The Team
Industry-co-created training that develops talent and solves the skills gap.
Cher Powers
Founder
Cher thrives at the intersection of academia and Industry. She is an experienced professional with extensive project management, operations management, adult education, and partnership development experience in the Canadian innovation ecosystem, including 17 years working with start-ups and SMEs to develop and scale up their operations and technologies and 5 years of teaching and content development at the College level. Cher has a Chemical Engineering Technician Diploma (Loyalist College), a degree in Global Development Studies (Queen's University), and an MBA (Carleton University Sprott School of Business). Cher is passionate about working with start-ups, small and medium sized enterprises and large corporations, to create and maintain unique interdisciplinary partnerships and collaborations between industry, government and academia.
Amy Harder
Founder
Amy Harder is a seasoned organizational leader with over two decades of experience advancing innovation, entrepreneurship, and workforce development in Canada. She has held senior roles in the non-profit, public and private sectors, most recently as Senior Director of Business Development at Loyalist College, where she led strategic initiatives in applied research, industry partnerships, and training, securing nearly $7 million in funding. Her previous work includes serving as a founding operator of Amber Canada, where she helped launch a federally licensed natural product company, and as President of Enactus Canada, empowering young leaders to tackle social and economic challenges through entrepreneurial action. Amy also serves on the boards of Habitat for Humanity Prince Edward Hastings and Trenval Business Development Corporation.
Subject Matter Experts
John Conrad, PhD
Psychology of leadership, organizational leadership.
Boyd Davis, PhD
Scale up, chemical processing, startup strategy.
Sid Sharma
Professional engineering, project management.
Angela Lyon
Intellectual Property, Chemistry.
Ashley Foley
Story Telling, writing, journalism, grant writing, marketing PR, media pitching.
Marilyn Spink
Mining, minerals processing, metallurgical refining, manufacturing, and construction.
Claire Bouvier
AI for Business automation, Marketing tech stack integration and analytics, Technology assessment frameworks, ROI modelling.
Ken Morris
AI Development in Manufacturing, Engineering Management, Project Management and Business Management.
Remi Straus
Accounting, Financial Modelling and planning, Digital finance / ERP transformation and reporting systems, Sage Intacct Support, Estate and Litigation Support, ESG and Sustainability KPI Development
Ian Murdoch
Engineering consulting, Project Management, Sales Management, Market expansion, Business / Economic / Community Development, Staff Development.
Nolan Powers
Master Electrician, Red Seal Industrial Electrician.
Declan DeJordy
Analytical Chemistry - Method Development & Validation (HPLC/GC/IC), General Chemistry
Florina Truica
Engineering Physics, Plasma & Radiation Science, Surface Engineering, Graphene Technology, Advanced Manufacturing, Medical & Agricultural Sterilization, Product Commercialization, Project & Performance Management, Technical Staff Supervision