Patrick Byrne (Artsci 2011) Program Manager, Chief of Corporate Services and Technology, WSIB

Patrick is a partnership-builder and interdisciplinary thinker who has been a leader in the municipal, post-secondary, and broader public service sectors for over a decade. Currently, Patrick is the Program Manager for the Chief of Corporate Services and Technology at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) where he is part of a team that is implementing an ambitious digital transformation of legacy systems. Prior to this role, he designed and led the CityLAB Hamilton program and taught at McMaster University and Sheridan College. Patrick has a Master’s degree from the University of Edinburgh in Outdoor Education and an undergraduate degree from McMaster’s Arts & Science Program. He is passionate about fostering inclusive communities and improving services for the public good. Patrick lives in Hamilton with his wife (an Artsci alum!), 2 sons, and his dog Howie.

Nathan Cupido is a PhD candidate in the Health Professions Education Research concentration offered by the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto in collaboration with the Wilson Centre. He is also a research fellow at the Wilson Centre. Prior to this, Nathan completed a Master of Science in Health Science Education and an Honours Bachelor of Arts & Science in Arts & Science and Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, both at McMaster University. His research uses models of expertise development to explore how health professionals are prepared to work and learn through novel, complex, and ambiguous situations in primary care settings. Nathan has worked on this research within the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Department of Family & Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, and the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) program at University Health Network.

After Artsci, I worked various jobs for a couple of years before doing an MA in Science and Technology Studies. I am currently working as a senior research and policy analyst in the federal government. In my “free” time, I am a volunteer bike mechanic at a non-hierarchical, nonprofit community bike shop, and sing in a community choir, in addition to trying to fit in other hobbies like visual art, dancing, cycling, or backcountry camping with varying degrees of success.

Yasa graduated from McMaster in the Arts & Science program, where she also obtained a minor in Cognitive Psychology and a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. She is an Occupational Therapist who practices Psychotherapy in the private practice sector. She works with clients navigating life transitions, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. In her various academic and professional roles, Yasa is passionate about helping individuals identify their unique strengths to allow them to cultivate the resilience needed to navigate life’s endless challenges. Beyond formal education, her clinical practice is largely grounded in principles of sport and competence, spirituality, and nature. Her work strives to promote humanistic perspectives and challenge illness-based narratives of mental health.

Effie Lin (Artsci 2016) Associate, Agro Zaffiro LLP

Effie is an associate in the civil litigation group at Agro Zaffiro LLP. She articled with the firm and returned as an associate after her call to the Ontario Bar in 2020. Her practice consists primarily of insurance defence. Effie graduated with distinction from McMaster University with an Honours Bachelor of Arts and Science. She then attended law school at Queen’s University, where she obtained her JD. During the summer after her first year of law school, Effie studied overseas in the UK and completed a program in Public International Law. She was a Project Leader of Queen’s Pro Bono Students Canada, focusing her volunteering efforts on assisting Kingston residents in precarious housing situations. Throughout her three years at law school, Effie was also an active caseworker and group leader at Queen’s Legal Aid, gaining litigation experience while advocating for her clients in front of various administrative tribunals, as well as the Ontario Court of Justice. As an associate, she regularly appears before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Small Claims Court. Outside of work, Effie enjoys exploring local coffee shops, travelling, and dabbling in watercolour and acrylic painting.

Bruce Miyashita (Artsci 1984) Lean Sensei, College of Physicians & Surgeons of Ontario

Bruce Miyashita is Lean Sensei at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, where he leads the design and application of Lean principles to the College’s strategies and processes.  Previously, he was Head of the Process Centre of Excellence at BMO Financial Group, Vice-President Six Sigma at Maple Leaf Foods Inc., and Director of Strategic Initiatives at Bombardier Inc. He was also a Lean consultant at McKinsey & Company.  He has an undergraduate degree from the Arts & Science Program at McMaster University and an MBA from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Nick Romano (B.Eng.M. 1994) CEO, Deeplite.ai

Nick is cofounder and CEO of Deeplite, a Canadian AI software company dedicated to enabling AI everywhere. Deeplite uses AI to automatically make other AI models faster, smaller and more energy efficient creating highly compact, high-performance deep neural networks for deployment on edge devices such as cameras, sensors, drones, phones and vehicles. A serial entrepreneur, Nick was founded several successful Canadian tech companies including Messagepoint, Prinova Software and Prinova Technologies.

Recognized for his work in AI, Nick has been recently recruited to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (Canada) to serve as advisor on The Future of Artificial Intelligence Council. The Council will focus on proactively guiding federal AI policy in an era of heightened government scrutiny and regulation. He is looking forward as advocate for policies that will establish AI as a positive economic force in Canada.

Nick earned his Bachelor of Engineering and Management in Mechanical Engineering from McMaster University and is a current member of the McMaster Engineering and Management Industrial Advisory Council since 2018. He was honored in the same year by McMaster’s Engineering Faculty as being one of their Top 150 Distinguished Alumni for the role they’ve played in shaping Canada and the world. He has been recently appointed Sessional Faculty member teaching INNOVATE 1Z03 – Introduction to Artificial Intelligence as part of the Innovation Minor program.

Dr. Mat Savelli, Arts & Science Instructor

Dr. Mat Savelli happily joined the Arts & Science Program in 2016 to co-teach the Level I Inquiry course with Dr. Beth Marquis. He teaches ARTSSCI 3CU3 / Alumni Experience Inquiry and continues to co-teach ARTSSCI 1C03 / Inquiry: Global Challenges. He also teaches a number of courses in the Department of Health, Aging, and Society on the subjects of mental health, disability, and health studies, and regularly supervises students’ independent study projects and theses.

Dr. Savelli received an Honours BA in History and French at McMaster before moving to the University of Oxford for an MSc in Russian and East European Studies and a DPhil in the History of Medicine. His work has appeared in a number of journals, including Social History of Medicine, Slavonic and East European Studies, and BMJ: Tobacco Control. He has also co-edited Psychiatry in Communist Europe (Palgrave, 2015) and Health & Society: Critical Perspectives (Oxford University Press, 2016). Although trained primarily as a medical historian, Dr. Savelli pursues research that covers a wide variety of topics, including the history of psychiatry in Eastern Europe, the global advertising of psychiatric medications, and corporate strategies employed in cigarette packaging. At its heart, his work examines how ideas of normality/abnormality and health/illness are constructed across time and place.

Duoaud Shah, Vice President of Clinical Partnerships, Altis Labs Inc.

Duoaud is an experienced business development, clinical technology, and regulatory professional who is the Principal at Actuate Consulting, and the Vice President of Clinical Partnerships at Altis Labs Inc. He has previously held senior roles in translational research, innovation and regulatory at the Techna Institute, part of University Health Network in Toronto. Duoaud has led several companies in setting up quality management systems (ISO 13485, ISO 9001 etc.) and submitting medical device applications to the FDA and Health Canada. Prior to his departure from UHN, Duoaud established the AI Centre at Canada’s largest medical imaging department (UHN-Mount Sinai-Women’s College) and the Peter Munk Cardiac AI Program, managing 30+ academic projects in collaboration with leading AI scientists. He has a wealth of knowledge in data privacy and intellectual property as it pertains to data. Duoaud has served as a mentor in the Faculty of Science at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, formerly Ryerson University) for over 4 years and was a recent recipient of the G. Raymond Chang Outstanding Volunteer Award. Duoaud received his Master of Science in medical biophysics from the University of Toronto and his Bachelor of Science from York University.

Rachelle Zalter (Artsci 2016) Screenwriter, Director, and Author

Rachelle is a screenwriter, director, and novelist based in Hamilton, Ontario. Her debut young adult novel, Newbodies, was released in 2022. She is currently in the process of writing and producing various scripts for TV and film and writing and directing short films for HamOnt Acting Studio. Her short film Dick Move received an award for best comedy at LA Under the Stars. Rachelle’s work appears in the Stockholm Review of Literature, and her screenplays and plays have been awarded by the Bluecat Screenplay Competition and Toronto Fringe Festival. Rachelle graduated from McMaster’s Arts and Science Program, where she took courses in creative writing and philosophy. She also studied screenwriting and novel writing at Yale University.