Amin Sharifi
Director of Events

Department: National Business and Technology Conference

It's hard to decide whether to write this in first or third person. Eccentric and strange are words often used to describe me, when they want to avoid 'weird'. I'm immersed in technology, and I'm magnetically drawn to entrepreneurship. Photography is something I've dabbled in, just enough for it to be more than a hobby. I'm in my third year at the University of Toronto, but you're more likely to find me deeply engaged a "project" than on school work. You probably will never meet someone louder than me; I avoid drinking coffee because I'm naturally on a caffeine high. I'm in love with San Francisco; New York comes in at a close second. Board games suit me better than card games; 72 is my all time favourite number, and I'm a terrible singer. This bio is 144 words long according to WordCounter.net

Grew up in: Iran (no it's not Iraq)
Can’t give up: Chocolate Raisins
Excited by: Disruption in any industry

Leyla Beriker
Director of Global Ideas Case Competiton

Department: National Business and Technology Conference

Leyla is currently in her 4th year at University of Toronto St. George, pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. She is specializing in Biomedical Engineering and Manufacturing. After her 3rd year in university, she participated in a co-op program and worked for a year in the consumer products industry. She has explored her career path by focusing on gaining as much experience as she can in the industry, and has worked in fields ranging from Consulting to Supply Chain Management. She is directing NBTC's new initiative: Global Ideas Case Competition (GIC). She is passionate about making GIC an amazing learning experience for delegates and is committed to searching for solutions to global issues. She is convinced that solutions come from asking questions, and never from viewing the problem through a peephole. She went to one of the United World Colleges for high school and has embraced the movement's ideals fully in her life. When she is not engaged in her work, she enjoys dancing, running and mediating. She lifeguarded along the coast of British Channel during her years before university. She is always excited to try new things and meet new people.

Grew up in: Istanbul, Turkey
Can’t give up: Yoghurt
Excited by: New and efficient designs

Lynn Li
Director of Operations

Department: Discovery Series Toronto

Lynn is a 3rd year Chemical Engineering student and a member of the Varsity Blues women's lacrosse team at the University of Toronto. Lynn is passionate about art, travel, learning, sports, and making a positive difference everywhere she goes and with every person she meets. In addition to being the new Director of Operations for Nspire Discovery Series Toronto, her current endeavours include managing a team of 30+ to create a beautiful yearbook as the Artistic & Layout Director of Skulebook, being the Creative Team Lead for the Society of Petroleum Engineers, competing in tri-campus ultimate frisbee, coaching the Junior Blues lacrosse academy, and getting involved in the skule community! Currently, Lynn is looking for an exciting challenge to tackle and a meaningful company to join for her PEY (professional experience year). Lynn also finds talking in third person quite awkward.

Grew up in: Philadelphia
Can’t give up: Friendship and happiness!
Excited by: Strange and tasty foods

Vernon Tam
BD Associate

Department: Business Development

Vernon is a second year student at the University of Waterloo and is studying Accounting and Financial Management. When he's not on the basketball court, watching Vice Documentaries or catching up on the latest episode of Suits, you can find him working away on his latest endeavour. After an incredible experience as a Campus Ambassador, Vernon is returning to the Nspire family once again for another exciting and jam packed year.

Grew up in: Markham
Can’t give up: God + Basketball
Excited by: Good Music

Suyoun Jessica Jo
Director of Startup Competition

Department: National Business and Technology Conference

Hello everyone! My name is Suyoun Jessica Jo! I am fourth year student at University of Waterloo. I am passionate about businesses that solve problems of the status quo. Just to name a few, Uber to help people travel faster and safer, Airbnb for cheap accommodation and Yelp for food reviews. I would like to pursue my career as a growth hacker for well-established startups, and eventually come to build my own. I am most proud of the journey I made with the startup I was most recently working on to acquire the first term sheet for funding. I worked directly alongside the CEO and a Stanford intern. This experience showed me that I had the capacity to combat my fears of the unknown and to both grow in my role as an individual and as a contributing member of the greater team - the company as a whole!

Grew up in: Seoul Korea
Can’t give up: FOOD!
Excited by: CLOTHES!

Ivan Damnjanovic
Business Development Associate

Department: Business Development

I am in my final year of Civil Engineering studies at the University of Toronto, focusing on energy and globalization. With rapidly evolving technology and an increasingly connected world, we must look beyond the status quo to make an impact. I joined Nspire's Business Development team to connect youth, organizations and companies that want to innovate and grow. Besides leading Nspire's ambitious mission, I'm also the team's unofficial nutritionist and trainer.

Grew up in: Belgrade, Serbia
Can’t give up: Heavy weights and chocolate
Excited by: Adventures

Dejan Eskic
Business Development Associate

Department: Business Development

Big ideas have always been my passion. As a dreamer and idealist, I've wanted to make the world a better place. Through playing music to connect people together, organizing transportation of humanitarian aid to Europe, and volunteering as a big brother, I hope to impact others. I'm a 4th year Economics student at Laurier and co-founder of an ecommerce startup in the LaunchPad. When I'm not developing business, I'm playing flamenco guitar, dancing salsa, and reading.

Grew up in: Etobicoke
Can’t give up: My guitar
Excited by: Growth

Annie Zhang
Senior Vice President

Department: Nspire Strategic

Annie is a third-year student at the University of Western Ontario currently specializing in Economics, Politics and Philosophy. Originally a die-hard figure skating addict and later turned obsessive musician, she pursued numerous performance and leadership roles in the athletics and performing arts such as being a member of the Canadian Wind Orchestra and competing at the Canadian Synchronized Skating Championships. She is passionate about strategy, challenging traditional norms and problem solving. Having recently developed a passion for entrepreneurship, she seeks to create unique and creative solutions to problems and propose changes to flawed systems. In her free time, she enjoys obsessively watching figure skating videos, music jams, being active, being in nature, and absorbing knowledge.

Grew up in: Too many suburbs
Can’t give up: Eating food, like 24/7
Excited by: Spontaneous adventures

Ribhu Rampersad
Director of Operations

Department: National Business and Technology Conference

“If I believe I cannot do something,it makes me incapable of doing it. When I believe I can, I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn’t have it in the beginning.’ — Mahatma Gandhi I live by these words! Through this mindset, great friends, networks and ideas, I have gotten through many hurdles and I plan to use it to jump any future hurdles I come across. I am currently doing a one-year co-op before completely finishing my undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto and I am looking forward to a year filled with innovation, entrepreneurship and fun with the entire Nspire network where we build the next generation of Canadian leaders together :)

Grew up in: Trinidad & Tobago
Can’t give up: Saturday/Sunday morning football (soccer)
Excited by: New challenges

Matthew McCreath
Co-Managing Director

Department: Discovery Series Waterloo

Born in Jamaica, I moved to Canada to pursue an education in business at Wilfrid Laurier University. In the long term I want to run my own quantitative hedge fund. In the mean time I'm hustling and enjoying every day of it.

Grew up in: Kingston, Jamaica
Can’t give up: Running, music and sour candy
Excited by: New ideas and interesting people

Victoria Chok
Senior Vice President

Department: Nspire Strategic

Victoria is determined to providing opportunities for the younger generation to follow their passions and become future leaders. From an early age, grew an appetite for social innovation. She founded a charity in high school to support local artists and lit her spark in creating social change. Later on, she expanded her interest in consulting, finance, and marketing through various roles with Pearson Education, PepsiCo, Royal Bank of Canada, and Thomson Reuters. The British Council has recognized her as a Global Changemaker; a Global Teen Leader with We are Family Foundation; and, was named one of Canada’s Top 20 Under 20. She is also the youngest scholar selected by the Aspen Institute to attend the Aspen Ideas Festival and a youth ambassador for volunteerism with the International Association for Volunteer Efforts. She is pursuing a major in Geology at the University of Western Ontario. On a personal note, Victoria resides in Toronto, Canada spending her days as a marathon runner and serenading her six beloved cats.

Grew up in: a ballet studio
Can’t give up: veganism
Excited by: people

Raneem Shammas
Producer

Department: NspireTV

I am a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Toronto. I am passionate about all areas of business, engineering and technology development. I am also interested in leadership development and training to enhance my skills. I newly joined the NspireTV team this year as their producer as I love organizing and planning as well as photography and videography. I am very excited to help take NspireTV to new bounds this year.

Grew up in: Jordan
Can’t give up: Books
Excited by: Innovation

Hanning Zhang
VP External

Department: Nspire Strategic

Hanning has gained valuable experience as a Business Development Associate for Nspire in the past, and is now the VicePresident of External Affairs. He is extremely interested in the consulting sector, and would love to one day start his own consulting company.

Grew up in: Ottawa
Can’t give up: Eating Delicious Food
Excited by: Learning Unique skills

Mannat Sharma
Managing Director

Department: Discovery Series Western

As a fourth year Health Sciences student at Western University, Mannat is interested in the intersection of healthcare and business. She is passionate about leveraging technology and innovation to improve health systems. When she is not learning about these fields, she's working in them as Managing Director of Nspire Innovation Network, Marketing and Communications Intern at Health Equity Initiative, and student consultant for SickKids hospital. From these diverse experiences she has developed a range of skills in marketing, communications, consulting and business development. Mannat has been recognized for her academic and leadership experiences by Fulbright Canada, where she now serves as an international Fulbright- Killam fellow. Recently, she has also been selected to join the global community of social innovators and change-makers as a StartingBloc Innovation fellow. She is also a yoga instructor and loves to connect with others over a cup of coffee.

Grew up in: Australia, United States, all over Canada
Can’t give up: Coffee
Excited by: Innovation

Jasper Wong
Graphics Marketing Director

Department: NspireTV

Hey there! First of all, thanks for visiting the site, and I hope you've been Nspired! My name is Jasper, and I'm a business operations student with a passion for science, technology, and design. Professionally, I've been involved in marketing and graphic design for over 6 years, and have developed promo material for Mac Miller and Steve Angello concerts, Brock University, and the City of Markham. Outside of work, I like reading a lot of non fiction (whether it be current events, human behaviour, or about the trials and tribulations of being young), indulging in fantasy sports, hitting the gym, and event photography. Feel free to connect with me!

Grew up in: Markham
Can’t give up: Friends & Family
Excited by: the smallest things

Bill Lin
Campus Ambassador

Department: External

Hey there! My name is Bill and I am currently in my first year at the University of Waterloo studying Biotechnology and Chartered Professional Accountancy. I love bringing a positive attitude and energy to everything that I do and I'm super excited to be a part of Nspire this year. Helping others is a great passion of mine, and I am looking forward to doing this through being a member of both Nspire and the Internal Services committee this year for the Waterloo Accounting and Finance Student Association (AFSA). I love music (I play several instruments), theatre, and writing, but most of all, I love learning new things and meeting new people!

Grew up in: Ottawa, Ontario
Can’t give up: Music
Excited by: Concerts food and good books

Duyen Tran
Campus Ambassador

Department: External

Currently in third year at Wilfrid Laurier University - majoring in Communications Studies with a Management option. Love taking on new challenges, and planning and organizing events. I’m a workaholic, and love keeping myself busy. During my spare time, I love to do yoga, complete puzzles, and make milkshakes. I also love to travel, and learn new languages. Currently learning French, I previously went to France for a month to learn the language. This is my first year at Nspire as a Campus Ambassador, so I’m excited to be apart of the team!

Grew up in: Brampton, ON
Can’t give up: Apple pie and cheesecake
Excited by: Travel and adventures

Ahmad Khan
Campus Ambassador

Department: External

If there are three things that can best describe Ahmad it would be that he is remarkably diligent, curiously driven and a persistent problem solver. Ahmad is a fourth year student at York University where he enjoys the rigorous thinking involved in Philosophy. He often looks at the status quo and questions why some things are the way they are. From this, he learned that his passion lies in creating efficient and innovative solutions to complex problems. Although Ahmad is a full time student, he still manages to invest his time in extracurriculars such as volunteering in the tech community. His most recent endeavour was that he summered at OneEleven, a data-driven accelerator. At OneEleven, Ahmad discovered his entrepreneurial qualities like, thinking critically and being results driven, which contributed to his sharpened decision-making ability. As a result of Ahmad’s involvement in tech, he has became even more fascinated with the business and technology space. When Ahmad is not reading about startups and emerging technology companies, you can find him ‘breaking ankles’ on the basketball court.

Grew up in: The Hill - Richmond Hill, Ontario
Can’t give up: Spontaneous Adventures: Where you just pick up and go!
Excited by: New opportunities

Alberto Picard-Ami
Board Member

Department: Board of Directors

Alberto is an Industrial Engineering graduate from the University of Toronto. His passion for working with talented leaders in the business and technology space led him to join Nspire and take on multiple roles within the organization. Previously, he has served as the NBTC ’11 Operations Director, NBTC ’12 Chair, and 2013-‘14 President. Alberto is currently the Vice President of Operations at Ubiqua, an enterprise software development company in Panama City, Panama. In this role he oversees the execution and growth of client related accounts. In his spare time {when possible}: he enjoys reading, spending times w/ friends and family, and exploring the startup space in Latin America! Feel free to connect! He looks forward to meeting you soon!

Grew up in: Paradise (actually Panama, but close enough!)
Can’t give up: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups!!
Excited by: All you can eat “______”

Atul Krishan
Vice President of External Affairs

Department: External Strategy

Atul Krishan is an undergraduate student at the Schulich School of Business, pursuing his Bachelors Degree in Business Administration. As the Vice President of External Affairs, Atul will be managing Nspire Innovation Network’s external strategy, leading a team of 20 spanning across 10 universities in Ontario. Atul’s breadth of experience within the fields of Business Operations, Digital Strategy, Start-up, and Non-profit organizations make him an asset to the team. Atul’s most valued experience was when he recently worked on the rebranding and restructuring of a digital start-up along side industry professionals such as the past VP Product Strategy of Adobe, as well a former Principal of the Boston Consulting Group. Atul hopes to leverage his experiences, and apply his knowledge towards solving challenging business problems, and achieving actionable results for Nspire’s 2014 – 2015 year.

Grew up in: Brampton, ON
Can’t give up: His Dreams
Excited by: Winning

Amir Sheidaei
Executive Producer

Department: NspireTV

Amir is an undergraduate Industrial Engineering student studying at University of Toronto. Since early in his life, he has had a burning passion to indulge in the world of business, specifically, entrepreneurship. This led him to create his first startup at only 16 years old. From there, he has extended his experience across all boards, from a co-op term at CBC to a co-op term at a law firm to an internship at a marketing firm to working in sales, the desire to learn and explore the world while learning new skills is clear. On top of that he enjoys a variety of activities and hobbies, including working out/training, dining out, soccer, rugby, martial arts... and finally, the trips to the hidden wonders all across Canada and the adrenaline rush of exploring the unknown. Inovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. -Steve Jobs And that is what makes Nspire Innovation Network the best.

Grew up in: Iran
Can’t give up: Time with loved ones
Excited by: Anything and everything pushing the limits of a healthy adrenaline rush