Alumni Council

1. Sustain an informed understanding of the strategic priorities of the University and provide alumni-focused insight into the strategy, objectives and actions based on their external perspective and experience at UWaterloo.
2. Provide feedback and advice to the President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Waterloo, and Vice-President, Advancement, on how to engage with and maximize the impact of alumni in the success of the University.
3. Actively prepare for and participate in all Alumni Council and sub-committee meetings.
4. Represent UWaterloo’s Alumni Council at events twice per year at minimum.
5. Encourage and actively promote
   • engagement with the University to the broader alumni community,
   • the activities and value of the UWaterloo Alumni Council and its connection to the University,
   • UWaterloo’s reputation nationally and internationally, and
   • participation in the University through alumni connections at every opportunity.
6. Reflect the values of Advancement by displaying leadership in supporting the University through gifts of time, talent and financial support.
7. Suggest potential general members for the Alumni Council and participate in recruitment and orientation for specific committees, as appropriate.

All new members serve a three-year term renewable to a maximum of another three-year term (exact length of renewable term will be decided through Alumni Council need and member interest).

1. Alumni Council typically will meet three-times per year; i.e. October, February and June.
2. The President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Waterloo, will be invited to attend all meetings to provide an update on the strategic direction and priorities of the University.
3. Alumni Council meetings will be focused on collaboration and the discussion of ideas rather than on status updates — this requires agendas, pre-work and readings to be circulated in advance of the meetings to get the best input from these valued volunteers.

Sean Patrick Murphy, CPA, CMA, FCMC, PMP is a Partner, Consulting and Technology Solution at MNP. Formerly, he was the founder, Managing Principal and CEO of A Hundred Answers Inc., an advisory, digital and technology solutions and services consultancy.

He is an accomplished business solutions project manager and business transformation architect with 20+ years of management consulting experience. Sean has an extensive background in project management, digital transformation, information management and business and IT strategy for public and private sector clients.

Sean graduated from the Faculty of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering in 1993. He then completed his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Ottawa in 1995. During his time at Waterloo, Sean was also a resident at St. Paul’s College.

Meaghan Kimball (nee Stoll) graduated from the University Waterloo in 2006 with a Bachelor of Mathematics with a major in statistics and minor in economics.  Meaghan's undergraduate experience at UWaterloo was diverse and stimulating.  She was a Rene Descartes National Scholarship recipient, Academic All-Canadian as captain of the varsity curling team and international exchange student during her third year studies at Heriot Watt University in Scotland.

Meaghan currently works in foreign currency risk management in the Treasury department of at a large technology company in Silicon Valley.  Previously, Meaghan worked in capital markets in Toronto and New York as a financial derivatives specialist.  Meaghan also holds a Masters of Science from Stanford University and is a CFA charterholder. 

The education and experiences Meaghan received as a student at UWaterloo were highly rewarding and she is excited to give back as a member of the Alumni Council.

John Haddock (BA ’78, Applied Health Sciences, Recreation and Leisure Studies) is a new retiree. He has provided local, provincial, national and international leadership within the YMCA movement both as the past CEO of the Kitchener and Cambridge YMCA’s  for over 30 years as well as recently as a volunteer.  John is known for expanding YMCA delivery systems to positively impact more people’s lives and is continually inspired by the positive impact the Y programs and services have on participants by making a difference in the lives of children, youth, adults and families. 

In retirement John continues to be very engaged in several local and global community development organizations as a volunteer: such as the Immigration Partnership Council, Hospice Waterloo Region, Pamir Productions and here with the University of Waterloo. Globally, John also provides leadership and support to the Africa Alliance of YMCA’s  and Operation Mobilization. In 2008, John received the Recreation and Leisure Studies Distinguished Alumni Award.

Brian Cepuran is the Vice President, Platforms and Architecture at Desire2learn, and has been integral in the development and evolution of Desire2Learn products and underlying platforms as one of the company’s founding members.

He strives to ensure Desire2Learn is always at the forefront of learning technology, reflecting his own passion for teaching, learning, and innovation.

Hilary Corneau is the Project Delivery Analyst in the Project Management Office at Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions. Dealing with the processes and systems for the project management team and helping to bridge the gap between software and project management.

Academically, Hilary holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies (Environment and Business, 2010) from the University of Waterloo. During her time at Waterloo she was an orientation Leader, local sorority president, active community volunteer, and resident at Renison College. She also holds a Master’s of Science (Sustainability, 2011) from the University of Leeds. She is a LEED GA and is Quality Management Systems & Management Systems Auditing certified.

An active volunteer, she was the peer-elected co-chair of the Emerging Green Builders Committee of the Canada Green Building Council GTA Chapter. The team strives to promote the green building industry to students and young professionals. She continues to volunteer with the BC Chapter of the CaGBC. She is also involved with various fundraising endeavours as a runner.

Dan has had a progressive career in software development and IT. He began his career with  hands-on development positions moving into a sales engineering role, and later running his own start-up. Recently Dan has been building and managing rapidly growing, high-performing technology, software development and delivery teams at exciting businesses and most recently is the Vice-President, Technology & Development at VC-funded tech-startup 360incentives.com. He currently leads the IT team at Porter Airlines as Vice-President, Information Systems & Technology.

Dan holds two degrees from the University of Waterloo, a Bachelor of Applied Science (Computer Engineering, 2002) and a Master in Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (2007). Dan also was student-athlete with Warriors Football, playing wide receiver for five years from 1997 - 2001.

Vikas Gupta is a charismatic leader who defines himself as a seasoned executive with an entrepreneurial DNA. He has an insatiable passion for emerging growth tech companies and lives by the philosophy that the right corporate culture combined with innovative strategy can ignite exponentialism.

Vikas was formerly the of CEO of Big Blue Bubble and established the company as the largest independent mobile gaming company in Canada, ranking among the 50 fastest growing technology companies in the nation.

Prior to Big Blue Bubble, Vikas was the CEO of TransGaming, a publicly listed multi-national global leader in the cross platform deployment of video games and the delivery of video games to Smart TV. TransGaming’s technology division was acquired by NVIDIA, representing their foray into Canada.

Vikas enjoys venturing beyond his own industry and is an advisor, mentor, investor, board member to many organizations, from innovative start-ups to not-for-profit organizations, such as Interactive Ontario, Prince’s Charities Canada Patrons Council, MaRS, University of Waterloo Stratford Campus, and serves as an advisor on the Ontario Premier’s digital media roundtable and is on the digital media advisory board for the Ontario Minister of Culture, Tourism & Sport. Vikas is also a member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO) and is on the YPO Toronto Chapter board.

Vikas is a proud alumnus of the University of Waterloo and was the recipient of the University of Waterloo Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015. He can be found @vikaskgupta or LinkedIn: vikasgupta2010

Garry has enjoyed 25 years of building Information Management Consulting Businesses, and has funded and operated 6 startups. The latest, Makeplain, is focused on Machine Learning Based Advanced Analytics, providing Business Outcomes as a Service. 

He has also returned to his Earth Sciences roots, helping Environmental, Cleantech and Sustainability concerns and sits on the Ontario Board of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and Spark Angels.

Garry’s passions include protecting and valuing the world’s natural assets.

Lisa Bauer-Leahy received her Bachelor of Arts, majoring in History, from the University of Waterloo in 1983 and also holds a UWaterloo Athlete of the Year award. Upon graduating, Lisa spent the majority of her career in the automotive industry working as a president & CEO where she was involved in operations management, leadership and strategic planning.   Lisa has always been active in sport and was a member of the 1984 Canadian Olympic Field Hockey team winning a Silver Medal at the World Cup in Amsterdam. She currently volunteers as a coach with the KW Field Hockey team and as a trainer with the Waterloo Ravens Minor Hockey league.With education and experience gained through athletics both as a player and as a coach, Lisa has a keen sense for motivating and leading multidisciplinary teams. 

Adele graduated from the university’s Faculty of Mathematics in 1978. In the years since, she has gained program development and management experience in the university, technology, and the not-for-profit sectors. She has developed and managed a broad range of innovative programs for academic researchers and industry professionals through her work with universities, technology companies, and industry associations. She has also held full-time positions at the University of Waterloo, the University of Toronto, and BlackBerry.

In 1993, Adele founded Newton Associates to provide a comprehensive array of consulting solutions supporting the development and management of public-private partnership initiatives. Her clients have included Side Effects Software, the Institute for Quantum Computing, Art Center College of Design, the Information Technology Association of Canada, and Ryerson University. 

Adele is currently based at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, working as Director, North American Advancement for the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences - Next Einstein Initiative.

The University of Waterloo has played a huge role in Adele’s personal and professional success and she is honoured to be connected and able to give back to the university through her work on the Alumni Council.

Michael graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2013 with a BA in Speech Communication and played four years of Varsity Football. After graduating, he returned home to Toronto to launch his career. He began by working in finance, but once he started volunteering with the University of Waterloo, he realized how much he connected to the student energy on campus. That drove him to pursue further education in Career Development and he is now working towards certification as a Career Development Practitioner.

Michael currently works as a career coach for George Brown students with a focus on creating equitable access to quality education and a meaningful work life. In his efforts to give back to the community, Michael volunteers as the President and Co-founder of the ProCareer Club at George Brown College which seeks to help students take a professional, proactive, and progressive approach to their career development.

As a proud alumnus, Michael started a scholarship award at the University of Waterloo called the Collective Movement Award and he regularly visits campus to connect with students. Michael’s main interests are learning, reading, investing, and travel, as well as connecting with diverse communities and helping the students of today to kickstart their careers for tomorrow.