ADVISORS
Michelle Sengara, PhD
Michelle is an Education Strategist, whose experience across four continents has inspired her to see instructional design as the development of meaningful, lifelong learning communities. Through her doctoral work in educational technologies, Michelle explored the design of online/blended curricular models that cultivate community. Michelle naturally integrates critical thinking skills into her learning frameworks, promoting effective teaching and learning strategies that ultimately lead to an innovation mindset.
Colin Boyd Shafer
Colin Boyd Shafer is a Canadian documentary photographer and high school social sciences teacher born in Kitchener, Ontario. He is specifically interested in telling stories of migration, diversity, and belonging. Shafer's recent portrait projects include INTERLOVE which tells interfaith love stories in Ontario, and Cosmopolis Toronto, a project that features someone from every country in the world who now calls Toronto home. Currently, Shafer is planning a project called Finding American, which will feature stories of migration in every state of the United States. Shafer's work has been featured widely in the media, including National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, The Globe and Mail, The New Internationalist, Salon, BBC News, 6Mois, Foto8, F-Stop Magazine as well as CTV, CBC and Global National News channels. Shafer also presented on his project Cosmopolis Toronto at TEDxToronto 2014 and to the United Nations Alliance of Civilization's Global Forum.
Elisa Thomson
Elisa Thomson is the Director of Outside The Lens , a San Diego-based organization that provides photography and digital media programming to youth and the community. She received her B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara and continued her education at Art Center Pasadena and The Brooks Institute of Photography. She traveled extensively as a photojournalist and worked as a photo editor for ABC-Clio/Exegy. Her teaching is also informed by her many years as a commercial photographer for clients such as Quiksilver, Roxy, Tea & Scones, and House. Before founding Outside the Lens, Elisa was the lead educator at the Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego.