STAFF
JENNIFER KWOK
UX/UI DESIGNER
Jennifer is a UX/UI and product designer studying media & business management at UBC. In addition to working on the Tapestry project, she has had the opportunity to develop visual design for other educational and mental health projects with UBC's Department of Psychology, such as TYDE and PolarUs. She is passionate about designing with empathy and strives to produce memorable user experiences that people can connect with. As she continues to broaden her experience in designing mobile and web interfaces, she is always working towards creating accessible and human-centered design for all.
WILLIAM ZHOU
APPLICATION DEVELOPER
William is a passionate software developer pursuing his undergraduate studies in Computer Science at UBC. He is delighted to work on the Tapestry Tool project as a WorkLearn student and to help reimagine the online learning experience. He has learned a lot about web accessibility and best practices while working on the project, and he is very excited about the future of Tapestry Tool.
AIDIN NIAVARANI
DIRECTOR, TECHNOLOGY & APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
Aidin is an experienced full-stack software developer, with a passion for user experience, innovation, and creative design. He has worked on many web and mobile application development projects of different sizes and has gained a wealth of knowledge in this process. His work in the start-up community has fed his passion for creative thinking and innovation, and his contributions in the education field have been one of the most fascinating experiences for him. Although he completed his undergraduate degree at SFU, he is grateful to work at the beautiful UBC campus, on the unceded territory of the Musqueam people. UBC is a very forward-thinking university, and it is taking large steps to support innovations that will make a significant difference in our society. Tapestry is a great example of this innovation and what is to come in the future of teaching and learning, and Aidin is very excited to be a part of it!
BITA JOKAR
LEAD USER EXPERIENCE RESEARCHER AND PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR
Bita Jokar completed her BA in psychology from UBC in 2022 and works as the project's lead evaluation researcher. She conducts UX research, supports the construction of tapestries, and much more. Throughout her role, Bita has had the privilege of working on various projects that have implemented Tapestry Tool in unique and creative ways, such as the TYDE project, the ACE-BC project, and more! Through her work with Tapestry Tool, she hopes to improve students' experiences with online learning, as well as the learning process, in general.
FACULTY
STEVEN BARNES
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF TEACHING AND DIRECTOR, UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM IN NEUROSCIENCE
Dr. Steven Barnes is the Associate Head of Undergraduate Affairs in UBC’s Department of Psychology. He is well known for his work related to student mental health and wellbeing. Steven is also an accomplished artist–his current art practice is centered around the production of new media pieces that aim to inspire dialogue on the ways we think about and use modern technologies. He also continues to produce drawings and paintings. Steven is co-author of a best-selling textbook on Behavioural Neuroscience, Biopsychology 10th edition (Pearson).
CHRISTINE D'ONOFRIO
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF TEACHING | CHAIR, BACHELOR OF MEDIA STUDIES
Christine D’Onofrio is a visual artist based in Vancouver, teaching at University of British Columbia. She is interested in practice-based research as a way to access new knowledge.
RACHELLE HOLE
PROFESSOR AND CO-DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR INCLUSION AND CITIZENSHIP, SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, UBC OKANAGAN
Rachelle is an associate professor in the UBC Okanagan School of Social work. She is the co-director of the UBC Centre for Inclusion and Citizenship, the only university-based research centre in Canada with a dedicated focus on intellectual disability policy and practice. She is also the leader of the social inclusion and equity research cluster with the UBC Institute for Community Engaged Research. Rachelle teaches critical disability studies, and diversity and social work practice. Her research is informed by two complementary streams: 1) a substantial focus on the socio-cultural practices that promote social inclusion and equity informed by critical disability studies, and 2) a methodological focus on community-based participatory research methods.
SID FELS
PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
Sid Fels: (Prof, ECE, British Columbia, 1998-); PhD (CS, Toronto, 1994); MSc (CS, Toronto 1990); BASc (EE, Waterloo, 1988): Sid is a Distinguished University Scholar at UBC (2004-). He was a visiting researcher at ATR Media Integration & Communications Research Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan (1996-1997). He worked at Virtual Technologies Inc. in CA(1995). He is internationally known for his work in human-computer interaction, biomechanical modeling, neural networks, new interfaces for musical expression and interactive arts with over 300 scholarly publications.
ERIN MICHALAK
PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY, FACULTY OF MEDICINE
Dr. Erin Michalak is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada and is a member of the Executive Committee for the APEC Digital Hub for Mental Health.
Her background is in psychology, with a PhD awarded from the University of Wales College of Medicine in the United Kingdom. Her research interests are in bipolar disorder, quality of life, stigma, Community Based Participatory Research, knowledge exchange, self-management and ehealth/mhealth.
Dr. Michalak’s research has been supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, amongst others. She is the founder and leader of the ‘Collaborative RESearch Team for the study of psychosocial issues in Bipolar Disorder’ (CREST.BD), a CIHR-funded Canadian network dedicated to collaborative research and knowledge exchange in BD. She has published over 85 scientific articles and several books and book chapters. In her spare time, Erin is an avid mushroom hunter and breeder of Giant Schnauzers, where she lives on the Sunshine Coast of BC.
SIMON LOLLIOT
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF TEACHING AND CHAIR, VANTAGE ONE ARTS PROGRAM
Simon is an instructor in psychology and chair of the Vantage One Arts program. He received his PhD from Oxford University in experimental social psychology. His research background is in diversity, intergroup contact, conflict, and reconciliation. Currently, he is studying the beneficial effects of diversity in academic settings as well as the underlying social psychological barriers to educational success and how to overcome those barriers. Simon is an advocate of open education adopting open source textbooks and developing online tools (using H5P) to enrich his teaching while reducing costs to students.
SIOBHÁN MCPHEE
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF TEACHING | ASSOCIATE DEAN, EQUITY, INNOVATION & STRATEGY
PATRICK PENNEFATHER
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, DESIGN AND PRODUCTION
CLAUDIA KREBS
PROFESSOR OF TEACHING
ALUMNI
Floria Gu, Melanie Butt, Linnea Ritland, Marianna Arbeth, Trish Varao-Sousa, Liam Armstrong, Ravia Arora, Ford Atwater, Andrew Bui, Stephanie Chen, Coco Ferrari, Cody Gagnon, Jade Guo, Bradley Karstadt, Helen Kuang, Vivian Lam, Katrina Ross-Ghali, George Njoo, Michael Yang, Kevin Wong, Simi Wei, Cleo Zhang, Jennica Zhang, Adel Akbar, Rui Qui Zhang, Eldad Zipori, Harry Tao, Jesse Wong, Alexander Yin, Yuki Nishida, Sean Rong, Narendra Syahrasyad, Jasmine Kwong, Rowan Lindsay, Heather McFadyen, Enid Au, Shirley Bi
KAYLI JOHNSON
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF TEACHING