Hi! Bonjour! Hola!
I’m local to Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal (settler), of Jewish descent (mixed Ashkenazi and Sephardic), and born in Tkaronto/Toronto, yet grew up in Madrid, Spain.
I’m a multi-faceted designer focusing on community technology education, and I reflect on my practice through a justice-oriented lens. My work background covers 16 years of professional experience, including learning design, popular education¹ program design, product design, team leadership and organizational strategy. Specifically, these experiences include:
- 1.5 years in higher education designing and facilitating learning experiences to empower students with the know-how to address complex social and technological challenges by using a systemic design approach²;
- 6 years in the nonprofit sector designing community technology educationÂł programs, designing and facilitating learning experiences, and building an organization focused on digital literacy and creativity;
- 7 years in the private sector engaged in research and development at the intersection of technology and geoscience.
In my practice, I think strategically and systemically and attend to multiple (and silent) perspectives. I try to listen deeply and openly share ideas while bridging across sectors.
- Popular education is alternative or non-formal education to empower people regardless of their educational background.
- The design approach I have explored with students is inspired by the activities and language from the guide Beyond Net Zero: A Systemic Approach (British Design Council, 2021).
- I am deeply influenced by the Teaching Community Technology Handbook (Detroit Digital Justice Coalition, 2015). Although much of my work was carried out with public libraries and public schools rather than directly involving communities, the purpose and principles in the work were intentionally aligned with transforming, uplifting, and empowering communities through the use and learning of technologies.
Affiliations
Current
- Member of Drawing Board Collective (Nov 2015 – present).
- Member of Design Justice Network Instructional Design Working Group (Apr 2021 – present).
- Educational Development Community in Canada (2023 – present)
Past
- Board member of Centre for Community Organizations (COCo; 2015-2022).
- COCo is a charitable organization whose mission is the support the health and well-being of community organizations in Quebec, with a particular focus on bolstering and amplifying the voices of grassroots organizations. Supported the development of its theory of change and the evolution of its community technology and communication services.
- Member of the democratic life committee of Solon (2020-2021).
- Solon is a non-profit whose mission is to inspire and support citizen action through local projects to create lively, solidary and ecological neighbourhoods.
- Board member of the Montreal Urban Ecology Centre (MUEC ; 2015).
- MUEC is a charitable organization whose mission is to propose practices and policies for creating ecological, democratic and healthy cities.
Abridged CV
🛠️ Current work
Instructional Designer at Centre for Teaching and Learning, Concordia University. 2022 – present
Design consultant for nonprofits. 2014 – present.
Consulting on learning design, program design and development, and tools for managing information, communications or data.
⌛ Past work experience (selected)
Instructional Designer Consultant at Concordia Continuing Education. 2022.
Design of a 3-course cybersecurity mindset certification program for non-technical professionals. Included market research, preliminary course design, high-level design with SMEs, and reviewing week-by-week course plans and assessment rubrics.
Coordinator at the Innovation Lab, Concordia University. 2021 – 2022.
Supported interdisciplinary teams of students through understanding and addressing complex challenges as they worked with industry or community partners.
Director of the digital literacy project AlphaNumérique at Techno Culture Club. 2020 – 2021.
Project in collaboration with Bibliopresto.ca. Leading a team of 15 in designing and providing basic digital literacy training in close collaboration with public libraries and community organizations across the province of Quebec.
Co-director at the non-profit Techno Culture Club. 2016 – 2020.
Building a nonprofit “that promotes and supports digital literacy and digital justice to make technology and digital culture more accessible, equitable, and participatory.” Under my co-leadership, the organization became renowned in the Quebec library and cultural sectors for its creative and participatory approaches to bringing digital literacy and creativity to new audiences.
Research assistant on makerspace facilitation study. 2020 – 2021.
Co-designing interview protocol, audio editing & interviewing makerspace facilitators on good practices.
Principal designer at Zooratura. 2013 – 2016.
Laser-cut, DIY home accents.
Director of Research and Development at Photonic Knowledge. 2009 – 2014.
📚 Education (selected)
Candidate for Masters of Arts in Educational Technology at Concordia University. 2020 – present.
Focus: Applying justice principles to instructional/learning design.
Masters of Science in Earth and Planetary Sciences at McGill University. 2004 – 2008.