Staff
| Claudia Hepburn |
Executive Director & Co-Founder The Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Next 36, Claudia Hepburn is an entrepreneur and public policy specialist with a track record of leadership building innovative education programs. Before founding The Next 36, as the Fraser Institute’s Director of Education Policy and Managing Director of their Ontario office, she founded Children First: School Choice Trust, the only Canadian program ever to win a Templeton Award for Social Entrepreneurship. She is a recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) and was named in the press as one of Canada's Ten Most Inspiring Women of 2006 and one of the 2008 Top 25 Canadian Women of the Year. Ms. Hepburn has co-authored many studies and edited a book on education policy. She is a director of Kids & Company, a national childcare company that won an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2012, of the W. Garfield Weston Foundation and The Fraser Institute. Ms. Hepburn has a BA from Amherst College, and an MA and B.Ed from the University of Toronto. |
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| Jon French |
Director, Marketing and Events Before joining The Next 36, Jon was Associate Director, Career Information with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (ICAO) where he spent almost ten years promoting the CA designation to best and brightest students in Ontario. He was heavily involved with the ICAO’s marketing campaign and has spoken with thousands of students. Jon managed relationships with students, faculty and staff at universities across Ontario and was responsible for the creation and delivery of numerous student recruitment events. He has been actively involved with the Canadian Association of Career Educators & Employers, where he sat on the National Board of Directors from 2007-2010. Jon has a BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and an International Business Diploma from Vaxjo University in Sweden. He has recently completed his MBA at the Schulich School of Business, York University. |
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| Annick Dufort |
Program Officer Annick Dufort is Program Officer for The Next 36. She is experienced in academic and training program development, event planning, SaaS training and product management, and client relationship management. She comes from a varied background of corporate and non-profit arenas in education and training, communications, shareholder relations and finance, and the arts. She is passionate about community-building and environmental issues. She is bilingual in English and French, and holds a diploma in Photography.
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| Christian Lassonde |
Chief Venture Advisor Christian Lassonde is a serial entrepreneur, in the technology sector, having successfully started both Millions of Us, a social media and virtual world agency, and Virtual Greats, an online intellectual property rights and luxury brand broker, (http://virtualgreats.com) in San Francisco and re-launching Claystone Labs (http://claystoneinc.com), a mobile user and content interface startup, here in Toronto. He continues to serve as Claystone’s CEO and on the Board of Virtual Greats. Prior to launching Millions of Us, Mr. Lassonde worked in San Francisco at Linden Lab, LucasArts a division of Lucasfilm, and Electronics Arts. Mr. Lassonde shows his commitment to the next generation through his service on the Board of Governors of Western (http://westernu.ca) and the Board of Directors of SickKids Foundation (http://www.sickkids.ca). He has a MBA from the University of San Francisco, a BESc, and a BSc in Computer Science from Western. |
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| Gillian Nation |
Business Officer Gillian Nation is the Business Officer for The Next 36. She brings a range of experience to the role, including working with students, program management, bilingualism, communications and bookkeeping. Previous to The Next 36, Gillian worked her way up from Intern to Program Coordinator at Children First: School Choice Trust, a program of the Fraser Institute. She also worked at McGill University and spent a year working in Dublin, Ireland. Gillian holds an Honours B.A. in Political Studies from Bishop’s University. |
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| Joy Gooding |
Development Officer Joy is the Development Officer for The Next 36. She brings a wealth of fundraising experience to her position. Her work on the Capital Campaign and annual giving programs at the Toronto International Film Festival as the Senior Manager, Donor and Member Relations, helped to build the landmark destination for moving image in Toronto, TIFF Bell Lightbox. Prior to that she brought music to our ears as the Fundraising Director at Toronto’s jazz radio station, JAZZ.FM91. Her experience includes project management, event planning, and volunteer management. Joy enjoys building relationships with donors and potential supporters who are similarly inspired by the mission of the organization. Joy sees her role as a facilitator, bringing together individuals and organizations with The Next 36 to achieve a greater goal. In addition to her diploma in Fundraising and Volunteer Management, Joy has participated in many professional development opportunities at the Association of Fundraising Professionals. |
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