Alan Shapiro
Environmental Professional, Science Communicator
Alan Shapiro is a Vancouver-based environmental professional and science communicator with a particular interest in engaging the public and policymakers on water issues. He is co-founder and director of Science Slam Canada – a Canada-wide non-profit organization focused on science communication and outreach. Alan also teaches geography at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, serves on the Youth Advisory Board for Waterlution, and consults on a range of water resources projects. Alan holds a MSc in Environmental Engineering from Columbia University and a BSc in environmental Earth Science from the University of Alberta.
Angela Fama
Multidisciplinary Artist
After a near–fatal car accident, interdisciplinary artist Angela Fama has focussed her praxis on seeking unity through breaking down barriers surrounding “sticky” subjects. Recently, curiosity drove her to ask: What Is Love, a project in which she drove across North America in an RV/pop-up photo studio, individually interviewing over 300 passers-by. This investigation of love took her curiosity again to her greatest fear: death. Love and death are so interconnected it’s hard to see how love can exist without the presence of death so... Fama took it upon herself to start investigating the sticky subject of death and surprisingly, she found more joy and serenity in that quest than expected.
Ayla Gormley
Filmmaker, Photographer
Born in a small town between the borders of South Africa and Zimbabwe Ayla Gormley had a rather unconventional school experience growing up. From a young age she moved in and out of schools as her family immigrated to the United Kingdom and shortly after, to Canada. As she has made her way through a diverse range of school environments and systems she developed an understanding of the value of the opportunities schools give us. Now a film student at Emily Carr University of Art+Design she hopes to bring a new mindset to how we view and engage in school. Particularly art school.
Char Loro
Event Producer, Curator, Master of Ceremonies, Community Builder
Born in Manila, Philippines and raised in Canada, Char Loro is a creative producer, curator and master of ceremonies for live music and street dance events, immersive art experiences, and video production. She is very passionate about bringing people together to activate urban public spaces and create accessible platforms for street dancers and music artists to share their artistry with the general public. Char founded ShapeShifterStudio, a creative production company that collaborates with artists of various mediums; transforming spaces, designing interactive experiences, through live music and street dance events, as well as producing creative dance videos.
Claudia Hopkins
Interaction Designer
Claudia Hopkins is an Interaction Design student at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Her design interests span from inclusive design to designing for public service. Within her practice, she is dedicated to user research. She has worked in many areas across health care as a designer, communicator, and as a clinical researcher.
Janani Ramesh
Interaction Designer
Janani Ramesh is an interaction design student at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Having lived in India, the Netherlands and China over the past 21 years, Janani puts a lot of care and effort into understanding multicultural contexts and how they shape us. She takes pride in incorporating her cultural background in her writing and designing practice. With the ability to speak 5 languages—English, Tamil, Hindi, Dutch and Mandarin—she empathizes with those who feel the need to express themselves through the power of language, whether it be through speech or gestures.
Prakriti Mukhopadhyay
Visual and Service Designer
Prakriti Mukhopadhyay is a service designer pursuing her MDes at Emily Carr University of Art+Design (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Born and raised in India, Mukhopadhyay graduated with a degree in fashion and worked in the e- commerce industry for 6 years. During her time there, in 2014, India felt the full-boom of electronic commerce. Mukhopadhyay found herself asking which side of technology did her work reside? One that organizes information for its own short-term benefits or one that liberates. Back in design school, her work, now questions social acceptance and affordances in design and their implications in the face of globalization. Her research interest lies in designing a platform for geographically displaced immigrants to network and share culturally relevant knowledge to better integrate into society. Mukhopadhyay is presently co-designing this platform in collaboration with PICS, Surrey.
Sandra Han
Interaction Designer
Sandra Han is a digital product designer with a passion for creating meaningful social experiences between people and products. Her strong interest in digital product design grew while exploring designing communication tools. It grew into a passion for her to design and learn about the ways in which people interpret and communicate messages through different mediums in tech.
Speakers are subject to change.