Student Experience

Starting off with a double major in Chem & Bio, Ali Maqsood has transitioned into a master of programming & design. Going from his love of life sciences to computer science, Ali has spent 4 years working as a front-end and back-end web developer and has familiarized himself with HTML(5), CSS(3), JavaScript, MySQL, PHP and NodeJS. You can find apps developed by him on the Apple App Store!
Ali’s goal in life is to develop and create highly functional websites/applications and be a constant learner in his pursuit of greater knowledge.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-maqsood-30a0a3117/ 

Ciara is the Admissions Manager at RED. This role allows her to perfectly combine her two main passions – education and mentorship. She enjoys working with prospective RED students to help them find their dream career in the tech industry. In her early career, Ciara discovered recruitment was an opportunity to combine her love of teaching with her academic background. She has recruited university students for an international American university affiliated with the United Nations, accounting students for Deloitte and ESL teachers for programs such as the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC).    In her spare time, Ciara works out at Pure Barre, plays beach volleyball and checks out tech events around the city. She sits on the Membership Committee for YES! Vancouver benefiting Dress for Success. Ciara mentors in programs such as The Glass Ceiling Demolition Co. and UBC’s Young Women in Business (YwiB) as well as informally working with many other students through weekly coffee chats. (If you are thinking about a new career in tech, she would love to set up a time to chat!) optional

Colin is the CEO of RED Academy. Although he originally started his career as a classically trained musician and sound engineer, he has been working in tech for the past 15 years. While he sounds British, don’t let that accent fool you; his roots are Dutch, and he calls Amsterdam his hometown. Also the founder of Drive Digital, one of Western Canada’s biggest digital agencies, Colin is inspired by watching people create and seeing them find fulfillment in doing something they believe in. Colin is excited by the idea that the Internet connects us all, increasing transparency and accountability. He strongly believes that purpose is a bigger driver in people than profit, which will lead us to a better, fairer, more conscious world – values that dictate the foundation of RED.CE

As a member of RED’s admissions team, Graeme is stoked about redefining education and helping RED become the best learning institution in the world. With his calm and zen-like presence, Graeme has spent many years honing his skills of emotional intelligence. Being passionate about education, one of his core beliefs is that empathy is the solution to create the conditions for world peace and should be taught in schools. His experiences have lead him to co-found his own company called SoapBox Speakers where he trains and develops professional speakers. When he is not working, he is either reading a book or out on a surf trip. If you know of any good reads, Graeme is always looking for book recommendations!

Haidee is a digital strategist who brings nearly ten years of marketing experience to RED Academy. She graduated with a BA from Simon Fraser University in Criminology and English, where she developed sharp analytical skills and linguistic finesse. Though Haidee has worked in all areas of digital marketing, her expertise is in content marketing, digital storytelling and branding. She is driven by creating innovative content that captivates and resonates with people. When she’s not working, Haidee is sleeping. Haidee enjoys a good nap.

George has 6+ years experience working on and directing UI/UX design, front-end development, and motion for clients including agencies like Bruce Mau Design (for a global electronics brand), startups from Y Combinator, and altogether over 20 different companies. You can find some of his work featured on sites such as Engadget, TechCrunch and Envato; as well as in major retail stores. George’s goal is to create products that allow normal people to harness the ever-increasing capabilities of technology while also mitigating the complexities of those technologies in the most elegant and simple ways possible.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrgeorgewu/ 

Emily is passionate about crafting amazing experiences for the students here at RED Academy Toronto. With her background in Psychology and UX Design, she is focused on developing new methods of support to the RED fam. When Emily isn’t working she is out exploring the world.

I moved from London to Vancouver in 2015. With a view to getting some great outdoors in my life and to be a part of a young a thriving tech scene. I like to make websites and apps as easy and as seamless as possible to use, by looking at the psychology of how we use the web, talking to users and integrating the most useful technology to create an enjoyable and successful experience for the user and the business alike. My affinity with being a conversationalist and my passion for design made teaching others my knowledge a challenging but exciting step.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/keenjason/?ppe=1

A 4-year Marketing professional, Joel Rosario has worked in Communications, Digital & Social Media Marketing, and Sales for Humber College and Michelin Tires. He has a degree in business, loves technology & photography, and is an avid foodie. Having moved to Toronto from Mumbai, India in 2014, he brings a global outlook to the TO team.

Julie is a Designer with expertise in crafting highly engaging digital experiences for organizations like TELUS, YYoga, Escents, and Rutgers University at digital agency Pound & Grain. Originally from New-Caledonia, she joined the RED team where she uses her well-rounded set of skills and her background in fine arts & coding to fuel her strong enthusiasm for teaching UI & Communication Design. Julie is passionate about thinking of innovative ways to leverage user-centric design at every possible moment – whether it’s through her teaching, her design work, or while contributing to the betterment of her surroundings.

Lisa is a strategic marketing professional with a passion for entrepreneurship, the digital world and a great brand story. With over six years experience driving tactical and strategic marketing projects, her specialties lie within brand management, digital marketing, automation and analytics. Lisa thrives off of out-of-the-box thinking, bursts of creativity and watching businesses grow. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and all sports. You can catch her kicking a soccer ball around any chance she gets.

Lucy is our resident data mastermind but her official title is General Manager for Vancouver, but what she really does is slice through the big data we work with to bring together a coherent set of information. With over 10 years of analytics and business experience, she loves both getting lost and finding her way out of complex systems – with the details of the story intact. She is excited to be working with such an intelligent team on the cutting edge of technology and strives to be like those who inspire her – courageous, humble, and with a soul to the earth. When not sifting through statistics and figures that would make most cringe, she can be found traveling, running, learning about the natural world, or watching a Will Ferell movie – all with camera in hand. Except maybe the Will Ferell part.

Liz is the lead UI instructor at RED Academy Toronto. She has 6+ years of experience working in the industry, producing work for companies like G Adventures, National Geographic, Jeep and Bank of America. She’s passionate about designing simple and consistent products that make life easier for the users. https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-kucharska-10a92ba7/

Mackenzie’s been working in Vancouver’s burgeoning start-up scene since 2010. He brings strong experience with JavaScript and contemporary full-stack web development to RED. He’s as at home in a container cluster as he is in a SCSS file. Mackenzie has helped RED develop over 100 students, teaching beginners in-demand Open Source tools like React and React-Native, Angular, Node, Express, PostgreSQL and Git. One look at Mackenzie’s experience will show you that he’s passionate about doing work that fosters community-building, and he brings that into the classroom every day at RED.

Mandi is the program lead for development at RED. Developer by day (and usually by night too), she spent many years working in WordPress plugin and theme development in the non-profit space and as a freelancer, but currently specializes in building web and mobile applications with React and React Native. She’s also actively exploring ways to develop VR/AR apps to enhance learning experiences in the classroom at RED. When she’s not creating websites and apps that run like well-oiled machines, you can find her making use of a fleet of vintage cameras in and around Vancouver.

Michelle is the Admissions Manager at RED, with the goal of empowering students to design their dream lives. Having built the admissions systems for both Vancouver and Toronto, she is now heading up admissions and operations at the London school, RED’s first foray internationally! She brings a unique background with her as she has spent the last 12 years working in Vancouver’s booming film industry. Michelle also has over 5 years experience working in marketing agencies, and 4 years working in luxury tourism with Rocky Mountaineer. She chose to come to RED for the opportunity to redesign her own future and for her love of continuing education. When she’s not working, Michelle is likely playing with her dogs of which she is obsessed.

Peter is our General Manager in Toronto. He started his first business at the age of 20 and has continued to build and grow businesses ever since. He loves marketing, sales, and building teams. Currently, he owns a survival school called Zombie Survival Camp where he teaches people how to survive the zombie apocalypse.

Peter was first a student of the Digital Marketing program here at RED and loved the atmosphere so much he decided to join the team. He is passionate about helping people grow and loves being surrounded by individuals that love what they do.

Rose is a Front End web developer with an instructing background. Rose specializes in custom WordPress theme development and has had her share of random jobs leading up to her time as a developer. The thing that excites her the most about tech is the community behind it. Outside of RED you can find her involved with various organizations such as Ladies Learning Code, Girls Learning Code and Code & Coffee.

Rowan is a digital marketing expert with a passion for data, technology and optimization. With over five years experience in London and Canadian agencies, Rowan has worked with some huge international clients such as Hilton and Ralph Lauren. He also continues to work freelance alongside teaching at RED. Rowan has a keen attention to detail and delights in finding trends and anomalies to exploit or fix. He loves to be outdoors: be it snowboarding or biking in the mountains, climbing or just hiking around the North Shore. He probably should know better, but can’t resist the opportunity to jump off stuff when the opportunity arises.

Sean is our Managing Director who’s got a lazer focus on making RED an educational paradise with the best and brightest students. He’s an aficionado of old-school hip hop, and has over 7 year’s experience working with small tech firms and start-ups, including co-founding and running his own company, Boatwyze. His background in the vibrant tech scene, bundled with his love for education, fuels his massive enthusiasm for bridging the gap between the innovative tech firms who need good people and the students who need fulfilling jobs. On the weekend, Sean can be found sailing around Vancouver with his friends, mentoring young startup founders, playing beer-league sports and cooking up mildly-successful meals.

Rafael Marques moved to Vancouver from São Paulo, Brazil. He studied Business at Fairleigh Dickinson University and works with international students for over 6 years. Passionate about Tech and Design, the move to RED Academy was a natural fit. Rafael became the International Market Manager in 2016 and his role is to implement the international student department in the school. In his free time, Rafael loves to go snowboarding in the winter and to gather friends for a good BBQ on the beach in the summer. He also still runs his own international student recruiting agency and enjoys playing guitar at home. Grateful for being in Canada, Rafael makes sure that new students receive proper counselling and are welcomed in Canada.

Kevin’s mix of digital skills includes Marketing, User Experience Design, and Web Development. He is passionate about helping the RED community and supporting students continuously by giving them guidance to find their place in tech alongside with his RED Ops team. Kevin is excited to build his career alongside RED’s growth, his hope is to take the skills he’s learned at RED and help grow the tech industry in his home country of Indonesia. Fun fact: Kevin doesn’t have a last name and he is a crazy foodie.

I am an interaction designer who believes that anything can be designed to enhance it’s user experience whether digital or analogue. From websites and apps to immersive virtual reality environments, I am constantly looking for ways to delight users through design. Curiosity is in my nature. My passion for replicating dishes from restaurants I’ve been to or figuring out how to create a piece of furniture keeps me busy when I’m not designing. Oh and that is Oliver, my Wire Fox Terrier. He also keeps me busy.

Jim is a front-end web developer with over 7 years of experience who specializes in WordPress theme and plugin development, and is passionate about CSS animation and javascript interactivity. In addition to his Web career he is a professional musician with a love for cats and robots.

How to create extraordinary and engaging learning environments is at the heart of David’s professional career. His passion for teaching and learning started while he was earning his Ph.D. in mathematics, this led him to develop himself as an instructional trainer and upon completion of his degree to start a career as an education consultant, designing curriculum, training instructional staff and providing personal and professional coaching. As Academic Advisor he makes it his mission to ensure that each and every student benefits from a dynamic, authentic and productive learning environment at RED.

With over 5 years of experience as a graphic designer taking on projects and campaigns across print and digital mediums, Andro is driven by design that strikes a balance between creative and strategic fields. Having graduated from RED Academy’s own UX Design Program, Langara’s Electronic Media Design and Communication Arts Program as well as a BA in Management Communications Technology, Andro brings in an expansive wealth of knowledge, skills, and insights in the realm of User Interface and Communication Design. An avid runner and lover of all music, Andro’s days are fuelled by his passion for creating compelling stories, engaging brands and bottomless cups of coffee.

With over a decade of full-circle marketing experience, working across multiple B2B and B2C campaigns, Holly brings her passion for digital marketing to RED. Originally from the UK, Holly has worked in a wide varied of industries: from consumer campaigns like the world’s largest dog show Crufts, BBC Kids and live entertainment, right through to food and drink trade events, global telecommunications conferences and a global shipping broker – proving that digital marketing can be applied successfully to any company, in any market.

Holly is all about the numbers. She graduated from Capliano University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a focus in accounting. Following university, Holly worked in public practice accounting for 7 years during which time, she obtained her Chartered Accountant (CPA, CA) designation. Bringing her accounting experience to RED Academy, Holly uses these skills to pay the bills, literally. When Holly isn’t working, you can find her on the yoga mat, behind the camera or hiking with Kai – one of the resident RED puppies!

Janelle is our self-professed tech-savvy nerd and proud Caribbean girl. Janelle holds a BA Cultural Studies with a focus in Mass Media, Film & Video. She comes to RED after working in range of places, such as the cabinet office for the government of Ontario, and as Marketing Manager at Technologo. 

With a background as a developer in eCommerce and eLearning, Carlos made it his dream to make education better by the time his kids go to school.
He is passionate about site optimization and speed, automation, and his favourite text editor: vim.
When he’s not coding or teaching, you can find him biking, cooking, skateboarding, playing guitar, or exploring the city.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlosjreyes/