Speakers Style II – Can/Am Edtech Industry Alliance

LISTEN TO THE Keynote Speakers

Melissa is an award-winning Educator, specialized in EdTech, STEM, Music/Arts Integration, and Project-Based Learning from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is the founder and president of Middle Years Esport Manitoba and the Canadian Middle School Esport Association, and actively involved in scholastic esports advocacy, research, and publication. To learn more about scholastic esports in Canada please contact melissa.burns@lrsd.net or on Twitter @MelissaBurnsEDU

Dr. Tracey Burns

Senior Analyst, OECD Centre for Educational Research & Innovation

Dr. Tracey Burns

Senior Analyst, OECD Centre for Educational Research & Innovation

Tracey Burns is a Senior Analyst in the OECD's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. She heads a portfolio of projects including 21st Century Children, Trends Shaping Education and Innovative Teaching for Effective Learning. Previous to her time at the OECD she worked on social determinants of health and well-being. As a Post-Doctoral Fellow at The University of British Columbia, Dr. Burns led a research team investigating newborn infants' responses to language, and was an award-winning lecturer on infant and child development. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including The University of British Colombia Post-Doctoral Fellowship and the American Psychological Association Dissertation Research Awards. Tracey holds a B.A. from McGill University, Canada, and an M.A. and Doctor of Philosophy in psychology from Northeastern University, USA.

Robert Martellacci

Founder & Conference Chair

Robert Martellacci

Founder & Conference Chair

Robert Martellacci (MA EdTech) is president of MindShare Learning Technology, Canada’s leading EdTech strategy, news & events company he founded in 2001. Mr. Martellacci is also president & co-founder of C21 Canada—Canadians for 21st Century Learning & Innovation.

Mr. Martellacci is a lifelong learner who is committed to connecting business and education to transform learning in the 21st century to support student success. He completed a transformational learning journey as a mature student earning a master’s in educational technology from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California which inspired the creation of the MindShare Learning Report—Canada’s Learning & Technology eMagazine.

Mr. Martellacci has over 25 years of expertise and thought leadership in education as a former university administrator at York University; he also launched The Learning Company School Division for Kevin O’Leary which was the catalyst to forming his start-up MindShare Learning following the Mattel acquisition.

One of Martellacci’s signature slogans, “until next time, keep the learning curve steep.”

LISTEN TO THE Event Speakers

Melissa Burns

Award-winning educator

Melissa Burns

Award-winning educator

Christopher Usih

Chief Superintendent of Schools, Calgary Board of Education

Christopher Usih

Chief Superintendent of Schools, Calgary Board of Education

From a very early age, Christopher recognized the value of public education and its power to transform lives. He now has 30 years of experience as an educator. Before joining the CBE, he spent 28 years with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), holding several positions including teacher, principal, Superintendent of Student Success, Associate Director and Executive Superintendent. Before joining the TDSB, Christopher taught in an Indigenous community in northern Manitoba. At every level, he actively engaged and collaborated with educators and partners to support student success.
Christopher Usih is the new Chief Superintendent of Schools at the Calgary Board of Education (CBE). He officially started his work with the CBE, Alberta’s largest school board, in December 2018

Dr. Tracey Burns

Senior Analyst, OECD Centre for Educational Research & Innovation

Dr. Tracey Burns

Senior Analyst, OECD Centre for Educational Research & Innovation

Dr. Mario Chiasson

Director of Research, Innovations and Change Management at District scolaire francophone Sud

Dr. Mario Chiasson

Director of Research, Innovations and Change Management at District scolaire francophone Sud

Dr. Mario Chiasson is known for his practical insights on learning innovation. He is experienced and equipped to make big things happen. As the founder of My Learning My Space, Mario has helped countless organizations and institutions (schools, districts, ministries, colleges, universities, business and communities) to navigate through disruptive change, develop innovation capabilities and drive continuous improvement. From startups and small projects to educational and community reform.
Mario is a researcher that focuses on the design of spaces that influence the learning and the teaching process of new skills aligned with the innovative society. He holds a Bachelors degree in Physical Education with two concentration (Math and Science), a Masters in school administration with a focus on ICT and a Ph.D in Education at Université de Moncton, New-Brunswick, Canada. He is a Microsoft Innovative Teacher, a Cisco IT Essential Teacher, an Apple Distinguished Educator, an Apple Certified Trainer.

Dr. Rumeet Billan

Award-winning, internationally recognized entrepreneur, learning architect, speaker, author, humanitarian, and Canada’s top 10 power women 2020

Dr. Rumeet Billan

Award-winning, internationally recognized entrepreneur, learning architect, speaker, author, humanitarian, and Canada’s top 10 power women 2020

Dr. Billan is the President and CEO of Viewpoint Leadership and an expert on Psychological Capital. She completed her PhD at the University of Toronto and has designed and facilitated programs, courses, and training sessions across industries and sectors. She led the groundbreaking national research study on Tall Poppy Syndrome which reveals the impact of the silent systemic syndrome on women in the workplace. In 2020, she co-led the Canadian Happiness at Work study, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, and was the inaugural National Ambassador for the Not Myself Today® campaign with CMHA.
Dr. Billan was named Canada’s Top 10 Power Women in 2020, and has been twice named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women.

Maxim Jean-Louis

Chief Executive Officer of Contact North | Contact Nord

Maxim Jean-Louis

Chief Executive Officer of Contact North | Contact Nord

Maxim Jean-Louis is President – Chief Executive Officer of Contact North | Contact Nord, Ontario’s Distance Education and Training Network, headquartered in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Maxim worked in senior management roles for over 15 years at Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada’s open university.
He is also a member of the Comité consultatif en matière d’éducation postsecondaire en langue française dans les régions du Centre et du Sud-ouest.
Maxim is a former Chair of the Board of Directors of the World University Service of Canada and of the Optical Regional Advanced Network of Ontario, as well as a past member of Ontario’s Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board, and he served as a member of the Canadian Advisory Mission to support the implementation of the South African National Qualifications Framework (NQF) by the South African Qualifications Authority. He also served as President of Collège des Grands Lacs, one of Ontario’s three French-language community colleges.
In 2011, Maxim was appointed Special Advisor to Ontario’s Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities for an Ontario Online Institute, producing a 125-page report and recommendations to the Minister on opportunities for online learning in the province.

Steve Brown

President & Chief Executive Officer, NELSON

Steve Brown

President & Chief Executive Officer, NELSON

Steve Brown has made his mark in Canada and Internationally by leading organizations through digital transformation. His career spans a diverse mix of industry and technology experience from multi-media entertainment, logistics services, automotive, and now to learning solutions.
Since joining NELSON in September 2016, Steve has transformed the vision for this 104-year-old company by reimagining the role and purpose of a publisher in 2017 and beyond. Introducing a matrix driven view to the management culture, and unifying a K20 student-centric business division is at the core of this shift to a cohesive customer focused structure. He has reframed the organization’s digital competency by instituting a technology department comprised of some the world’s best and brightest talent based in Silicon Beach California. Additionally, over the past 12 months the company has engaged in various M&A activities, including the acquisition of one of its largest competitors, as well as signing numerous agency and partnership deals to ensure NELSON offers a world class portfolio of learning solution and for all its markets.
Steve’s passion and commitment to transforming education, and the student learning experience, continues to fuel the innovation pipeline at NELSON.