Amir Eftekarpour – OUSA President
Vice-President External, University Student Council (USC), Western University
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Stephen Franchetto – OUSA Vice-President Finance
Vice President: University Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union (WLUSU), Wilfrid Laurier University
Stephen is a fifth year student at Wilfrid Laurier University, studying Honours Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. Throughout his now extended tenure at Laurier, Stephen has been involved in a variety of capacities ranging from athletics, the Business Faculty – representing business students and overseeing student clubs and charity initiatives, as a teaching assistant for a first year business course, and within the University Affairs department as a committee coordinator. This year, Stephen looks forward to serving OUSA as Vice-President Finance, helping to ensure the financial sustainability of the organization, while advocating for improved quality and affordability in post-secondary education. Following university, Stephen aspires to develop a career in law or management consulting.
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Adam Garcia – OUSA Vice-President Administration
Vice-President Education, Federation of Students (Feds), University of Waterloo
Adam studies political science and speech communication at the University of Waterloo. Returning to Feds as the VP Education, Adam is looking forward to utilizing knowledge and experience from last year to build momentum for student priorities. Prior to his election as VP Education, Adam volunteered in a number of capacities on campus including Orientation Week, LGBTQQ student support services, diversity and equity initiatives, and acting as a campus researcher for OUSA. Adam is especially passionate about the quality of education and innovative teaching practices such as online learning. He looks forward to another year serving as OUSA’s Vice-President Administration and continuing his work with the Federation of Students at uWaterloo!
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Chris Fernlund – Steering Committee Member
Vice-President University Affairs, Trent Oshawa Student Association (TOSA), Trent University
Chris Fernlund is a third year psychology student with a focus in perception and cognitive sciences and is pursuing a minor in international development. Chris has a passion for life and spends his free time backpacking and gallivanting the world. Chris is VP of University Affairs for the Trent Oshawa Student Association. He became involved with TOSA after creating the Trent Oshawa Psychology Association and hosting a number of events advocating a medium of communication between employers, academics and students. After graduation, Chris plans to spend a period of time working overseas as a humanitarian worker. Following this ambition, Chris is expecting to enter graduate school and pursue a career in research specializing in human development and psychology.
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T.K. Pritchard – Steering Committee Member
Vice-President University Affairs, Alma Mater Society, Queen’s University
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Allison Williams – Steering Committee Member
Academic Affairs Commissioner, The Alma Mater Society (AMS), Queen’s University
Allison is in her fourth year of studies pursuing a Major in Life Sciences and a Minor in English. She is the Academic Affairs Commissioner for the AMS, and her interests within the post-secondary sector centre around system growth, innovative pedagogy, and the role of entrepreneurship on campus. As a member of OUSA Steering Committee, Allison is able to combine her policy background with her avid interest in the education system in Ontario. When she isn’t perusing policy papers, she enjoys sushi, Parks and Recreation, and the odd shuffle across the dance floor.
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Roland Erman – Steering Committee Member
Vice-President University Affairs, Brock University Students Union (BUSU), Brock University
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Spencer Graham – Steering Committee Member
Vice President Education, McMaster Students Union (MSU), McMaster University
Spencer Graham is a fourth year Honours Biology student from McMaster University. Originally from Kingston Ontario, he chose Mac because of its great academic reputation, student-friendly atmosphere at beautiful campus. As MSU Vice-President Education, its Spencer’s hope to increase student access to high-quality educational programs and courses, foster increased student support & success, and enhance student advocacy involvement. When not locked in the office, Spencer is a fan of food, film and music. He plays guitar (although not terribly well) and is currently attempting to learn piano. At McMaster, Spencer’s been involved as a representative on the Student Representative Assembly, as a loud and outgoing Welcome Week Representative, and as a leader on various service learning trips (building homes in New Orleans and working on organic farms in Vancouver).
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Andrew Smith – Steering Committee Member
President, McMaster Association of Part-Time Students (MAPS), McMaster University
Andrew Smith has nineteen years’ experience in financial services, on both the macro and micro level. He spent fifteen years as a money broker in both Toronto and New York. Dealing primarily with Canadian Schedule 2 Banks, Andrew counted Union Bank of Switzerland, Dresdner Bank, and Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi among his clients.
With a global decline in broker transacted inter-bank cash transactions, Andrew moved into the field of Information Technology and obtained the accreditation of Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. He then spent 7 years in I.T. working for Rogers Communications and then as a sole proprietor of his own tech support operation.
Andrew then returned to the world of finance and joined Investors Group as a financial consultant and attained his license to deal in Mutual Funds plus the LLQP for Life Insurance.
Andrew has a love of learning and is pursuing a degree in the Humanities. He was elected to the MAPS board and subsequently as MAPS president in February 2013.
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Rylan Kinnon – OUSA Executive Director
Rylan Kinnon recently completed a Master of Public Administration at Queen’s University. The program has given him the opportunity to engage with many of the public policy issues facing Ontario and Canada. Through the program he has also deepened his interest in education, health, and immigration policy, and learned how closely linked these policy areas can be. He also enjoyed getting involved outside of the classroom, working with students and faculty as class Chair and co-Chair of the inaugural Queen’s Conference on Public Policy. In his undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto, he completed a specialist in Political Science and double minor in Philosophy and History, and was involved outside the classroom as a moderator of a philosophy and politics discussion group, amongst other things. In his spare time, he likes to write, record, and perform music.
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Brandon Sloan – Director of Communications
Brandon Sloan is the newest member of OUSA’s Home Office team, having started with the organization in November 2012. Brandon is a political studies and history graduate from Queen’s University and first learned of OUSA while working full-time as the Communications Officer for the Alma Mater Society. While at Queen’s, Brandon also oversaw the operations of North America’s only entirely peer-administered non-academic discipline system and was heavily involved in Arts and Science Orientation Week. Brandon is particularly interested in accessible marketing/communication strategies and digital media development and hopes to incorporate both into OUSA’s upcoming campaigns. Outside of the office, Brandon enjoys spicy food, Latin American fiction, and hot yoga.
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Chris Martin – Director of Research
Chris is a recent graduate of McMaster University, where he studied political science and film studies. Chris has been actively involved with policy development at OUSA since attending his first general assembly in 2008. Before serving as Director of Research, Chris has been a GA delegate, Steering Committee member and research intern. Prior to his involvement at OUSA, Chris spent time working on Prince Edward Island managing a small bookstore and restaurant. He is excited for the challenges and opportunities that await OUSA in the year ahead.
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Sheridy Leslie, Research Analyst
Sheridy Leslie is OUSA’s Research Analyst whose background in social science research and the non-profit sector led her to pursue this great opportunity at OUSA. Her interests in educational policy stem from her own post-secondary experiences where she learned firsthand the vital role political advocacy can play in ensuring a postsecondary education in Ontario remains accessible to all eligible students. While at OUSA, she hopes to increase the diversity of student voices captured in the research she conducts while at the same time expanding upon our primary research offerings both qualitatively and quantitatively.
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Becky Hillyer – Operations Coordinator
Becky Hillyer is a recent graduate of the International Development Studies Co-op Program at the University of Toronto Scarborough. As part of her degree, she completed a year-long internship in Ghana with a pan-African organization that works to promote women’s access to all levels of education. More recently, through her work with the Collaboration for Research on Democracy (CORD), she has become interested in the way that marginalized groups interact with policy makers. Thus, through her interest both in the field of education and policy-making, she feels that OUSA provides an enthralling platform through which to understand the ways that decisions and changes are made regarding undergraduate education in Ontario. Becky is passionate about creating strategies for accessible education for Canadian students and is excited to be filling the newly-created Operations Coordinator position at OUSA.
