Board of directors

Shirley Yik is a graduate of the Ottawa School of Art Fine Arts Diploma Program. She also holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree, a Master of Information Systems Science degree, and a Master of Management Studies degree, all from Carleton University. Formerly she held management positions in telecommunications and internet consulting companies.

Shirley’s art practice includes painting, drawing and printmaking. She has received grants from the City of Ottawa and the Ontario Arts Council. Her work is held in private collections and the City of Ottawa’s art collection.

Executive Committee
Judith holds a Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) from York University specializing in Visual Arts and Design, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Ottawa. Currently, she is a management consultant and project executive providing leadership expertise in large-scale business transformation and innovation. Judith leverages 20 years of diverse experience to advise on strategic planning and design, business architecture, organizational change and operational improvements. She strives to help senior executives and their teams turn strategic priorities into tactile plans and ensure the investments they make support the growth of their organization and the needs of their employees and clients.

Judith has worked across private, public, and not-for-profit sectors including five years delivering the IM/IT requirements to bring digital media education products into schools and communities. Having spent many years supporting youth-based organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa and Girl Guides of Canada, she now looks forward to reconnecting with the arts
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and raised in Ottawa, Michael Ashley has lived and worked across Canada as well as on the west coast of the U.S.A.
Following completion of a BA in History at Carleton University, he sought a marketable skill and earned a professional qualification in accounting. Courtesy of a lovely severance package from the late, lamented, Nortel Networks, Michael was able to fulfill his dream to study visual arts, graduating from the University of Ottawa BFA program summa cum laude in 2008 and their MFA program in 2017. Since then, he has balanced his ongoing work in photography and media arts with contract work in financial management and computer systems development.

Michael lives on a park near the UofO campus with his partner, Julie Hodgson, and their imaginary dog, Fluffy.

Executive Committee
Zoriana Priadka began her career in Toronto with a focus on civil litigation, before further refining her skills in employment law at a prominent full-service regional law firm in Ottawa. Since joining Emond Harnden in 2023, Zoriana has been dedicated to providing her clients with invaluable support and representation in all areas of employment and labour law. In addition to her legal practice, Zoriana is frequently invited to present at conferences and lead seminars covering various subjects within the fields of employment and human rights. She has had a keen interest in the arts since high school and continues her passion for painting portraits and landscapes. Zoriana is an avid cook and enjoys hiking.

Secretary
Christos Pantieras is an Artist and an Educator. In his art practice, he works in sculpture, installation, and mixed media. He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions including: The Ottawa Art Gallery (Ottawa), The ArQuives (Toronto), Modern Fuel ARC (Kingston), AXENEO7 (Gatineau), Artcite Inc (Windsor), and Circa-Art Actuel (Montreal). He was the Artist-in-Residence at the Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum (2022) and Finalist for the Ottawa Arts Council’s Peter Honeywell Mid-Career Award (2019). His work is included in the collections of The Ottawa Art Gallery, the City of Ottawa and privately. He has received professional grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the City of Ottawa. He currently teaches Visual Arts at Canterbury High School.

Photo credit: Rémi Thériault
Tara is a Manager of Human Resources at BGIS, an international facilities and real estate management company. She supports a large national portfolio, providing facility management services to the Canadian Government, Public Works contract. She brings 10 years of generalist and Human Resources management experience, specifically in HR program development, performance management, succession and labour planning, HR policies and HR metric analysis. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Carleton University, a Certified Human Resource Leader (CHRL) designation and Comprehensive Project Management Certification.

Prior to switching careers and starting in HR, she spent 5 years working as a corporate accountant for a variety of industries including the agriculture and energy industry. She is community minded and volunteered to develop HR policy and support recruitment efforts for her local skating club and the women’s shelter. She also supports numerous fundraising events for children, including ’24-hour Tremblant’, ‘CN Cycle for Cheo’ and ‘Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend’.

Community Member
Susan brings her work experience in a broad range of professional and management positions, primarily with the public sector. Susan is a graduate of the University of Alberta (Bachelor of Arts, Economics) and of the University of Ottawa (Master of Business Administration).

The visual and social environments across Canada have always had Susan’s attention and have been the focus of her frontline and Board volunteer activities since her retirement. Susan enjoys volunteering at
several not-for-profit organizations and working with fabric, reading and baking.

As a Board member, Susan looks forward to supporting the Ottawa School of Art’s contributions to the academic, continuous learning and broader communities.
Patricia Kenny, an Ottawa-based artist, graduated from the Fine Arts Diploma Program at the Ottawa School of Art. As a lifelong learner, her education in art includes visual arts at York University and Algonquin College. Her current studies are at the University of Ottawa in the Bachelor of Fine Arts Program. For over two decades, Patricia held administrative and senior management positions in the education sector at Carleton University and Algonquin College. She was also the Administrator for two years of Enriched Bread Artists, an Ottawa art collective.

Patricia’s art practice includes painting and drawing, receiving several awards and scholarships for her work. She has participated in multiple group and solo exhibitions in Ontario and Quebec. Patricia has volunteered in several local arts organizations and served a term as President of Ottawa Mixed Media Artists.
Robert is the Head of Collaborative Innovation and Ecosystem, Analytics with IBM’s Data and AI Products division. With 25 years of international leadership experience in the tech industry, he brings expertise in the areas of business analytics, product and portfolio management, collaborative innovation, business and marketing strategy. Robert is also an award-winning adjunct research professor with the Sprott School of Business (Carleton University). His research interests and teaching are in business strategy, marketing strategy, and innovation management at both the graduate MBA and undergraduate levels. Robert is committed to the development of innovative teaching methods and experiential learning, and is an active mentor to students entering industry.

Robert holds a Bachelor of Science degree (McGill University), an MBA (University of Ottawa, Telfer School of Business), and a Ph.D. in Management (Carleton University, Sprott School of Business). Robert is a proud native of Ottawa, where he resides with his family and three dogs. His artistic pursuits are in the areas of photography and pencil drawing.
Growing up in Ottawa, Heather was a student at the Ottawa School of Art from an early age. Professionally she is a Partner at PwC Canada, helping her clients embrace new technologies to deliver better customer experiences using human-centred design. A mentor and people manager with a degree in political science, she is also PwC’s Global Government & Public Services ESG Leader.

Heather is a continuous learner, recently completing an MIT executive program for Artificial Intelligence and is currently pursuing a Certificate in World Art History through the Smithsonian. Her volunteer experiences include the Ontario Art Gallery, Toy Mountain and residential condo boards.

When she is not working, walking or learning, Heather can be found riding her Vespa, or spoiling her three brilliant nieces.
Robyn Heaton retired from her position at Algonquin College as Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Media, and Designing 2022. In this position for eight years, Robyn’s portfolio of 30+ programs included Graphic Design, Illustration and Concept Art, Interior Design, and Animation. Prior to this position, Robyn was the Academic Chair for Media Studies and a Professor and Coordinator for the Advertising and Marketing Communications Program at Algonquin College. Earlier in her career, Robyn gained experience in media and design industries.