STUDENTS
Second Year Students
Eric Leo Blais
Who knew a Grade 9 typing class and a love of fine art would be the precursor to a successful career? From typing documents on an IBM Selectric typewriter and then a Wang computer with a dot matrix printer for a few managers, to conceptualizing and managing large-scale, data-driven websites for a few million customers, Eric has been an active participant in the digital revolution for more than 20 years. Presently, he succesfully helps independent Canadian television producers finance and leverage digital media to market and distribute content online and on mobile devices. His BA from Ottawa University and his certificate in Design Management from Ryerson University are intrinsically linked to his success and have reinforced his commitment to lifelong learning.
Jennifer Chow
Jennifer attended the University of Waterloo, where she learned user-centred design principles and analyzed interactions between culture, society and technology at the Centre for Society, Technology and Values. In recent years, she has worked with many organizations in Toronto as a Chartered Accountant, gaining an understanding of the business issues faced by clients (e.g. non-profits, manufacturers, architecture firms, consulting practices, etc.). Her goal is to build more bridges between business and design by demonstrating the business value that user-centred design can offer. Identifying an opportunity to reframe the way Canadians see design in their lives, her MDes research will focus on the challenges of designing for an aging population. Ever curious, she is especially fascinated by cultural similarities and differences, travelling to Japan and India most recently.
Laura Fyles
Laura is an experienced interior designer, having worked in Vancouver, Calgary and now Toronto. She landed here after embarking on a ‘radical sabbatical’ to the Far East, looking to shake up her daily grind from that of only being schooled or working for the better part of 15 years. Having sold nearly every possession, 1999 was the time for a more ascetic experience. Her journeys through Hong Kong, western China, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, living and travelling as they would, opened a different world before her and helped her see more clearly the truisms between all cultures. Spaces between cities, buildings, rooms, tables, families, and people themselves all took upon remarkable meaning, yet all carried equally precious meaning to their keepers. Having seen some of the largest and most diverse cities in the world, Toronto became home in 2000, and a return to the architectural industry. Ten years have vanished, and again she seeks to provoke her own experiences with those of a collaborative community.
Ian Gray
Ian is involved in contemporary environmental design, primarily at the scale of cities and urban sites. He is a senior landscape architect and project manager at MMM Group Ltd where his current work includes the design and implementation of urban and landscape media in Canada and the Middle East. He is the recipient of a Toronto Urban Design Award of Excellence and has collaborated with a diverse range of internationally recognized creative talent including multi-media artists, composers and authors in urban works. A past president of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects, he has also been a sessional instructor at OCAD U over the past few years. On weekends he looks forward to tossing his 14’ Kevlar kayak onto the roof racks and heading to Lake Ontario to bust a gut and then mend with a bottle of Shiraz, wedge of Spanish Manchega and some Bill Evans, Astor Piazzola or Phillip Glass.
Trevor Haldenby
Trevor is a creator and enthusiast of emerging culture and technology. Interests in interdisciplinary creative strategies have led Trevor down a wandering path. While studying film theory, he began thinking critically about storytelling and technology. After experimenting with form and content on a number of interactive documentary projects, he decided to explore the influence of technology on community creation. Trevor has worked as producer of the popular virtual world Habbo Hotel as well as with Earth Rangers, the online biodiversity action organization for kids. He is also a visual artist, and has been working as a commercial and artistic photographer for eight years. By night, he organizes and designs concert and theatrical events featuring live video processing and projections. Trevor has attended Wilfrid Laurier University, the Rhode Island School of Design and the Canadian Film Centre. He migrates regularly across his home range of Southern Ontario.
Kelvin Kwong
A graduate of OCAD U's Communication and Design program, Kelvin has worked as a graphic designer and photographer with numerous agencies, most notably as a creative director with the Publicis Groupe, a multi-national advertising agency. His work experience has been diverse, ranging from arts organizations to the financial sector and heavy industries. Throughout his career, Kelvin has always believed that communication is an integral part of all creative work and has been recognized by the Advertising and Design Club of Canada, Applied Arts, AR100, the National Post, NUARs and RGD Ontario. Kelvin formed his own multidisciplinary agency in 2006 with a focus on brand communications and currently serves on Centennial College's Design Program Advisory Committee.
Benjamin McCammon
Ben is a designer specializing in green strategy and communications. After growing up in the wilds of Alberta, Ben moved to Toronto and completed the York University/Sheridan College Joint Bachelor of Design degree. He further developed his graphic design skills working for clients like Maclean's magazine, Telus, and The Royal Conservatory of Music. Since 2007, Ben has been working as an Art Director at Green Living Enterprises, helping to conceptualize and deliver green communications for Scotiabank, Toronto Hydro, the City of Toronto, and Environmental Defence, among others. Through this Master program, Ben hopes to further refine his design thinking skills, and use design methodologies to investigate and initiate more sustainable models for businesses and social enterprises. When he's not designing, Ben can be found growing vegetables in his backyard, reading graphic novels, writing comedy sketches, or playing basketball.
Robert Mitchell
Robert has created wearable art and design installations for more than two decades. He is a professor at OCAD University teaching Jewellery in the Material Art & Design Department and the recipient of the 2008 Price Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has won numerous awards and grants from arts and fine craft organizations, his work is included in private and gallery collections, and he has exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions locally, nationally and internationally. Robert has coordinated and juried several exhibitions, most recently as curator for Secret Identity, a national exhibition at OCAD U Gallery. His Coast to Coast Bracelet was chosen to represent Canada in the Unity and Diversity Exhibition at the 2009 Cheongju International Craft Biennale in South Korea. Robert’s diverse interests also include biomimicry, applying its principles to global water issues, involving conservation and reclamation, as developed in his recent design for a 2009 patent filing of a passive irrigation system.
Richard Norman
Richard Norman graduated from Queens University with a BA Honours in Geography, specializing in cultural geography and ethnography. After completing additional studies in Geographic Information Systems at the College of Geographic Sciences in Nova Scotia, Richard work extensively for Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), both in Toronto and later in Vancouver, primarily in the resource section including, forestry, government, and land management. In 1999, Richard returned to Toronto and proceeded to focus on digital and interactive environments, working on web development for SONY BMG, Toronto Western Hospital, and Centennial College. Richard currently is Senior Manager of Interactive Services for TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), developing interactive strategy and digital implementations.
Marco Romano
Marco Romano is a formally trained graphic designer and an emergent strategic thinker working in communications for the Region of Peel. He holds a BFA from York University where he learned how to look at design beyond it's traditional role and apply some of its principles to broader problems. Marco is passionate about bringing about major change in how the public sector operates and is currently developing new approaches to culture and business at the Region of Peel. Outside of professional activities, Marco enjoys downtime with his wife and two boys taking family vacations.
Martin Ryan
Martin grew up just outside of Vancouver with a mountain quite literally in his backyard, and a fascination with both invention and the dismantling of his toys. His academic roots are found at the University of British Columbia, where he graduated with an Honors BComm in Marketing. Inspired by the intersection of economic, social and environmental progress, he began his career with Ethos -- a consulting firm established by J. Walter Thompson, specializing in social marketing and corporate social responsibility. Building on this experience, he joined Canada’s not-for-profit sector to manage Kids Help Phone’s Corporate Partnerships, while trying his hand at political policy development in his spare time. In 2007, Martin joined in-sync, a strategic arm of the Publicis Groupe. As a Strategist at in-sync, he works in consultancy with Fortune 500 companies on a wide variety of innovation, consumer insight and brand strategy projects. During his tenure, he has immersed himself in subjects such as: our connection to “sparkling beverages”, the future of pet care, what motivates fundraising and charitable giving, human mobility, healthcare policy, and the experience of illness. Martin’s interests and inspirations are diverse, but often return to a simple design challenge. It is the challenge of reengineering an important but otherwise ordinary moment in our lives, into an experience that is both more meaningful, and extraordinary.
Phouphet Sihavong
After completing a BComm in Marketing Strategy and Business Management from the University of Saskatchewan, Phouphet continued her studies at Sheridan College in the Interactive Multimedia Post Graduate program. Ten years later, her determination to prove herself as a self taught designer has allowed her to explore her creative side as an Art Director at IBM Interactive Toronto. With numerous design awards, she now works as a User Experience Specialist at Research in Motion. She looks forward to exploring the field of mobile design and studying how it can build more organic systems in how we interact/communicate in public spaces.
Robert Tilley
Rob grew up in Ontario on a farm in the town of Claremont before moving to Toronto. While not living in Toronto he had the opportunity to attend university in the United States and work in Europe, offering some unique life experiences. With an educational background in Computer Science and Mathematics, he has spent his career focusing on the digital world as a consultant trying to make the web a better place to play. When not crafting seemingly endless amounts of PowerPoint slides, he continues to wonder what the future holds for the world of business and society -- humbly admitting he has absolutely no idea.
Josina Vink
Josina is mover and shaker, striving social entrepreneur, and community animator. She currently works as a Research Analyst for SHS Consulting where she specializes in community consultation in the context of sustainable community development, organizational development and healthy communities initiatives. Her clients include a wide range of municipalities, non-profit organizations and First Nation councils. Josina is also actively involved in the field of social enterprise through her work with the Social Enterprise Rural Alliance (SERA). Josina possesses an Honors Bachelor of Business Administration, Minor in Dialogue, and Certificate in Sustainable Community Development from Simon Fraser University as well as a Certificate in Humanistic Medicine from the Gesundheit Institute.
Jonathan Veale
Jonathan was born and raised in the crude regions of Northern Alberta which inspired him to value his connection to the natural world. It was in this environment he learned to canoe, hunt, garden, cook, tell stories, and ultimately be confident and self-sufficient. Jonathan thrives in social settings, which is a considerable portion of his work as a Project Manager and Sustainability Specialist with Morrison Hershfield Limited in Toronto. His work involves planning and building sustainable communities using green infrastructure and reconnecting people within communities by helping them develop the tools to make decisions. Jonathan completed a M.E.S. degree at York University focusing on Community Sustainability and Planning. Jonathan’s academic interests centre upon applying social innovation and capacity building in an effort to enhance societal sustainability. Always a lively addition to a dinner party, Jonathan revels in intelligent conversation, great food, and the meeting of creative people with thoughtful ideas.
David Wolfenden
16 years of marriage; 11 years of parenting; 16 years of marriage; 25 years of teaching, consulting, coaching; 10 years operations management and executive leadership; A passion for cycling, tennis and bass guitar.
First Year Students
Medina Abdelkader
Recently graduated from McMaster University, with a double major in Political Science and Communication Studies, Medina is focused on cultural, environmental and womens’ issues. She takes special interest in identity & branding, data visualization and information architecture. After spending two years as a Senior Editor at her campus newspaper, she moved on to work in the Public Relations department at the McMaster Students Union, shifting towards design and overall communications strategy. She also began picking up freelance graphic design gigs, internships and volunteer work to subsequent her formal education. She was the curator for the inaugural TEDxMcMasterU event entitled The more we learn, the less we know and is passionate about ideas. A writer and bona fide tea snob who will happily disagree with you in the interest of good conversation.
Adriana Bernardino
Adriana is a partner at Advanis, a market research company. Over the last 15 years she has been designing, implementing and delivering customized market research solutions to support strategic business decisions related to customer acquisition and retention, product development and bundling, pricing, portfolio optimization, channel optimization, and brand management. She has worked in various industries, including Financial Services, Telecommunications, Technology, Equipment Manufacturing, Transportation, Utilities, Retail and Food. Prior to joining Advanis, Adriana worked as a consultant to the public and private sectors in Brazil, and engaged in assignments throughout North America, Latin America, and Asia with widely recognized organizations, primarily developing economic feasibility studies for infrastructure projects. She received her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1995, where she specialized in modeling consumer behavior. Currently she is searching for new, creative ways of thinking about business problems, and for opportunities to get more deeply engaged in social change.
Michelle Blanchard
Michelle is an HR/Organizational Effectiveness professional with experience in both the private sector and in an international agency of the United Nations. Having helped organizations through various change initiatives, she is interested in learning new ways to approach and apply change and transformation within both corporate and social contexts. She is also interested in creating environments that enable innovation, exploring new approaches to strategy development and using foresight to create scenarios of the future of work from the perspectives of intrinsic motivation, branding, innovation and culture. She enjoys travelling and experiencing different cultures and has studied and worked in the USA, France, Italy and Canada. She looks forward to the exploration of new ideas and approaches, as well as collaborating with and learning from her classmates.
Slavica Ceperkovic
Slavica’s career background intersects business, technology, art and design. Her current role as the English market digital media specialist for Telefilm Canada focuses on the administration of the Canada Media Fund’s experimental funding stream, which encourages the creation of leading-edge, interactive, digital media content and software applications. Previously, Slavica held roles such as the regional new media executive for the Canada New Media Fund, managed the co-production division at the Banff New Media Institute, was faculty at the Alberta College of Art and Design in the Media Art Digital Technologies department, and managed the Interactive Art and Entertainment program at the CFC Media Lab. Slavica has a bachelors degree from Ryerson University in New Media Studies and a graduate degree in Cinema and New Media from Le Fresnoy, Studio National des arts contemporains. Her contemporary works have shown internationally in festivals and galleries in Paris, London, Bogota, Lisbon and Miami and has been reviewed in Art Press, Figaro, Le Monde and books published by MIT press. Slavica is also currently teaching undergraduate students part-time at Ryerson University's New Media Program at the School of Image Arts.
Kirk Clyne
Kirk Clyne is a partner & Creative Director of The Juice Agency in Toronto. Originally from San Francisco, he has called Toronto home since 2002. In more than 15 years as an interactive designer and developer, and 10 years of contiguous teaching, he has created some deeply personally satisfying campaigns, been part of learning breakthroughs, and won some awards on the way. A generalist by interest and inclination, he has experience in almost ever y aspect of his field. He has contributed knowledge and creativity to a range of start-ups and established companies producin work for the entertainment, education, cultural and marketing sectors. His primary interest has been and remains the user experience -- in all the forms that might take. His range of skills, desire to explore new territory, and sense of commitment have led to a long and storied career as the leading hand in a variety of entrepreneurial and innovative new media companies. Where this program might lead, he looks to discover, and uncover.
Tai Huynh
Tai heads an advisory practice that works with healthcare organizations to transform the way care is experienced and delivered. He is also Senior Fellow at the Centre for Innovation in Complex Care at the University Health Network, where he works as part of a multidisciplinary team on groundbreaking solutions to healthcare’s complex problems. He holds a BSc from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University, and has held various senior management positions at the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Tai is excited about the future of healthcare delivery, and believe that we can design our way there right now.
Sami Kazemi
Sami Kazemi is a licensed Architect and a LEED accredited professional. He is currently a Senior Designer with Quadrangle Architects where he is involved in the development of several mixed-use projects. As a believer in the power of interdisciplinary and collaborative design, Sami is very interested in investigating the processes that enable and encourage effective design. He has lived, studied and worked in four countries before making Toronto his permanent home in 2001. Throughout his career, Sami has been involved in the design of a multitude of diverse projects ranging in scale from small exhibitions to large city master plans. He has also taught a number of courses at Centennial college under the Architectural Technology Program.
Michi Komori
While she would like to claim that she had a grand plan. She can't. Michi's work experiences reflect either a short attention span or an open mind. She has worked in television broadcasting, politics, Bay Street, venture capital, e-learning, new media and Internet protocol television in various roles and responsibilities. She has a BA from the University of Western Ontario. As well, she earned a B.F.A. (painting and drawing) from OCAD U as a mature, part-time student. It took a while but she enjoyed being exposed to many disciplines, learning and experiencing the creative process.
Jayar La Fontaine
I first developed an interest in interdisciplinary studies, foresight, and brokering knowledge exchange while pursuing graduate studies at McMaster University’s Department of Philosophy. My thesis work contrasted experimental and introspective approaches to studying consciousness by examining existing evidence from studies of brain lesions and working through the implications of thought experiments constructed around imagined technologies.
Currently, as the Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) System Navigator for the York region, my focus is exploring emerging technologies, service delivery models and cross-sectoral partnerships to build service capacity in the ABI sector and empower survivors and their caregivers. Through my studies at OCAD U, I hope to better understand how non-profits can incorporate design thinking and foresight activities into their operations in order to strengthen their culture and revolutionize their services.
Peg Lahn
Peg brings communities and policy makers together for real change on social issues. She comes to OCAD U from the non-profit sector where she works with marginalized communities, service providers and policy makers, balancing competing stakeholder needs and negotiating solutions to improve individual and community outcomes. Previously, Peg lead policy reforms that restored equitable access to critical services at all levels of government in the post 9/11 frenzy. As a consultant, she fosters strategic collaboration, mission-driven innovation, and smart systems design. Most recently, Peg has worked in community health, piloting community-driven initiatives addressing air pollution and human/climate health. She has served as a grant maker at the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Wellesley Institute, and Community One Foundation. Peg has a Masters in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard (KSG, HBS, HGSE), and an HBA from UofT. She currently holds a federal appointment as Returning Officer with Elections Canada, guiding a team of 1,100 staff and managing elections for a Toronto riding. She continues to inform policy, and is an advisor to agencies across the non-profit sector.
Jason Last
Jason is a creative strategist who works at the intersection of human behavior, culture, and brands. As a Strategic Planner at john st. advertising in Toronto, Jason uses his creative problem solving expertise to develop communication strategies and product innovations for clients across a range of categories – from pharmaceuticals and insurance to packaged goods, retail, and not-for-profit. His current interests lie in the use of design thinking to tap into the potential of an aging population. Jason is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, where he received his B.A. and M.A. in English Literature.
Ana Matic
Heidi McCulloch
Heidi is currently the Vice President and Senior Strategic Planner at MacLaren McCann, engaged across the integrated agency to leverage strategic thinking, inspire creative ideas and support the insightful development of all communications. Heidi has worked within the world of marketing communications since 1994. Her experience is diverse, starting as a client-side marketer in the hospitality industry and then in the financial technology industry. She worked independently as a qualitative consumer research specialist and later undertook a 3-year entrepreneurial venture owning an independent boutique hotel. The bulk of her 16 years’ work experience however has been concentrated on the advertising side with agencies such as TBWA/Chiat/Day, Zig and now MacLaren McCann.
Twitter: @HeidiMcCulloch
Reena Merchant
Ian Moss
Cameron Norman
Monica Porteanu
Monica is a management consultant delivering qualitative scenarios and analytics models that support strategic decision making. A mathematician and business thinker by education, strategist by trade, technologist by chance, and humanist by inclination, Monica has always been fascinated by how humanity evolves in times of change. To improve her ability to influence positive change, she has immersed herself into learning and applying design thinking concepts to her work in the financial services industry as well as the not-for-profit sector. She is interested in enhancing her past experience with the coming education from the Strategic Foresight and Innovation program to advance her strategic thinking and ability to anticipate shifts and model their potential evolution based on foresight strategy, behavioural economics, and predictive analytics. Monica has an MBA from Cornell and Queen's, is a Certified Management Consultant, and holds a degree in Mathematics from the University of Bucharest, Romania. In her free time, Monica enjoys staying in touch and spending time with her grown daughter, expanding her yoga abilities, exploring mountains and doing nothing.
Laura Read
Jen Recknagel
For the past several years, Jen has been working as a documentary producer in Toronto. She’s worked on projects about fanboy culture, outsider art and the current state of the feminist movement, as well as one that took her around the globe investigating the world after dark. Recognizing that the broadcast industry is undergoing a massive shift, Jen is interested in exploring the role of storytelling on new communication platforms. She is also interested in studying innovation in leadership and management, hoping to gain insight into how to maximize creative and intellectual potential. Jen holds a BFA in New Media Arts from Ryerson University and is enthusiastic about cross-disciplinary approaches to problem solving.
George Shewchuk
George Shewchuk has more than 20 years experience in the advertising industry developing multi-tiered, multi-channel campaigns in the capacity of art and design director.
George’s experience embraces virtually all aspects of commercial communications: from creating branding and visual identity solutions to conceiving and executing award-winning Direct Marketing and general advertising campaigns for both the print and the online space.
In 2006, George was chosen from an international field of senior art directors to serve as a consultant for the China Productivity center in Taipei: Charged with the task of revising visual identity systems and advertising materials for western markets.
He earned his B.A. at Carleton University in Philosophy and Art History before attending OCAD U as a student of communication design.
Petri Tanninen
Jefferson Wright
Last Modified:1/24/2012 12:57:32 PM
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
