Meet the Board of Directors
STAN aims to be represented by a diverse and eclectic group of STEM professionals from across Canada. All Directors are volunteers who are currently working within the industry, with unique ideas and a good understanding of what is required to help network all Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics professionals, in order to promote and translate innovations within Canadian borders and abroad.
Alison Symington, Ph.D.
Treasurer
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Alison is the Principal of Strategic Life Science Consulting where she provides strategic expertise in the development of life science solutions to address industry needs, particularly in “omics” technologies. She also develops and evaluates research proposals, business plans and strategic positioning for academia, government and industry operating in the life sciences sector. Alison has also been involved in science literacy initiatives for over 20 years and continues to be an advocate for STEM throughout Canada.
Alison has served on the Board since 2010.
alison.symington @rogers.com
Frédérique Baron, Ph.D.
Frédérique is an astrophysicist who is passionate about the search for planets around stars other than the Sun. She has a PhD from the Université de Montréal and now works at the Institute for Research on Exoplanets at the Université de Montréal and the Mont-Mégantic Observatory.
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Frédérique joined the STAN Board in 2021.
Leroy Clarke, Ph.D., OCT
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Leroy is Founder, President and Executive Director of e-CAMP MENTORing, a Canadian federally registered not-for-profit agency focused on mentoring, training and coaching youth for success. He is also Co-Founding Director and Vice-President of the Centre for Rehabilitation and Health Services (CREHS) Inc, an emerging, cutting-edge global provider of digital solutions in healthcare. Leroy obtained his PhD in Science and Technology Education with a focus on mentoring from the University of Toronto. Leroy is an educator, community and intergenerational advocate especially for underrepresented groups for over 30 years. Through education, mentoring and coaching, Dr. Clarke has a passionate goal to see a sustainable, equitable and inclusive Canadian STEM Trades and Professions Pipeline. He is convinced that investing in our youth is investing in the future of our local and global communities.
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Leroy has served on the Board since 2021.
Sandra Corbeil
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Sandra Corbeil is the Director Strategic Partnerships and Networks for Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation. She has more than 25 years working as an education, communication, and outreach leader. She is known for her strategic thinking and creativity.
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Sandra has served on the Board since 2013.
scorbeil @ingeniumcanada.org
Isabel Deslauriers
Vice President
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Isabel Deslauriers is the Director, Youth and volunteer engagement, at Let’s Talk Science. She oversees volunteered-delivered programming including the Let’s Talk Science Outreach program and professional development for the post-secondary STEM students who volunteer through it. Working with volunteers inspire her and she is passionate about making sure that all Canadian audiences are served by science outreach.
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Isabel joined the STAN Board in 2019.
ideslauriers @letstalkscience.ca
Greg Dick
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Greg is the co-founder and CEO of Open Quantum Design, a nonprofit organization designed to scale quantum computing through radical transparency. Prior to co-founding OQD, Greg was a senior executive at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics where he worked with and led an incredible team dedicated to collaboration from a global education advocacy network spanning more than 100 countries and reaching 10 million students every year, to philanthropic partnerships that continue to drive foundational science.
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Greg has served on the Board since 2014.
Sandy Eix
President
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Sandy Eix has been inventing exhibits, programs, and shows at Science World for more than 20 years. Her job lets her play with all sorts of science and share her discoveries with kids of all ages. Some highlights so far include developing exhibitions; running summer camp for teachers; creating resources for preschoolers; training science centre professionals in Turkey; and opening Science World’s brand-new Tinkering Space.
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Sandy joined the STAN Board in 2019.
seix @scienceworld.ca
Mehrdad Hairiri ​
Mehrdad Hariri is the founder and CEO of the Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC). His vision and leadership have made the CSPC a leading non-profit and non-advocate organization in science and innovation policy in Canada and globally. Mehrdad was acknowledged by the Globe and Mail for his decade of exceptional contribution to science policy. In 2022 he was selected as a member of the Governor-General Leadership Conference.
Mehrdad is a member of several advisories and board organizations, including being a Senior Fellow of the Institute for Science Society and Policy at Ottawa University, a board member of the Journal of Science Policy and Governance, and served as a member of the advisory committees of the Innovation Leadership Council (ILC) of the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA), and the MITACS Science Policy Fellowship program.
He studied Veterinary Medicine, Cell Biology and Functional Genomics and has numerous publications and opinion pieces in various media outlets.
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Mehrdad has served on the Board since 2022.
Josephine Tsang, Ph.D., P.Chem.
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As the Community Engagement Specialist- Energy Sustainability at TELUS Spark (the Calgary Science Centre Society), Josephine leads public programming and partnership development for the Energy Transitions project. She is a proactive influencer and innovator, continuously striving to build relationships between private enterprise, communities, and governments, ultimately strengthening Canada’s science and technology culture. With more than 15 years of experience in the chemical and environmental sciences industries, Josephine is determined to show the public that STEAM is for everyone.
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Josephine has served on the Board since 2019.
josephine.sw.tsang @gmail.com
Tracy Walker​
Tracy is the Education Programs Lead at the Canadian Light Source, Canada's only synchrotron research facility. The education team focuses on building bridges between science research and science education and is working on understanding how Indigenous ways of knowing and western science processes can work together. She has been involved in education with pre-kindergarten learners and has classroom experience at the elementary, high school, and university levels in addition to the informal science education programs at CLS. Her passion for experiential transformative learning was the subject of research in achieving a Master’s of Education degree.
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Tracy has served on the Board since 2020.
tracy.walker @lightsource.ca
Anju Bajaj
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Dr. Anju Bajaj is the Vice Principal and STEM Educator at Holy Cross School, Manitoba Catholics School (MCS), Archdiocese of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Dr. Bajaj is more than a teacher — she is a consultant and public speaker, whose passion for lifelong learning is passed onto her students in her STEM classes. Through numerous engaging, hands-on learning opportunities in and outside the classroom, she fosters students’ intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development and cultivates their leadership abilities. She has led many provincial as well as national in-services and been a leader at various conferences including Education in Diversity: Diverse Teachers for Diverse Learners-Unleashing the Power and Potential of Newcomer Youth in Manitoba. She regularly delivers webinars, seminars, and leads various STEM activities with Let’s Talk Science organization, Green Teacher, Society for Canadian Women in Science & Technology, and many other organizations. Her efforts have been recognised with various awards including: Prime Minister’s National Award for Teaching Excellence 2021, Science Teacher of the Year –STAM (Science Teachers Association of Manitoba), Global Educator Award –MCIC (Manitoba Council for International Cooperation), Outstanding Science Educator –Bioscience Association of Manitoba, Teacher Appreciation Award –MSSS (Manitoba Schools Science Symposium), Manitoba Education and Training’s Excellence in Education Award, and K-12 Canadian EdTech Award.
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Anju has served on the Board since 2022.
Clarence Button
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Clarence Button (“Clar”) attended Memorial University for his M.Sc. in Marine Biology and M.Ed., and later, post-graduate studies in Oceanography at GSO, U. of Rhode Island. He has worked as a field fisheries biologist and the National Science Advisor for Marine Mammals for DFO, Canada. He established a career in innovation as an inventor and facilitated the development of novel technologies, on behalf of universities and as CEO of a Technology Development and Intellectual Property management firm. He was a member of the Patent and Trademark Institute of Canada (PTIC). For the last quarter of a century, he has been a high school educator, specializing in science and technology. He fostered provincial, national, and international educational programs in land-based and underwater robotics which have grown and flourished throughout Canada. These initiatives earned him a Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2001) and others. His love of the outdoors includes angling, SCUBA diving and sailing.
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Clarence has served on the Board since 2022.
Christine Diaz​
Christine Diaz is a Senior Director at a large global software company, SAP Canada. She works with large enterprise customers considering a digital finance transformation. Christine has over 25 years of experience in technology and business, working in various industries such as manufacturing, retail, utilities, mining, and the public sector.
Christine volunteers as a parent representative for the We Rise Together program and the Parent Involvement Committee in the Peel District School Board. Christine is also one of the founding board members of the BYTES Network, a non-profit organization that focuses on supporting and encouraging Black Youth in STEM-related programs.
In addition, she mentors future leaders and speaks to youth at events and conferences to inspire and encourage growth and career advancement. Christine is happy to give back to her community, contributing to a successful journey for the next generation based on diversity and acceptance for all students.
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Christine has served on the Board since 2023.
