Education

• Ph.D.-level courses in Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Technological Change, Carnegie Mellon University
  
• B.A. (Honors; Highest Distinction), Economics and Political Science, University of Toronto
  
• Certificate, Management of Innovation, World Intellectual Property Organization and the International Network for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
  
• Certificate, Intellectual Property, World Intellectual Property Organization
  

Professional Experience

• Founder and President, Young Inventors International
  Managing a not-for-profit organization that educates students to commercialize innovations; grew organization to more than 1,800 members around the world (members hold more than 500 patented inventions); hosted four international conferences, including one at MIT; led partnerships with the Dow Jones Emerging Ventures Forum and Silicon Valley Association of Start-Up Entrepreneurs, among others.
• Consultant
  Prepared targeted programs for constituents of organizations supporting innovators.  Clients included the MaRS Discovery District; Cleantech Venture Network; start-up companies.
• Research Assistant, Innovation Systems Research Network, University of Toronto
  Worked with faculty and graduate students to design performance measures to determine the effectiveness of technology clusters; the performance measures were applied in a $2.5 million study.
• Intern, Magna International
  Worked with the corporate philanthropy team and CEO to design an international program in girls’ education.
• Research Assistant, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
  Conducted research and analyzed findings in the area of law and economics of development.
• International Conference Coordinator, Free the Children
  Organized three international conferences, two with over 100 students in attendance; managed a team of ten volunteers to arrange speakers, guests, special events, travel plans, accommodations, and food for the participants; worked on a number of other projects addressing obstacles faced by children in less developed countries.
  
• Project Developer for Government Funded Community Access Program
  Conducted seminars for local participants, performed market research, assisted with
  Internet-related operations for Township libraries, provided Internet training sessions, constructed library Web site. 
• Co-op Student, Respiratory Therapy Department, Mount Sinai Hospital
  Assisted the Respiratory Therapy team on a daily basis and designed a patient database for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. 
  

Academic Research

• Intellectual Property Rights and Continental Governance in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Chapter in Prof. Stephen Clarkson’s book on North American Governance (Forthcoming)
• The Effect of Government-Issued Private Equity on Start-Up Performance (with Robert Lowe and Matthew Hamilton), part of research project at Carnegie Mellon University supported by the Kauffman Foundation (2006-2007)
  
• Seahorse Power Company, Case Study Used in Social Entrepreneurship course at Babson College (2006)
• An Inductive Approach to Measuring Clusters in Canada, Greg Spencer, Anne Swift, Tara Vinodrai, Presented at the Innovation Systems Research Network Annual Meeting (May 2004)
• Providing Alternative Incentives to Innovation, Presented at the Canadian Law and Economics Association Annual Meeting (September 2003)

• Columnist for Xconomy
  
• Stanford BASES Business Plan Competition and MIT IDEAS Business Plan Competition Judge
  
• Profiled in college textbook, Your Guide to College Success: Strategies for Achieving Your Goals 5/e, by Santrock and Halonen
  
• Entrepreneurship Columnist for Campus Life Magazine
  
• Contributor to the Canada25 Innovation Strategy Policy Response Team
  
• Speaking engagements at MIT, Boston University, Northeastern University, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Wisconsin at Madison, National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, Chatham University, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, University of Waterloo, Olin College, National Business Technology Conference, FIRST Robotics Competition, University of Toronto, Queen’s University, Carleton University, University of Western Ontario, Trent University, University of Toronto at Mississauga, and the Women in Engineering Conference
• Media appearances (select) in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Spectrum Magazine, Inventors’ Digest, National Public Radio, Science Online Magazine, National Post Business Magazine, Breakfast Television, University Affairs, TVOntario, Toronto Star

Awards and Scholarships

• Nominated for MIT Technology Review’s Top 35 Innovators under 35
  
• Named one of Top 20 under 30 by Citizen Culture Magazine
• Nominated by University of Toronto Vice-President for the Top 40 Under 40 Award
  
• Recognized as one of the University of Toronto Alumni to Watch
• University College Young Alumna Recognition
• One of GLAMOUR Magazine’s Top Ten College Women – “Most likely to change the world”
• University of Toronto In-Course Scholarship
  
• Institute for Humane Studies’ Research Fellowship
  
• Magna for Canada Scholarship (As Prime Minister, I Would…)
  
• Transfer Scholarship to The University of Toronto
• Aiming for the Top Tuition Scholarship
• Renewable Admission Scholarship to University of Western Ontario
• Governor General’s Academic Medal for Academic Achievement
• Lieutenant Governor’s Community Volunteer Award
• Miller Thomson Foundation Scholarship
• Debbie Adam Memorial Scholarship
• Ontario Co-Op Student of the Year Award (for work at Mount Sinai Hospital)
• Nominated for Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year