Class Notes 2025

1970s

Ted Barris, Journalism ’71

“I began focusing on military history in the 1970s and have interviewed probably 6,000 veterans over the course of writing a dozen books about Canadians at Vimy, on D-Day, the liberation of the Netherlands, in the Korean War and the war in Afghanistan. I retired from teaching several years ago and now devote myself to writing and public speaking full-time (about 150 appearances a year). In 2024, Sutherland House Books published my 22nd book, Battle of Britain: Canadian Airmen in Their Finest Hour, about fighter pilots defending the skies over Britain from Nazi attack.”

1980s

Kevin Crowley, Journalism ’88

Kevin published his novel, Sir Middling U, a satire about contemporary campus culture. John Miller, TMU professor emeritus and former dean of journalism, said about the book: “Canadian academia has been ripe for satire for a long time. Sir Middling U enrols us in a master class and delivers the tongue-in-cheek lowdown on higher education.” Kevin will soon be retiring from a career in journalism and corporate communications. He and his wife Catherine plan to relocate from Ontario to the Gulf Islands, B.C.

Antoinetta Grassi, Design ’87

Montréal-based artist Antoinetta has been named a 2024 Guggenheim fellow by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in New York. She is the only Canadian recipient of the prestigious fellowship in the discipline of visual arts. Antoinetta’s abstract paintings have been featured in solo and group exhibitions at museums and galleries in Canada, the United States and Europe.

Michael Healey, Theatre Performance ’85

A longtime veteran of the Canadian theatre scene, Michael won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play for The Master Plan at Crow’s Theatre in Toronto, a satire about the attempt (and failure) to build a smart city in Toronto. It was his fifth Dora Mavor Moore award after winning four for his play The Drawer Boy along with a Governor General’s Award and a Chalmers Award. A former artist-in-residence at the Tarragon Theatre, Michael has also acted in numerous stage, TV and film productions.

Joe Mahoney, Media Production ’87

Joe wrote Adventures in the Radio Trade, a book about his career at CBC Radio. In a series of vignettes, the book describes his many years in the field, including the numerous Canadian luminaries he worked with and the complexities of creating sound effects.

Rob Watson, Electrical Engineering Technology ’85

“After 35 years designing electronics for the automotive industry, I’m still going strong and living in Germany. I’m presently in the works council and supervisory board trying to make the future work for colleagues. I’ve started a non-profit organization with my wife for therapeutics to support families regarding AD(H)S, MS, PTSD, depression, career coaching and so much more. Our blended family (my two kids plus my wife’s five, aged 15 to 31) keeps us busy and happy. TMU gave me what I needed to forge a great career here.”

Avard Woolaver, Photography ’84

Based in Brooklyn, N.S., Avard has been photographing people and places for nearly 40 years. His social landscape photographs capture moments frozen in time, often reminiscent of a bygone era. Avard’s work was shown in Toronto for the Contact Photography Festival, featuring around 250 digital images from his archives collections. He had a solo exhibit at ViewPoint Gallery in Halifax titled “Toronto Now and Then” and is working on a new self-published book of street photos from the 1980s called The Torontonians, an homage to Robert Frank’s 1959 book, The Americans.

1990s

Nick Ainis, Technology ’98

Co-founder and CEO of Fusioncorp Development Inc., Nick co-authored a new book with Charlie M. Wordsworth called Building Toronto’s Skyline. The book traces the evolution of the city’s residential towers from humble beginnings in the 19th century to today’s modern high rises.

Christopher Dennis, Theatre Production ’90

After 13 years as San Francisco Ballet’s director of production, Christopher returned to The National Ballet of Canada’s senior management team as director of production in August 2023. Chris served as resident lighting designer and lighting coordinator at the National Ballet for 14 years and has also worked with the Metropolitan Opera and Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project. Chris is also an accomplished lighting designer who has worked with the American Ballet Theatre, Stratford Festival, Shaw Festival, Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and West Australian Ballet.

Kathleen Lepidas, Publishing ’97

Kathleen (whose pen name is Kathleen Jones), a former book editor, is enjoying a successful second career as a novelist. Since she retired eight years ago, she has published two novels with two U.S. publishers. Her current novel, published by Legacy Book Press, is The War on Sarah Morris, about a middle-aged book editor who is struggling to hang onto her job in a bad economy.

Matt Shepherd, RTA ’95

Matt has been named the executive director of the Chess Institute of Canada, a registered charity that teaches children life skills through chess. The organization serves kids from all walks of life and across the economic spectrum, teaching resilience, critical thinking, fair play, strategy and more.

2000s

Joe Castaldo, Journalism ’06

Joe took home the gold award at the 2024 Digital Publishing Awards in the Best Science & Technology Storytelling category for his article, “Meet the gig workers making AI models smarter,” published in The Globe and Mail.

Russell Evans, Commerce ’04

Russell is the host of the award-winning Contributors podcast. Each episode, Russell engages with top executives to explore how they and their organizations are making strategic decisions today to secure a better and brighter future for Canada. Past guests have included Stephen Poloz, former governor of the Bank of Canada; Susan Black, CEO of the Conference Board of Canada and Rola Dagher (TMU honorary doctorate recipient, ’23), Global Channel chief at Dell Technologies.

Ryan Hader, Engineering ’05

“I started my own business, Icarus Aviation Engineering, 10 years ago, which has grown to over 20 people. We are a major competitor in the aerospace industry.”

Omar Ha-Redeye, Health Services Management ’05

Omar received the Accessibility Award at the 2023 City of Pickering Civic Awards for making significant or ongoing contributions, beyond legislative requirements, to the well-being and advancement of people with accessibility requirements. Omar was presented his award by Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe and City Councillor Lisa Robinson.

Colin Hunter, Journalism ’01

The Ref Didn’t See It! is the first-ever documentary celebrating wrestling’s unsung heroes in zebra stripes, the referees. The documentary follows Colin, creator of the wrestling satire site Kayfabe News, as he immerses himself in the world of wrestling, learning from veteran zebras of the ring. Colin was a reporter for The Waterloo Region Record for eight years, where he won a National Newspaper Award and a national science writing award, among other accolades. He then transitioned into scientific and academic communications, leading the communications team at Perimeter Institute, the world’s largest theoretical physics research centre.

Alice Whittaker, Theatre Performance ’09

A strong voice in the sustainability space, Alice is the executive director of Eco Ottawa, a non-for-profit organization committed to providing Ottawa residents tools and information to understand local environmental issues and promote environmental leadership. She hosts the Reseed podcast, which tells the stories of people who are “cultivating a world rooted in care, justice and well- being,” and released a book in September called Homing to commemorate Earth Day. The book is a memoir about how Alice left a commuter life in the city for a cabin in the woods.

Christine J. Whitlock, Journalism, ’03

In 2023, Christine published her first horror/comedy novella, Vampire Dentist, about a 24-hour dental office servicing humans during the day and vampires at night. Vampire Dentist is also a 90-minute indie feature film.

Nicole Winstanley, Publishing ’00

After nearly two decades at Penguin Random House Canada, Nicole took on the role of president and publisher at Simon & Schuster Canada. At Penguin, Nicole published acclaimed and bestselling books including Sarah Polley’s Run Toward the Danger, Mona Awad’s Bunny and Nita Prose’s international hit mystery book The Maid.

2010s

Kanika Ambrose, Performance ’11

Playwright, librettist and screenwriter Kanika Ambrose won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Theatre for Young Audiences, winning Outstanding New Play for Truth, which premiered at Young People’s Theatre. 

Derek Fisher, Arts and Contemporary Studies ’07, Literatures of Modernity ’10

“My collection of short stories called Container was published in July 2024, by With an X Books.”

Patrice Hall-Johnson, Early Childhood Education, ’10

A kindergarten teacher based in Ottawa, Ont., Patrice was awarded a 2023 Prime Minister’s Award in Teaching Excellence. Also a leader in teacher education, she is a course developer and professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa. Patrice is a mentor for the Black Educators Network (BEN) mentorship program, which seeks to welcome and support new Black educators in the Ottawa Catholic School Board. One parent said of her: “Through the adversities and struggles that come with a kindergarten classroom, Ms. Hall showers the children with love, maintains discipline with tenderness, and teaches with passion.”

Mansoor Haqanee, Electrical Engineering ’15

“I have recently published and co-authored a book titled Cloud Forensics Demystified, which provides insights and practical guidance on investigating cloud-based environments.”

Jasmin Mozaffari, Film Studies ’13

Jasmin’s film, Motherland, showed at TIFF 2023 and won the TIFF Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Film. The jury said of the film: “Displaying great mastery of craft, this incredibly ambitious film excels in its direction, performances, sound and picture, with every frame exhibiting love and intention.”

Joanne Smith-Wong, Architecture ’14

“I qualified as a registered architect (B.C.) in 2017. I’ve started working in the film and TV industry as a set designer/assistant art director, and have worked on Emmy and ADG-nominated shows such as Schmigadoon! and Yellowjackets. I design all sorts of things, from haunted houses, Annie-inspired orphanages, and a Sweeney Todd butcher shop. My daughter was born in February 2023, and this year of parental leave has also been an amazing and fulfilling experience!”

Thomas Swayne, Performance ’12

As a theatre producer, Thomas had reason to celebrate this past summer when smash hit Broadway musical Merrily We Roll Along was honoured with seven Tony nominations and four wins. Thomas was a producer on the exuberant Stephen Sondheim revival, the latest in an impressive run of productions he worked on including New York, New York, The Ferryman, The Piano Lesson and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at Toronto’s Ed Mirvish Theatre.

Leanne Toshiko Simpson, Professional Communication ’16

Leanne recently published her debut novel, Never Been Better. “It’s a novel deeply shaped by the mental health advocacy work I did at TMU, especially through a program-supported internship with SickNotWeak and the community support I had dealing with my bipolar disorder diagnosis as a graduate student.” Leanne, a mixed-race Yonsei writer, is currently an EdD candidate at OISE, where she is studying the intergenerational impact of Japanese Canadian internment. Named Scarborough’s Emerging Writer in 2016 and nominated for the Journey Prize in 2019, she co-founded a reflective writing program at Canada’s largest mental health hospital and teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto.

Maayan Ziv, RTA ’12, Digital Media ’15

Maayan received the Meritorious Service Cross from the Governor General for founding AccessNow, a platform that uses crowdsourcing to map the location of accessible restaurants, businesses, parks and public spaces.Maayan who lives with muscular dystrophy (MS) and uses a wheelchair, created the platform when she found a need for quick and easy-to-access accessibility information while trying to socialize with friends. It was further developed as a company at TMU’s Digital Media Zone and is now being used in over 10,000 cities and towns in 107 countries.

Sean Addis, Sport Media and MBA ’21

An active student leader during his time at TMU, Sean is bringing his talents to a new position as executive director for the Alphabet Sports Collective. This queer-led non- profit works to create a safe and inclusive environment in hockey for individuals of all sexual identities and gender expressions. 

Brandon Arkinson, Business Administration ’21 

Brandon received the Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General for his efforts to address homelessness and support vulnerable members in downtown Toronto. As a student at TMU, he founded Moving Hope, an organization that collects clothing left behind by students as they move out each semester and distributes the clothing to community shelters in the city. Brandon also received the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers for his work to stabilize and preserve hundreds of affordable student housing units that had been in jeopardy.

Bruce Avery, Engineering ’22

Bruce is the owner of Ecolawn Aerator and lives in Chatham, Ont., with his wife of 14 years and two sons. 

Ben Berman Ghan, Arts ’20

Ben is the author of The Years Shall Run Like Rabbits. This debut novel of literary speculative fiction spans centuries, covering humanity’s colonization of the moon, a war with alien beings, AI minds governing Canada and a giant spacefaring whale. It was named a top book to read by the Toronto Star.

Edward Choi, Ethics ’21

In 2024, Edward became a partner with boutique law firm Metcalfe, Lainey and Burns LLP in Markham, Ont., and was elected a bencher of the Law Society of Ontario. Through committee work and meetings, benchers set policy related to the governance of the Ontario’s lawyers and paralegals.

Cyrus Cooper, Hospitality and Tourism Management ’21

A professor at Centennial College, Cyrus was recently appointed as the CEO of The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. With more than 20 years of experience within the hospitality and higher education sectors in Canada, Cyrus has worked with some of the country’s most prestigious brands, including Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality, The Granite Club and Pusateri’s Fine Foods. He’s also a seasoned leader who holds committee roles within TMU and Trillium Health Partners.

Eno Hysi, Physics ’20

Eno, a scientist at the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science at St. Michael’s Hospital, has been awarded a Canada Research Chair in Quantitative Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Imaging. His research explores how advanced imaging innovations can be used to assess the quality of kidneys prior to transplantation into humans. Eno received his PhD from the Department of Physics at TMU, funded by an NSERC Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship and graduating with two Gold Medals in 2020.

Denee Rudder, Journalism ’22, Professional Communication ’23

Denee was a recipient for Canada’s Top 100 Black Women to Watch for 2023, issued by CIBWE (Canada International Black Women Excellence), an organization that recognizes incredible Black women who are making a difference in their fields. Her noteworthy accomplishments include the creation of an interactive map highlighting environmental racism in Canada for her major research project (MRP), as well as starting a sustainable self-care business, founding her own creative marketing agency, and serving on the board of directors for Enroute 2 Success.

In memoriam

Gay Cook, Hotel Resort and Restaurant Administration ’52

Gay died on Sept. 11, 2024, at the age of 93. She grew up in Ottawa, working in the catering division of her family’s food business. After graduation, she cooked, catered and ran commercial kitchens across Europe, the U.S. and South America. Gay became a beloved figure in Ottawa’s culinary community, writing a food column for the Ottawa Sun and a weekly “Taste of the Town” column for the Ottawa Citizen. In 2000, she published a cookbook, Mrs. Cook’s Kitchen, Basics and Beyond. Gay also freelanced for food magazines, consulted for cookware companies, made appearances on TV and radio shows and ran a cooking school.

William (Bill) Wingfelder, Electrical Engineering ’53

Bill died on Oct. 6, 2023. Born and raised in Toronto, Bill entered the workforce in sales, taking a job with General Electric and settling in Syracuse, N.Y., where he remained until retirement. Highlights of his career include travelling to Korea, Taiwan, Ecuador, Israel and Europe to service clients such as the U.S. Air Force, NATO and other international air forces.

Eileen Norman, Electronic Technology ’56

Eileen died on July 22, 2024, at the age of 89. The only woman in her Electronic Technology graduating class, Eileen was a trailblazer for women in technology. In the 1970s, Eileen’s passion became breeding champion standard poodles, and she founded Hamlex Kennels.

Norm Guilfoyle, RTA ’64

Norm died on June 28, 2024. After graduating, he worked as a radio sales rep and announcer. Then, caught by the travel bug, he visited 50 countries over four years in the 1970s. Having gained a new perspective on life, Norm became a writer, reporter and announcer for media outlets. Then he became managing editor of the CBC’s Radio Guide. Norm went on to a third successful career in fundraising and communications, at Ketchum Canada, Ken Wyman and Associates, TMU and CNIB.

Roger McTair, Film Studies ’76

Roger died on April 8, 2024, at the age of 80. A filmmaker, writer, poet and professor, Roger documented the lives and struggles of Black Canadians in a series of films he made from 1976 to 2000. His films include 1983’s Home Feeling: Struggle for a Community about police relations and employment challenges in Toronto’s Jane and Finch neighbourhood, 1987’s Home to Buxton, a chronicle of generational links to a southwestern Ontario village tied to the Underground Railroad, and 2000’s Journey to Justice, about discriminatory laws and practices. In 1993, Roger received an Award of Merit from the City of Toronto. In 2017, TMU’s School of Image Arts established the Roger McTair Student Filmmaker Award to support aspiring Black filmmakers.

Glen MacDonald, Diploma Ted Rogers School of Management ’83

Glen died on March 5, 2024, from pancreatic cancer. He spent his career in sports television, producing numerous Olympic and other worldwide events. He served as a leader at Headline Sports/The Score and Anthem Sports & Entertainment, producing and directing both live events and studio programming. In 2023, he won a Canadian Screen Award as part of the CBC Olympic group for the broadcaster’s coverage of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Louis March, Public Administration ’17

Louis died July 20, 2024, at the age of 68. He was a prominent anti-gun advocate in Toronto, working for decades to eradicate the threat of gun violence and support youth in the Greater Toronto Area. In 1979, he helped organize the Black Youth Conference in Toronto, which highlighted the issues of police brutality and anti- Black racism. After working in the financial sector for several decades, he returned to his roots, launching the Zero Gun Violence Movement and bringing 40 agencies and programs across the city together to advocate for governments to act on gun violence. Louis spent close to four decades volunteering with the African Canadian Heritage Association (ACHA). A lifelong learner, he attended TMU as a mature student in his late 50s.

Elizabeth Podnieks, Nurse educator at TMU

Elizabeth died on Feb. 2, 2024. A nurse educator at TMU from 1973 to 1995, Elizabeth was also a researcher, advocate and activist. In 1990, she was the principal investigator of the landmark National Survey of Elder Abuse in Canada. She founded or co-founded several organizations dedicated to raising awareness about the issue, including the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (CNPEA). Among her numerous publications, her last contribution was co-writing The Worldwide Face of Elder Abuse, a scholarly collection that was published in 2023 as she approached her 94th birthday.