Technology Industry Executive

Nicholas Brathwaite obtained his undergraduate degree from McMaster University and his graduate degree from The University of Waterloo. After graduating from the University of Waterloo, he started his career at Intel Corporation where he gained his first patent and developed and championed the development and implementation of new semiconductor assembly technologies.

In 1989 Mr. Brathwaite left Intel to become a member of the founding team of nCHIP Inc. a venture capital funded startup in Silicon Valley. He was one of a six person team that started the process of turning a science project at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory into a company.

As Vice President of Operations and Assembly Technology Development, Nicholas was instrumental in nCHIP's success. His work ultimately resulted in a company that manufactured electronic modules for computers, aerospace, and semiconductor test equipment.

After nCHIP was acquired by Flextronics in 1995, Nicholas became the Chief Technical Officer of Flextronics where he helped transform the company from a $200M contract manufacturer to a $30 Billion electronics manufacturing service provider.

While at Flextronics, Mr. Brathwaite started and led several businesses which grew to revenues ranging from approximately $50M to over $6B. He was a pioneer in the development of low cost cell phones for developing countries and led teams that codeveloped the first Palm Pilot, the first Microsoft X-Box and the first miniaturized chargers for the Apple iPhone and Amazon Kindle.

Nicholas left Flextronics at the end of 2007 to become a cofounder and partner of Riverwood Capital which has quickly become one of the most highly regarded private equity investment firms in the technology industry.

Mr. Brathwaite currently serves, or has served, on the board of directors of several technology companies in the United States, Brazil, Argentina, China and India.

Nicholas and his wife Janice started the PETNA Foundation which has been helping to impact lives and improve communities in some of the poorest villages in Grenada and Tanzania. They have provided scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students, financed a meals and books program for elementary school students, provided financial support to build or repair homes for poor families, distributed new shoes to thousands of poor individuals, and supplied computers to individuals, families and schools throughout Grenada and Carriacou.

Nicholas Brathwaite is a man of faith, a devoted family man, a prolific philanthropist, the holder of several patents, the author of many international publications, a successful entrepreneur and a highly accomplished, globally respected technology industry executive.

Engineering Professor

Dr. M. Jamal Deen (FRSC) was born in Georgetown, Guyana, South America. He completed a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. His Ph.D. dissertation was on the design and modeling of a new CARS spectrometer for dynamic temperature measurements and combustion optimization in rocket and jet engines, and was sponsored and used by NASA, Cleveland, USA. He is currently Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Director of the Micro- and Nano-Systems Laboratory, and holder of the Senior Canada Research Chair in Information Technology, McMaster University. His research interests are nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, nanotechnology and their emerging applications in health and environmental sciences. His research record includes more than 460 peer-reviewed articles (about 20% are invited), 1 textbook on Silicon Photonics, 20 authored/edited books and conference proceedings, 16 invited book chapters, 6 awarded patents that have been used in industry, and 12 best paper/poster awards. Over his career, he has won more than fifty awards.

As an undergraduate student at the University of Guyana, Dr. Deen was the top ranked mathematics and physics student and the second ranked student at the university, wining the Chancellor’s medal and the Irving Adler prize. As a graduate student, he was a Fulbright-Laspau Scholar and an American Vacuum Society Scholar. He was an NSERC Senior Industrial Fellow and is a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Electron Device Society for more than a decade. His awards and honors include the Thomas D. Callinan Award and the Electronics and Photonics Division from the Electrochemical Society; the Distinguished Researcher Award, Province of Ontario; a Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; an IBM Faculty Award; the Eadie Medal from the Royal Society of Canada; the Fessenden Silver Medal as well as the McNaughton Gold Medal from IEEE Canada. For his exceptional scholarly achievements, service contributions and professionalism, Prof. Deen was awarded two honorary doctorates – the degree Doctor of Engineering - honoris causa from University of Waterloo, Canada in 2011 and the degree Doctor - honoris causa from Universidad de Granada, Spain in 2012.

Dr. Deen’s peers have elected him Fellow in an impressive nine national academies and professional societies including The Royal Society of Canada - - The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (FRSC) – this is the highest honor for scholars, artists and intellectuals in Canada; The Canadian Academy of Engineering (FCAE); The National Academy of Sciences India (FNASI-Foreign); The Indian National Academy of Engineering (FINAE-Foreign); The American Physical Society (FAPS); the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (FIEEE); and The Electrochemical Society (FECS). In addition, he was elected an Honorary Member of the World Innovation Foundation (WIF) – the foundation’s highest honor.

Shim-Sutcliffe Architects

Brigitte Shim is a principal in the Toronto based design firm Shim-Sutcliffe Architects and she is also an Associate Professor at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto.

Shim, along with her partner A. Howard Sutcliffe formed their architectural design practice Shim-Sutcliffe Architects in 1994 reflecting their shared interest and passion for the integration and interrelated scales of architecture, landscape and furniture. To dated, Shim and Sutcliffe have received twelve Governor Medals and Awards for Architecture and an American Institute of Architects National Honor Award along with other accolades for their built work ranging from projects for non-profit groups to public and private clients. Brigitte Shim has lectured on Shim-Sutcliffe's built work in lectures and symposia internationally.

Brigitte Shim is an Associate Professor at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto since 1988, engaged in core design studios, advanced design studios as well as teaching courses in the History and Theory of Landscape Architecture. She has been a visiting professor at Yale University's School of Architecture holding the Eero Saarinen Visiting Professorship, the William B and Charlotte Sheperd Davenport Visiting Professorship, the Henry Bishop Visiting Chair and the Visiting Bicentennial Professor in Canadian Studies; an invited international visiting professorship at Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne and Harvard University's Graduate School of Design as well as the Somerville Visiting Lectureship at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Environmental Design and the Martell Distinguished Visiting Critic at the University of Buffalo's School of Architecture and Planning.

Shim is currently serving as a board member for Build Toronto and a member of Waterfront Toronto's Design Review Committee and the University of Toronto's Design Review Committee. She has served on numerous international, national and local design juries as an advocate for design excellence. She served on the 2007 Aga Khan Architecture Award Master jury. She was a member of Canada's National Capital Commission Architectural Advisory Board for over a decade. She was a board member for Mooreland's Community Services - a local Toronto non-profit charity helping inner city children and youth affected by poverty since 1917. She is currently serving on the Board of Greenwood College School, a progressive independent school in Toronto. She is a Senior Fellow at Massey College in the University of Toronto and their College Architect.

Brigitte Shim was born in Kingston Jamaica and moved with her family to Toronto, Canada in the early 1960's. She is a member of a large Chinese-Jamaican family which is also part of a vital and active Caribbean community which has made its home in the Toronto area. Brigitte Shim was educated at the University of Waterloo with degrees in Environmental Studies (BES) and a professional degree in architecture (BArch).

She is a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (FRAIC), an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (Hon FAIA) and an elected member of the Royal Canadian Academy (RCA). In January 2013, Brigitte Shim and her partner Howard Sutcliffe were both simultaneously awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Order of Canada (CM), "for their contributions as architects designing sophisticated structures that represent the best of Canadian design to the world."

Karl Alleyne Massiah D.O.B. 12th September 1940.
Born in St John Barbados he received his education at The Lodge School.
He entered UCWI Mona in October 1959; graduating in The Class of 1965.
Along the way he was awarded The Junior Surgery Prize, The Chin Yee Prize in Surgery and graduated with Honours and The Gold Medal in Surgery, The Beckton Henderson & Dickinson Prize in Medicine and The Gold Medal in Pharmacology & Therapeutics.
Together with 5 classmates he broke the mould and Interned at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital - Barbados...now the Teaching Hospital for F.M.S. Cave Hill.
Returning to Jamaica he undertook training in Neurosurgery and in Orthopaedic Surgery.
Entering the University of Toronto in 1968 he trained in Orthopaedic Surgery, receiving his F.R.C.S.C. in 1972- the first ever Barbadian Orthopod.
Denied a post at Q.E.H. he assumed the role as Orthopaedic Surgeon at The Etobicoke General Hospital in Toronto, becoming the Pioneer Chief in this then new hospital, serving in this role for 30+ years, becoming the pioneer Chief of Orthopaedics at The William Osler Health Centre (the largest orthopaedic department in Canada).
He retired after 33 years of service.
During this tenure office he served on The Board of Governors of E.G.H for 10 years and was twice President of The Professional Staff Association E.G.H.
He counts among his greatest successes the role which he played in conceiving-along with others- and ultimately producing The University of the West Indies Medical Alumni Association...the first active alumni Association at U.W.I. He became and remains President of The Canadian Chapter.
He is particularly proud of the role of The Canadian Chapter and the role which he played in initiating and accomplishing the concept of UWIMAA International and his role in driving for UWIMAA Reunion 1 1988 at which time the International organization was formed.
He became the Founding President of the Board UWIMAA International and served 3 terms.
He continues to serve on this Board recently attending The A.G.M. at Reunion 10 some 22 years later.
He is married to his Classmate -Pamela DaCamara & they have recently celebrated their 45th Anniversary.
He is the Father of 2 Daughters and Grandpa to 3.
He enjoys Decorative Decoy Carving & Painting and travelling.
He loves his Rose Garden and spoiling his 3 Grandchildren.

Dionne Brand is a renowned poet, novelist, and essayist. She is currently the Poet Laureate of the City of Toronto. Her writing is notable for the beauty of its language, and for its intense engagement with issues of social justice. Her work includes nine volumes of poetry, four books of fiction and two non-fiction works. She was educated at the University of Toronto, where she earned a BA in English and Philosophy and an MA in the Philosophy of Education at OISE.

Dionne Brand became prominent first as an award-winning poet, winning the Governor General’s Literary Award and the Trillium Book Prize for her volume Land to Light On. She’s garnered two other nominations for the Governor General’s Literary Award for the poetry volumes No Language Is Neutral and Inventory respectively, the latter also nominated for the Trillium and the Pat Lowther. She has won the Pat Lowther Award for poetry for her volume thirsty also nominated for the Griffin Poetry Prize and the City of Toronto Book Award.

Brand has also achieved great distinction and acclaim in fiction and non-fiction. Her fiction includes the novel In Another Place, Not Here, a New York Times Notable Book in 1998, and At the Full and Change of the Moon, a Los Angeles Times Notable Book of the Year in 1999. Her latest critically acclaimed and Toronto Book Award winning novel, What We All Long For, is the story of four young people in Toronto – it has been translated into Italian and German. Like thirsty, a recent book of poems, the novel offers an indelible portrait of this great multicultural city. Her non-fiction includes Bread Out Of Stone, and A Map to the Door of No Return.

Dionne Brand has published eighteen books, contributed to seventeen anthologies and written dozens of essays and articles. She was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at St. Lawrence University in New York and has taught literature and creative writing at universities in both British Columbia and Ontario. She has also held the Ruth Wynn Woodward Chair in Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University. She lives in Toronto and presently holds a University Research Chair at the University of Guelph where she is a professor.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY: Poetry: Inventory (2006), thirsty (2002), Land to Light On (1997), No Language is Neutral (1990), Chronicles of the Hostile Sun (1984). Fiction: What We All Long For (2005), At the Full & Change of the Moon (1999), In Another Place, Not Here (1996), Sans Souci and Other Stories (1988). Non-Fiction: A Map to the Door of No Return: Notes to Belonging (2001), Bread Out of Stone: Recollections Sex, Recognitions Race, Dreaming Politics (1994). AWARDS: Pat Lowther Award for Poetry and finalist for the Griffin Poetry Prize and Trillium Award, thirsty; Governor General’s Award for Poetry and Trillium Award, Land to Light On; finalist for the Governor General’s Award, No Language is Neutral and Inventory; short listed for the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award, In Another Place, Not Here. Toronto Book Award 2006 for the novel What We All Long For. Harbourfront IFOA Prize for writer in mid career.