Our instructors

Mariana Paspuel Paredes

Mariana Paspuel Paredes, MSc, is a course coordinator with UBC Extended Learning, and a front end developer at Accenture. She began teaching in 2018, and has gained significant experience in teaching, mentoring, and course management over the last few years. She works closely with students and faculty to ensure a seamless educational experience. At Accenture, she applies her expertise in coordination and problem-solving to deliver impactful digital solutions.

Joenita Paulrajan

Joenita leads the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), Intercultural and International Development programs at UBC Extended Learning (ExL). She conducts research, designs and develops curricula and course materials, and leads a team of approximately 30 facilitators. Joenita also optimizes the integration of new online learning tools, strategies and instructional design to make the online experience accessible and interactive for adult learners.

With a PhD in intercultural studies and extensive experience across international contexts, Joenita regularly presents at conferences and hosts EDI workshops, both at UBC, at other post-secondary institutions and for organizations that have included the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources, the Conference Board of Canada and Asia-Pacific Association for International Education. Her outreach activities help inform ExL programs, and ensure it stays at the forefront of current EDI practices.

Annick Pellegrin

Dr Annick Pellegrin is a Sessional Lecturer of French at UBC. She holds a joint PhD in French and in Spanish and Latin American studies, and has taught at the university level for over 10 years. Throughout her teaching career, Annick has taught French language and grammar to native speakers, as well as students of French as a second language, and covered all levels from A1 to C2. Annick’s research interests include bandes dessinées (Franco-Belgian comics) and historietas (Latin American comics). She also serves as a member of the editorial board of Studies in Comics and as a columns and articles editor for the Comics Forum.

Andy Poystila

Maryam Raiyat Aliabadi

Maryam R. Aliabadi, BSc, MSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering, PhD in Computer Science, is a Postdoctoral Teaching and Research Fellow in the Faculty of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia.

Guided by a passion for innovation, Maryam’s academic focus shifted towards applied machine learning for Cyber-Physical Systems during her PhD studies. She has over 10 years of international industrial experience as an R&D engineer in international companies and four years of teaching experience in international universities such as UBC and New York Tech.

Her commitment to the digital world's security extends beyond academia as the trailblazer behind cyber security education for children through gamification.

Gabriel Reygondeau

Alexandra Richmond

Alexandra Richmond has an MSc in International Marketing Communication Strategy, an MEd, and 13 years of experience in organizational administration and education. She is very involved with public and private sector organizations and teaches extensively both in the classroom and in the boardroom.

Heather Robertson

Mirta Roncagalli

Mirta Roncagalli, MA, is a doctoral candidate of Hispanic studies at UBC. She studied at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy) where she earned a bachelor’s degree in languages and linguistics with a minor in international relations, and a master’s degree in comparative literatures. She also earned a master’s degree from University of Huelva (Spain).

Mirta has studied and conducted research at University of Bristol (UK), University of Zaragoza (Spain) and Georgia State University (US). Her current research is at the crossroads of ethics and politics, specifically within the 20th and 21st-century Spanish essay.

Chantale Roy

Chantale Roy is a French instructor and translator with over 20 years of teaching experience. Her studies in health sciences and education at the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Temiscamingue and in translation at the University of Saint-Boniface have fed her passion for expressing life in all forms, including words. She has developed and taught several online reading and writing courses, and has instructed in-class and online language courses for UBC Extended Learning and for the government of Canada. She enjoys working in the field of translation as she feels it combines both art and science. Different translation techniques joined with the ability to feel the meaning of a text allow a reader to access the wonderful world of a second or a third language.