CTL staff

John Paul Foxe, Ph.D.
Senior Director

Room: SGW - H631.14
Email: johnpaul.foxe@concordia.ca

As Senior Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), John Paul is responsible for the strategic direction of the CTL and the Lab for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (LITL). John Paul’s role includes developing new programming for the teaching community at Concordia, as well as promoting the work of the CTL and LITL to the University community and beyond as a place of innovation and evidence-based approaches to teaching and learning. As Senior Director, John Paul strives to promote inclusive and accessible teaching and learning practices across Concordia.

John Paul has spent his entire career working at universities, with a focus on teaching and learning. He holds an MSc and an MA from York University and Toronto Metropolitan University respectively, and a PhD from York University. In his spare time, John Paul is a keen marathon runner and triathlete.

Emilie Albert-Toth
Office and Events Coordinator

Room: SGW - H631.05
Phone: 848-2424 ext 2496
Email: emilie.alberttoth@concordia.ca

Emilie Albert-Toth is the Office and Events Coordinator at the Centre for Teaching and Learning. She has a background in curating, event planning and program coordination, gained from her experience working in museums, and administrative expertise obtained in the philanthropic sector. Emilie supports the CTL in providing support and resources to the teaching community as the initial point of contact for faculty, planning workshops and events, and providing essential administrative support, ensuring the smooth operation of the CTL's activities.

Mike Barcomb, Ph.D.
Educational Technologist

Room: SGW - H631
Email: michael.barcomb@concordia.ca

Mike Barcomb is the Educational Technologist for the CTL and focuses on the pedagogical application of technology such as Moodle, digital gamification, virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and a/synchronous learning. His current research agenda focuses on the effect that low-cost and open-source materials, often including gamified elements, can have on teaching and learning. Mike’s understanding of educational technology theories and research prepares him to understand the theoretical and practical implications of including technology in your curriculum.

Please get in touch with Mike if you are interested in incorporating technology into your course and do not know where to begin. You are also encouraged to contact Mike if you have included technology and would like to review your findings or plan the next steps.

John Bentley
Senior Instructional Developer

Room: SGW - H631.03
Email: john.bentley@concordia.ca

John's role as Senior Instructional Developer is to oversee the production of the CTL website, plan and communicate CTL events, create communties of practice, design learning spaces, and provide support to faculty with the adoption of active learning techniques and learning technologies for teaching. Instructors wishing to adapt their courses to include a focus on active learning, technology enhanced, blended and/or online learning frameworks can contact John for more information.

Prior to joining Concordia, John worked in television, radio and web production and project management for BBC Education, BBC Factual and Learning, the BBC Open University Production Centre in the UK, and CBC Radio. John has also taught high school, was a university lecturer and worked overseas in distance education and educational technology as a member of international development projects.

His interest is in working with faculty, students and staff on the design of innovative learning spaces, active and collaborative learning techniques, and strategies for using digital media in teaching and learning including the development and assessment of instructional content for technology enhanced, online and blended learning.

Alicia Cundell
Teaching Consultant

Room: LOY - AD426 (Temporary location: SGW - H631.08)
Phone: 848-2424 ext 2499
Email: alicia.cundell@concordia.ca

Alicia works with faculty to develop their teaching through consultations, teaching observations and workshops. As a represntative of the CTL, she also sits on a number of committees and liaises with various units to further the CTL's mission of supporting and sustaining excellence, inclusion, and opportunity for the entire academic community.

Alicia has more than 20 years of combined teaching, training and educational development experience, and has worked extensively in teacher training, e-learning, curriculum development and instructional design. She taught internationally for over decade, having held teaching, teacher training and administrative positions across the Middle East, Asia and Europe. 

Her current areas of interest include blended learning, educational technologies, and inclusive teaching.

Cristina Galofre Gomez
Educational Developer  

Room: SGW - H631
Email: cristina.galofregomez@concordia.ca

Cristina (she/her) is an Educational Developer at the CTL. She has 20 years of experience in education with a multi-disciplinary background in human-centred design, instructional design, educational technology, and project management. She holds an MA in Educational Technology. 

Cristina is interested in designing inclusive learning experiences and opportunities to build and share knowledge together, deepen relationships and connections with one another and nurture positive human qualities for flourishing. 

Cristina is passionate about continuous learning and is available to support faculty with needs assessment, course design, backward design framework, learning communities, and integrating contemplative pedagogy and practices (in progress).

Josephine Guan
Educational Developer

Room: SGW - H631
Email: josephine.guan@concordia.ca

Josephine comes from 10 years of experience as a graphic designer and illustrator working in advertising & television. She holds a BA in Illustration and MDes in Inclusive Design and has taught art & design at the post-secondary level. She is interested in supporting faculty with creating accessible course content and designing collaborative or gamified assessments.

Naj Sumar
Educational Developer

Room: SGW - H631
Email: najela.sumar@concordia.ca

Naj Sumar is an Educational Developer specializing in Inclusive Pedagogies. He is here to support the development of inclusive practices in the classroom and provide tools to sustain these changes. His approach draws on critical frameworks that examine interlocking systems of power in order to understand adult learning and the context in which learning occurs. Driven by a desire to make learning more accessible, fun, and collaborative, Naj designs meaningful experiences and resources that engage different learning backgrounds, styles, and abilities. In the past, Naj has worked in community development, organizational development, and student life.

Get in touch with him for support around topics like inclusive instruction, intercultural teaching, inclusive syllabi, anti-racist pedagogy, and critical pedagogy.

Walaa Ali, MASc
Team Lead, Digital Assessments

Room: SGW - H631
Email: walaaawad.ali@concordia.ca

Walaa is the Team Lead of Digital Assessments, where she oversees exams hosted on the Concordia Online Exams (COLE) platform. In her role, she manages the exam creation, support, and invigilation processes for live exams, ensuring a seamless and positive experience for both professors and students.

With over 10 years of experience in management, supply chain, leadership, and business development, Walaa boasts a diverse background. She has played a key role in executive management decisions and training initiatives, with significant involvement in e-learning and the industrial sector.

Currently, Walaa's professional interests include blended learning, educational technologies, and the effective utilization of management resources

Lissethy Cevallos
COLE team

Room: SGW - H631
Email: lissethy.cevallos@concordia.ca

As a part of Concordia Online Exams (COLE) team, Lissethy works closely with her colleagues to coordinate COLE’s operations, overseeing the Online Support and Invigilation teams to ensure the smooth delivery of exams and online assessments.

Lissethy is an analytic person experienced in data analysis and project management. She holds an MSc. in Computer Science. Her experience in academic and industry settings has equipped her with the critical thinking skills to evaluate situations, optimize processes, and deliver effective technological solutions to users. She values and enjoys learning, interacting with people and contributing to each individual's growth. 

Shaden Ghazal
COLE team

Room: SGW - H631
Email: shaden.ghazal@concordia.ca

As a member of the Concordia Online Exams (COLE) team, Shaden works closely with her colleagues to ensure the smooth day-to-day operation of Concordia's online exams platform. Leveraging her considerable experience in the field of online assessments, and with an eye on global best practices, Shaden helps professors, and other Concordia staff members meet or exceed their online exam requirements.

Shaden is a Moodle expert and has a background in teaching and instructional design. Shaden is an advocate of intersectional feminism, equality, and inclusion. She loves to read, research new technology, and visit museums.

Note: Shaden is currently on leave. If you have questions or require assistance please contact any of the other members of the COLE team.  

Sylvan Lanken
COLE team

Room: SGW - H631
Email: sylvan.lanken@concordia.ca

Sylvan joined the CTL's Concordia OnLine Exams (COLE) team in 2022, bringing to the group many years of experience in IT, project management, textbook production and editing. He hopes to improve and expand the services COLE offers to professors and students alike. 

Outside of work, Sylvan tries to foster his young daughter's sense of curiosity and love of music.

Ad astra!

Melanie Leduc De Vries
COLE team

Room: SGW - H631
Email: melanie.leducdevries@concordia.ca

Melanie is a part of the Concordia Online Exams (COLE) team, specializing in the process of creating and configuring exams on the COLE platform. With her background in anthropology and work experience as an English as a Second Language teacher, she brings a foundation in education and an understanding of diverse cultures to her role. She has a keen interest in exploring the use of technology in education, with a specific focus on its potential to bridge cultural and linguistic barriers within the classroom.

Donna Kahérakwas Goodleaf, Ed. D.
Director, Decolonizing Curriculum and Pedagogy

Room: SGW - H631.10
Email: donna.goodleaf@concordia.ca

Donna Kahérakwas Goodleaf is Turtle Clan and is a citizen from the Kanien’kehaka (Mohawk) Nation, Kahnawake Territory, which is part of the Rotinonhsión:ni Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. She is a Kanien’kehá:ka educator and scholar who joined Concordia university in January of 2018 as the new Indigenous Curriculum and Pedagogical Advisor for the Centre for Teaching and Learning. Her primary role is to develop university-wide training for Concordia faculty on decolonizing and Indigenizing their curriculum programs of study in ways that re-center the advancement and integration of Indigenous peoples’ diverse humanities - intellectual, scientific and cultural knowledge systems, worldviews, epistemologies, histories, research and pedagogies across all academic units. She also serves on the Indigenous Directions Leadership Group. 

Her faculty teaching and Indigenous-centered curriculum design experiences in various academic programs in the Humanities span across Canada and the United States.  In addition, Donna has vast experiences working in Indigenous communities on a local, national and international level in the areas of Indigenous-centered education, language and cultural revitalization programs.  Her current research interests are in decolonization and advancing Indigenous Humanities, Indigenous –centered-education, protection and promotion of Indigenous language and cultural rights, Indigenous land rights and rights to self-determination and Human Rights.

Carole Brazeau
Indigenous Curriculum and Pedagogy Advisor

Room: SGW - H631
Email: carole.brazeau@concordia.ca

Carole Brazeau is Anishinabe (Algonquin) and a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation in Quebec. Since December 2021, as the Indigenous Curriculum and Pedagogy Advisor at the Centre for Teaching and Learning, she is working with and supporting Dr. Kahérakwas Donna Goodleaf, Director, Decolonizing Curriculum and Pedagogy’s work that includes developing and implementing university-wide training for faculty on decolonizing and Indigenizing curriculum programs as well as implementing the goals of Concordia’s Indigenous Directions Action Plan.

Prior to joining the CTL team, for three decades, Carole served in various capacities within Indigenous peoples’ communities, non-governmental organizations, national, regional program trainings, and initiatives. A Concordia University alumna, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, major in Women’s Studies. Carole also pursued graduate studies in Canadian Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa. She was a Fellow at the 2016 Indigenous Fellowship Programme, a United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights training programme, on the U.N. system, international human rights mechanisms, and Indigenous issues in Geneva. As well, as an Anishinabe Kokome (grandmother) and advocate, Carole’s main priority is the protection of our mother earth, especially water and the promotion and respect for Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination.

Melissa A. Forcione
Coordinator, Land-Based Initiatives

Room: SGW - H631
Email: melissa.forcione@concordia.ca

Working with Kahérakwas Donna Goodleaf and her team at the Centre for Teaching and Learning, Melissa (she/her/elle) is Project Coordinator for Land-Based Education Initiatives for the Office of Decolonizing Curriculum and Pedagogy at Concordia University. She holds a BA and MA in Sociology and is currently completing her doctoral degree in Human Geography. In her previous research and writing, Melissa has focused on the challenges and opportunities of unsettling education at various levels in multiple jurisdictions, including in post-secondary educational landscapes. As a settler with Western and Southern European roots, she is deeply interested in possibilities of cultivating settler and guest responsibilities to Indigenous Peoples within their places and lands.