Our instructors

Rita Santillan

Rita Santillan holds a Master's degree in Educational Technology, and a BEd with a specialization in teaching foreign languages. She has also earned a Spanish Teaching Certificate from the Instituto Cervantes in Spain, and a Certificate in Translation and Interpretation from the University of California. Originally from Peru, Rita came to UBC in 2008.

Cristina Schaurich

Kelly Shiohira

Kelly Shiohira, BA, MA, MSc, is a Director of the Global Science of Learning Education Network and a prominent strategist recognized for her work in areas of literacy, connecting education to the world of work, and the use of AI and Technology in Education.

Kelly has worked on large-scale projects and works across the value chain of planning, implementation and monitoring, and evaluation to design, deliver and evaluate educational interventions. She particularly works in the areas of literacy, connecting education to the world of work and the use of AI and Technology in Education. Her past projects include several blended learning programs for teachers and learners, including the Bridges to the Future South Africa 2 initiative, a literacy through technology program in four African languages that won the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy.

Kelly is one of the authors of the UNESCO AI Competency Framework for Students and leads an international working group focusing on its implementation. Her publications include Understanding the Implications of AI on Skills Development, K-12 AI Curricula: A mapping of government-endorsed AI curricula and Proceed with Caution: The Pitfalls and Potential of AI and Education.

Dan Small

Dan Small, PhD, is a research associate in the Department of Anthropology at UBC. He has a PhD in medical anthropology (University of British Columbia), an MPhil in circumpolar studies (University of Cambridge), and undergraduate degrees in sociology and anthropology, and psychology (Simon Fraser University).

Julie Stockton

Julie Stockton has consulted to multiple organizations across Canada for over 25 years, working primarily in the public service sector supporting positive organizational change. She spent several years in health care before joining the University of British Columbia as the Director of Human Resources (ODL). In partnership with Maura Da Cruz, Julie opened the Canadian Centre for Positive Change in 2016 to support the transformation of people, teams, and organizations through a different kind of conversation. She holds a Positive Psychology Coaching certificate (CPPC), and is certified as a Conversational Intelligence for Coaches Enhanced Skill Practitioner, a Narrative Coach Enhanced Practitioner, and a Systemic Team Coaching Advanced Practitioner.

Zorana Svedic

Dr. Zorana Svedic, PhD, is a lecturer in the Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources division of the UBC Sauder School of Business. Her research focuses on cross-cultural issues in the global mobile apps market. She has been teaching undergraduate and graduate business courses since 2005, and has hosted numerous workshops and coached student teams for local and international business plan and case competitions. In 2001, Zorana founded Big Z Productions Ltd., a company that develops courseware training material and supports online courses.

Andrea Szilagyi

Brian Taguchi

Brian Taguchi leads and manages the UBC Certificate in Organizational Coaching program at UBC Extended Learning, as well as the delivery of coach training modules customized to internal clients at UBC. He hires, trains and coordinates a team of UBC Mentor Coaches, onsite facilitators and online moderators who support organizational coaching programs. In partnership with UBC Coaching Services, Brian designs and iterates program material and content to meet emerging needs in the coach training marketplace, and explores new initiatives within UBC and for industry.

Naïma Teir

Rahim Thawer

Rahim Thawer, MSW, RSW, CCS holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Social Work at the University of Alabama. He is an instructor at the School of Social Work at the University of Alabama and provides services as a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and consultant through Affective Consulting & Psychotherapy Services.

Based in Toronto, Rahim is a multifaceted professional who works as an instructor, psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, consultant, public speaker, podcast host, and author. His research focuses on how anti-racist, queer-affirming psychoanalytic frameworks can support social workers, trainee therapists, and organizational leaders.

Rahim’s approach to behavioural health emphasizes examining the intersections of mental health and systemic oppression. As a settler and visitor on Turtle Island, he reflects deeply on what it means to live ethically on this land. A dynamic public speaker and published author, he combines serious discourse with humor, sass, and a playful touch of pink to engage his audiences.

His published works include The Mental Health Guide for Cis and Trans Guys (New Harbinger Press) and the forthcoming The Politicized Practitioner (Blue Cactus Press). He is also a Fellow at the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto, a member of the Counselors for Social Justice (American Counseling Association), and the Ontario Association of Social Workers.

Rahim’s professional interests include using psychoanalysis to explore unconscious barriers that hinder the successful and sustainable implementation of DEI initiatives within nonprofit and healthcare settings.