Kimberly Wishart Chu Foon, Program Experience Manager

Kimberly is a PhD candidate in the Environmental Science program at the University of Prince Edward Island. Her interest in wildlife led her to pursue ways of developing applicable solutions to conservation issues on islands. As such, her research is focusing on the effectiveness of conservation actor networks on the island of Trinidad and Tobago.

She has a BSc in Environmental and Natural Resource Management from the University of the West Indies and an MSc in Environmental Consultancy from Newcastle University. Shortly after obtaining her MSc, she worked as a Conservation Officer at the Asa Wright Nature Centre for several years where she was responsible for developing and implementing research and conservation projects on site. Some of her work included a camera trapping survey of forest mammals, an Oilbird GPS monitoring project, insect surveys and forest bird surveys. She has also been avidly involved with a number of environment and conservation organizations including Nature Seekers and Council of Presidents of the Environment where she served as Chairman for one year. Just prior to enrolling at UPEI, she was awarded a Fellowship at the Conservation Leadership in the Caribbean program where she worked with a team to research the illegal wildlife trade of Blue and Gold Macaws.

Currently, she is working as a research assistant at the Institute of Island Studies on the Sustainable Island Futures project. She also enjoys working with youth and has been involved with STEM outreach in PEI through Let’s Talk Science and STEAM PEI. Upon learning about Shad UPEI, she immediately reached out to find out ways in which she could be involved and is excited to fill the role of Program Experience Manager this year. 

Bronwyn Roberts, Program Facilitator

As a Shad alum Bronwyn is incredibly excited to be returning for her third year as a program facilitator! She hails from small town Prince Edward Island and is incredibly excited to be joining the Shad UPEI team. Bronwyn is currently studying at Canada’s National Ballet School and is doing a joint program with Simon Fraser University in dance education and contemporary performance. Bronwyn is very passionate about the intersection between fine arts and academics and looks forward to bringing this perspective to the 2021 Shad program.

Tristan Paranavitana, Program Facilitator

Tristan is from St. John’s, Newfoundland and he’s currently a student in McMaster University’s life science program. He really enjoys learning about STEAM topics, and in his free time he enjoys running, curling, going for bike rides, and exploring new places. Tristan attended the Shad program at York University in Toronto. He is very excited to do his part to pass on the educational (and of course fun!) experiences that the Shad program is known for, in a virtual setting at UPEI. He is looking forward to meeting you all in July!

Luke McCarvill, Program Facilitator

Luke is currently studying Sustainable Design Engineering at UPEI with a minor in mathematics. He began his studies as a chemistry major but was inspired to transfer programs thanks to the engaging workshops he participated in during his time at Shad Dalhousie. Luke is the events director for the UPEI Engineering Society and enjoys engaging with fellow students from across Canada in conferences organized by the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students. Most recently, he served as the bilingualism commissioner for the Atlantic Engineering Competition hosted this past January. He has worked as a park communicator at the Anne of Green Gables House and is currently in the enrollment process for the Royal Canadian Navy. In his free time, Luke enjoys playing sports, including basketball, soccer, badminton, and running; engaging in academic competitions, particularly in mathematics; teaching youth, most recently as a coding instructor with Kids Code Jeunesse; and learning about the latest news in hardware and software development.

Ronnie Du, Program Facilitator

Ronnie is a student at Western University in London, Ontario (his hometown), where he is currently studying Medical Sciences. He participated in the Shad program at the University of British Columbia campus and has since continued to explore his interests in Shad-related areas such as oncology, programming, education, and business. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, running, and research. Ronnie is excited to return to Shad this July as a Facilitator and share his enthusiasm for both the Shad program and the limitless possibilities offered by its new ShadOnline format.

Gemma Postill, Program Facilitator

Gemma Postill is a student at Western University studying One Health in the Medical Sciences program. Throughout this degree Gemma has been actively involved on campus as part of the Science Student Council’s Research and Policy Committee as well as the Dragon Boat club. Currently, Gemma is working on several research projects focused on understanding the effects of COVID-19. One of these project is even based out of UPEI! In her free time, Gemma enjoys yoga, hiking, skiing, and baking. As an ice cream enthusiast, Gemma believes PEI’s Cows Ice Cream is the best! She is looking forward to sharing her love of STEM (and PEI) with Shad this summer. 

Sheetal Gill, Program Facilitator

Sheetal is currently studying Engineering at McMaster University and aims to specialize in electrical and computer engineering. She participated in the first ever Shad program at McGill university which really helped consolidate her passion for the STEAM fields and particularly engineering. She has a passion in promoting STEAM through many endeavours such as Girls Who Code Workshops, Design Challenges, Hackathons and now Shad UPEI! At McMaster Sheetal is a member of the Engineers without Borders and Women in Engineering Clubs. Outside of school Sheetal enjoys being outdoors, reading, baking and volunteering with HOBY Canada. Most of all she loves playing sports including basketball, volleyball, soccer and badminton (hoping to play some varsity on campus next year!). Sheetal is very passionate about learning to be a diverse leader taking different experiences to supplement her academics and can’t wait to share how at Shad UPEI this summer!  

Hafeez Husein, Program Facilitator

Hafeez is currently studying at Wilfrid Laurier University in the Health Sciences program with a planned minor in Spanish. His time at Shad influenced him greatly to explore new areas in STEAM and eventually follow a program looking at health from a cell to society perspective. It also inspired him to get involved and follow his passions, which is one of the reasons why he founded the Laurier Innovation Society and joined multiple other clubs as an executive member. Outside of academics, Hafeez is very interested in music, dance, languages, medicine, and various sports such as swimming and badminton. He looks forward to sharing these interests with you this summer! As an alum from Shad Dalhousie, Hafeez is excited to help bring this amazing program to you all this July, especially in this new online environment with endless possibilities!