Lighthouse Labs

Director, Programs and Services 

Distributed Compute Labs

Strategy and Growth Lead 

Kids Code Jeunesse

Strategy Consultant

Funemployed

1 60L backpack 
3 continents
7 months 
9 books
14 countries 
40+ mosquito bites, 1 food poisoning, zero sunburns
Numberless amount of pastries consumed

Travel Sabbatical

In this dream role, I was tasked with managing a portfolio of diverse and impactful projects. I worked closely with cross-organizational teams and formed partnerships with private, nonprofit, community, and public organizations. These projects aim to open up new doors, drive forward organizational goals and most importantly expand the impact created beyond day-to-day operations.

Notable projects led and achievements can be found below.

Head of Special Projects & Strategic Initiatives 

This pilot program aimed at removing barriers to employment by providing young Muslim women between the ages 18-29 with web development training and all the necessary career and personal support to launch a career in STEM. This was done through a multitude of fully-funded workshops and events, part-time courses, mentorship and training opportunities, as well as the creation of a scholarship program.
 
Key successes:
• 32 women trained 
• High employment rates where bootcamp graduates of the pilot were employed within the tech sector within 90 days of graduation from the program
• The successful execution and outcomes of the pilot resulted in renewed funding for a second year and commitments to expand the program across new demographics and locations

Project Lead for Women Learning Code with IDRF & United Way of Greater Toronto 

In January 2018, Kids Code Jeunesse (KCJ) received major funding from the Federal Government’s CanCode program. With this funding, KCJ partnered with Lighthouse Labs to deliver professional development workshops, titled Code Create Teach, to Canadian educators across the country. The Code Create Teach workshops were designed to provide teachers with the confidence and tools needed to bring the fundamentals of computational thinking and coding into their classrooms. I had the pleasure of working with the Lighthouse Labs and KCJ teams, leading this amazing and impactful project. 
 
Highlights: 
• 1495 teachers trained through 33 workshops hosted in every province and territory across Canada
• Estimated reach of 41,804 students across Canada
• 89% of participants reported that the workshop pertinent to the needs of classrooms and teachers
• Community driven approach with 20+ partnered organizations 
• Additional funding injection during year 2 of and commitment to refund the program for an additional 2 years
• 81 pieces of media published by 47 different publishers and 5000+ tweets

Project Lead for Code Create Teach 

In January 2016, the government of British Columbia announced that coding and computational thinking will be added to the K-12 school curriculum. In August 2016, British Columbia’s Ministry of Education awarded a two-year contract to Lighthouse Labs, in partnership with Kids Code Jeunesse, to deliver regional training sessions on computational thinking and coding curriculum for 120 teachers across the province. In addition to my full-time role heading brand and marketing operations, I had the opportunity to lead this amazing project.
 
Main responsibilities: 
• Led a successful bid for a multi-year contract, winning against 8+ other qualified organizations 
• Project managed a small team of 5 in the submission of all project deliverables including curriculum and other educational materials
• Formed and managed close relationships an advisory committee composed of educators, researchers and representatives from BC’s tech community
• Planned and oversaw all workshops and travel logistics 
• Worked closely with an educator administrator in coordinating and communicating with 60 school district representatives and 120+ workshop participants 
• Liaised with our contacts at the BC Ministry of Education 
• Oversaw budgets and bookkeeping for the project 
• Project evaluation and reporting 
 
Highlights: 
• Formed a strong and long-lasting partnership with Canadian nonprofit Kids Code Jeunesse 
• Successful completion of 12 workshops and 24 professional development days to 216 educators 
• Delivered the project’s demanding deliverables on time and within budgets

Project Lead for Code1 in patnership with BC Ministry of Education & Kids Code Jeunesse  

As the company scaled rapidly to different programs and locations, the marketing efforts also had to scale. In this role, I supported the growth of our marketing team, campaigns and budgets and managed the day-to-day operations of the marketing team. 
 
Highlights:
• Supported  CEO and Head of Marketing in the creation of a comprehensive marketing reporting structure 
• Spearheaded all marketing campaigns, initiatives, and program launches
• Wrote quarterly and annual marketing strategy documents 
• Hired, trained and supported a multi-city marketing operations team of 8 including Marketers, • Community Managers and a Designer 
• Oversaw a monthly advertising  budget of $30K+ / month
• Oversaw internal communications  to ensure that all relevant company functions are kept informed of marketing objectives

Brand Strategist and Marketing Operations Lead 

Joining Lighthouse Labs in the early startup stage, I had the opportunity to lead the creation of the company’s brand platform and visual identity. Post- discovery and ideation phases, I’ve also led the rollout of the new brand through the creation of a training plan, marketing materials, and a brand new company website. 
 
Main responsibilities: 
 
1. Led branding exploration:  
• Conducted stakeholder interviews with employees, students, alumni and partners
• Completed a situational analysis that included quantitative and qualitative research
• Conducted a deep dive into the company's core values
• Presented a branding platform directly to the CEO and Founders that included: core messaging, value proposition, strategic positioning plans, buyer personas, core values, brand story, and personality. 
• Managed in-house designer in the creation of visual identity 
 
2. Led the implementation and rollout phases of the project: 
• Led the creation of a brand new company website, working closely with an in designer and copywriter as well as liaising with a web development agency
• Wrote core messaging for website and all other marketing materials 
• Created training plans and materials for all employees 
• Created company-wide communications guidelines and managed in- house graphic designer in the creation of visual guidelines and new marketing materials
• Created and published Lighthouse Labs first Student Outcomes Report, the first of its kind in Canada. The annual report was really successful in providing students with transparent employment data and played a key part in positioning Lighthouse Labs as an industry leader of quality education. The report still gets published on an annual basis and plays a key role in the company’s brand positioning and marketing success

Brand Strategist

The HTML500 is an educational initiative aimed to champion digital literacy and inspire people to learn to code. It is where Canada’s top 150 tech companies come together to empower over 2000 Canadians with basic coding skills. In its essence, the HTML500 is a crash course in HTML & CSS where 500 participants of all ages and walks of life come together to learn and make a strong statement that anybody can learn to code.
 
Highlights: 
• Successful, sold-out events in 4 Canadian cities 
• 7400+ registrants (over 5000 people on the waitlist) 
• 50% of participants identified as women 
• $150,000+ dollars raised in monetary and in-kind sponsorships. 
• 150+ partners including: 12 government organizations, 19 nonprofits, 70+ startups and Canada’s top tech companies 
• Highly successful PR campaign with 114 media mentions,  and 739,996 unique website visitors

Head of Events and the HTML500 Lead 

The HTML500 was created by Lighthouse Labs in order to inspire more people to learn how to code. It served to teach 500 attendees HTML and CSS in one day, for free. It was the largest open access education event in the history of Vancouver and had an overwhelming demand of 500 participants and over 1300 on the waiting list. 

-Oversaw all logistics of 500 participants full day event from initial planning to execution under a tight timeline, demonstrating excellent attention to details, communication and organizational skills. 
-Ensured a smooth event flow by creating a comprehensive and detailed itinerary and event flow plan that outlined tasks for over 30 volunteers and 100 teacher assistants by understanding the responsibilities of each position. 
-Secured food and refreshments. 
-Assisted team with other miscellaneous tasks such as event promotions and research for press releases.

Logistics Coordinator the HTML500

ICL Group

Dead Sea Works, a business unit of ICL Fertilizers, is the world's seventh largest producer and supplier of potash products and one of Israel's largest employers. 

•Assisted management in different business functions including: business development, corporate sponsorship and client relations, Human Resources and administrative tasks. 
•Acquired hands-on experience managing different SAP applications including: Human Capital Management, CRM and Supply Chain Management and SAP ERP.

Management Intern, Dead Sea Works Unit.

Imprint Branding Conference

Imprint is the University of British Columbia Premier Branding Conference. It is a CUS annual conference giving students a glimpse into the world of branding, highlighting both personal and corporate branding. The conference attracts around 250 student and business delegates from the field of marketing, advertising and human resources. Leading up to the conference, there are also two pre- conference workshops held throughout the academic year. 

-Hired, led and mentored a team of 14 individuals through the planning and execution of the conference and two pre-conference workshops including overseeing marketing, external, internal and creative aspects of the events. 
-Initiated, planed and executed the rebranding process of one of Sauder's top conferences (See Projects) 
-Identified and recruited over 30 key industry professionals as speakers and delegates. 
-Achieved excellent results and recognition by the Sauder Community including the title of runner up for Top Conference of the Year Award.

Co-Chairperson

Style and the City Branding Conference.

Style and the City is the University of British Columbia’s premier branding conference. 

-Created a comprehensive fashion sponsorship package resulting in the successful recruitment of French Connection UK (FCUK) as an official sponsor and partner of Style and the City 2012. 
-Hired and led a team of 10 student models.  
-Executed a 30 outfits FCUK fashion show.

Fashion Director

Chabad of Shanghai.

Shanghai Hebew School is an after-school center aims to teach Hebrew proficiency to children aged 4-13 

-Taught  a group of 14 school age children both Hebrew language and Jewish studies. Achieved the highest percentage of Hebrew School graduates (64%) with Hebrew fluency. 
-Was acknowledged as an excellent teacher by the management and parents through a teaching excellence award for contribution and care towards student learning.

Hebrew School Teacher

You're likely to find me working on strategic, impact-driven initiatives where for-profits, nonprofits, and government meet to make a difference. Or at a coffee shop with a croissant in hand. 
 
I spent the past few years at a growing tech startup at the intersection of technology & education where most recently I led large scale projects, programs and strategic initiatives. I’m passionate about education & training, workforce development, social entrepreneurship and accessibility. I feel most at home in spaces that prioritize learning, impact, community, and growth. 
 
I excel in understanding the 'big picture' and long-term goals while ensuring that every detail is taken care of to get there.I thrive in demanding and fast-paced environments where I have the autonomy to create roadmaps and lead teams or projects that move the needle.
 
Otherwise, I'm a big fan of yoga, cooking and historical novels. If it sounds like we have some things in common, I’d love to connect! 

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