Our instructors

Leena Alkhammash

Meghan Allen

Meghan Allen, MSc, is an associate professor of teaching in the UBC Department of Computer Science. She joined UBC in 2007 and has extensive experience teaching program design, software construction and software engineering courses. Meghan holds a UBC Certificate on Curriculum and Pedagogy in Higher Education. Before joining UBC, she worked as a software developer for a local start-up company.

Nneka Allen

Nneka Allen, CFRE, is a Black woman, a descendant of the Underground Railroad, an Ojibwa of Anderson Nation, a mother and a sixth-generation Canadian.

Nneka was raised during a time of Black power and acute political awareness in North America. At home, her parents and relatives poured their consciousness into her multiethnic identity. Her upbringing inspired her passion for justice, activism and philanthropy.

For 20 years, Nneka has worked and inspired philanthropy in the non-profit industry. She’s the principal and founder of The Empathy Agency, helping organizations deliver more fairly on their mission and vision. In her work, she coaches leaders and their teams to explore the effects identity have on organizational culture and equity goals.

Nneka honours the spirit of generosity in all people, and is passionate about the many contributions Black Canadian philanthropists have made. Her recent projects include Our Right to Heal, a project with the Association of Fundraising Professionals that features the authentic stories of a group of women at various points in their fundraising careers. Nneka brought these women together to share their professional and personal experiences, and gain strength and understanding through those connections.

Nneka is also the author and joint editor of Collecting Courage: Joy, Pain, Freedom, Love, a book featuring the first person narratives of 14 Black fundraisers in the United States and Canada.

Norm Amundson

Dr. Norm Amundson, PhD, is a Professor Emeritus at UBC, and has worked in the career development field for more than 40 years. During this time, he has been involved in numerous national and international career development projects, and has published many books and articles.

Norm is a lead consultant for Doubleknot Works. He is a co-founder of the Hope-Action Theory, and the author of the award-winning book, Active Engagement. He recently co-authored Career Recovery, Creating Hopeful Careers in Difficult Times, and Career Flow and Development, Hope in Action. His books and workbooks have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and he has presented his work at conferences in more than 30 countries.

He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Umea in Sweden, and has been recognized by many national and international professional associations for his leadership and contributions to the career development field. In his work, Norm emphasizes the importance of creativity, imagination, storytelling, dynamic action, metaphors and hope.

Litzy Baeza

Litzy Baeza earned her Master of Arts from the University of Chile and is currently a consultant specializing in Gender, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Her expertise spans instruction, course development, and strategic initiatives.

Litzy has extensive experience teaching and developing courses on Gender, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion topics at various post-secondary institutions in Canada and internationally. She began her career in international education, focusing on intercultural competency and communication for international students, before transitioning to international development projects centered on capacity building and institutional strengthening. She collaborates with clients worldwide to address training needs, strategic planning, and program development.

Litzy has published articles in both Spanish and English on the Chilean exile in Edmonton, Alberta. Fluent in English and Spanish, she has lived and worked abroad in Mexico, Cuba, and Chile. Currently, she is writing a book about her experiences in Cuba. In her free time, she enjoys exercising and spending time with her two rescue dogs from Cuba.

Mariam Baldwin

Mariam Garau Baldwin, BA, was born in Curitiba, Brazil and earned her degree in Portuguese language and literature from the Federal University of Paraná in Curitiba. She started her career as a civil servant, working with the Brazilian Embassy, the Vatican and the Foreign Affairs Protocol division of the Paraná state government.

After leaving the public sector, Mariam managed the Montreal Language School in Curitiba for more than 20 years. There, she taught hundreds of adults and children from varied backgrounds and nationalities Portuguese and Brazilian culture. She has written Portuguese textbooks for multinational organizations, and has given intercultural awareness workshops for executives and their families.

Mariam brings dynamic learning methods and extensive experience as a Portuguese instructor to students in UBC Extended Learning languages programs. A native speaker of Brazilian Portuguese, Mariam is also fluent in Italian and English. She has worked in Rome, London and San Francisco, and now calls Vancouver home. She enjoys jogging, cooking, travelling and being in British Columbia’s outdoors.

Ela Bandari

Silvia Bartolic

Silvia Bartolic, PhD, is an instructor in the UBC Department of Sociology, and a recipient of the prestigious Killam Teaching Award for her courses in family sociology. Silvia's research interests re in the scholarships of teaching and learning, relationship dynamics, family and health.

Nesrine Basheer

Simon Bates

Simon Bates, PhD, is the UBC Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Teaching and Learning, and Chair Associate of Pacific Rim Universities: University of the Future working group “How GenAI will enable, challenge and disrupt Higher Education.”

Simon works closely with post-secondary students, faculty and staff to develop and implement innovative approaches to teaching and learning, and focus on enhancing student learning outcomes, as well as overseeing continuous learning and continuing education.

Simon has facilitated numerous discussions around GenAI and its impact on teaching and learning in HESA’s AI Observatory round table community meetings which focuses on AI Policies in Canadian Post-Secondary Education.