Classes

After graduating from York, Micky took a master’s degree in political science at the University of Alberta. She then worked for a year in Toronto doing market research before applying to the Faculty of Library Science at the University of Toronto, where she trained to be a special librarian with a concentration in law. Today she works as a consulting librarian for five Toronto law firms in addition to helping her husband, Bill Wylie, at Wylie Mycologicals – an organic specialty mushroom facility located in Georgian Bluffs, Ont.

After a successful 31-year career in commercial real estate across Ontario, Jane recently retired to return to her lifelong passion: painting. But this isn’t a casual hobby to fill her spare time. Jane is steadily working away to finish a new painting every one to three days. To date, she’s created over 100 paintings in the span of six months. “If I continue at this pace, I will complete 1,000 paintings in another three and a half years,” she says, “allowing time for relaxation and light socializing.”

After graduating from York, Gina began exhibiting with prominent Toronto art gallery Sable-Castelli (now defunct), where she was included in seminal exhibitions that led to her appearance in some of the country’s leading art institutions. Today represented exclusively by Corkin Gallery in Toronto, Gina recently unveiled an exhibition of her latest collection of paintings, “Where One Finishes the Other Begins,” to critical acclaim.

Ryan is the clinic director, chiropractor and certified strength and conditioning specialist at Advantage 4 Athletes in Markham, Ont. His clinic was the first in Ontario to introduce a new medical device called the Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS), which is currently being studied as a potential new option for the treatment of chronic neurological symptoms of disease or trauma.

A former Chair of the board of the Canadian Women’s Foundation and past member of the Consultative Committee for the Gender Equality Network Canada, Kristin received her master’s in sociology from York in 2002. A co-investigator at the Ryerson Diversity Institute and a frequent speaker on gender issues, she teaches undergraduate courses in sociology at Glendon. Kristin presently serves on the board of the Canadian Women’s Foundation and chairs the Foundation’s Teen Healthy Relationships Advisory Committee. She lives in Toronto with her lively family and her pup, Joey.

After graduation, Curtis accepted the position of associate professor and co-ordinator of the Criminal Justice program at Athabasca University. After seven years in that position, he transitioned to the Alberta Provincial Government, where he held various positions, including assistant deputy minister of Correctional Services, associate deputy solicitor general and, as of this year, deputy minister of Advanced Education. During this time, Curtis has been involved with numerous outside organizations, such as INTERPOL, the Council of Ministers of Education (CMEC) and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. Curtis recalls his memories of York fondly.

After completing a master’s degree in 2005, Angela took a PhD in history, specializing in visual culture and the body, in 2015 – her fourth degree from York University. Today a professional portrait photographer, she assigns herself an annual “heart project,” which has so far taken her to India and Tanzania, where she photographs non-profit groups and orphanages in search of clean water. “My passion for travel, service and working through language and cultural barriers has made my international humanitarian work the most fulfilling of all my projects,” Angela says.

Recipient of a PhD in education from York in 2010, Karine is the founder and director of Brain Power, an after-school enrichment program for bright and gifted students from grades one through 12. As the co-author of the Brain Power series of educational workbooks, she’s the recipient of numerous accolades for her progressive leadership in the field of education, including the 2018 Top Entrepreneur Under 40 in the City of Vaughan and York Region’s 2018 Passion into Practice award.

Jolanta is the founder and director of Canada’s National Academy of Dance Education. In addition to holding her BFA and MA in dance from York, Jolanta is a graduate of the teacher training program at Canada’s National Ballet School. She travels across Canada facilitating dance educator conferences and workshops for school boards, dance studios and teachers, and is the author of over 10 dance resources, in both English and French, designed to help teachers deliver 21st-century dance education to their students. She took an MA in dance at York in 2013.

Ana Luisa is a senior behaviour therapist at Surrey Place in Toronto. Together with that of her colleagues, Ana Luisa’s work on how to select a behaviour analyst for children with autism was recently published in Hospital News, Canada’s healthcare newspaper. “We collaborated with an ethicist from the University Health Network in order to have a wide reach at this very important time in Ontario, when autism services are changing for families,” she says.

Tian Jiao is a Toronto-based director and film editor. After graduating from York, she was a finalist on “China’s Got Talent,” which aired on Chinese Central TV. She appeared in the 2014 film Transformers: Age of Extinction, and was the bilingual host at the film’s gala appreciation night and premiere in China. She edited the 2019 film Miller & Son, which was shortlisted in the Live Action Short Film category at the 2020 Oscars. The film also won the BAFTA Student Film Award for Best Live Action Film in 2019. A proud alumna, Tian Jiao is grateful for the university education and experience she had at York.

Indra recently returned to Toronto after spending 26 months in Yemen with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), where he helped support those needing protection and assistance. “Managing food, non-food items, water and medicine was challenging, [but] I did my best with IFRC to serve the purpose of disaster or emergency management,” he says. He continues his advocacy work to engage the international community to help Yemen, save lives and promote human dignity.

Peter was appointed a professor of law at Osgoode Hall Law School in 1970 and became dean in 1998, serving until 2003, when he joined the Toronto law firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP as a scholar in residence. As dean emeritus and professor emeritus at Osgoode Hall Law School, he was one of Canada’s leading constitutional law scholars. Peter died February 4, 2020. He was 80 years old.

Randy served at York University for 45 years, beginning in 1972, when he was both a sessional instructor in the Department of French Literature and the assistant to the dean in the former Atkinson College. Professor Scott was perfectly trilingual in English, French and Italian, and also conducted research in Latin, Old French and Provençal. He passed away on November 6, 2019.