Our team
51 Results
Staff
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Tharanee Nakandala
Senior Program Assistant, Centre for Equitable Systems Design
She, Her, Hers
Tharanee Nakandala is a Senior Program Assistant at the Centre for Equitable Systems Design (CESD), where she provides comprehensive support to learners and instructors. She assists with course selection, student records, and resolving inquiries, while also managing instructor contracts and onboarding. Tharanee oversees program logistics, marketing efforts, and financial administration to ensure seamless program operations.
Tharanee’s background includes experience in international relations and certifications in Intercultural Development and Suicide Prevention. She is committed to fostering inclusive environments and contributing meaningfully to UBC’s academic and community-focused objectives.
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Mubarak Olanipekun
Senior Financial Specialist
Mubarak is a member of the UBC Finance team that supports Extended Learning. He plays an integral role in providing financial support for various UBC ExL units, the English Language Institute and various UBC Faculties. His responsibilities mainly focus on maintaining the financial integrity of the Student Registration system. This encompasses the areas of reconciliations, reporting, and providing financial help desk support and instructions to staff. Mubarak collaborates closely with unit program managers on fiscal planning and reporting. In addition to his current responsibilities Mubarak is always looking for opportunities to grow and excel in his career as a top finance professional at UBC.
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David Picking
Senior Program Assistant, University Preparation and Community Programs
He, Him, His
David provides administrative and student support for UBC Extended Learning’s (ExL) university preparation and community programs. He helps process admissions, registration and financial transactions for these programs, and liaises with other ExL teams and groups in the community. With more than 20 years of experience as an administrative professional in Canada and the UK, David is passionate about education and ensuring that Canadian and international students have a positive, rewarding experience at UBC.
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Josefina Rosado
Senior Learning Strategist, Academic, LT and Media Solutions
With over 15 years of experience in educational technology, project management, and online learning, Josefina collaborates with subject matter experts and content developers to support the design and delivery of engaging learning experiences. She specializes in integrating educational technologies with teaching practices, with a strong emphasis on accessibility, universal design for learning, and wellbeing. Josefina is a member of the Canvas Catalog Administrators Group and contributes to the ExL Learning Design & Learning Technology, as well as the ExL DIY Media communities.
Josefina designs and builds engaging hybrid and online courses based on adult learning theory, contributing to non-degree educational offerings for UBC faculty and Extended Learning. Her expertise lies in applying UX and learning design to course content that enhances adult learning outcomes, supporting the university’s extended education initiatives.
Josefina leads the Extended Learning Instructor Information Hub (IIHub), a centralized resource providing UBC Extended Learning instructors with essential teaching materials and equal access to university-wide and program-specific information
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Matthew Schmidt
Program Leader, Language and Writing Programs
Matthew (Matt) is responsible for course and curriculum design and development, and evening weekend and online programming for UBC Extended Learning Languages, Professional Writing and Communications and English Communication Skills courses and programs. He also manages summer institutes in French, Spanish and American Sign Language (ASL), and supervises and mentors more than 50 instructors. Matt is fluent in Spanish and French, and represents ExL at the Centre de la Francophonie de UBC. A published fiction author, Matt’s background includes 12 years’ experience in adult education, a master’s in French literature, a bachelor’s in linguistics and basic skills in ASL.
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Aika Sembay
Manager, Program Development, Design & Research, Academic Services
Aika supports new program development for UBC Extended Learning (ExL) and across the university, managing program research, design and strategy, and providing market insights and design recommendations for program success and sustainability for credit and non-credit.
She provides market research and funding grant consultation support for Faculty degree/non-degree programs for Provost Office New Programs Hub faculty initiatives and leads the administration of the Continuous Learning Advancement Funding Call (CLAF).
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Neha Shivhare
Program Leader
She, Her, Hers
Neha is responsible for the planning, design, development, assessment, budgeting and delivery of Extended Learning’s (ExL) programs and courses. She collaborates with ExL teams, UBC Faculties and external education partners to create policies, systems and organizational practices that support the delivery of programs, including data science, cloud computing, extended reality, systematic program design and Indigenous health.
Neha is trained and skilled in policy analysis, research and international education, and has more than a decade of experience developing educational programs and leading teams. A passionate scholar and teacher-educator, she’s committed to advancing flexible and innovative teaching and learning practices that are accessible to adult learners. Neha enjoys research-based problem solving and policy planning to streamline operational processes.
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Doina Strusievici
Manager, Business Intelligence and Analytics
She, Her, Hers
In her role at UBC Extended Learning (ExL), Doina turns data into actionable insights that inform marketing and business objectives. Her work encompasses business intelligence and data governance, digital insights and analytics, and digital marketing. Doina provides strategic direction for data collection, measurement, processing and reporting in collaboration with ExL marketing and program teams, UBC Web Services and external vendors.
Committed to her continuous learning and personal growth, Doina has completed the UBC Award of Achievement in Digital Analytics, the Certificate Program in Web Intelligence and the Certificate in Business Intelligence & Data Warehousing from UCI. Doina is part of the ExL Digital Transformation working group, and is a professional member of the Digital Analytics Association (DAA). She is also the recipient of several higher education marketing awards.
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Conchita Suarez
Senior Student Services Representative
Conchita is a member of the student services team at UBC Extended Learning (ExL). Learners of all ages rely on Conchita and the team to help them choose the most appropriate program or course based on their unique needs and goals. Her experience working with the programs at ExL also allows her to contribute to course creation, planning, organizing and information sharing. Conchita is committed to providing exceptional advisory services that help people become successful lifelong learners.
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Caitlin Sullivan
Manager, Program Marketing
She, Her, Hers
Caitlin plans, implements and evaluates integrated marketing campaigns for UBC Extended Learning’s (ExL) languages, writing, English communications skills, data science and software development programs. She also collaborates with and supports the marketing for the UBC Master of Data Science.
With a background in mathematics, education, digital marketing and analytics, Caitlin also plays a key role in administering the marketing team’s project management application. Caitlin is committed to delivering campaigns that inspire learners of any age to pursue education.
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