Meet Our Team
TEDxYYC VOLUNTEER POWER
Did you know that TEDxYYC is entirely powered by the creative energy of volunteers? That’s right! An event like TEDxYYC only comes together with the support of many talented people, with diverse backgrounds and skills.
The combined experience of our team and the grassroots approach to collaboration are what make TEDxYYC so impactful! We know the diversity of talent of our team is a huge asset, giving us the ability to create a memorable event year after year.
Board of Directors
Shandra Carlson, Chair
Lisette Marion, Vice-Chair
Kurt Archer, Licensee
Jared Mardian, Treasurer
Kaylee Somerville, Secretary
TEDxYYC Organizing Committee
Curators
Jason Mehmel, Artistic Director
Harpreet M. Dayal
Priscilla Cherry, Speaker Liaison
Kurt Archer
Richard Harrison
Daria Venkova
Speaker Coaches
Patricia Morgan
Jason Mehmel
Barb Higgins
Salima Stanley-Bhanji
Kurt Archer
Harpreet M. Dayal
Richard Harrison
Daria Venkova
Production
Mike Skwara, Production Lead
Syed (Omair) Hyder
Partnerships
Kelly Schuler, Lead of Partnerships
Marcus Latansa, Partnerships Coordinator
Mark Kochuk, Partnerships Coordinator
Podcast
Andrew Guilbert, Host
Simone Pabreza, Producer
Kurt Archer, Executive Producer
Marketing & Communications
Paige Greenhough, Marketing & Communications Director
Li Kang, Marketing Coordinator
Alysson Torres-Gillet, Social Media Lead
Hardish Dayal, Social Media Specialist
Tammy Laggui, Website Specialist
Riya Dalal, Website Specialist
Jeffrey Nicol, Content Writer/Public Relations
Sneha Srinivasan, Content Writer
Yue Ma, Content Writer
Simone Pabreza, Public Relations Coordinator
Creative Team
Shea Friesen, Design Lead
Sarah Jane Lazaro, Graphic Designer/Animator
Quang (Chester) Ho, Graphic Designer
Experience & Guest Services Team
Marla Kimball, General Manager
Parisa Rahimian, Guest Services Lead
Abdullah Mirza – Student Experience Coordinator
Chanuka Perera – Student Experience Coordinator
Danelle Smith – Health & Safety Coordinator
Grace Masangkay – Lobby Activations Coordinator
Greg Royer – Volunteer Coordinator
Karen Olson – Alumni Coordinator
Mandeep – Lobby Activations Coordinator
Maryam Nisar – Volunteer Coordinator
Sajna Massey – Launch Party Coordinator
Sebastian Lepe – Experience Bag and Swag Coordinator
Tanisha Tania Parmar – Food & Beverage Coordinator
Vi Tran – Ticketing Coordinator
Zaman Wahid – Launch Party Coordinator
LEARN MORE ABOUT VOLUNTEERING WITH TEDxYYC!
This year’s committee is made up of teams that direct and execute everything needed to pull off an event of this magnitude: curation, experience, marketing and communications, partnerships and guest services, speaker logistics, speaker coaches, creative and design, finance, artist-in-residence program, front of house, ticketing, web design, motion design, event day, production, student experience, and yes, even the volunteers need coordinating! It’s an exhaustive list but allows us to ensure we manage every area carefully.
Our committee members, partners, presenters, performers, and event day volunteers join forces to bring this event to life.
Without the passion, energy, and drive of everyone involved, TEDxYYC could never be what it is today – Calgary’s largest and most well-attended independently organized TED event.
