Advisory Committee Members

Apart from being a full-time geek, Tamimi is very involved in the community. After graduating from Carleton University with a degree in communications engineering, he has actively participated in technical events in Kanata North. Tamimi is also passionate about giving back: he is director of community engagement and partnership for Connected Canadians, a non-profit organization.

George Dunning is a passionate innovation leader, capable of driving real change across an entire organization. His belief in being open by default, and inclusive of all employees when it comes to innovation, has led to some amazing success stories, both at Innovapost and Canada Post.

Veronica Farmer is a marketing leader with expertise in corporate and strategic communications, branding, and go-to-market strategies. Veronica is also the founder of TrueCourse Communications, an agency focused on a strategic approach to delivering creative and practical marketing that gets results. She brings this unique marketing and entrepreneurial experience to her current responsibility as director of partnerships and commercialization for the University of Ottawa’s Kanata North campus, located in the heart of the Kanata North Technology Park, Canada’s largest tech park. Veronica strives for collaboration between academia and industry that leads to long-term partnerships and results in a shared pursuit of innovation.

As a board member of the Kanata North Business Association, Executive-In-Residence for University of Ottawa’s Entrepreneurship Program, and member of the Human Resources Leadership Council of Canada’s largest technology park, Amanda uses her experience as a senior HR and business executive to hire top talent.  With over 1,000 tech hires under her belt, she is a known expert in finding and hiring the best. 

Kylie Hurst is a well-known talent and employment strategist who has helped scale start-ups as well as small and medium-sized businesses throughout the National Capital Region. She is the founder of The Recruiter Collective, a network for recruitment and HR thought leaders, and she sits on advisory councils at both Algonquin College and the University of Ottawa. As talent program manager for Ottawa-based tech leader, You.i TV, Kylie continues to roll out initiatives focused on raising the national profile of the Kanata North Tech Park, the Ottawa high-tech scene, and women in STEM programs. 

Rhea Laube is a global engagement specialist with experience in public relations, communications, and cross-cultural constituent relations. She oversees global alumni engagement within External Relations at the University of Ottawa, managing a network of 13 alumni advisory councils around the world, including the Kanata North Alumni Council.

Guy Levesque has more than 20 years of experience in research and innovation funding and policy development. As Associate Vice-President, Research Support and Infrastructure, he plays a key leadership role in promoting and supporting opportunities for the development, support and impact of world-class research installations and is responsible for developing and managing university-wide research operations.

Kirsten Paquette has an impressive pedigree in human resources management. She is extremely knowledgeable in the area of employment legislation and has a high business acumen. With a knack for collaborating with business leaders to attract, retain, motivate and reward top talent based on organizational strategy, Kirsten is a leader in building progressive people strategies.

Jamie Petten leads the Kanata North Business Association, which represents Canada’s largest technology park with over 500 businesses and 21,000 employees. As a founding member of the team, Jamie previously led marketing for L-SPARK, Canadas B2B SaaS accelerator. In this role, she supported 36 portfolio companies in raising over $24 million in angel and venture capital funding while building a community of more than 10,000 SaaS entrepreneurs, investors and partners.

Gelu Ticala has more than 20 years of experience in software development and extensive expertise in agile methodology, supply chain management, team management, performance and scale, and pre-sales. He works closely with product management and solutions development teams to deliver high-quality product releases to customers.

Patrick is a seasoned executive in the high-tech sector with significant experience in start-ups, entrepreneurship, and business development. He has enjoyed a lengthy career with Wesley Clover International, acting as the lead on several projects aimed at enhancing research and innovation in the Ottawa region. Patrick also actively represented the company at key industry events and consultations, and was responsible for media funding applications.

An entrepreneur himself, Patrick founded Brookstreet Pictures; he managed all the financial and staffing aspects of the business, as well as coordinated all sales and distribution channels.

As L-SPARK managing director, Patrick ensures that all services are delivered to a high standard and actively support the overall achievement of the business objectives of L-SPARK and its affiliated start-ups.