Employee Spotlights

Henry Ford

By Anju Kakkar

The team at the Office of Research & Innovation (ORI) advance Humber’s research profile and help drive the impact of research completed at the college. They are miracle workers who keep the running of an organization and the team well-oiled and functioning at its best. They do so tirelessly behind the scenes.

We would like to take the time to highlight some of our rock star coworkers that keep us leading, transforming and differentiating.

Under the direction of ORI’s Dean, the Operations Manager is accountable for providing confidential operations, financial and project support to allow the Dean, departmental management and support staff to function efficiently and effectively. Tanya is assisted by the Resource Manager, Jaqueline Nicol and the Finance Manager, Duarte Ribeiro, to deliver on the asks and responsibilities of a growing research team at ORI.

Tanya embodies the qualities of a keen lifelong learner, a researcher and an empathetic leader. Her leadership style has been impacted and refined through the opportunities she had to immerse herself in Japanese culture and philosophy. Tanya spent close to a decade working in a Japanese environment, both in Japan and with the Consulate General of Japan in Toronto. This exposure provided a leadership perspective of teamwork mixed with hard work—a “rising tide raises all boats” outlook. She inspires and encourages others to achieve their highest potential by cultivating a safe, healthy and harmonious work environment. She leads by example.

Tanya acquired her BA in Applied Linguistics, Communications Disorders from Brock University in 1997, followed by a one-year post-grad diploma in

Public Relations from Niagara College, while she was applying to work in Japan on the JETAA Programme. Tanya began working at Humber College in 2011 as the Assistant to the Sr. VP of Planning and Corporate Services & CFO. In 2017, she moved to administratively support the Sr. VP Academic and AVP Academic. In mid-2018, she began her career as the Operations Manager in ORI.

Tanya brings with her varied experience and skill sets shaped through her years of work experience, such as Executive Assistant to Deputy Registrar & COO, and Board Chair of two Health Boards: the Health Boards Secretariat, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, ON, and Executive Assistant to the Consul General of Japan in Toronto.

Get to know Tanya a little better:

• When she is not at work, she is behind the camera … click-click.

• Secret talent: “I play shortstop in a women’s competitive softball league.” Also, fun Instagram post creator.

• A fun fact: “I taught English in Japan for three years and then, longing for something a little different, I worked at a Japanese spa for a year.”

—Tanya Perdikoulias

Jaqueline, aka Jackie, completed the Hospitality Management Program from Humber in 2008 and acquired a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in 2010 from the University of Guelph. She began her career with Humber in 2013 as a Program Support Officer in the (then) School of Hospitality, Recreation and Tourism, spending a great deal of time ensuring that students were supported throughout their Humber journey.

Jackie’s desire to grow both in her career and life paved the path to research; she humbly implies that she “stumbled upon research” and transferred to ORI (then Applied Research & Innovation) as the Administrative Coordinator. Jackie’s exceptional ability to apply her skills in areas of operations, finance and HR allowed her to get involved in all areas of research, along with the opportunity to work closely with project coordinators and team leads. As a member of both the Canadian Association of Research Ethics Board and the Canadian Association of Research Administrators (CARA), Jackie is diligent about conducting her work with care and a systematic mindset. She has participated in the Leadership Development for Women: Early Career Program in 2016 from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Jackie has also recently completed the Basadur Simplexity Thinking program—a framework for problem solving and a pathway to innovation.

In her role as Resource Manager at ORI, Jackie is tasked with coordinating, tracking and supervising the human resources components of grant administration which includes financial operations. She continues to apply her expertise and experience to collaborate with and educate the Humber community on matters pertaining to research policies and procedures. She also oversees salary expenditures across the department.

Jackie embodies a “let’s figure it out” attitude with grace. She continues to work closely with the Operations Manager and our Dean to develop internal processes and funding guidelines.

Get to know Jackie a little better:

• She is currently pursuing two certifications: Project Management Certificate from Humber and Research Administration Certification from Mohawk Continuing Education, endorsed by CARA.

• When she is not at work, she takes care of her family and spends time with her children; “I am a minimalist and I like the simple pleasures of life.”

• A favourite movie: “The Pursuit of Happyness;” “I enjoy feel-good movies, also sports documentaries and shows such as “Last Chance U” on Netflix.”

Manivannan, aka Mani, holds a Bachelor of Commerce from SRM University, India. With his heart set on Canada, he arrived in Ontario in 2018 and completed Lambton College’s post-grad diploma in International Business Management in 2019. During his time in Lambton, Mani grabbed an opportunity to participate in a field study project with Bombardier. He excitedly shares that this was when his interest in project management peaked.

Mani joined ORI in December 2020 as a Project Assistant and soon rose to his current role as Project Coordinator. Mani has been a part of an internal research team at ORI that conducted a skills mapping analysis (watch out for their paper in the upcoming issue of the Journal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education (JIPE): “Practical Innovation: Beyond COVID” in January 2022). Mani works closely with Senior Project Manager Barath Roy Michel—assisting with research projects’ data analysis, data visualization, creating dashboards, and providing backend support for facilitated workshops, like Tableau training for a cohort of Project Management post-grad (PMPG) students. Mani and other project coordinators are a part of what they call a “Data Club,” a group of highly motivated team members passionate about all things “data related.”

Along with Project Coordinator Juan Garcia Felipe, Mani is playing a vital role in the development of Humber’s “Change Leadership/Management Methodology” Framework—an alternative capstone project, led by Raeshelle Morris, Innovation Program Manager, ORI and Cheryl Francis-Nurse, Program Coordinator, Project Management post graduate program. Mani also provided timely assistance to ORI’s Knowledge Mobilization Specialist and Managing Editor, Humber Press, Anju Kakkar, by handling graphic design and maintaining ORI’s news and social media platforms for a short period. He continues to assist with data collection and annotated bibliographies from time to time.

Get to know Mani a little better:

• Recent Certifications: Graphic Design, Power BI, Tableau and many more through LinkedIn Learning

• The next certification he has in mind: Short term: Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®, Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP), HR Analytics; Long Term: Project Management Professional (PMP)

• A secret talent: Cooking, photography.