ROBERT O’DRISCOLL
BSC '71, KINESIOLOGY
Robert is now retired (after 22 years) from his roles as an elementary teacher and Vice Principal in the Halton District Board of Education. Robert was part of the first graduating class in Kinesiology at University of Waterloo and attended University of Toronto for his BEd. Robert is now living in Port Franks, Ontario, and winters in Estero, Florida.
ODEEN PROBERT
BSC '73, KINESIOLOGY
Odeen graduated in one of the first classes of Kinesiology. At that time, most employers couldn't even spell kinesiology, so the field was limited. Many graduates went on to teach phys ed. Her first job was with Ethicon in quality control and research for sutures and infections. Later, while raising her children, Odeen developed and ran a chair exercise program for seniors, especially those with mobility challenges. She also ran Mom and me classes for the Y. She taught self-defense for women. Odeen went back to get her BAE in her 40 s and taught science to junior grades. She is very pleased to see how opportunities for kinesiology have increased.
PAUL WOLFER
BSC '79, KINESIOLOGY
After working for 33 years at the Mental Health Centre, now called Waypoint, in Penetanguishene, Ontario, Paul is now retired. He retired in 2012 and is enjoying all this time he now has. Paul spent all those years in the field of recreation at the hospital, the last 24 as the head of recreation in Oak Ridge. Paul is enjoying the role of grandpa now, to a two-year-old granddaughter who is a real sweetheart and is the light of his life.
YVONNE REITSMA
BSC '84, KINESIOLOGY
Yvonne retired from full-time nursing June 2021. She is casually working on a chronic vent unit. Her travel and dogs keep her out of trouble! Yvonne has been in Alberta since 1985.
MEGAN THOMPSON
BA '87, RECREATION AND LEISURE STUDIES
Megan retired from the Toronto District School Board in 2018. She does volunteer work in the community and enjoys daily visits to the community pool and canoeing in the summer. Megan trains and competes her dogs in various dog sports and enjoys spending time with her twin daughters.
PETER TIIDUS
PHD '93, KINESIOLOGY
After 26 years as a professor and department chair in Kinesiology at Wilfrid Laurier University, Peter has served for eight years as dean of the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at Brock University. Peter and his wife Ann live in Fonthill and have two grown sons and two granddaughters.
SCHAD RICHEA
BSC '95, KINESIOLOGY
Schad is currently finishing his second three-year term as department chair for Physical Education Studies at Brandon University and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association (CATA).
LUCY RUPERT
BA '96, DANCE
Lucy's contemporary dance company, Blue Ceiling dance, turns 19 this year, while Lucy embarks on her first international residency with the UCross Foundation, researching the evolution of robotics for a new solo dance creation. She is studying philosophy through the Continuing Education program at the University of Oxford and is developing a new ensemble dance production for 2024 that unites movement, philosophy, ecology and quantum theory.
WENDY MOONEY
BA '96, RECREATION AND LEISURE STUDIES
After many years teaching, creating, and working with the public in both city and library settings, Wendy recently moved to Calgary where she continues to work/volunteer and travel with the goal of filling every page of her passport.
J.V. ARNALDO
BA '01, RECREATION AND LEISURE STUDIES
Entering his 12th year with Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services, J.V. has recently been promoted to the rank of acting captain. The experience and skills acquired over more than eight years as a recreational therapist in acute mental health settings provided a solid foundation for his career pivot into the Fire Service.
YEHUDA (HUGH) ADAMS
BSC '03, KINESIOLOGY
Yehuda completed an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering. He is a lifelong learner and senior electrical engineer with AECOM Canada Ltd., with projects nationally and internationally. He is active in industry volunteering, as well as in the Toronto Jewish community. Yehuda is married with a six-month-old son.
SAMANTHA HONG THI KIM
BSC '04, RECREATION AND BUSINESS
After more than 15 years in banking and 10 as an enthusiastic commercial lender, Samantha has migrated into a principal role at an San Francisco-Bay Area-based private debt fund firm named Montage Capital. She is working with early stage and growth entrepreneurs to secure financing needed for growth, with a special focus on companies with double-bottom-line focus (profitability and social responsibility). While she doesn’t see a lot of Canadian companies across her desk, she is very to happy see a number of Waterloo alumni in the employee deck.
MONICA VENESS
BA '05, THERAPEUTIC RECREATION
Monica is currently working as a Quality Improvement Consultant for Alberta Health Services in Calgary, Alberta. She has been working within the health-care improvement realm for the past seven years, following her 10 years of clinical experience as a Recreation Therapist.
RENATO MORAES
PHD '05, KINESIOLOGY
Renato has been an associate professor at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, since 2013. In 2023, Renato moved to Kingston, ON, as a visiting professor at the Centre for Neuroscience Studies at Queen’s University. Renato is helping advance the understanding of eye-hand coordination in older adults.
ROHINI MATHUR
BSC '06, HEALTH STUDIES
Rohini recently started a new position at Queen Mary University of London, as professor and chair of Health Data Science. She will be leading a team to identify precision medicine approaches to improve the care of cardiometabolic disease in ethnically diverse populations using genetic, electronic health record and cohort data from the U.K. and globally.
SAMANTHA KRISTOFERSON
BA ‘07, RECREATION AND LEISURE STUDIES
Samantha moved to Barcelona, Spain this December, calling it a “radical sabbatical.” Her company turned 10 in December. They teach online and her daughter will have a year of school to learn Spanish and be with grandparents before returning to Waterloo. Their studio space, located at 99 King St. N, Waterloo, is where she planted a food forest and got a new mural this fall.
KIIRA POERSCHKE
BA ‘09, THERAPEUTIC RECREATION
Kiira recently completed her master’s degree in Gerontology, adding to her 20-year experience practicing in geriatric settings. Currently, she is effectively leading the Possibilities by BaycrestTM Training Experience for a new philosophy of care for older adults with dementia, promoting autonomy, choice, connection and purpose.
XANDER TAYLOR
BSC '09, KINESIOLOGY
Since September 2022, Xander has been performing a new trapeze act in the "post-pandemic" relaunch of Cirque du Soleil's show Bazzar in a South American tour.
COURTNEY DUNLOP
BSC '12, KINESIOLOGY
Courtney used her Kinesiology degree as a springboard into getting two master's degrees and another undergraduate degree. She is currently working as a Nurse Practitioner in primary health care.
NUZHAT JAMAL
MPH '15, PUBLIC HEALTH
After seven years in the health-care industry, Nuzhat is celebrating her one-year anniversary with the First Nations Health Authority – finally in an organization that recognizes racism as a social determinant of health!
NADINA AYER
PHD '18, RECREATION AND LEISURE STUDIES
Nadina moved to England with her husband, Joel, during the pandemic (November 2020) and is currently working as a lecturer (academic) in Sport Management at the Department of Sport and Event Management at Bournemouth University, Poole, U.K. She is an active scholar within the international leisure community.
THOKO HANJAHANJA-PHIRI
PHD '18, PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SYSTEMS
Thoko has worked as a researcher in different capacities since graduating in 2018, including being a consultant, project manager, postdoctoral fellow and grants writer. She has been with Waterloo’s UbiLab for almost two years working as a lab manager and research coordinator. She recently delivered a guest lecture here at the School of Public Health Sciences.
DALE BELLAIRE
BA '20, RECREATION AND SPORT BUSINESS
Dale is heading back to Waterloo for a PhD in Aging, Health and Well-being. Her research will build on her master’s thesis on sport’s role in mitigating losses (e.g., social network) after retirement to focus on how social capital is leveraged to negotiate age-related constraints to facilitate sport for life in older adults.
NISHA SHEEN
MA '20, RECREATION AND LEISURE STUDIES
Nisha has been a teaching faculty member at St. Lawrence College since 2020 in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and Pathways. Nisha is also working as part-time Recreation Aide and Youth Development Educator in Waterloo.
ZUZANNA BUKALA
BSC '21, KINESIOLOGY
Zuzanna went to Western University to complete a Bachelor of Education. She is a certified teacher in Ontario with the qualifications to teach Physical Education, Personal Fitness, Intro to Kinesiology, Biology and General Science.
In Memoriam
Dr. Lilian Gobbi (PhD '97) passed away unexpectedly on October 20, 2022. Gobbi earned her PhD in Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo under the direction of the late professor Aftab Patla. Gobbi, her husband, Sebastião, and their two young children arrived at the University of Waterloo from Brazil in 1992. Gobbi pursued her PhD in movement neuroscience, while Sebastião studied cardiorespiratory physiology with Dr. Richard Hughson.
Following completion of her PhD, she returned to the Department of Physical Education at São Paulo State University. Gobbi's stories of her time in Canada encouraged many more Brazilian students to pursue graduate studies at the University of Waterloo, including Dr. Luiz Santos, Dr. Renato Moraes, Dr. Veronica Myaskike-daSilva and Dr. Carolina Silveira.
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