Our Team

Tom Tomassi

Tom is the President of OPSEU Local 556.

Paul Petrie

Jeffrey Brown

Jeff is a professor in the Centre for Preparatory and Liberal Studies at George Brown College. He teaches philosophy courses in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and English for academic purposes in the School of ESL. His research interests focus on critical pedagogy and the ethical dimensions of education, with a focus on the roles of student and teacher agency in the learning process. Jeff has been teaching for over 20 years. Before taking on his current full-time position in 2015, he taught in contract positions at a variety of private schools, colleges and universities.

Sarah Wiebe

Madeline McCarthy

Margaret Alexander

Margaret Alexander (they/she) is a Professor in the Assaulted Women and Children’s Counselor Advocate Program at George Brown College in Toronto. They have an M.A. in Learning and Technology, a M.Ed. in Urban Indigenous Education and they are working on a Ph.D. in Education: Language, Culture & Teaching. Their research involves exploring racialization and racism in post-secondary institutions. Margaret has been an activist and educator with the feminist anti-violence movement for over 25 years. They started their activism working in women’s shelters and rape crisis; and have an extensive background of developing and delivering community-based training about gender violence and anti-oppression policy and practice. They are a Steward 556, contact malexand2 @ gmail.com

Heather Buffet

Silvia Caicedo

Silvia Caicedo is a learning facilitator, who believes that learninghappens when students become meaningfully engaged in the knowledge creation process. In 2015, after 14 years of international work, Silvia joined George Brown College in Toronto, where she teaches at the School of Work and College Preparation department and the College Teachers Training Program – the latter is a bridging postgraduate program designed to facilitate the labour integration of internationally trained professionals into Canadian higher education. Her professional experience spans many fields, including education, natural resources management, gender, technologies for development, communications, and organizational change. It is this experience that makes Silvia cautiously optimistic about the role of technology as a tool for social change (especially in education). Silvia holds a Graduate Diploma in Organizational Communication, M. A. in Sociology, B. A. in International Development and a B. Ed. Her public footprint includes publications, conference presentations and commentaries.

Danielle Chateau

Deborah Doherty

I have 19 years teaching in post secondary settings in Ontario, including Loyalist, First Nations Institute of Technology, Fleming College, St Lawrence College, Centennial College, Seneca College, Humber College and Ryerson and Trent University. My teaching facilitates creating dynamic working and learning communities modelling respect, inclusion, intersectionality, critical race theory, indigenous ways of knowing and learning, and social justice. An anti-oppressive framework informs the learning community as a safe space; where all are represented, and all students are seen, valued, and heard. I use a critical lens regarding decolonizing developmental theories and adding a feminist ethics of care focus to a wholistic approach,. In pedagogical and curriculum courses, I teach using multiple perspectives celebrating intersectionality, diversity, inclusion, critical race theory, universal design and equity, decolonizing policy, and practice. My family has walked many a picket line and Labour Day marches. So, much so, I tried to have my kindergarten class protest having a nap at 9:30 in the morning; eventually refining my organizing to mobilize a walk out and study to rule campaigns in high school. I believe together we are stronger, communication is key, and supporting each other is the way forward.

Allan Esser

Allan has been a professor at George Brown's Centre for Business since 2011 after a 20 year career in the Financial Services industry. Allan's teaching and industry experience span a variety of functional areas including; information management, database design, marketing research, financial modeling, risk management, as well as advanced analytics and data mining. As an industry practitioner, Allan has worked with risk management industry thought leaders such as Algorithmics, as well as a full range of domestic and international financial institutions including; Bank of Montreal, GE, and Scotiabank International. Through his work with various international development organizations including; the Canadian Co-operative Association, Bankers without Borders, and the World Bank, Allan is a strong proponent of socially responsible capitalism and has applied his passion in solving problems that focus on transforming data into knowledge and actionable decisions. In addition to teaching and curriculum development work, Allan divides his time across a variety of projects including; applied research, public speaking and consulting.

Joanna Friend -she/her(s), they/their(s)

Creating inclusive and inviting spaces for people to teach and learn is a driving force for Joanna as an educator. Joanna has worked as a Learning Strategist and Counsellor in Accessible Learning Services, has taught Psychology, Interpersonal Communication, and Inclusion in Early Childhood in the School of ECE and is a Faculty Facilitator in the TLX specializing in Anti-oppressive teaching and learning, accessibility, and Universal Design for Learning. Joanna has been a Steward with local 556 since 2014, and has served on the College Workload Monitoring Committee, Joint Health and Safety Committee and the Union-College Committee.

Paula Greaves

Paula is a professor in the Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts and teaches marketing and leadership courses to School of Hospitality and Tourism management students and has been teaching at GBC for 17 years. She has a real passion for educational technology and is always looking for new tools to engage her students, especially online.

Taras Gula

Taras (he/him) has been a professor at George Brown College since 2002 after a 12 year career teaching mathematics in the Toronto District School Board. He teaches courses in mathematics, statistics, and research methods to students in the Health Science Division. Taras' research has been focused on improving mathematics and statistics education for non-mathematicians, but he has also supported research in Inter-professional Education and other health sciences education research formally and informally. Taras has been a steward since 2005.

Philip Lortie

Philip Lortie has been teaching in post-secondary settings in Toronto since completing an M.A. in Education at OISE/UT in 2004, with a research focus on arts-based education, holistic curriculum design and inclusivity. Since joining the Academic Upgrading team (in the School for Work and College Preparation) in 2017, he has taught Communications in a variety of courses and enjoys finding new ways to ignite students' imaginations via authentic learning activities. Outside of teaching, he continues to pursue his love of voice acting, writing and performance. He is a strong believer in the collective power of the faculty to keep the college system—and its government funders—focused on what matters most: students’ learning.

Jacques Senechal

Milan Shahani

Milan has been teaching at George Brown College as a contract and full time faculty since 1999. Milan teaches in the school of fashion. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from Bombay University. She holds a Master in Fine Arts Degree specializing in Costume Design for Theatre, from the University of North Carolina’s School Of The Arts. Milan has worked as a Costume Designer for various theatre and film productions in Toronto, U.S.A. and India. She has taught designers, mentored students through industry commissioned projects and provided apprenticeships for graduates. Her applied research interests lie in designing garments for healthcare and particularly the differently able community