Board Members

Takara Small is a Toronto-based entrepreneur and writer. She is a technology contributor at CBC (Canada's national broadcaster) and North American contributor for BBC World News. In 2021 she hosted the CBC investigative podcast Death In Cryptoland, a six-part series that reached number one in Canada and is currently the host of the weekly history show They Did That by Sony Entertainment.

Before joining CBC, Takara was a contributing editor at Fortune magazine and host/producer for the Globe and Mail podcast I'll Go First. Her work has appeared in numerous publications which include Toronto Star, Refinery29, Metro News Canada, Chatelaine, Mic, and more.

Over the last decade Takara has been named one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, Brand Star Leader by AdWeek magazine for her technological leadership, and a Young Leaders of America Initiative fellow, which selects emerging young leaders from around the world to work and learn from experts in the U.S. for a summer fellowship.

Lauren Van den Berg, Vice-Chair
Toronto, Ontario

Lauren started in federal politics in Montreal and built her career in the world of association management, Lauren has extensive experience in member relations and governance, advocacy, events, and the development of revenue-generation models for growth.

Lauren knows that ‘raising our voice’ takes a village. She’s established a proven track record of proactively creating opportunities to engage the media and developing valued working relationships with government decision-makers. She is a trusted partner and authentic voice for industry.

Lauren has an M.A. in Public Policy from Carleton University in Ottawa and an Hons. B.A. in Economics and Political Science from McGill University in Montreal. In her free time, she volunteers on several notable boards, including serving as vice-chair of VentureKids Canada. She also volunteered with the CJPAC Women in Politics Mentorship Program.Lauren lives in Toronto with her husband and son, vehemently believes Montreal has the best bagels, and really likes making Star Trek puns. She’s also an avid powerlifter

Irene Mukasa, Director
Toronto, Ontario

A self-professed brand and communications connoisseur, Irene has spent over a decade helping companies build impactful brands through compelling content and bold messaging. Having led integrated marketing and communications campaigns for a number of organizations in a variety of sectors such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, transportation, consumer goods and tech, Irene has mastered the art of merging human-centered storytelling with the latest brand marketing trends.

Irene currently leads the Research Communications and Engagement team for Autodesk, serves as a DEI Communications Advisor for Say Yeah, and runs a branding and communications consultancy for tech start-ups.

Vivian Lee, Secretary
Toronto, Ontario

Vivian Lee is an education management and technology specialist, with 10+ years of experience in organization leadership, edtech curriculum design, and course architecture in the private, public, and non-profit sectors.

By day, Vivian the Director of Education & Strategy at the Ontario Digital Literacy and Access Network (ODLAN), supporting the organization in the development and delivery of online resources for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

By night, she is an academic researcher who is working through her doctorate in curriculum policy for provincial and governmental institutions. Her thesis work and publications center EdTech futures, STEM for multilingual learners, digital citizenship curriculum policy, digital access issues, and intersectional education frameworks..

Johnathon Nightingale, Director
Toronto,Ontario

Johnathon Nightingale is an international expert on modern management and leadership.

He's worked with thousands of leaders to build high-trust and highly effective teams in everything from academic research institutions to robotics startups to fashion brands. He grounds his work in lessons he learned over 20 years in tech, where he ran engineering, security, product, and design teams, and spent a surprising amount of time making coffee.

He has written two bestselling books, and co-authors the World's Best Newsletter, which is bi-weekly, completely free, and only sometimes has swears.