Theme: The Next Big Step

In these times of uncertainty the world is constantly moving forwards and changing around us. We choose to look towards the future with hope and excitement. We want to hear about the next big steps set to change industry, society and the world at large. We hope that this theme will bring our community together and hopefully inspire them into building a better tomorrow. Help us make that change!

Langara College
100 W 49th Ave
Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Y 2Z6
Canada

Allison MacDonald

Senior Experimental Physicist

Allison completed her B.Sc. in physics at McMaster University, where she built a prototype for a satellite-based quantum cryptography system and searched for the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland. She then completed her M.Sc. at the University of Alberta, where she studied the interaction between laser light and tiny nanomechanical resonators at ultralow temperatures. Since 2015, Allison has worked as an experimental physicist at D-Wave Systems, maker of the world's first commercial quantum computers. There she spends her days designing, executing and analyzing novel proof-of-concept experiments that will inform future generations of D-Wave's quantum processors.

Christie Charles

Artist

Christie Lee Charles is pure creativity. Hip hop artist, poet, storyteller... There are no limits for her when it comes to expressing herself. Christie, who raps as Miss Christie Lee, incorporates her Musqueam roots into her art, bringing the traditional knowledge and ancient dialect to the work she presents.

Daniel Magnino

Project Manager

Daniel Magnino is a Project and Program Manager at Best Buy Canada with over 10 years of experience and has delivered value across different countries and continents to different industries. Daniel believes that solid and cohesive teams are built on top of mutual respect, empathy, and focus on the strategy. Daniel is also a Project Management instructor at Simon Fraser University and considers teaching a rewarding duty.

Darcy McGilvery

Fractional CMO

Darcy McGilvery is a Fractional CMO at ROMI Lab, a Vancouver-based executive-marketing agency. Darcy splits his time across numerous businesses throughout North America. His education includes an MBA, marketing diploma, and a degree in psychology. Core strengths include digital strategy, data analysis and fostering alignment across business units.

Jason Madar

Academic Educator and Software Developer

Jason Madar is an educator, leader, academic, and software developer with over 20 years of experience. Balancing his career between academia and industry, Jason have been involved with developing large scale, mission critical software systems in finance, mining, and education. At the same time, he was able to maintain a steady flow of research publications. His work can be found in prestigious scientific journals such as Nature Biotechnology, and in various internationally recognized IEEE and ACM conferences.

Jennifer Fraser

Writer

Jennifer Fraser has a PhD in Comparative Literature which has trained her to take different discourses and put them into dialogue. In her books and articles, she draws on critical theory, literature, and psychology as a way to better understand our world. More recently, she has been using neuroscientific insight into developing brains to advocate for children's rights to protection from all forms of abuse.

Jill Sinclair

Executive Coach and Business Strategist

Jill Sinclair is an Executive Coach & Business Strategist, Speaker, Acclaimed Author and Thought Changer. “To affect change, you must be a thought changer,” is a statement that Jill lives by and constantly challenges others to. She believes it’s not enough to be a leader, but to change peoples’ minds, prove value, pull them into agreement and compel them to action. Jill is the founder of the very successful Hustler Sophisticate Speaker Series.

Joel Hansen

LinkedIn Youth Editor

Joel Hansen is business development manager, veteran conference planner and lover of all things digital who thrives on bringing people together. Delivering the unexpected is the outflow of his indomitable spirit and has been a prerequisite for every big step he’s taken. From serving as a Parliament Hill Intern to co-directing western Canada’s largest marketing and PR conference to raising over $75,000 for a human rights charity, all before graduating university, he has a bold message to share in teaching others how to channel their lack of qualifications to be their secret weapon for creating impact. His delight in finding the 'why' within a story has led to engagements working with high profile brands such as Uber, Adobe, Linkedin, Vancouver Canucks and McDonald’s. He’s seen first-hand how the power of a compelling story can inspire and drive action. Whatever he sets his mind to, Joel’s determination to build community around an idea will always be at the heart of who he is.

Rutendo Munatsirei

Rutendo Munatsirei is a 3rd year international student at Simon Fraser University. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, she moved to Vancouver to study Communications and Business with the hope of pursuing a career in Marketing and Event Management. She has just completed her third work term as part of SFU’s Co-op program and has ultimately enjoyed the ‘Adulting’ thing. Outside of school and work Rutendo can be found cycling the seawall, hiking trails nearby or volunteering with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, Young Women in Business and Art Vancouver.

Sam Thiara

Storyteller

Sam Thiara is a professional who has created a personal journey as a coach, speaker, storyteller, writer, workshop facilitator, educator and entrepreneur. His goal is to engage individuals in their personal and professional development and was recognized by the Governor General of Canada with the Canadian Sovereign’s Volunteer Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. His work is reflected in the hundreds of individuals he has mentored and the thousands he has engaged. Added to this are the 45+ non-profits that he has worked with over the years.

Spiro Getsios

VP of Tissue Engineering

Spiro is the VP of Tissue Engineering at Aspect and manages all partnered and internal tissue engineering programs. Spiro was trained as a reproductive and developmental biologist at the University of British Columbia prior to pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship in cell biology at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. At Northwestern, Spiro rose to the rank of a tenured Associate Professor of Dermatology and Director of Skin Tissue Engineering while securing federal and industrial funding for his team’s research on cell-cell adhesion and communication systems. In 2016, Spiro joined GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals in Collegeville, PA as a Director of Biology with a focus on delivering preclinical models for drug discovery and development. He is an author on +60 research publications.

Tara Clark

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur, mentor, and acclaimed speaker, Tara Clark is the Founder & CEO of the boutique Vancouver-based social media agency, Social T. @socialtyvr. For the past 8+ years, she and her team have offered effective, impactful social media management and executive training services to small- and medium-sized businesses around the world.