Personalizing the Learning Journey

Cheryl has served in various capacities at Humber Polytechnic over the past 11 years. Most recently she was Program Coordinator/Professor in the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology and is now Project Secondee in Innovative Learning, where she co-facilitates Humber’s Teacher Excellence Program. As a project management professional with over 20 years of experience in government, post-secondary education and consultancy, her focus since joining Humber has been to contribute to the growth and development of the Project Management Graduate Certificate Program. She has an avid interest in Applied Research aimed at creating opportunities for postgraduate students and in managing organizational change.

Mike Karapita, a full time Journalism professor at Humber, has spent his career working in media, teaching about media and addressing the ongoing rapid change in the digital age. He has worked at the Globe and Mail, the Canadian Press, CTV and CBC where he was an Executive Producer. He has been named a Distinguished Faculty winner at Humber and Media Studies professor of the year at Guelph-Humber, and has mentored new faculty hires. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and a Master's Degree in Journalism from Carleton University.

Mackenzie Ketchell teaches in the Faculty of Social and Community Services at Humber Polytechnic. Mackenzie is a Behaviour Analyst and worked with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities before joining Humber. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has become a framework that guides Mackenzie’s quest for the best possible learning experience for students.

Karyn (she/her) is a faculty member in an Educational Developer role with Innovative Learning at Humber Polytechnic. Her teaching areas include anthropology and pedagogies for higher education. She has taught in face-to-face, blended, hybrid, synchronous, and asynchronous classrooms and is committed to supporting peer faculty in expanding their student-centered teaching and course design strategies.

Gian Michele Pileri is an educational technology specialist. He completed his BFA in photography at the European Institute of Design in Milan, Italy, and earned a BA in Audio-Visual, Communication and Educational Technologies from the University of Ferrara, Italy. During his professional career he accumulated more than 20 years of audio-visual production and teaching expertise across several industries, including entertainment, fashion, education, and retail. In his role as educational technology specialist, Gian plays a pivotal role in supporting faculty in their exploration, experimentation, and use of educational technologies to support teaching and learning. Specifically, he works directly with faculty to research and identify specific technologies that support pedagogical and andragogical approaches for teaching and learning in the digital age. Gian is passionate about supporting faculty with new insights and usage scenarios, and provides personable and informed technology advice. His focus on technology and education includes UDL, accessibility, XR, and Artificial Intelligence.

Kate Staig is an Accessibility Consultant at Humber Polytechnic working with learners with disabilities with a specialization in Learning Strategies. Kate sees UDL as the best, scalable solution for growing access needs. Kate enjoys working with faculty to see the benefits this approach for their own practice.

Estefanía Toledo (she/her) is the Resilience and Inclusive Curriculum Specialist at Humber Polytechnic and an emerging critical scholar with over 16 years of experience as an educator, researcher, and curriculum developer. She works collectively with staff and faculty to advance inclusive curriculum by developing learner-centred and evidence-based curriculum and programs that advance wellbeing, equity, social justice and decolonization in learning environments. Estefania is also pursuing a PhD in Higher Education at the University of Toronto where she is examining systemic inequities and barriers impacting historically marginalized and minoritized students. Her work aims to disrupt and dismantle systemic barriers, and create pathways towards equity and justice in education. Her research and practice are grounded in critical theories, social justice, and anti-oppression.

Mike Wise is a full time Journalism professor at Humber and the coordinator of the Postgraduate Journalism program. Before joining Humber, he spent more than three decades working for CBC Television, most recently as the anchor of the local 11:00 newscast in Toronto. Mike teaches TV and radio production, online reporting and basic website design, and helps guide his students through the emerging technologies changing the journalism industry. He holds an honours degree in Political Studies from Queen’s University and in 2022 completed his Master’s Degree in communication and technology from the University of Alberta.