About Us

Mr. Rogers has primary accountability for facilitating and growing a culture of innovation at Seneca. He is responsible for building and aligning the mission, vision and strategic directions for Seneca Innovation with Seneca’s overall strategic direction and priorities. He leads collaborative efforts with Seneca faculties and departments to execute on the mission and, as Dean, Seneca Innovation, is responsible for developing and nurturing relationships within the innovation ecosystem including all levels of government and their agencies, national and provincial college and polytechnic associations, other postsecondary institutions and strategic industry partners.

Mr. Rogers is an industry-academic partnerships leader with over 15 years of experience in strategic planning, developing innovation partnerships and building high-performance teams. He holds a master of business, entrepreneurship and technology degree and a bachelor of science (biology and business), both from the University of Waterloo.

As the Senior Manager, Operations & Finance, Ms. Gopalasigam is responsible for all financial and compliance operations in Seneca Innovation. This includes budget planning, accounting, advising on all financial, budget and compliance issues, as well as development and implementation of department processes. Her work experience includes financial management, reporting and analysis, budget and forecasting, and process improvement. Ms. Gopalasigam holds a bachelor’s degree in administrative studies (honours) with a specialization in human resources management.

As the Co-ordinator, Ms. Yeung provides administrative support to the overall Seneca Innovation department, including the operations of the Seneca Research Ethics Board (REB). She supports metrics reporting relating to the department as well as the submissions of research funding proposals and applications. She also assists with the planning and execution of Seneca Innovation events and the development and maintenance of communications materials. In her role as the REB Co-ordinator, Ms. Yeung manages the application process and provides advice to Seneca faculty, staff, students and other stakeholders on REB-related matters. She holds an honours bachelor degree in psychology and urban studies from the University of Toronto.

Ms. Mervyn, Outreach Assistant, provides support to Seneca Innovation’s dean and directors and works closely with other members of the team on entrepreneurship and innovation initiatives and events. She also collaborates with Marketing & Communications on outreach materials for everything from Applied Research to HELIX. Ms. Mervyn holds a liberal arts diploma from Seneca and a bachelor in sociology from York University.

Dr. Barai applies her extensive business development, commercialization and research experience in building strong industry-academic partnerships. She is passionate about developing strategic partnerships that create impact and add value for all stakeholders. Dr. Barai’s expertise comes from more than 15 years of experience at The Hospital for Sick Children, MITACS and DFB Pharmaceuticals. She has a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Cincinnati and a bachelor of pharmacy from Mumbai, India.

As a Research Project Manager, Dr. Lisak supports all aspects of the applied research process. This includes working in collaboration with faculty and their partners to develop projects, identify funding sources, prepare funding applications and manage applied research projects. He also supports awareness and outreach activities, within and external to the college. Dr. Lisak brings more than 20 years of managerial and project experience in high-tech industries and academia where he had successfully led many projects with significant levels of complexity, uncertainty and risk. He holds a PhD in microelectronics, a Project Management Professional (PMP) designation and is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI). He volunteers his time at PMI Lakeshore Chapter.

As a Research Project Manager, Dr. Paton supports all aspects of the applied research process. This includes working in collaboration with faculty and their partners to develop projects, identify funding sources, prepare funding applications and manage applied research projects. He also supports awareness and outreach activities, within and external to Seneca. His work experience includes varied roles in developing and managing industry-academic collaborations and providing technical advice and guidance to entrepreneurs in the sciences and engineering fields. He is also the founder of a spin-out company making organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting. Dr. Paton holds a PhD in chemical engineering and applied chemistry, a master of science in chemistry, a bachelor of applied science in engineering science and has project management training, all from the University of Toronto.

Ira Sherr, the Seneca Centre for Innovation in Life Sciences (SCILS) Manager, supports applied research projects in the life sciences and cosmetics spaces. This includes overseeing labs, personnel and business development. In addition, Mr. Sherr helps develop industry partnerships with small- and medium-sized enterprises. His experience includes managing applied research projects for industry-academic collaborations in the oil and gas industry. He holds a bachelor's degree in environmental studies/plant biology from the University of Waterloo and a master’s degree in plant biology from the University of Alberta. He combines his love of science and graphic design by volunteering as a branding manager for the global biotech accelerator Nucleate.

Mr. Kabel, Project Co-ordinator, works closely with all parties involved in the applied research process. This includes supporting research managers with grant submissions and staffing. In addition, he works with faculty and partners on overall development. Mr. Kabel holds an honours bachelor of arts in research-intensive psychology from the University of Waterloo and has more than four years of experience in experimental and clinic research.

Ms. Hussain, Project Co-ordinator, Applied Research, supports the administration and management of applied research projects. She collaborates with managers from Seneca Innovation, the Centre for Innovation and faculty. Her experience includes working with educational institutions, non-profit and public sector organizations on everything from research projects to annual symposiums. She holds an honours bachelor of social sciences in international development and globalization from the University of Ottawa and is currently doing a project management professional certificate.

Valeryia Shydlouskaya, Project Co-ordinator, provides database management and administrative assistance to a variety of Applied Research and HELIX projects. Her responsibilities include managing an online platform, supporting new technological project management solutions, creating user and administrative manuals and assisting with database training. She is taking an honours bachelor degree in data science with a major in epidemiology at the University of Western Ontario.

As Director of Entrepreneurship, Mr. Dudley oversees HELIX, Seneca’s on-campus entrepreneurship incubator and its associated entrepreneurship activities. This includes supporting strategy development and implementation, developing and delivering HELIX programming, and building relationships and partnerships within and external to Seneca. He is charged with increasing experiential opportunities for budding entrepreneurs and accessing international opportunities for HELIX ventures. Mr. Dudley brings more than 30 years of business and college administration experience to the role and has led HELIX since its inception in 2014. His educational background includes a diploma in marketing, a bachelor of administration and a master of business administration.

As Project Manager, with specialties in marketing, public relations, organizational capacity building and fund development, Ms. Collins has played a lead role in the launch and growth of Seneca’s on-campus entrepreneurship incubator, HELIX. She assumes key co-ordination responsibilities including youth engagement/recruitment campaigns, oversight of cohort intakes, event management, experiential youth learning opportunities, coach and mentor liaison, evaluation of programming and identification of strategic planning growth opportunities for HELIX. As the Founder and Principal Consultant of CommuniKate Consulting Services since 1996, Ms. Collins’ accumulated experience as an entrepreneur directs the mentorship she provides to the startups accelerating at HELIX.

Sophia Sagias, Co-ordinator of Career Recharge, is in charge of development and delivery for this program, which provides mid-career professionals with free workshops and resources to succeed in the ever-changing world of work. She co-ordinates marketing and communications, event logistics and performance metrics, while serving as the primary liaison between all internal and external stakeholders.

Ms. Sagias holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from York University and a post-graduate certificate with honours in Human Resources Management from Seneca.

Samara Rincon, Co-ordinator of HERizons at Seneca HELIX, helps develop and deliver this career skills program for women. She is passionate about finding new ways to empower women, building strong customer relationships and increasing entrepreneurial engagement. She manages planning, monitoring and execution.

Ms. Rincon holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Pontificia Bolivariana University in Medellin, Colombia and post-graduate certificates in Supply Chain Management and International Business Management from Seneca.

Ms. Delkhoun, HELIX Career Strategist, supports HELIX programming including Career Recharge and HERizons initiatives. An expert in career planning and labour market trends, she helps to develop materials and resources and provides advice to program participants. Ms. Delkhoun holds a master’s degree in adult education and community development from the University of Toronto, a bachelor’s degree in human resources management and a certificate in adult education and staff training from Seneca.

Huy Tung Bui, a Communications & Admin Assistant, provides support to the branding strategy of HELIX and its programming. Mr. Tung is responsible for the weekly HELIX e-newsletter TouKEEPINGch, along with the content for initiatives, resources and marketing. He also helps deliver online workshops and events such as the HELIX INNOVATION Strand and the Seneca Innovation Showcase. He has experience in human resources, marketing and administration support.

He graduated from Seneca’s Honours Bachelor of Marketing and holds an engineering degree from Da Nang University of Technology, in Da Nang, Vietnam.