Name Bio

Ms. Karen Whitney, MCIP, RPP, Regional Municipality of York

Ms. Karen Whitney, Director of Community Planning and Development, Planning and Economic Development Branch, and Corporate Services of York Region is responsible for leading the integration of land use planning with infrastructure delivery for the Region’s emerging growth areas; for implementing the Regional Official Plan and other related policies; for promoting, advocating and protecting Regional interests through the planning process; and for providing for the Branch’s business planning, financial and budget services, technology supports and administrative services.

Mr. Craig Lane, Architect AIBC, MRAIC, HCMA Architecture + Design

Mr. Craig Lane is an Associate and Technical Director at HCMA. His mandate is to provide high quality design and the consistent, thorough construction documentation needed to support it. He oversees the quality control and technical review processes across our practice with a detail-oriented and rigorous approach. He has been a Program Director for Construction Specifications Canada, an Intern Mentor for the AIBC, Sessional Instructor and Studio Critic for the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada’s Syllabus Program, a Coordinator for the MacMillan Bloedel Lectures on Architecture, and the Alcan Lectures on Architecture. With over 25 years of experience, he is a creative and versatile architect proficient in all phases of design spanning project types from educational (including post-secondary) to recreational facilities.

Dr. John Zelek, BASc, MASc, PhD, Systems Engineering Professor from Waterloo, Associate Professor and Co-Director of the VIP (Vision Image Processing) Lab, Ontario, Canada

Dr. John Zelek is an Associate Professor and co-director of the VIP (Vision Image Processing) lab. He was formerly the Associate Graduate Chair of Systems Design Engineering, serving from 2013 to 2017. current main research interests include autonomous robotic mapping and localization, 3D scene understanding, man made infrastructure assessment (e.g., roads, buildings, bridges), eye (fundus, OCT) image understanding for disease, learning 3D models from single-views, athletic sport tracking & biomechanical understanding of play & ability from video feeds, to name a few. Some of these projects make use of AI & deep learning techniques. Professor Zelek has been the co-founder of two startup companies: Tactile Sight and Sweep3D. Tactile Sight commercialized a haptic navigation device for people who are cognitively (e.g., dementia) or perceptually (e.g., blind) disabled. Sweep3D commercialized technology that produces 3D models by sweeping a camera around objects or spaces for various applications including clothes fitting, orthotics as well as well as exploring real estate premises remotely. Professor Zelek also sits on the advisory boards for Intelligent Health Solutions Inc. and EyeCheck.

Ms. Kim Huntley, Manager, North York Central Library

Ms. Kim Huntley is the manager of the North York Central Library, a local branch of the Toronto Public Library.

Ms. Eda Conte-Pitcher, Library Service Manager, North York Central Library

Ms. Eda Conte-Pitcher is the library service manager of the North York Central Library, a local branch of the Toronto Public Library.

Dr. Brenda Vrkljan, MCiSc, PhD, Professor of Rehabilitation Science & Occupational Therapy, McMaster University

Dr. Brenda Vrkljan is a professor of occupational therapy. She received her M.Cl.Sc. in Occupational Therapy and her Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Science from Western University. Informed by the principles of aging-in-place and universal design, Dr. Vrkljan’s research focus is on driver rehabilitation and community mobility across the lifespan, as well as technology use and participation in older adulthood. She is the lead investigator of the McMaster-Candrive team, a longitudinal study funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, and is co-investigator on the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Mr. William Wiles, Hearing Officer, Town of Whitby, Parking Operations Supervisor, York University

Mr. William Wiles is a hearing officer for the town of Whitby, and a parking operations supervisor at York University. He conducts administrative reviews of parking infractions issued in the Town of Whitby. He is also responsible for the leadership, supervision and team management, and for ensuring service excellence in all aspects of Parking Control, Traffic and Enforcement Operations at York University. Provides staff training and quality control oversight for field operations.

Mr. Adamo Donatucci, Regional Vice-President, Park Indigo, Canada

Mr. Adamo Donatucci is the Regional Vice-President for Park Indigo Canada. He has been acknowledged for his friendly and approachable disposition as an authority figure and decisive decision maker. He has a comprehensive understanding of parking facility management, which includes ground transportation, ancillary services, and HR management. He is a self-starter and focused team builder/leader who meticulously oversees and monitors ongoing transactions, flow of operations and who evaluates processes and systems. Adamo is a visionary offering a more than 25 years of career delivering excellence in performance and quota-surpassing revenue gains. He is a project management expert, with recurring success renewing contracts through enhanced operating efficiencies.

Mr. Ron Cassar, Software Management, Pegmatis Inc.

Mr. Cassar has extensive multinational leadership experience with an array of domains including internet-of-things, smart control, smart TV, mobile, telecommunications, and document/content management. He has worked with Bell Northern Research, Nortel, Siemens, and Flextronics. Among Mr. Cassar’s many career accomplishments is leading the software engineering organization at Jamdeo, where he delivered VIDAA to reestablish Hisense as the number one Smart TV solution in China. He also managed the organization that delivered the system software for the IMERJ dual-screen Android phone. His greatest strength is his ability to take a concept and break through technical, staffing, and/or mental barriers to generate momentum for ground-breaking technology. He leads his teams to achieve unparalleled software quality through proper design, development, and quality practices. Mr. Cassar is also highly effective in adapting methodologies and practices to create hybrid approaches for any organization and type of product. He holds a Specialized Honours Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science.