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Meet The Judges and Experts
This Year's Judges and experts are a mixture of students, professionals, and TMU staff, who were hand-picked by our 2024 committee. These experts and judges all have formidable knowledge surrounding this year's topic of Personal Financial Literacy and will serve all competing participants with amazing feedback and support!
If you are interested in becoming a judge or an expert for our 2025 SPROUT Case Competition, please contact us!
Our Experts
Click on each to learn more about our Experts!
Josh Ricci
Meet Josh Ricci, the dynamic 30-year-old Events and Engagement Officer at Pathways to Education Canada. With a degree in Arts and Contemporary Studies from TMU and a flair for creating unforgettable experiences, Josh is a standout in Toronto's event scene.
From dazzling events like Pathways’ Grad Ball, charity golf classics, and grassroots queer gatherings, Josh's events are legendary. But he's not just about glamour; he's a respected LGBTQ2S+ advocate, known for giving emerging queer talents a stage to shine at his very own bi-annual event, Fancy Art Gallery, Toronto’s only night market and drag show extravaganza.
With boundless energy and a heart for inclusivity, Josh Ricci is making waves, one fabulous event at a time.
From dazzling events like Pathways’ Grad Ball, charity golf classics, and grassroots queer gatherings, Josh's events are legendary. But he's not just about glamour; he's a respected LGBTQ2S+ advocate, known for giving emerging queer talents a stage to shine at his very own bi-annual event, Fancy Art Gallery, Toronto’s only night market and drag show extravaganza.
With boundless energy and a heart for inclusivity, Josh Ricci is making waves, one fabulous event at a time.
Bianca Marecheau
Bianca Marecheau (Marryshow) is a 6x award winning people leader, philanthropist, and a proud career mentor & sponsor. She has a Masters in Leadership from Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph, and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Toronto Metropolitan University. Bianca's areas of expertise include change management, project management, employee onboarding/offboarding, and organizational/team development.
Bianca has worked in Post-Secondary Education for nearly a decade, holding roles in Client Services, Undergraduate Student Recruitment, and most recently in Student Financial Aid. She currently serves as Manager of Student Financial Assistance at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she leads a multi-generational mid-sized team to reimagine financial assistance and client service at TMU. Her portfolio includes organizing the successful delivery of the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP); over $300 million of funding annually to nearly 30,000 students. Bianca has been instrumental in bridging the gap between educational institutions and external financial aid partners such as the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) and the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC). Her commitment to bridging the gap landed Toronto Metropolitan University the opportunity to be a hand-selected partner directly with the NSLSC for a 5 month social media strategy pilot project. This project was so successful that it was rolled out across the province of Ontario, with talks to expand further.
Beyond work, Bianca runs her own career mentorship program called Modern Muses, where she provides 1:1 mentorship and coaching to young Black women. She is an avid couponer and sale hunter, lover of a good meme, and a curious traveller who aims to see the world. One thing she looks forward to is her daily sleep with her newfound perfect sleep combo: a 15 pound weighted blanket, a heated throw, and silk pillow cases.
Bianca has worked in Post-Secondary Education for nearly a decade, holding roles in Client Services, Undergraduate Student Recruitment, and most recently in Student Financial Aid. She currently serves as Manager of Student Financial Assistance at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she leads a multi-generational mid-sized team to reimagine financial assistance and client service at TMU. Her portfolio includes organizing the successful delivery of the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP); over $300 million of funding annually to nearly 30,000 students. Bianca has been instrumental in bridging the gap between educational institutions and external financial aid partners such as the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) and the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC). Her commitment to bridging the gap landed Toronto Metropolitan University the opportunity to be a hand-selected partner directly with the NSLSC for a 5 month social media strategy pilot project. This project was so successful that it was rolled out across the province of Ontario, with talks to expand further.
Beyond work, Bianca runs her own career mentorship program called Modern Muses, where she provides 1:1 mentorship and coaching to young Black women. She is an avid couponer and sale hunter, lover of a good meme, and a curious traveller who aims to see the world. One thing she looks forward to is her daily sleep with her newfound perfect sleep combo: a 15 pound weighted blanket, a heated throw, and silk pillow cases.
Abu Kamat
Abu Kamat is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) a business council representing 150 of Canada’s largest scaling technology firms. He is driven by a genuine passion for technology and its ability to spur economic growth, entertainment, and inclusive conversation. In this role, Abu blends research, strategic thinking, and storytelling to champion initiatives that empower domestic innovators to scale their businesses. He currently manages several innovation campaigns for CCI including those on Open-Finance, Procurement Modernization and Access to Talent. He. Abu also leads the development of key advocacy products at both federal and provincial levels, spearheads CCI's Internship Program and is a co-author for CCI's Policy Newsletter Mooseworks.
Abu holds an Honours Degree in Political Science from the University of British Columbia and Masters of Global Affairs specializing in Innovation Policy from the University of Toronto. He is a past recipient of the Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship from the Government of Ontario.
Beyond policy and innovation, Abu is a staunch advocate for mental health and wellness, a fitness enthusiast, cook, music lover, and a loyal owner to his canine companion Odie.
Abu holds an Honours Degree in Political Science from the University of British Columbia and Masters of Global Affairs specializing in Innovation Policy from the University of Toronto. He is a past recipient of the Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship from the Government of Ontario.
Beyond policy and innovation, Abu is a staunch advocate for mental health and wellness, a fitness enthusiast, cook, music lover, and a loyal owner to his canine companion Odie.
Alexa Grant
Alexa Marie Grant is a digital consultant, Canadian beauty pageant titleholder, and advocate for youth empowerment. In addition to being Miss Philippines Canada 2018 and Miss Supranational Canada 2022, She holds a Certificate in International Management and an International Bachelor of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business.
In her role as a digital consultant, Alexa implements and configures financial budgeting and planning technology. She is passionate about innovation and adventure. With travel being one of her main interests, she has studied abroad in France and hopes to grow her youth empowerment initiative, “Beyond Our Now”, internationally. Alexa founded “Beyond Our Now” to promote sustainability and community involvement, with the ultimate goal of nurturing the next generation of leaders.
In her role as a digital consultant, Alexa implements and configures financial budgeting and planning technology. She is passionate about innovation and adventure. With travel being one of her main interests, she has studied abroad in France and hopes to grow her youth empowerment initiative, “Beyond Our Now”, internationally. Alexa founded “Beyond Our Now” to promote sustainability and community involvement, with the ultimate goal of nurturing the next generation of leaders.
Kai Maurin-Jones
Currently working as a Prompt Engineer on contract to Meta, Kai's expertise lies in language artificial intelligence models like ChatGPT. He has completed a Master's degree in Data Science and Computational Linguistics from the University of British Columbia and he enjoys spending his time leveraging existing AI for various personal and professional projects.
Driven by impact and positive social change, Kai also provides pro bono consulting for a non-profit organization that aims to improve access to justice and legal services, using state-of-the-art Data Science and Natural Language Processing methods.
Driven by impact and positive social change, Kai also provides pro bono consulting for a non-profit organization that aims to improve access to justice and legal services, using state-of-the-art Data Science and Natural Language Processing methods.
Heather Willis
Heather Willis is a proud graduate of Toronto Metropolitan’s School of Disability Studies, and has a post-graduate diploma in Disability Studies from the University of Leeds. Born in Toronto, Heather has been an accessibility advocate since she was a teenager growing up in an institution for disabled children. In the decades since, she has served on numerous committees and boards dedicated to the equity and full inclusion of persons with disabilities. In 2010, following a 25 year career at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Heather joined Toronto Metropolitan University as its inaugural Accessibility Coordinator, now in the Office of the Vice President, Equity and Community Inclusion. She leads TMU’s accessibility initiative, "ACCESS TMU", with the goal of identifying, removing and preventing accessibility barriers for all members of the university community.
Heather lives in Toronto with her husband and cat Charley. She enjoys reading, solving puzzles of any kind, kayaking and hanging out at her cottage in the Kawarthas.
Heather lives in Toronto with her husband and cat Charley. She enjoys reading, solving puzzles of any kind, kayaking and hanging out at her cottage in the Kawarthas.
Leen Li
Leen is the Chief Executive Officer at Wealthsimple Foundation, a grassroot charitable organization focused on breaking down the barriers to post-secondary education across Canada.
Born and raised in China, Leen is the youngest of five girls. She came to Canada as an international student over 20 years ago. Leen earned her Master of Business Administration from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.
Leen has over 20 years of experience in the technology and financial services industry where she held a number of senior positions, including the Chief Financial Officer at Wealthsimple and the Vice President of Finance and Operations at Influitive.
Leen transitioned to her current role in the not-for-profit sector due to a deep personal drive and dedication to the goal of improving financial futures for folks from underrepresented communities. She brings a positive can-do attitude to everything she does and contributes a significant portion of her time, energy and dollars to improving the lives of others.
Leen is actively involved in the community and lends her time and energy to a number of technology and education initiatives, while simultaneously acting as an advocate for women and people of colour. She sits on the board of CanadaHelps and George Brown College Foundation.
Leen was voted one of Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards in 2022, one of DMZ's Women of the Year in 2021, and one of Canada’s 50 Best Executives by the Globe and Mail in 2020.
Born and raised in China, Leen is the youngest of five girls. She came to Canada as an international student over 20 years ago. Leen earned her Master of Business Administration from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.
Leen has over 20 years of experience in the technology and financial services industry where she held a number of senior positions, including the Chief Financial Officer at Wealthsimple and the Vice President of Finance and Operations at Influitive.
Leen transitioned to her current role in the not-for-profit sector due to a deep personal drive and dedication to the goal of improving financial futures for folks from underrepresented communities. She brings a positive can-do attitude to everything she does and contributes a significant portion of her time, energy and dollars to improving the lives of others.
Leen is actively involved in the community and lends her time and energy to a number of technology and education initiatives, while simultaneously acting as an advocate for women and people of colour. She sits on the board of CanadaHelps and George Brown College Foundation.
Leen was voted one of Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards in 2022, one of DMZ's Women of the Year in 2021, and one of Canada’s 50 Best Executives by the Globe and Mail in 2020.
Angus Lockhart
Angus Lockhart (he/him) is a Senior Policy Analyst on the Dais team. At the Dais, Angus researches the adoption of innovative technologies in both the public and private sectors and the role policy can play in accelerating uptake.
Prior to joining the team at the Dais, Angus worked in the market research and public affairs space, trying to understand the connection between the opinions Canadians hold and their behaviours. His research covered a broad range of topics from the health and energy sectors to public affairs and policy making.
Angus holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of British Columbia, and a Master of Arts in Political Science from Simon Fraser University.
Prior to joining the team at the Dais, Angus worked in the market research and public affairs space, trying to understand the connection between the opinions Canadians hold and their behaviours. His research covered a broad range of topics from the health and energy sectors to public affairs and policy making.
Angus holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of British Columbia, and a Master of Arts in Political Science from Simon Fraser University.
Zhané Stimpson
Zhané Stimpson, a dynamic twenty-something-year-old, is an avid social media content creator dedicated to making a difference in the world while enjoying every moment. With a deep passion for video games, software engineering, PC building, and staying abreast of the latest gadgets, Zhané exemplifies a blend of tech enthusiasm and skill.
A significant part of Zhané's mission is to empower children, youth, women, and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in the digital realm. Committed to bridging the technology divide, Zhané launches initiatives to teach underprivileged youth the wonders of technology and coding, fostering interest in IT and tech among marginalized groups.
A significant part of Zhané's mission is to empower children, youth, women, and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in the digital realm. Committed to bridging the technology divide, Zhané launches initiatives to teach underprivileged youth the wonders of technology and coding, fostering interest in IT and tech among marginalized groups.
Dr. Amy Peng
Dr. Amy Peng is the inaugural Associate Dean of Innovation in Teaching and Learning (ITL) in the Faculty of Arts. Prior to assuming this role, Amy was Associate Professor in the Department of Economics (since 2010), Interim Chair in the Department of History (2021), Interim Chair in the Department of Criminology (2019-2020) and Undergraduate Program Director for International Economics and Finance and the Economics and Management Science programs (2016-2019). Throughout her career at Ryerson, Amy has repeatedly demonstrated her commitment to undergraduate education. She has been a champion of students and prioritizes currentness and inclusivity in teaching and pedagogy. Her dedication and effort have been recognized by receiving the Dean’s Teaching Award (2016) and the President’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2020).
Her interests in postsecondary education are also reflected in her academic research. She has published several papers in economics of education and won both internal and external research grant competitions for the project entitled “Accessibility to Postsecondary Education, Work-while-Studying and Transitions to the Labour Market.” She collaborates widely with higher-education publishers in the development of online applications designed to enhance the learning experience of diverse groups of students.
Amy is looking forward to working closely with Arts’ diverse faculty and students to advance innovation, currency and inclusivity in curriculum, programming and pedagogy; strengthen global relationships and enhance accessible global experiences for our students in addition to experiential and community-engaged learning.
Her interests in postsecondary education are also reflected in her academic research. She has published several papers in economics of education and won both internal and external research grant competitions for the project entitled “Accessibility to Postsecondary Education, Work-while-Studying and Transitions to the Labour Market.” She collaborates widely with higher-education publishers in the development of online applications designed to enhance the learning experience of diverse groups of students.
Amy is looking forward to working closely with Arts’ diverse faculty and students to advance innovation, currency and inclusivity in curriculum, programming and pedagogy; strengthen global relationships and enhance accessible global experiences for our students in addition to experiential and community-engaged learning.
Prasanth Pahi
Prasanth Pahi is currently a Director, Capital Markets Finance providing support in developing and achieving financial objectives and strategies for the Capital Markets business within OMERS, one of Canada’s largest defined-benefit pension plans supporting over half a million active, deferred and retired members. Prior to this, Prasanth worked in progressively senior roles at TD Bank for nearly 8 years across multiple lines of business and geographies in which the bank operates.
Anna Sotnykova
Anna currently works in the role of Operations and Communications Coordinator with the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (OVPRI) at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), where she supports the activity of the Vice-President and strategic research priorities advanced by the portfolio.
Working at TMU has been inspirational, particularly seeing strong emphasis on entrepreneurship as part of the curriculum and institutional focus on supporting start-ups. Having met many interesting people, she made a good friend who became a fellow co-founder of a generative AI based tattoo design app, Inkspire (2023) currently in early stage beta testing.
Anna enjoys being part of community building initiatives and mentorship, and currently sits on a Canadian affiliate board with International Federation of Inventors Association (IFIA) and is a proud Ambassador of PORCH, an accelerator that supports immigrant entrepreneurs in Canada. Anna holds a Masters in Political Science from York University and a Public Administration Diploma, a Project Management Certificate from the Chang School of Continuing Education and is always looking for micro-credential opportunities to upskill and continue her learning in the fascinating and ever changing world propelled by technology.
Working at TMU has been inspirational, particularly seeing strong emphasis on entrepreneurship as part of the curriculum and institutional focus on supporting start-ups. Having met many interesting people, she made a good friend who became a fellow co-founder of a generative AI based tattoo design app, Inkspire (2023) currently in early stage beta testing.
Anna enjoys being part of community building initiatives and mentorship, and currently sits on a Canadian affiliate board with International Federation of Inventors Association (IFIA) and is a proud Ambassador of PORCH, an accelerator that supports immigrant entrepreneurs in Canada. Anna holds a Masters in Political Science from York University and a Public Administration Diploma, a Project Management Certificate from the Chang School of Continuing Education and is always looking for micro-credential opportunities to upskill and continue her learning in the fascinating and ever changing world propelled by technology.
Lisa Sousa
Lisa is a communications and marketing professional with 10 years of experience developing integrated marketing communication programs for a wide range of North American brands. Currently, Lisa is a Marketing Strategist at Spin Master Ltd. where she works with a robust marketing team to build marketing communications for exciting kid’s brands such as Paw Patrol, Kinetic Sand, and Unicorn Academy. Lisa is a TMU graduate, with a Bachelor of Arts from the ACS Program. She also has a post-graduate certificate from Humber College in Advertising Account Management. She has been participating in the SPROUT Case Competition since 2019.
Our Judges
Click on each to learn more about our Judges!
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