Keynote Speaker

Marzyeh Ghassemi

Professor Marzyeh Ghassemi is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto in Computer Science and Medicine, and a Vector Institute faculty member holding a Canadian CIFAR AI Chair. Previously, she was a Visiting Researcher with Alphabet's Verily and post-doc with Dr. Peter Szolovits at MIT. Her PhD research at MIT focused on creating and applying machine learning algorithms towards improved prediction and stratification of human risks, with clinical collaborations at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital, encompassing unsupervised learning, supervised learning, and structured prediction. Her work has been applied to estimating the physiological state of critically ill patients, modeling the need for an intervention, and diagnosing phonotraumatic voice disorders. Prior to MIT, she received an MSc. in biomedical engineering from Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar, and B.S. degrees in computer science and electrical engineering as a Goldwater Scholar at New Mexico State University.

Panelists

Soneeka Patel

Doina Oncel

Soneeka is a Strategic Revenue Lead within Google’s Global Partnerships Team. She works with Canada’s largest Broadcasters, powering the evolution of their business through revenue growth and innovation. With a passion for driving change, Soneeka ha… — Soneeka is a Strategic Revenue Lead within Google’s Global Partnerships Team. She works with Canada’s largest Broadcasters, powering the evolution of their business through revenue growth and innovation. With a passion for driving change, Soneeka has worked with large organizations to transform and grow their business in the digital era. She also sits on the board for the National Media Awards and is the Communications Lead for Women@Global Partnerships, a group dedicated to promoting equality. Outside of work, you’ll find her on a plane or spin bike, living by the motto “if you tone, down, life can’t hear you.”

Danyao Wang

Shirin Merchant

Veronica Tsou

Veronica is a litigator at Lenczner Slaght LLP, specializing in intellectual property litigation. Veronica has worked with pharmaceutical and high-tech companies to protect their technology, asserting and defending patents in the Federal Court of Ca… — Veronica is a litigator at Lenczner Slaght LLP, specializing in intellectual property litigation. Veronica has worked with pharmaceutical and high-tech companies to protect their technology, asserting and defending patents in the Federal Court of Canada. Veronica also works on resolving trade-marks, copyright, and trade secret disputes. Veronica completed her Nanotechnology Engineering degree at the University of Waterloo before making the decision to switch into law, where she did research on nanoscale materials.

Sheila mcilraith

Rahemeen Ahmed

Jeanette Stock

Rahemeen Ahmed is a third year Civil Engineering student at the University of Toronto and is currently a structural intern at Hatch, where her work involves using programming to standardize structural calculations and analysis as well as exploring programming and automation in 3D modeling software. She is also the Conference Director for Events for Women in Science and Engineering, where she helped coordinate inspirational women in engineering and technology for the 2019 conference and previously, the Team Captain and Project Manager for the University of Toronto Seismic Design Team, designing a scale-model structure and testing it for earthquake resilience.

Jeanette Stock is Platform Director at Highline BETA, a company that invests in and builds early-stage tech ventures. She is also co-founder and a board member at Venture Out, Canada’s first and largest conference for LGBTQIA+ folks in technology an… — Jeanette Stock is Platform Director at Highline BETA, a company that invests in and builds early-stage tech ventures. She is also co-founder and a board member at Venture Out, Canada’s first and largest conference for LGBTQIA+ folks in technology and startups. Jeanette is an alumna of Venture for Canada and of Queen’s University, and is the 2017 Inspire Awards “TELUS LGBTQ Innovator of the Year”.

Aliya Sadeque

Karen Chan

Karen is a Professional Engineer who began her career as a Sales and Applications Engineer, then was an automotive engineer with assignments spanning quality engineering, manufacturing, product design, new product launch and government relations. Ka… — Karen is a Professional Engineer who began her career as a Sales and Applications Engineer, then was an automotive engineer with assignments spanning quality engineering, manufacturing, product design, new product launch and government relations. Karen’s career also includes managing digital ad systems, technology consulting, and is currently an Agile Coach and Senior Manager at TD. In addition to graduating from Mechanical Engineering, Karen also holds a BA in English and an MBA. As a volunteer, Karen is the Past-President and Chair of OSPE, Past-Chair for PEO - Lake Ontario, International Ambassador for the Society of Women Engineers, and Chair of hEr VOLUTION. Karen was recognized by the Ontario Women’s Directorate with a Leading Women, Leading Girls award in 2016.

Ria lupton

avanti ramachandran

As the founder of Canadian Community Builders, a non-profit focused on connecting and supporting Toronto’s community advocates, Ria works with emerging entrepreneurs and tech leaders to build inclusive communities. When not overseeing marketing at G… — As the founder of Canadian Community Builders, a non-profit focused on connecting and supporting Toronto’s community advocates, Ria works with emerging entrepreneurs and tech leaders to build inclusive communities. When not overseeing marketing at GrowthGenius where she works, she’s volunteering with SheWorx Toronto, Inspiring Fifty and helping launch Women Who Code Toronto and Girls in Tech Toronto while also serving on the board of Code for Canada (an agency that connects developers with government agencies to improve public services).

Avanti is a seasoned digital marketing professional currently working as a Customer Success Manager at HootSuite, a leading online social media management platform. Enabling customer experience optimization through digital has been core to Avanti’s career—prior to joining Hootsuite, she held a variety of sales and marketing roles at CIBC Digital, Aimia Canada, and Mondelez International. Avanti is a UTS graduate (Class of 2009), Shad Valley Alumna (‘07) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University. You can also talk to her about sustainable fashion, keeping active, and culinary travel!

melicent lavers-sailly

bridget zhang

Bridget is a Senior Associate at SVX, part of the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing. She works with purpose-driven ventures and funds seeking to change the world through tech-enabled, scalable solutions and with investors seeking to match their money with meaning. She leads venture pipeline management and due diligence, drives content creation and delivery for start-up programming offered through SVX, and structures alternative financing strategies for social enterprises. Previously, Bridget covered SaaS and hardware TSX ventures in institutional equity research at Paradigm Capital.

Melicent Lavers-Sailly is Head of Communications and Corporate Marketing at Medtronic Canada, Co-Chair of Emerging Health Leaders Toronto, and a member of the TOHealth! Marketing Working Group. She has a track record of developing and implementing a… — Melicent Lavers-Sailly is Head of Communications and Corporate Marketing at Medtronic Canada, Co-Chair of Emerging Health Leaders Toronto, and a member of the TOHealth! Marketing Working Group. She has a track record of developing and implementing award-winning integrated stakeholder engagement strategies and has spoken and written about emerging technologies and value-based healthcare. Prior to Medtronic, Melicent was VP, Reports & Consulting at one of Canada’s fastest growing companies, a market research firm specializing in the medical technology industry. She graduated summa cum laude with an Honours BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a Shad Fellow.

Naomi Matsuura

louisa bai

Louisa is former equities trader, turned FinTech enthusiast and is currently leading Deloitte Canada’s Blockchain practice as the National Market Lead. She works with a group of strategy specialists engaged in assisting clients to understand and apply blockchain /distributed ledger technology (DLT) concepts to their business models, technology infrastructure and operating processes. Ms. Bai has over a decade of experience in the financial services industry across Canada, the US and Asia, specifically in Capital Markets. Since moving back to Toronto from Hong Kong in 2016, Louisa has developed an enthusiasm for disruptive technologies and their intersection with enterprise-wide initiatives.

Naomi Matsuura is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, working at the interface of engineering and medicine. Her research focuses on using medical imaging radiation to image and treat cancer. She is also passionate about alleviating … — Naomi Matsuura is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, working at the interface of engineering and medicine. Her research focuses on using medical imaging radiation to image and treat cancer. She is also passionate about alleviating geographic, financial, cultural and social barriers to engineering and STEM education. Naomi is a member of the Africa Materials Research Society (AMRS), the Immediate Past Chair of Women in Molecular Imaging Network (WIMIN), and Vice-Chair for an NGO that partners with hospitals in the DRC to help provide urgently-needed medical supplies to the local population.

Jackie Zhang

Mercedes Delgado

Mercedes began her career in Spain in 1999 as a 3D Generalist for animated films. Mercedes has a passion for and specializes in lighting and shading. She understands and loves how light and colour work together to tell stories. She moved into workin… — Mercedes began her career in Spain in 1999 as a 3D Generalist for animated films. Mercedes has a passion for and specializes in lighting and shading. She understands and loves how light and colour work together to tell stories. She moved into working on feature-length films in London, England. Moreover, she is currently works in the film & television industry in Canada as a 3D Lighting Artist. She has worked on films such as *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* (2002), *King Arthur* (2004), *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory* (2005), *V for Vendetta* (2005), and *Into the Badlands* (2015-2019), among others. Mercedes has a Masters Degree in Image Synthesis from Illes Balears University, (MAISCA, Spain). And also, Mercedes loves children and is a Primary School Teacher by trade. She has a thirst for knowledge and never stops learning new techniques, software and tools to create content. Lately in her spare time, she has merged her two careers as an artist and teacher to create a virtual reality into an immersive educational piece, found here: (https://dmerche.wixsite.com/3dartist/unreal-engine-wo

With a B.A. in traditional animation from the Jilin Animation Institute in China, Jackie began her career in 2D animation in 2011. However, she understood the importance of evolving with the industry, and decided to come to Canada to earn her diplom… — With a B.A. in traditional animation from the Jilin Animation Institute in China, Jackie began her career in 2D animation in 2011. However, she understood the importance of evolving with the industry, and decided to come to Canada to earn her diploma in Computer Animation and Digital Characters from Sheridan College where she mastered 3D design. With her passion for the technical side of animation fully realized, Jackie opted to remain in Canada where she started her new career in 3D animation in the visual effects industry for film and TV. She had worked for a number of world-renowned studios in roles such as Rigging TD, and Senior Character Effects Artist (CFX), including Mr. X, ToonBox Entertainment, and MPC, before finding her new home at SPINVFX. Jackie’s credits include Ben-Hur (2016), and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), Nightflyers (Syfy/Netflix), and the upcoming Godzilla: King of Monsters (2019). Ever the artist, Jackie enjoys handcrafting in her spare time, along with cooking and spending time with her beloved cat, Noodles.

helen oakley

ryla mutiger

Ryla is an Algorithm Design Development Engineer at General Motors. She designs and develops On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) compliant controls, diagnostic strategies and algorithms for safety and emissions related components using a model based software.… — Ryla is an Algorithm Design Development Engineer at General Motors. She designs and develops On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) compliant controls, diagnostic strategies and algorithms for safety and emissions related components using a model based software. She utilizes a hardware in the loop bench for integration testing and works cross functionally with calibrators to execute software for various programs. Ryla went to school at Ontario Tech University and has a bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with a mechatronics specialization. Outside of work, you can find Ryla rock climbing, camping, hiking or travelling.

Helen is a Security Product Owner in SAP where she is responsible for security of financial services web applications portfolio, insurance and banking. Helen has been in software development for 11 years and working on cybersecurity related activiti… — Helen is a Security Product Owner in SAP where she is responsible for security of financial services web applications portfolio, insurance and banking. Helen has been in software development for 11 years and working on cybersecurity related activities for the past five years or so.
Aside of her primary work, Helen is a cybersecurity enthusiast. She is organizing Leading Cyber Ladies meetup in Toronto for women who want to learn more about cybersecurity, providing them with mentoring opportunities and public speaking opportunities. Helen’s goal is to close the gender gap in our vibrant cyber field.
On a similar topic of closing overall professional gap in cybersecurity, Helen is volunteering for HackStudent.com by providing educational sessions for kids in ethical hacking, staying safe online and career advice.

radhika kartha

Heather anne ritchie

Radhika Kartha is a Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) engineer in General Motors. She develops real-time simulations for different vehicles to aid regression testing of safety and emissions related controllers. This helps innovative technologies to reach c… — Radhika Kartha is a Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) engineer in General Motors. She develops real-time simulations for different vehicles to aid regression testing of safety and emissions related controllers. This helps innovative technologies to reach customers faster, with better test coverage than traditional in-vehicle testing and more accurate than offline computer simulations. Radhika completed her Bachelor’s in Mechatronics Engineering from Manipal University, India. During her Master’s in University of Waterloo she led the University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team (UWAFT) that focused on converting a Camaro into a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). Radhika is passionate about fixing cars and loves every opportunity she gets to work with power tools and in a garage.