Past Networking Week Hosts

Alyssa Martens (she/her)
Program Manager, ArtStarts in Schools
Writing Workshop Facilitator, DAREarts; Megaphone Magazine; Arts & Health: Healthy Aging Through the Arts
Alyssa Martens (she/her) is the Program Manager of Public Programs at ArtStarts in Schools, where she curates bi-annual exhibitions with/for young people in alignment with the BC Curriculum, First Peoples Principles of Learning, and that centre place-based and inquiry-based pedagogies. In this role, she also oversees all family programming and ArtStarts' artist-in-residence program for early career artists. Outside of her role at ArtStarts, she is funded by the Canada Council of the Arts to spend one day per week writing and researching the effects of climate change in the Arctic, and turning this research into poetry.
My education: BFA from Concordia University, MEd in Education for Sustainability from UBC
My LinkedIn profile

Kay Slater (they/them)
Program Facilitator, Preparator (art handler/gallery installations), ArtStarts in Schools
Kay works at ArtStarts to develop and challenge the traditional gallery experience to reflect the ever changing and ever present need for public space, specifically focused on accessibility and youth. Working both as a facilitator for ArtStarts public programming, and as a digital creator, Kay is passionate about making space for hands-on, process-based learning and critical thinking for humans of all ages. Kay has been designing and building gallery exhibitions for ArtStarts In Schools (as well as other galleries on unceded Coast Salish Land) for the past 5+ years. Kay founded and leads the weekly online programming ArtStarts Explores; our province at play, which can be found here: https://artstarts.com/explores-online . Kay also produced the community workshops series Non-Auditory Access: Captions and Transcripts in partnership with grunt gallery and ArtStarts In Schools in 2021 as a free, low barrier co-learning series. They continue to work as an accessibility consultant for multiple organizations including the city of Vancouver.
My education: Emily Carr Certificate of Fine Arts, UVic English/French Literature, VCC College (ASL)
My lived experience: Employed as an Arts Worker for 10 years at Contemporary Art Gallery (CAG), Richmond Art Gallery, Gallery Gachet, grunt gallery (current), Roundhouse Community Centre, and Carnegie Community Centre and DTES Small Arts Grants Program (current).
My LinkedIn profile

Mel Carroll (she/they)
Research, development, and chase producer for TV

Mel Carroll (she/they) is a queer writer with a PhD in English and Cultural Studies, specializing in LGBTQ+ loneliness and the politics of queer emotions. They currently work as a researcher, writer, chase producer and developer for TV. They have just completed their first fiction novel and a book proposal based on their thesis and are shopping for management. Their fiction and personal essays have appeared in places including “The New Quarterly,” “The Matador Review” and “The Rumpus.”

Aftab Erfan (she/her)
Chief Equity Officer, City of Vancouver
As the head of the Equity Office I provide leadership, coordination, monitoring, and advisory supports to advance diversity, inclusion, decolonization and anti-oppression within the City of Vancouver. The Equity Office acts as an expertise hub, and drives strategic change initiatives to shift the City’s internal structures and workplace culture in the direction of equity. The core purpose of the Equity Office is to reverse marginalization. We work at the systemic level on behalf of those who have been institutionally excluded.
My education: PhD in Community and Regional Planning
My LinkedIn profile
I'm from an equity-deserving group: I identify as a racialized woman.

Belle Cheung (she/her)
Senior Manager, Strategic Initiatives (City of Vancouver, City Manager’s Office), City of Vancouver
- Working across urban/community planning, cultural, social, and heritage planning with anti-racist and equity-informed approaches to develop policies and planning practices that serve equity-denied communities.

Henry John (he/they)
Kaatza Station Museum and Archives; Heritage Branch of the British Columbia Government

Henry John is a British settler currently living and working on unceded Nuu-Chah-Nulth and Coast Salish territories. He completed his doctoral dissertation in 2023, writing on the shifting relationship between Vancouver Island woodworkers and environmental movements during the latter half of the twentieth century.

Henry has spent the last four years working at the Kaatza Station Museum in Lake Cowichan, originally through the UBC Arts PhD Co-Op Program and later in a permanent position. His responsibilities have included managing and publicizing an enormous archive of forestry labour movement records, fundraising, and facilitating the museum's relationship with the local Ts'uubaa-asatx people.

He begins a new position in the Heritage Branch of the British Columbia Government in March, and would be delighted to discuss the hiring process for BC Public Service Jobs.

Joe Bardsley (he/him)
Coordinator, Music Programs, Creative BC
I am a grants manager and program coordinator for Creative BC, a provincially-aligned music funding agency.
My education: BA, Journalism (Mount Royal University, 2006)
My LinkedIn profile
I'm from an equity-deserving group: I am a gay male.

Leif Schenstead-Harris (he/him)
Acting Manager/Senior Policy Analyst, Environment and Climate Change Canada - Strategic Policy Branch

Advisor, Environment and Climate Change Canada (Deputy Minister’s Office) Responsible for policy advice related to the mandate of Environment and Climate Change Canada; formerly responsible for strategic policy related to the Federal Sustainable Development Act (ie., Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, progress reporting, etc)
My education: BA (English, Saskatchewan), MA (English, Dalhousie); MPPPA (Concordia), PhD (Western)

Marybeth Curtin (she/her)
Manager, Secretary of the Cabinet Communications, Ontario Public Service
Marybeth Curtin is currently a Senior Advisor, Engagement & Creative, in the Associate Deputy Minister’s Office of ServiceOntario. She received her PhD in English Literature from the University of Toronto in 2011 and has worked in a variety of internal and external communications roles in the Ontario Government since then. In her spare time, Marybeth is also a member of Burlington, Ontario’s Mundialization Committee, which seeks to promote international relations, strengthen partnerships and educate citizens about Burlington’s sister city relationships. She is happy to talk about her experience in communications and what it’s like to transition from academia to public service roles.
My education: PhD, English, University of Toronto
My LinkedIn profile

Annika Rosanowski (she/her)
Business Development Advisor, Mitacs

Annika (PhD) has nearly 10 years of experience working in academia, supporting research activities and research partnerships. She is currently a Business Development Advisor for Mitacs, and has actively developed long-standing, and innovative partnerships with researchers and communities, municipalities, and not-for-profits. She is currently co-funded by SFU FASS and also works closely with UBC and Emily Carr. She focuses on emergency management, interactive arts, and Indigenous engagement.

Brianna Wells (she/her)
Research Development Officer, UBC-O

Brianna Wells holds a PhD in English from the University of Alberta (2017), where her doctoral research focused on the mediated circulation of opera in early twentieth century North America. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at UAlberta’s Sound Studies Institute, she joined the research development team at UBC Okanagan in 2018. As a Research Development Officer, her work is balanced among 1) offering one-on-one support for Social Sciences and Humanities faculty at any stage of their project development, 2) development and delivery of grant-specific supports for SSHRC research funding opportunities (including writing workshops, offering reviews, and supporting application logistics), and 3) providing high level strategic support for leadership at the Department, Faculty, and central units of UBC regarding initiatives and priorities for advancing research capacity in the humanities and social sciences. One of her favorite parts of the job is being part of the moments where nascent ideas bloom into research projects of all shapes and sizes.

Carolyn Veldstra (she/her)
Manager, Graduate Work-Integrated Learning Programs, Faculty of Arts, UBC

Carolyn graduated with a PhD (2014) in English and Cultural Studies (she wrote her dissertation on cynicism) and completed a post-doc in which she looked at the intersection of affective labour and precarious work. Carolyn now works in a student-facing and programming role in higher education, i.e. she runs the Arts Amplifier and PhD Co-op program for graduate students in the Faculty of Arts. She has past work experience in grant support, and project management. She is happy to talk about job searching with a PhD, career ambiguity, unlearning after a PhD, finding jobs in a new city, career paths in higher education, intellectual fulfillment in non-academic jobs, strategies for figuring out what you might want to do, not knowing what you want to do, the "two body problem" as an dual academic couple, cultivating relationships outside of the university, balancing parenting with career… and whatever else you might be interested in talking about!

Carolyn's education: PhD in English and Cultural Studies from McMaster University.
My LinkedIn Profile

Danielle Barkley (she/her)
Educator, Career & Professional Development, UBC Centre for Involvement & Careers
I graduated with my PhD in English literature (19th century novels) in 2015, and now work in a student-facing/advising role in higher education. I also have a small freelance side hustle writing online study guides. I’m happy to talk about job searching with a PhD, mobility/geography in the job search, career paths in higher education, intellectual fulfillment in non-academic jobs, side hustles/freelance work… and anything else that you might have questions about!
My education: PhD in English Literature from McGill University
My LinkedIn profile

Heidi Rennert (she/her)
Grants Editor, Arts Amplifier, UBC; PhD Candidate, English

Heidi is the grants editor at Arts Amplifier, supporting graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the Arts seeking grants support and funding opportunities for self-directed projects and work-integrated learning experiences. She is also a PhD candidate in English and the Science and Technology Studies program at UBC. She has had lots of experience as a Co-op student as well, completing work terms at the Knowledge Exchange and Public Humanities Hub, where she supported public-facing Arts programming, grants applications, and graduate student professional development. Come talk to her about exploring career skills and opportunities during graduate school!

Lilian Higashikata (she/her)
Global Engagement Associate Advisor, Go Global, UBC

Lilian is a Global Engagement Associate Advisor at Go Global: International Learning Programs. Her work paves global connections by creating transformative learning opportunities for students at home and abroad. She advises and coordinates many aspects of the student experience and engagement, whether it be program selection, admissions procedures, orientation events, and academic transition support. Seeing students thrive and succeed in their academic journeys brings her great happiness and inspires her to remain dedicated to her work. As an Arts Amplifier alumnus, Lilian is honoured to give back to the program this year! Having been a recent graduate student herself, she has firsthand insight into the joys and challenges of pursuing a career in higher education. Lilian looks forward to sharing her experiences navigating transitions between academia and work in higher education. Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/higashikata/

Mathieu Aubin(he/him)
Business Development Advisor, Mitacs
Mathieu Aubin completed his PhD in Interdisciplinary studies at The University of British Columbia focusing on the influence of literary small presses in Vancouver on queer social movements. He is now working as a Business Development Advisor with Mitacs where he works closely with Concordia faculty members and students in the social sciences, humanities, and arts in developing their research partnership projects. He would be happy to chat about graduate school as well as life after graduate school in academic and alt-academic fields.
My Education: PhD, Interdisciplinary Studies, UBC

Rebecca Dirnfeld (she/her)
Career Educator, UBC Career Centre

Rebecca Dirnfeld holds an MA in History and is a Career Educator who works with the UBC Career Centre to support graduate students at UBC. She also has a Career and Work Counselling Diploma from George Brown College. Her past experience includes leading the graduate student career education portfolio for graduate studies and managing the MBA careers team at Toronto Metropolitan University, and providing career advising to business students as a team member of SFU’s Beedie Career Management Centre. Rebecca is also a part-time graduate student in UBC’s EDST MA program. LinkedIn profile.

Erin Williams (she/her)
Senior Program Manager, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
Erin Williams is a Senior Program Manager at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada), a not-for-profit think tank focused on building Canada’s relations with the countries and peoples of the Asia Pacific. In her role at APF Canada, she focuses on developing programming that builds young Canadians’ skills and knowledge of contemporary Asia. She previously worked for the Canadian Member Committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific, including acting as Associate Editor of its annual flagship publication. She has also worked in Adult Basic Education, specifically in the area of English-language skills for new immigrants and refugees. Erin has graduate degrees in International Relations and Asia Pacific Policy Studies, and a B.A. with a double major in Asian Studies and Hispanic Studies.
My education:  M.A. Asia Pacific Policy Studies (UBC), M.A. International Relations (Boston University), B.A. Asian Studies, Hispanic Studies
My LinkedIn profile

Jacky Leung (he/him)
Program Director, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation
A UBC Arts graduate with major in Economics and minor in philosophy, Jacky joined the non-profit industry by chance as a result of his participation in student clubs. He applied many transferable skills learned throughout his undergraduate years in supporting newcomers and immigrant seniors from settlement support to health education. Currently he is a program director at S.U.C.C.E.S.S., supporting a wide range of programs and services from volunteer management to digital literacy education.
My education: BA from UBC (2011)
My LinkedIn profile
I'm from an equity-deserving group: I'm East Asian, originating from Hong Kong

Dan Pon (he/him)
Librarian and Archives Manager, Langara College
Dan Pon is a librarian at Langara College and the Archives Manager at grunt gallery on unceded Coast Salish territories know as Vancouver. He works to preserve and activate material and non-material culture and is interested in the practice of artists intervening in archives, liberatory community archives, and imaginative models at the intersection of visual arts and information science. Dan has a Masters of Library and Information Science degree (2012) from UBC.
My Education: MS, Library and Information Science, UBC

John Estabillo (he/him)
Publisher, Nelson Education
As literacy and social studies publisher for Nelson, I research how to best support K-12 teachers across Canada and create business cases for new publications to provide that support in digital and print media. I then work with subject matter experts, authors, educators, editors, and reviewers to launch approved projects.
My education: PhD - English, University of Toronto (2017)
My LinkedIn profile
I am a mixed-race person of colour, but I am not sure if my personal experience meets the criteria for equity-deserving.

Annie Moore (she/her)
Research Education and Grant Facilitator, Island Health
I manage Island Health’s internal granting program, and identify external funding by maintaining a list of current opportunities, seeking funds for specific projects, and supporting applicants through the process. I also organize and advertise workshops, lectures, and other collaborative learning opportunities, and manage departmental communications.
Managing Editor, Postmodern Culture
I am responsible for tracking and responding to all submissions and queries; communicating with the editor, authors, board members, and journal staff; coordinating reviews, edits, and final proofs of accepted submissions; and finalizing each issue for online publication in a timely manner.
Founder and Editor, The Magic Word
Please see the above link for information about the services I offer through The Magic Word.
My education: BA (Hons) English and History, UBC; MA Peace Studies, Lancaster University (England); MA and PhD Comparative Literature, University of California at Irvine
My LinkedIn profile
I'm from an equity-deserving group: I am a woman.

Craig Gill (he/him)
UX Researcher

Craig Gill is a UX researcher for Spatial Research & Design in Vancouver. He holds a PhD in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Craig transitioned out of academia after receiving his doctorate in 2023 but still engages with historical work where possible. His book, Caddying on the Color Line, is forthcoming on Back Nine Press this year. He can share his experiences transitioning out of academia.

Nicole Esligar (she/her)
Program Manager, BC Children's and Women's Hospitals

Nicole currently works as Program Manager, Indigenous Patient and Family Experience at BC Children’s and Women’s Hospitals. She is Anishinaabe on her mother’s side, with her family roots in the Sandy Bay Reserve in Lake Manitoba’s Treaty One territory, and is Scottish and German on her father’s side. She moved to Vancouver in 2015 to pursue her Masters of Arts in Political Science, and after working Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside community for several years afterwards in drug policy research, she became passionate about decolonizing healthcare and health research practices for Indigenous communities. She has a background in Phase I and Phase II Clinical Trial Management, along with several years of research experience in the fields of emergency medicine and psychiatry. She now lives in Tsawwassen First Nations territory with her partner and her dog.

Nicole would be happy to discuss what it is like being an Indigenous student in a colonial system and a woman in a male-dominated field, transitioning to a field that is not connected to my academic training, working in Indigenous Health and in DEI spaces and in healthcare and research.

Elissa Gurman (she/her)
Managing Consultant, MacPhie Consulting
- I develop and maintain relationships with key clients, serving as a trusted advisor who listens to, understands, and responds to client needs.
- I collaborate with internal team members and external partners to develop and deliver team and leadership development programs, strategic planning, strategic communications, brand definitions, qualitative research, and executive facilitation.
- I actively contribute to a positive internal culture, through mentorship and supervision of junior team members, as well as defining relevant internal systems and processes.
My education: PhD (English) from the University of Toronto; MA (English) from Dalhousie University; BA Hons (English) from McGill University.
My LinkedIn profile

Erica Machulak (she/her)
Founder, Hikma Consulting

Erica Machulak (she/her), PhD, is the Founder and Lead Facilitator of Hikma, a social impact startup with a mission to mobilize scholarship for the public good through consulting, capacity building, and storytelling. Over the past two years, Hikma clients have secured $6M+ in research funding, informed new policies, and published their work in media outlets such as Forbes and the CBC.

As a writer, editor, and facilitator, Erica believes that the world needs to hear more from people who resist easy answers. Since completing her dissertation on Arabic influences in medieval English literature, Erica has written articles for Inside Higher Ed, Intellect Ltd, and Humanities, the magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities. She holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the University of Oxford (MSt.), and the University of Notre Dame (PhD).

Visit the Hikma "About Our Founder" page to learn more about Erica and the Hikma Collective: https://www.hikma.studio/founder

Letitia Henville (she/her)
Freelance Editor

Letitia Henville is a book nerd, bad swimmer, and the author of the monthly academic writing advice column "Ask Dr. Editor” for University Affairs. She works full-time as a freelance editor of academic writing. She specializes in editing for faculty members in the health sciences, education, social sciences, and humanities, with a special focus on grant applications and tenure and promotion dossiers. Learn more about Letitia at letitiahenville.com

Letitia can share insight into how to break into providing support for researchers in universities and how to get into working for yourself. She would also be happy to chat with people who have no idea what they want to do after grad school.