The CoLab is an innovation accelerator that helps the next generation of leaders, activists, innovators, entrepreneurs and critical thinkers, who are providing business solutions to Canada’s most pressing problems by offering them access to investment and mentorship via industry and academic experts. The 2022 CoLab Program was a huge success! Watch the video above to learn more.
Project Name
A Melanated Guide to Mental Health
Participant/s
Jessie Brar
Focus
Mental Health
Amount Granted
$6,000.00
Project Name
Purple Lotus
Participant/s
Priyanshu Mahey; Cher Peng
Focus
Mental Health
Amount Granted
$9,000.00
Project Name
Frontline Baddies
Participant/s
Tracey Gaydosh; Aileen Tran
Focus
Mental Health
Amount Granted
$9,000.00
Project Name
One Stop Mental Health Canada
Participant/s
Chloe White; Erin Robello
Focus
Mental Health
Amount Granted
$9,000.00
Project Name
Know Your Nation
Participant/s
Mesgna Mesgna
Focus
Misinformation
Amount Granted
$9,000.00
Project Name
Premis
Participant/s
Amit Sharma; Ripdaman Malhans;
Rohan Birk; Joshan Gill
Focus
Misinformation
Amount Granted
$8,000.00
Fae (she/they), MSW, is the Executive Director of Wisdom2Action, a consulting firm and social enterprise working to strengthen communities and facilitate change. Over the past 8 years, she has trained thousands of employees, service providers and community members on 2SLGBTQ+, trans and gender diverse inclusion.
Takara appears on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning as a technology columnist, discussing the latest tech trends, breaking news and more. She hosts an award-winning tech podcast with The Globe and Mail called “I’ll Go Now.” She also founded and oversees VentureKids Canada, an award-winning non-profit that provides free coding classes and start up workshops to youth living in low-income or underserved communities.
Sean is a leading global authority, executive, author and keynote speaker, passionate about Customers, Brands, Technology, Innovation, Business Models and The Future. He is Managing Director of Futureproofing and a former executive strategist, CDO and marketer who has built four successful startups over the last 15 years. He had published 30 foresight intelligence studies, presented keynotes in over 40 countries, is a former TV host and is part of a collective leading the Futureproofing movement - painting the future beyond innovation.
Kehkashan Basu, M.S.M. is an iconic global influencer, environmentalist, champion of women and children’s rights, TEDx speaker, Climate Reality Mentor, author, musician, peace and sustainability campaigner. She is the recipient of Canada's Meritorious Service Medal and the only Canadian to win the International Children’s Peace Prize.
Geoff is the founder, and CEO of Evergreen where, among other activities, he has led the $80m redevelopment of Evergreen Brick Works as a community hub that has earned an international reputation for green design excellence and programming. With a background in real estate development, sustainability and urbanization trends, Geoff helps to develop programs focused on solutions for future cities.
Nivi is the founder and CEO of Soapbox Project. They make it easy for busy people like you to create a positive social impact. Their lightweight climate justice funnel starts with bite-sized climate action plans, scales up through monthly action hours, and engages people further through a membership community focused on local action.
Brandon is the CEO/Founder of GMI, Canada's fastest-growing online news & entertainment company. He currently hosts the #1 online and news and entertainment show in Canada, The Brandon Gonez Show - where the biggest names come for sit down interviews.
Dilesha has dedicated her career to working intersectionally and uplifting and amplifying the voices of systemically marginalized communities with an intentional focus on barriers in STEM. Dilesha is a UN SDG Leadership Award Winner, and in 2018, received her Certified Blockchain Professional (CBPro) designation from York University with the hopes of creating curriculum changes that will inform and inspire the next generation.
Emma Aiken-Klar is an anthropologist who uses social science and design methods to solve complex innovation and organizational challenges. In her work she explores how beliefs and needs drive human behaviour and enjoys translating her insights into practical strategic guidance for her clients.
Deval is Director of AI Engineering at Vector Institute and Member of task force for Digitalisation of Energy at UN Economic commission of Europe. He is passionate about building Responsible Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning systems. He and his team are focused on building tools and implementations that lower the barrier to adoption of breakthrough AI research at Vector.
Joanne is a facilitator and a solution/path-finder. She founded the Systems Innovation (Si) Toronto Hub, a community of practitioners doing systems innovation through new, decentralized ways of organizing and leveraging the Systems Innovation global network of hubs and toolkits for applying systems thinking and complexity science toward complex challenges.
Graeme is the co-founder of MentalED, a social venture and online platform that aims to deliver comprehensive mental health and wellness education for Canadian youth. Graeme is a full-time Career Advisor, where he has the privilege of coaching and supporting others on their own respective career paths in life, fuelled by a deep appreciation for how job searching and career development are deeply intertwined with purpose, identity, and wellness.
Keosha is an award-winning artist, activist and educator who creates spaces for wellness and collection liberation in marginalized communities. As a poet and writer, Keosha is notable for centering healing, womanism and self-actualization in her work. She closely explores the diverse narratives and identities of Black and racialized people to promote liberation and empowerment. In 2016, Keosha founded Our Women's Voices, a Toronto-based non-for-profit focused on amplifying the voices of women and making social change through arts, education and community organizing.
Devin Golets is a 2x founder who has spent his career working in various roles in higher education. His current startup, Tailwind, provides students who are going to college or university for the first time with proactive wellness support & psycho education. He has advised students on their startups at events such as TechUnder20 and Circle Innovation, and he enjoys coaching and advising students and young entrepreneurs.
Angel is the Research Manager for the Researching for Eco-Social and Equitable Transformation (RESET) Center, a PhD student at Simon Fraser University, and Researcher for the ECHO Network. Her work is at the nexus of eco-social health equity, asset-mapping, climate change, and youth mental health.
Fardeen is a Product Designer at Consensys, where he's building the next-gen of workplace productivity tools. He also tinkers around with various digital projects, such as a no-code donation form builder for non-profits. When he's not designing, he likes to attend concerts, work out, or figure out how his camera works.
Jenna is the Founder of Clear the Air. Through this platform, she hopes to clear the air around complex global issues. Using her academic and professional background in sustainability science and systems change theory, she seeks to educate people about the sustainability issues facing our planet, inspire them to take action, and mobilize them through real-world examples of how to take action.
Dolapo, the Founder of StriveOpp, is a Terry Fox Scholar, Fellow at the Cansbridge Fellowship, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholar, the Sadie Tanner Collective inaugural award for undergraduate studies, and a Canada-China Exchange Scholar Program recipient. Her past work experience crosses the intersections of technology, business, and community development.
Samantha Yarwood is seeker of new knowledge and connections who has translated her 20+ years experience as a global leader, super connector, speaker and intrapreneur (marketer and innovator) to designing and delivering transformational solutions for an array of customers from start-ups to blue-chip organizations globally.