The future challenges initiative aims to explore the different ways in which we can help students develop the skills they need to confront uncertainty. Each member of the project team has important experiences, both professionally and personally, that contribute to that conversation. We are looking to add a few more members to this project team to broaden our scope, if you’re interested, contact the project lead.
Beyhan Farhadi
Beyhan Farhadi is a postdoctoral fellow in the Faculty of Education at York University and a research associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Ontario. Her research focuses on the relationship between online learning and educational inequality in secondary schools. Beyhan’s scholarship applies critical policy analysis to study the (re)production of social orders in schooling and geographies of education, of which online learning is a part. Her work has received wide coverage in news media. She is also a steering committee member of the President’s Council on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at York University and a public advocate for a fully funded public education system.
Pat Maher
Dr. Patrick T. Maher is the inaugural Dean of Teaching and a Full Professor of Physical and Health Education at Nipissing. He is an interdisciplinary scholar, who has previously held full-time appointments at Cape Breton University, the University of Northern British Columbia, and the University of Otago. Pat has also held VisitingScholar positions at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Southern Denmark University, the UniversityCentre of the Westfjords (Iceland), Vancouver Island University, the University of Edinburgh, and CambridgeUniversity. He has also collaborated extensively with colleagues across the University of the Arctic network as former Associate Dean of Circumpolar Studies and lead for the Thematic Network on Northern Tourism.
Pat has been named a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (2013), a 3M National Teaching Fellow (2014), and a Fellow of International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2020). He was a SSHRC Exchange University Research Chair in the Social Sciences and Humanities during his tenure in Cape Breton.
Lenandlar Singh
Lenandlar Singh is a Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Guyana with over 20 years of teaching experience in Computer Science and Information Systems, and a PhD candidate at the Lancaster University, England where he is studying e-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning. His PhD research focuses on early career academics use social networks in the context of identity development. His research interests in general is centered around the development and use of online communities; an area in which he has co-authored and published several papers over the past five years.
Dave Cormier.
Lena Patterson
Lena is Program Director of Business Development and Microcredentials at The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education where she works with the Dean and other Program Directors to lead the execution of the School’s microcredential strategy, and drive the expansion of this newly established portfolio.
Prior to joining The Chang School, Lena was Senior Director, Programs and Stakeholder Relations at eCampusOntario, where she was responsible for mobilizing diverse stakeholders to carry out virtual learning and transformation projects. She has seven years experience in non-profit and higher education focused on online learning and technology-enabled teaching and learning, microcredentials, education and industry pathways, and open education. She also has eight years experience working in and alongside government at the provincial and federal level.
Lawrie Phipps
Lawrie Phipps is the Senior Research Lead at Jisc, a UK NGO providing services to post compulsory education institutions, his current portfolio includes research into institutional digital practices, digital leadership and a range of emerging issues impacting on digital experiences in education and research, and digital transformation.
A Professor of digital education at Keele University, UK, works with lecturers on the Global Challenge Programme, supporting interdisciplinary student teams addressing themes such as sustainability, and working with Virgina Tech University, USA, putting together a Professional Masters Programme in Climate Change Leadership, leading on scenario planning, leadership communication in digital spaces. Lawrie’s research as spanned a broad range of digital themes, including accessibility and disability support, social media communication, impact of digital teaching on Black and and ethnic minority students, digital identity, digital resources and open education, impact of digital on sustainability and climate, and digital change management. A qualified executive coach, he as worked to support and mentor teams going through digital transformation and change initiatives in universities for over 25 years.
Judy Bornais
Prof. Judy A.K. Bornais is a faculty member in nursing who is currently Executive Director, Office of Experiential Learning at the University of Windsor. She was the Teaching Leadership Chair for the Faculty of Nursing from 2014-2018. She also holds an Adjunct Faculty appointment at Western with the Department of Surgery at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. Judy’s disciplinary research focuses on nursing pedagogy and experiential learning opportunities. In addition, Judy is engaged in the scholarship of teaching and learning with expertise in experiential learning in higher education, engagement of students in large classes, peer observation of teaching, professional development and the assessment, evaluation and recognition of teaching practices in higher education. As Executive Director, Office of Experiential Learning Judy’s portfolio includes both curricular and co-curricular experiential learning, all Work-Integrated Learning as well as the centralized career development unit.
Giulia Forsythe
Giulia Forsythe is the Associate Director, Centre for Pedagogical Innovation at Brock University where she supports the lofty goals of education to transform lives through high quality teaching, learning, research, and a commitment to equity, justice, and accessibility situated within Niagara, Ontario, and beyond. She is a champion for open education that serves to “honour different ways of knowing and demonstrating knowledge.” Giulia has worked collaboratively on many open educational projects, including the Knowledge Equity Lab, Universal Design for Learning: Inspiring Equity and Inclusion, Online and Blended in Post-Secondary, Liberated Learners, Learning to be Human Together, and eCampusOntario’s Teacher for Learning extend module. Her research interests include feminist perspectives on educational technology and open practices through network participatory scholarship.
Ariadne Jevnikar
Ariadne is a PhD student at Lakehead University in the Educational Leadership & Policy Studies stream. She is a certified member of the Ontario College of Teachers and has taught K3 – Grade 12. Ariadne’s research focuses on the influence of school administrators on the outcomes of Gender and Sexuality Alliances in publicly-funded high schools in Ontario.
Fiona Rawle
As the Director of the Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre at the University of Toronto, Dr. Rawle is perfectly positioned to inform the work being done in this project. Fiona’s academic interests each inform this project in their own way. Her current research interests include 1) Combatting Science Misinformation; Public Understanding of Science 2) Misconceptions & Threshold Concepts in Science 3) Barriers to Learning Evolution 4) Gender Bias in STEM 5) Implementation of Evidence-Based Pedagogy to Enhance Learning in University Science Education; Assessment and Improvement of the High School to University Transition 6) Resiliency Learning and Productive Failure
Nick Baker
Nick Baker is the Director of the Office of Open Learning at the University of Windsor, where he leads a team of online learning specialists who work to create engaging and effective online and digitally enhanced learning environments. He is a strong advocate for equitable access to higher education opportunities for all learners, regardless of background or geography. He also supports Open Educational Practices that deeply engage students in meaningful learning, and reduced barriers to access.
Nick has worked in higher education for over 20 years, and his work and research has focused on online and blended learning, educational technologies, and open practices. An award-winning educator and leader, he currently teaches about higher education pedagogies, educational technologies, open practices, and the intersection of science, technology, and society. Nick grew up in rural Australia and completed much of his schooling through distance education, and later through online learning at university.
Bonnie Stewart
Bonnie Stewart is an educator and social media researcher interested in what digital networks mean for institutions and society. Associate Professor of Online Pedagogy and Workplace Learning in the University of Windsor’s Faculty of Education, Bonnie was an early MOOC researcher and ethnographer of Twitter. Bonnie’s current research interests include the data literacies of educators, and what it means to know, to learn, and to be a citizen in our current information ecosystem.