Vancouver Independent School for Science and Technology

CO-FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL

Mike Gelbart is VISST’s Principal and Math Teacher. Before starting VISST, Mike was an Associate Professor of Teaching in the UBC Department of Computer Science, where he taught over 25 courses from first-year to graduate level. Mike co-created the UBC Master of Data Science program, where he served as Co-Director from 2018 to 2021. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at UBC. In earlier days, Mike attended K-12 in the Vancouver public school system, and then completed an undergraduate degree in physics at Princeton University and a PhD in machine learning at Harvard University. You can read more about Mike here.

CO-FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Shaun Olafson has worked for over a decade in educational administration, founding Kiddy Junction Academy in 2008 based on a higher level of respect for students as collaborators, and a belief in balance between delight and rigour in learning. He currently sits on the board of directors of the Vancouver Reggio Association and the Greater Vancouver Community Credit Union. Shaun is passionate about reimagining high school as a place more connected to the real world around it, and created VISST to make that a reality. You can read more about Shaun here.

FOUNDING HUMANITIES TEACHER

Linda Edworthy is a PhD candidate in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Victoria, and an experienced teacher with over 25 years of K-12 teaching experience in both public and private schools. She has also worked on professional development for teachers and worked with Dr. Brock Smith to support curricular planning for a middle school entrepreneurship project, Kidovate. Her K-12 teaching experience includes creating a gifted education program for middle school students, with the goal of knowing and supporting learner passions in literacy. Linda’s area of research asks what we can learn from stories of adolescent experiences of thriving, in or outside of school contexts. You can read more about Linda here.

FOUNDING SCIENCE TEACHER

Paloma Corvalan is a scientist and educator with a passion for protecting the environment and inspiring others to do so as well. After her doctorate degree at the University of Queensland, Australia, Paloma returned to Vancouver and took on the role of Program Manager at Sea Smart, where she taught workshops and created online courses that empower people to protect our oceans. Paloma also served as the Director of Youth Engagement and the President of the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology, inspiring girls and women to pursue their interests and passions for STEM. Paloma recently completed her Bachelor of Education at UBC. You can read more about Paloma here.

TEACHER

Philip Freeman has 25 years of experience teaching physics, mathematics, and philosophy. He has won a number of awards for his teaching, including being an inaugural winner of the Canadian Association of Physicists Award for Excellence in High School Teaching. In addition to his work at VISST, Philip trains other physics teachers, develops educational resources for the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and TRIUMF (Canada’s national particle accelerator), and is a long-time executive of the BC Association of Physics Teachers. He also has been a scientific consultant for provincial exam development, and for a number of award winning entertainment and game projects. Philip has degrees in Physics, Mathematics and Education. He and enjoys hiking, programming, and reading widely in his free time.

TEACHER

Erica Huang has a unique blend of work experiences from the software industry and the education sector. She worked as a software developer and taught as a secondary computer science, mathematics, and Mandarin teacher in the Burnaby School District. She also had the experience working as an education program manager for Microsoft Philanthropies. Erica is passionate about research in computing and mathematics education. She explored the topic of how educators incorporate coding and computational thinking in mathematics classrooms for her master’s thesis research. She is currently teaching Mandarin and Math part-time at VISST while pursuing her PhD in Curriculum Studies at UBC. You can read more about Erica here.

TEACHER

Brian Taylor has had 20 years of experience teaching mathematics and computer science. Brian graduated with a BA in Mathematics from UBC and an MBA in Finance from the University of Illinois. He worked in a bank in Chicago and a software firm in New York before returning to Vancouver and eventually switching careers. He earned his BEd from UBC and has worked in both private and public schools in Vancouver. Brian enjoys hiking with his dogs, cross country skiing, playing squash and ocean swimming. You can learn more about Brian here.

TEACHER

Leo Hui is VISST’s chemistry subject area specialist. Leo holds a PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from UBC, where he also completed his Master's in Environmental Engineering and Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering. Following his PhD, Leo taught project-based engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. In 2018 Leo returned to UBC to complete his Bachelor of Education specializing in Chemistry and Math education and has been teaching at high schools in Vancouver since then. In his spare time, Leo enjoys working out in the gym or walking in nature. He also likes traveling to see new places and experience their culture and food.

TEACHER

Hailing from New Brunswick, Alex Donovan holds a Bachelor of Arts in history and drama, a Master of Fine Arts in theatre directing, and a Bachelor of Education in social studies education with a minor in drama. During his post-secondary education, Alex received more than a dozen awards and scholarships for outstanding academic achievement including the SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship for his theatrical production of Vern Thiessen's "Lenin's Embalmers". Before becoming a social studies teacher, Alex worked as a theatre director, actor, writer, and puppeteer. He has performed and directed in well over 50 theatrical and film productions. In his spare time, Alex loves reading and consuming history podcasts, as well as running campaigns for various tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons.

TEACHER

Sarah Pearson teaches French and PHE at VISST. Sarah grew up in Montreal speaking both French and English. In university, she specialized in teaching English as a second language, and taught English to native French speakers for two years in Quebec. Teaching French at VISST, Sarah continues to channel her passion for language education in a new setting. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys hiking, running, ice skating, and reading.

COUNSELLOR

Wendy Tang holds a M.Ed in School Counselling and has nearly a decade of experience working with youth and adolescents, with a focus on fostering students' social-emotional development and academic growth. In 2019, she founded a youth entrepreneur program, where she designed and led a summer camp, teaching essential skills like financial literacy, social enterprise, and creative problem-solving. Wendy previously worked as an Intern Counsellor and offered learning support to high school students. Prior to that, she was the Administrative Coordinator and Operations Manager at an elementary school for gifted learners. Wendy is known for her active listening, empathy, and strong communication skills, which she combines with her expertise in learning support and social-emotional learning to create a safe and supportive environment.

FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER

Following his time as a faculty member at UBC, Murray Goldberg founded WebCT, a company that grew to 350 employees providing the world's leading learning management system serving 14 million students in 80 countries at 4,000 universities and colleges. WebCT sold to rival company Blackboard in 2006 for $200M US. Murray was the founder and CEO of Marine Learning Systems and is currently.the founder and CEO of SkillGrader. In addition to other board memberships, Murray currently serves on the board of trustees of Harvey Mudd College – ranked No. 2 among US undergraduate engineering programs – and previously served on the board of York House School in Vancouver. Murray was granted an Honorary Doctorate of Technology from the Southern Cross University in Australia. You can read more about Murray here.

ADVISOR TO THE BOARD

Indira Samarasekera was the 12th President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Alberta from 2005-2015. She is internationally recognized as one of Canada’s leading metallurgical engineers for her groundbreaking work on process engineering of materials, especially steel processing. She serves on the Board of Directors of Magna International, TC Energy, Intact Financial Corporation and Stelco, and previously Scotiabank for over a decade. She was awarded the Order of Canada in 2002 for outstanding contributions to steel process engineering. Indira has received honorary degrees from the Universities of Alberta, British Columbia, Toronto, Waterloo, Montreal, Western and Queen’s University and BCIT in Canada, and Queen’s University in Belfast, Ireland. You can read more about Indira here.

BOARD MEMBER

Rachel Rose is a VISST parent and an acclaimed author. Rachel’s fiction debut, The Octopus Has Three Hearts, was longlisted for the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize. She is the author of four collections of poetry, including Marry & Burn, which received a 2016 Pushcart Prize, and was a finalist for a Governor General’s Award. Her memoir, The Dog Lover Unit: Lessons in Courage from the World’s K9 Cops, was shortlisted for the 2018 Arthur Ellis award for best non-fiction crime book. A former fellow at The University of Iowa’s International Writing Program, she was Poet Laureate of Vancouver from 2014-2017. Rachel has taught creative writing at Simon Fraser University, UBC, Washington State University, and Kwantlen University. At present, she teaches creative writing at Vancouver Manuscript Intensive. You can learn more about Rachel here.

BOARD MEMBER

A VISST parent, Vlad came to Vancouver from Slovakia over 20 years ago. After studying actuarial science and working as a software developer in his home country, Vlad focused his Canadian career on applying actuarial science to the domain of travel insurance. He has been actively involved in education by volunteering at various actuarial organizations including the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, the Society of Actuaries, and the Casualty Actuarial Society. He previously served as a board member and treasurer of Choice School. Vlad’s favourite way to recharge is to explore our local mountains, at any adventure level from kid-friendly family outings to multi-day mountaineering trips. You can learn more about Vlad here.

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST

Thanh Nguyen has over a decade of experience in teaching creative technology and digital fabrication. Since graduating from the Art Institute of Vancouver with a degree in Game Art and Design, she has been teaching youth about game design and programming, 3D modeling and animation, and CNC machining operations. Most of her programming is conducted through Byte Camp and MakerLabs. As a part-time educator at VISST, Thanh consults with teachers on design projects, trains students in using equipment like our 3D printers and laser cutter, and works individually with students on design projects. Thanh has spent many years developing specialized curricula on creative technology and is always looking for ways to engage with students keen on the digital arts. You can read more about Thanh here.

TEACHING ASSISTANT

Edwin Huras is an undergraduate student at UBC studying philosophy, mathematics, and physics. Edwin previously obtained a diploma in Broadcast TV and Film Production, working in science communication at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and then as a Production Coordinator at CTV News in Kitchener, Ontario. Edwin hopes to one day contribute to academic research in mathematics as well as teach at the high school and university levels. He is excited to be working with the students and teachers at VISST to create the best possible educational environment.

CAMPS & WORKSHOPS CONSULTANT

Milad Maymay has worked in education for more than 25 years, with a focus on program design and management. At the University of British Columbia’s Career Centre, Milad worked as a Career Educator, Program Manager of the Work Learn and NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards. Currently, Milad is the Director of Program Operations and Student Management of the UBC Master of Data Science Program where he has overseen the day-to-day operations and tremendous growth of the program since its launch in 2016. Milad gets most excited about helping students figure out their passions and their place in this world. Milad also works on developing the VISST camps and workshops. You can read more about Milad here.