Global Engagement Seminar's Jarislowsky Fellows are selected by the Director in consultation with the Steering Committee and Advisory Council. The Fellows work collaboratively with the Coordinator and teaching faculty/researchers in order to facilitate the problem-based projects that students will be working on through the term.
As facilitators and resident experts, Jarislowsky Fellows play key roles in the success of the Global Engagement Seminars. In their exploration of innovative ideas and potential solutions for global problems, Fellows are tasked with sharing their expertise and community-based experiences as advocates, activists and practitioners – in the classroom and the community. They are expected to take an active role in facilitating the Global Engagement seminars in direct collaboration with the faculty; to participate in the Annual Global Engagement Summit, normally held at the end of the teaching term, where the students will be presenting their projects; and to facilitate as well as promote wider discussions on the global issues under examination. While local residency is not required, we do expect fellows to immerse themselves in and to be available to engage with the greater University community during their appointment.
Meet your Jarislowsky Fellows!
Tai Huynh
Tai Huynh is the founding editor-in-chief of The Local, a non-profit newsroom that brings in-depth, magazine-style journalism to local issues affecting Toronto communities. Under his leadership, The Local has won several National Magazine Awards and Digital Publishing Awards, including the overall prize of General Excellence in Digital Publishing three years in a row between 2021 and 2023. Tai writes, occasionally, about urban health and inequality. Tai has masters degrees in design from OCAD University and business from York University.
Juanie Pudluk
Juanie Pudluk grew up in Resolute Bay and went to school for Electrical engineering at the University of Ottawa. Juanie worked at QEC for several years replacing generators and other projects. He developed a few systems to help the organization run more efficiently by automating time-consuming tasks. In 2016, Juanie moved over to CGS infrastructure. This was an interesting job as Juanie became involved with large commercial projects (fiber, schools, nursing stations, and the ports!). More recently in Feb 2020, Juanie moved over to NHC to become the director of infrastructure. In 2023 Juanie became an associate deputy minister for NHC and put a lot of time into Nunavut 3000, an exciting initiative that the government has been behind.
Sandy Little
Sandy Little is the current Director, Strategic Initiatives at the City of Waterloo. She leads implementation and development of the City’s strategic plan, sustainability and climate change, housing and homelessness, and strategic partnerships. Leveraging more than 20 years of experience, she believes in using big picture thinking to tackle complex community challenges while developing and strengthening strategic relationships within an organization and with community partners to build operational and service excellence.
She began her career in 2000 in economic development. She later transitioned into planning where she spent more than ten years in planning in the private and public sectors. She later returned to her roots in economic development at the City of Waterloo where she led the team to secure planning approvals for the development of a City-owned business park. After more than 16 years in planning and economic development, she moved into a leadership role focusing on strategic initiatives where she leads cross divisional teams focusing on transformational changes needed to address some of the biggest challenges we face today.
Frank Cairo
Frank Cairo is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Caivan Communities and the Advanced Building Innovation Company. Frank is a multidisciplinary entrepreneur who has innovated across several sectors, harnessing advanced manufacturing, software engineering, data science, artificial intelligence and generative design techniques in the optimization of built form and community design. Caivan is currently a top three builder by volume in Ontario and active in more than fifty projects in the GTA and Ottawa regions. Frank holds a B.E.S. in Planning from the University of Waterloo and is a Registered Professional Planner and a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners. Frank is member of the American Physical Society (Physics of Climate section) and is a candidate for a Masters of Engineering Degree from the University of Ottawa in Management, specializing in Operations Research and Systems Optimization.
Itai Palti
Itai Palti is a practicing architect, researcher, and multidisciplinary artist focusing on the relationship between people and place. He is the Founder of The Centre for Conscious Design, and Director of Hume – a Science-Informed architecture and urban design practice. In 2015, Itai founded the Conscious Cities movement; a new field of research and practice for building environments that are aware and responsive, using data analysis, AI, tech, and science-informed design. For his work in advancing changes in the design profession, he was named by Metropolis Magazine as one of 2020's 'Game Changers' in transformative ideas in Health, Social Justice, Technology, and Urbanism. Itai carries out thought leadership and advisory roles in a number of other research and policy bodies, contributing to strategies that focus on systems change and the promotion of design as a socially conscious profession. His work and writing has been featured internationally and he is a regular speaker at events focused on the built environment and human impact.
Helen Kerr
Helen Kerrleads one of North America’s pre-eminent, research driven, foresight and innovation companies. With degrees in both Environmental Studies and Industrial Design, Helen holds over 40 product and process patents and is recognized by the Canadian government for her experimental work. Multi-disciplinary approaches to highly complex problems have been the undercurrent of her career.
Helen has been principal investigator for foresight projects in the public, private and social-purpose sectors, leading or co-leading participatory and co-creative processes involving enterprise-wide engagement. Her recent work has taken her around the world to help organizations and governments achieve resilient, systems level change by preparing for volatile futures. She is particularly interested in supporting cities to thrive in turbulent times. Helen is also Practioner-in-Residence in the Master of Future Cities program at Waterloo and has written and lectured globally on research, foresight, design and innovation. She was the focus of a CBC documentary film entitled “Great Minds of Design and has been inducted into the Royal Academy of Arts.