Masterclass

Gillian Cummings, Algonquin College alumni, led a 1-hour Masterclass: Nurturing Your Own Skills to Set Yourself Up for Employment on Monday, February 10, from 10:30am – 11:30am in the AC Hub (2^nd Floor, Student Commons).

About Gillian Cummings

Gillian Cummings is a graduate of Heritage Carpentry from Algonquin College, Perth Campus, and sits on the Algonquin Alumni Advisory Committee. She currently works as the Program Coordinator of Grow Studios Woodshop, a woodworking studio that opens doors for people who have barriers to employment. As a job skills training program, the woodshop provides a space to learn carpentry, job skills, and connect with people in the community. Gillian also holds two degrees from Western University in Women’s Studies and Media, and Information and Technoculture. In her spare time, she plays ultimate frisbee and spends a lot of time reading.

About Michelle Valberg

Michelle Valberg is an Award-Winning Canadian photographer and 2016 Algonquin College Alumni of Distinction Award winner. Michelle is one of 6 Canadian Nikon Ambassadors and her photographs have appeared both on the cover and inside National Geographic Magazine, as well as Canadian Geographic, US, In Style and several other international titles. Michelle was named the first Canadian Geographic Photographer-In-Residence and has self-published four books.

Michelle has an image that appears on a Royal Canadian Mint Coin in celebration of Canada’s 150^th featuring a drum dancer from Nunavut.

Michelle’s work extends beyond photography. In 2009 she co-founded Project North, a not for profit organization committed to delivering education and sport-based opportunities to youth in Canada’s Arctic. Since its inception, more than $1,000,000 in new sports equipment that has been delivered to more than 28 Inuit communities.

About Maddie Hille
Maddie Hille is a hairdresser with 10 years of experience. Her passion for hairdressing focuses on precision haircutting, colour correction, and education. Maddie is an Algonquin College Alumni of the Hairstyling diploma program and a stylist at Jet Black Hair & Studio. She has a variety of industry experience from working behind the chair building a clientele, training apprentices, teaching hairstyling at Algonquin College, working for product companies, working backstage for broadcasted award shows, theatre, runway shows, participating in competitions, photoshoots, training for fashion week, and volunteering for various charity events. Her passion for travel has motivated her to take part in professional development courses in various cities in Canada, the United States, and the UK.

About Peter Tilley

Peter Tilley’s career trajectory is a remarkable one. Peter left behind a ‘suit and tie’ career to drive for the Ottawa Food Bank. Through a combination of business smarts, hard work and gutsy determination, Peter turned the Ottawa Food Bank into an award-winning model that is copied across the country in much larger urban centres. In 2013, Peter left the Ottawa Food Bank to become the Executive Director of the Ottawa Mission. Through Peter’s leadership, the Ottawa Mission has expanded its services in the areas of mental health support, addiction and trauma service, hospice care and housing outreach.

About Salt

Jared and Dani graduated from Algonquin College’s School of Media and Design in 2015. After two years of successful freelancing through their studies that earned them awards from Applied Arts, they built a roster of clients which allowed them to immediately launch Salt. Since then, both have started teaching at Algonquin College in the Design and Advertising programs, and enjoy giving back to the community by sharing lessons learned and experiences gained.

In his Masterclass, “Up-selling: How to position yourself and your business to work with top-tier customers from day one,” Algonquin College School of Business alumnus and Founder/CEO of Soshal Dave Hale shared the career and personal branding tips that have allowed him to land Fortune 100 clients, partner with notable technology companies, and be the youngest recipient of Marketing Magazine’s 30 Under 30 Award!

About Stephen Beckta

Stephen Beckta is the proprietor of Beckta, one of Canada’s premier fine dining restaurants, along with the critically acclaimed, small-plates Play food & wine, and the upscale neighbourhood restaurant Gezellig. After graduating with honours from Algonquin College’s Sommelier program, Stephen departed Ottawa to hone his skills in New York City for four years with the top players in the restaurant industry before returning to his native city. Stephen has been named Top Independent Restaurateur in Ontario by the Ontario Hostelry Institute, one of Ottawa’s Top 40 under 40 by the Ottawa Business Journal, and Algonquin College’s Alumni of the year, among many other recognitions.

About Katie Ardington

Katie graduated from Algonquin College’s Culinary School in 2003. She worked as Chef de Cuisine at Beckta dining & wine and Beckta’s innovative small-plates sister restaurant Play food & wine. She was then honoured to be chosen as Chef at 24 Sussex, cooking for Prime Minister Trudeau. In 2018, Katie accepted the role of Executive Chef role at the Beckta restaurant group, which includes Beckta, Play and Gezellig. In 2010, she received the prestigious Top 30 Under 30 Award from the Ontario Hostelry Institute. Katie regularly gives back to the community through countless events and initiatives that reflect her strong values of caring for people through inspiring food.

About Brittany Frid

From law clerk to CEO of the region’s largest wedding planning company, Brittany Frid of Frid Events is running a power-house team of planners, designers, florists, and graphic artists. After discovering a significant hole in the Ottawa wedding market back in 2012, she launched a small vendor guide with inspiration, which took off and became Canada’s first fine art wedding blog. Through her blog, she started offering planning and design services, and she quickly became the most sought-after planner in the city. Her team recently moved from their boutique in Westboro to a large studio space in Kanata where they get to play, plan and party.