomes even more important. Gain insight on how to meet the technology challenge that is shaping the future of Ontario's hospitals.
In matters of facing the next frontier, Dr. Williams draws from a wide range of experience -- from being a NASA astronaut, conducting the first surgeries in space, to his profession as a scientist, to receiving the Order of Canada earlier this year. Don't miss the opportunity to hear from an extraordinary leader!
Follow him on Twitter @AstroDaveMD
Alfredo Tan
Alfredo Tan will be introducing Internet.org and Facebook's wider connectivity initiatives at THINK. He is Group Director of Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook Canada, where he leads a team responsible for strategic marketing relationships with agencies and Fortune 500 companies across Canada. Prior to Facebook, Alfredo was responsible for a broad portfolio as a Senior Director at Yahoo! in charge of leading the Mobile, Business Development and Search Marketing teams. He also managed the Rogers Yahoo! Partnership across media, internet, and wireless.
Alfredo has also worked as Strategic Alliances Director at Sympatico MSN and was responsible for media sales, business development and strategic partnerships. Before entering the exciting world of digital media and the Internet, he worked in enterprise marketing and strategy at Bell Canada where he played a key role in developing and negotiating the Strategic Alliance between Cisco Systems and Bell Canada.
He started his career in high tech as a Systems Engineer at Bell Nexxia, consulting for some of Canada’s largest financial institutions. Alfredo holds a Master’s degree with a specialization in Information Systems & Technology from McMaster University. He has also completed Executive Programs at the Harvard Business School. Alfredo sits on the Advisory Board at the University of Waterloo and was recently was awarded the Desmond Parker Outstanding Young Alumni Award at the University of Toronto for demonstrated excellence in both professional achievement and community service.
Joseph Romano
Joseph is the Director of Business Development at Spongelab Interactive, an education technology company. He helped develop the Entrepreneur’s Toolkit Workshop Series and the Future Leaders program for youth at the MaRS Discovery District. He has a degree in Social Justice and Global Education from OISE. He has written on topics of science, innovation and education for NOW Magazine, the Globe and Mail, Financial Post and Yonge Street. He also founded Toronto think-tank the Treehouse Group in 2009.
He was also formerly a Model Schools for Inner Cities (MSIC) Teaching & Learning Coach at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB),supports students and teachers by building capacity related to 21st century skills, specifically focusing on nurturing the development of Communication, Collaboration, Creation and Critical Thinking through TDSB STEM, Early Years Literacy and Numeracy initiatives.
To learn more, connect with Joseph via Twitter @RomanoJ and Linkedin
Rick Huijbregts
Rick Huijbregts is vice president of Industry Transformation, where he is responsible for Cisco Canada’s IoE strategy and industry business development. The members of his team are industry subject matter experts, engaging in the transformation of their respective industries (healthcare, oil and gas, financial services, education, real estate, and industrial).
Rick is also general manager for Cisco Canada’s Smart + Connected Communities practice, including Smart + Connected Real Estate. Rick holds construction and architecture degrees from Tilburg Polytechnic University and Delft University in the Netherlands, and a doctorate from Harvard University.
Currently, he is a faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education, where he teaches Smart Buildings and Smart Cities. He also serves on several boards of Canadian academic institutions and non-profit organizations.
Follow him on Twitter @DrRickH
Brandon Zoras
Brandon Zoras is an education officer of the 21st Century Teaching and Learning department, Ministry of Education, science teacher at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and Master of Education graduate in the Urban Education cohort at OISE/UT, where he studied ways to better engage youth in science.
During his years of teaching, Brandon has been exploring ways to utilize technology and problem-based learning, in order to break down barriers and engage students. He connected students with Ontario Institute For Cancer Research scientists via video calls, facilitated student-led primary research with OISE professors, and arranged discussions in current environmental and scientific issues, and indigenous knowledge in science. Brandon has also been collaborating with Joseph Romano to help students think critically about their role in technology. Last fall, they hosted EdAppHack, a students-led hackathon at MaRS over the ORION network, which flipped the roles of students from app users to app creators.
Brandon is also collaborating with local Toronto Educators and Artists to break apart standard pedagogy by using hip hop in education, and helped publish Rhymes To Re-Education, a critical pedagogy book.
Follow him on Twitter @brandonzoras
Keith Hampson
Dr. Keith Hampson is the managing director of client innovation at Acrobatiq LLC, a Carnegie Mellon University venture. A former faculty member, Keith later served as director of digital education strategies at Ryerson University, where he grew enrollment by 500% and led a team that won six national awards for excellence in digital higher education.
As an independent consultant, Keith worked with a range of organizations across North America, including Northeastern University, Council of Ontario Universities, Bertelsmann AG, Contact North, Capella University and Flat World Knowledge. Keith regularly speaks and writes on innovation and strategy in online higher education. His syndicated blog, Management & Strategy Issues in Digital Higher Education, is read by thousands of influential education professionals worldwide. A graduate (doctorate) of the University of Queensland in Australia, Keith now lives in Toronto, Canada, with his wife and two children.
To learn more, follow him on Twitter @keithhampson
Kristina Verner
Kristina Verner is the Director of Intelligent Communities for Waterfront Toronto, where she is responsible for a variety of strategic initiatives. Active both nationally and internationally in the smart city movement, she serves as a founding member of the board of advisers for Walsh University's Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) Institute for the Study of the Intelligent Community and ICF Canada. She also serves on the Canadian and global boards of directors for the ICF. In 2013 and 2014, under her stewardship, Waterfront Toronto led the bid to have the City of Toronto recognized in both the Smart21 and Top 7. In 2014, Toronto was selected as the Intelligent Community of the Year.
Kristina is also a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her leadership and commitment to the creation of intelligent communities and collaborative ecosystems that support national-wide vibrant communities and economies.
Previously, spearheaded various aspects of the Connecting Windsor-Essex Smart Community, securing significant funding to support the increase of Information and communication technologies (ICTs) within the region and facilitating cross-sector collaboration and innovation, leading to She also led Windsor-Essex to being recognized as one of the Top 7 communities in 2011. Kristina also serves as a sessional instructor of computer science at the University of Windsor, teaching cyber ethics and social media technologies.
Follow her on Twitter @kristinaverner
John Helliker
John Helliker is the director of strategic partnerships and the Screen Industries Research and Training Centre at Sheridan College.
Before joining Sheridan College as a faculty member in 2005, John worked for over 20 years as a freelance director, production manager and writer within the Canadian film and television industry. For the last six years he’s led the development and establishment of Sheridan’s Screen Industries Research and Training Centre (SIRT) at Pinewood Toronto Studios. SIRT serves Ontario’s screen industries (film, television and gaming) as a technology access centre providing specialized training, applied research, consulting and access to expertise and advanced technologies.
John has been a tireless advocate for collaborating with industry while ensuring that students are exposed to leading-edge practices in the industry. John was presented with the ORION 2012 Leadership Award for Higher Education and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges 2014 Leadership Excellence Award, recognizing his innovative work at SIRT.
Glenn Smith
Glenn Smith, P.Eng., draws on over 20 years of experience in broad business, technology development and commercialization with leadership roles in two University of Waterloo spinoff companies as well as Centres of Excellence in commercialization. Glenn actively advises early-stage companies and social ventures around approaches to create value, generate revenue and balance risk and reward.
Currently, as a member of Communitech’s leadership team, Glenn is developing and building scalable initiatives in support of Communitech's increased focus on data through his work on their DATA.BASE program. Glenn is also the founding chairman of Blue Sea Philanthropy and a partner and board director of Social Venture Partners Waterloo Region.
Further details can be found at Linkedin and Twitter @iGlennSmith.
Campbell Patterson
Campbell Patterson is the founding partner of CP Communications (CPC). Campbell's extensive career has seen him as a vice president of J. Walter Thompson Advertising and McDonald’s Restaurants licensee. From a technology perspective, Campbell has developed strategic and marketing plans for such household names as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Apple, Sprint and AT&T.
For the past 15 years CPC has been actively engaged helping regions, counties, municipalities, utilities, school boards, hospitals and user-based consortiums in Canada evaluate broadband networking opportunities, apply for funding assistance, research and write business cases, craft business plans, and design, procure, build, deploy and project manage community broadband networking operations.
Learn more by following him on Twitter @CPComm
Anita Simpson
Anita is a superintendent of education for program and innovation with the Simcoe County District School Board. She is also the Canadian Cluster lead for New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL), an international learning lab involving 10 countries and 1,000 schools from around the world. Anita is an Adler Trained Coach (ATC) having earned her Leadership Coaching in the Workplace Certification through the Adler International Learning and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE).
She is also a certified facilitator of restorative practices through the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP). Anita’s work in the area of First Nation, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) education was featured in the fall 2013 issue of OPSBA’s Education Today. She is married to Canadian actor Michael Simpson, and they have two children, Joshua and Leah. “No day without learning!”
Follow her on Twitter @asimpsonscdsb