Team

Zahra Baghdadi

Controller

Zahra Baghdadi is a CPA who loves helping businesses leverage financial information to make better sense of numbers and ultimately make better strategic decisions.
For the past 19 years, she has been working in various industries from construction to food and beverage and tech in different finance and accounting roles and now working as the financial controller here with Animikii.

Zahra’s passion is to make a bigger impact by providing creative and tailor-made solutions and to support start-ups and entrepreneurs to draft, run and operate a thriving business that can scale and grow sustainably and profitably.

Jason Bienia

Software Developer

Jason is a software developer specializing in web and mobile technology. He has a Bachelors of Music from the University of Brandon and a diploma in computer programming from Red River College in Winnipeg. He has contributed to successful products in the health (Firstline) and education space (Freshgrade).  His settler heritage includes Polish and Ukrainian ancestry. Jason spends his free time making music under the name Small Opera and volunteering for a youth program that seeks to build capacity for community service in ages 12-15. Jason currently resides in the land of the Coast Salish peoples–Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.

Ian Capstick

Chief Impact & Communications Officer

Ian Capstick is a social entrepreneur, political strategist and storyteller. His early career in politics allowed him to travel the country extensively, learning to listen to folks and work step by step to solve problems. After founding his first company, he spent eight seasons as a contributor to CBC’s flagship political program Power & Politics. Outside of politics, he has managed communications for top Canadian corporations, major unions and well known Canadians and media-figures. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s Centre for Social Impact Strategy (2017), Ian returned to the program as a Teaching Fellow (2018-2020).

Jasmine Carbone

Operations Manager

Jasmine is a CHamoru frontend developer with professional experience in marketing, communications & design. She loves to create clean technical solutions for pain points while incorporating her passion for impactful design and accessibility to create beautiful, immersive web experiences.

When her face isn’t buried in code, Jasmine can be found tending her personal indoor jungle, fiddling with new recipes, or playing roller derby with the Smoke City Bandits, Tkaronto’s longest-running roller derby team. She is grateful to live and work with her family in Tkaronto, on unceded Haudenosaunee, Anishinabewaki, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Mississauga, and Wendake-Nionwentsïo territory.

Maggie Caspar

Product Manager

As a Product Manager, Maggie handles the vision, strategy, and execution of our product roadmap. She has a degree in Psychology, over a decade of design experience, and a history of 6+ years delivering high-quality software products in strategic, design, and engineering roles. Maggie was born and raised in Germany and is very grateful to be living in British Columbia on the traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples. In her free time, Maggie enjoys cycling, gardening, and local hiking trails with her family.

Joshua Chan

Senior Software Developer

Joshua is a senior software engineer who strongly believes in using technology as a means to improve peoples' well-being. Drawing upon his Computer Science education at the University of Waterloo and experience at numerous tech startups including co-founding one, Joshua enjoys building software to help solve real problems. When not coding, he can be found climbing, camping, or bike touring. Joshua lives and works on the traditional territory of the K'ómoks First Nation.

Stephen Dalton

Senior Software Developer

Stephen is a software developer and former game designer. Before joining Animikii, he spent 10 years working on software solutions for the City of Calgary, and before that worked for a game developer in Ontario (Messissague Territory). This combination of human-centered design thinking and service-oriented software development express Stephen’s passion for making experiences that first and foremost think about the user and their desired outcomes. Currently residing in the territory of the Blackfoot and Peoples of Treaty 7 (Calgary), he enjoyed a childhood in lək̓ʷəŋən Territory (Victoria) and got his Computer Science degree at the University of Victoria. Stephen has a settler heritage mixing Mennonite and Irish ancestry.

In his free time, Stephen is out adventuring with his family, appreciating nature, keeping fit or, his latest passion, writing fiction (3 books and counting so far- none published yet).

Jeff Doctor

Impact Strategist

Jeff is Cayuga from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. As an Impact Strategist, he distills complexity and nuance into workable paths forward for many of our software and communications projects. He also assists with planning, managing, and reporting on Animikii’s impact and supports the use of ethical tech to get land, cash, and data back to Indigenous Peoples throughout the world.

Jonathon Forbes

Operations Manager

A proud member of the Ts’msyen people, Jonathon has over a decade of experience in client services, web design, stakeholder communications, and graphic design. As an Operations Manager, Jonathon leverages his past experience with Indigenous communities and web-based projects to distill technical data and information architecture on the Software Pathfinding team into requirements for custom software. He also assists with planning, managing, and reporting on Animikii’s Social Impact.

Chuck Frank

Director of People Operations

Chuck Frank is a senior software developer who has designed software solutions for 18 years. Chuck was a founding partner at PlusThree, LLP, in New York City, providing campaign software solutions to political organizations for seven years. Chuck worked at the University of Victoria for ten years, providing software solutions for centralized information technology, including emergency notification, budget planning, and research administration tools. Chuck values his roles as a father, husband, and community member; he loves to spend his time at his children's activities, and as part of various community-building social events. Chuck believes in the dignity of all peoples, in equity and human rights, and in social justice. Chuck is Yéil naa, Deisheetaan, Kaagwaantaan of the Tlingit peoples in Southeast Alaska - Raven moeity, Beaver, and Wolf clans, from Angoon Alaska. Chuck works on Lekwungen territory in Victoria, BC.

Alisha Franklin

Operations Coordinator

Alisha has a BA in Anthropology and Environmental Studies and has experience supporting research teams at the University of Victoria for the Ethnographic Mapping Lab. She has 4 years of administrative experience managing and organizing offices to enhance customer experiences. She seeks opportunities to show initiative and improve systems and processes. She has meticulous attention to detail, strong problem-solving skills and enjoys learning and expanding her knowledge base. Her skills, drive, experience and enthusiasm make her phenomenal support for our Executive team. She is interested in supporting our integration of health and wellbeing into our working ecosystems at Animikii and implementing effective solutions for social innovations centred around Indigenous knowledge. She has Italian heritage and enjoys the combination of great food and great conversation. She is grateful to live and work in Lekwungen Territory.

Mat Harvard

Director of Technology, Software Leadership Group

Mat has been building user experiences through software for over a decade. He has a degree from the University of Victoria in computer science and geography. His focus is designing, building, and maintaining scalable web-based products that are both useful and easy to use. Mat lives in Victoria, BC and can often be found on remote hiking trails of Vancouver Island.

Yosuke Hasumi

Senior Software Developer

Yosuke Hasumi is a full stack developer who is passionate about the pursuit of mastery in all aspects of his life. He brings to the table prior experience in teaching programming courses, running his own web design and development business, and being involved in various tech startups. He strives to support the growth of humankind to become more loving and accepting; this is best expressed through his role as a father to two children, both born and raised on the traditional territories of the K’ómoks, Homalco, and Tla’amin Nations of Vancouver Island. His free time is spent in the backcountry, riding his motorcycle or blade smithing in his shop.

Jo Hund

Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Software Leadership Group

Jo has been a passionate maker from a young age. After he earned an engineering degree in Germany, he migrated to Vancouver Island. He has led numerous ambitious and innovative technology projects as a consultant, entrepreneur and startup team member. As part of the Animikii software leadership group he uses his deep technical experience to further human progress through thoughtful use of technology. Jo lives with his family on K'ómoks Territory where he balances his work on the computer with exploring the surrounding mountains, forests, and waters.

Priya John

Bookkeeper

Priya is a highly motivated accounting specialist with more than 15 years of demonstrated experience providing exceptional service to her clients. Her deep knowledge of accounts payable, accounts receivable, accounting data analysis, and performance reporting have allowed her clients to change their current processes and implement new technologies that increase accuracy and efficiency. Priya is an excellent communicator and presenter who works well with Individuals at all levels of a corporation.

Outside of work she loves spending quality time with her family, reading books and learning new skills in technology, productivity and leading a simple minimalist life. She is grateful to live on the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations, the Métis Nation (Region 3), and all people who make their homes in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta.

James Matsuba

Senior Software Developer

James is a full-stack developer interested in making software that makes a positive impact. He is interested in continuous learning of how to build clean and maintainable codebases. When he is not coding, you can find him split boarding in the backcountry in the interior of BC or chasing snow at one of his favourite resorts. James lives and works on the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa, Stoney and the Secwepemc people in Golden, BC.

Craig McNaughton

Senior Software Developer

Craig is a software developer specializing in front-end technology. Before joining Animikii, he was developing software in the post-secondary education sector for more than a decade. Craig has lived in the lək̓ʷəŋən Territory (Victoria) for almost 6 years, having moved from Treaty 6 Territory (Saskatoon). His settler heritage includes Scottish, Dutch and Irish ancestry. Craig spends his free time with his family, reading, walking his dog, and riding his bike.

PJ Munghen

Software Developer

PJ is a front-end focused software developer who enjoys building usable, intuitive interfaces. They have degrees from the University of Guelph in Psychology and Neuroscience as well as Computer Science. They are passionate about making technology accessible and learning new ways to build applications that are  accessible to all users. In their spare time they like to volunteer, hike, and play banjo. They are grateful to live and work on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen (Songhees) and Xwsepsum (Esquimalt) Peoples.

Stephen Nairne

Board Member

Stephen is of mixed European heritage. Prior to joining Raven Indigenous Capital Partners in 2018, Stephen was the Founder and Managing Partner of AHL Venture Partners, an impact investing firm dedicated to scaling disruptive, scalable, and mission-driven enterprises across Sub-Saharan Africa. Stephen lives and works alongside his wife and two children on the traditional unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil Wau-tuth First Nations.

Jennifer Paul

Software Developer

Jennifer is a software developer who has been involved in STEM fields since she was young. She has a BSc in Astronomy from the University of Victoria and has since found a great passion in software development. Jenn has a lifelong propensity for continuous learning and is always striving to better herself and support those around her while on this journey. Jenn has settler heritage and grew up in Algonquin Anishinaabe Territory (Ottawa). She is proud to live and work in the lək̓ʷəŋən Territory (Victoria), where her surroundings have inspired a great yearning to learn and honour the communities here and in Canada. Jenn spends her free time with friends and her wonderful husband, and loves reading, listening to music, doing logic puzzles, and attempting kickboxing.  

David Pereira

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

David brings a wealth of entrepreneurship and business acumen to Animikii. As a proud Samoan, he was born and raised in New Zealand where days after his final exam at University he left for 11yrs to Asia. In 2016 he landed in Canada and has spent the years since working for Shopify. In his almost 5yrs there he gained experience in Capital/Financial products and markets, helped grow startups around the globe, as well as, led an all Indigenous team focused on Indigenous entrepreneurship globally. He is committed to making the better world of today and tomorrow a reality.

“Changing the world is never easy and I am privileged to be asked to do so with Animikii. ”

Coleman Pete

Digital Communications Strategist

As Digital Communications Strategist, Coleman brings experience in coordinating digital marketing projects, maintaining content recommendation systems, and writing for publications and marketing campaigns. Coleman is of Cree, Saulteaux, and settler heritage, and is a member of Little Pine First Nation in Sasktchewan’s Treaty Six territory. Coleman has a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce from the University of British Columbia. Coleman enjoys the outdoors, and you can find him running, hiking, skiing, and camping in the parks and natural regions surrounding Vancouver. When indoors, Coleman spends his time reading or cooking Italian food.

Diane Roussin

Board Member

Diane is a leader and social innovator. She is currently the Project Director of the Winnipeg Boldness Project and has a long track record of working to make change at the systems level. She is a proud member of Skownan First Nation and lives in Winnipeg.

Kevin Slagboom

Web Developer & Designer

Kevin is a front-end web developer specializing in website themes for content management systems.  He brings over 20 yrs of experience working in front-end web development and has expertise in various theming languages. Before joining Animikii, Kevin worked for a digital marketing agency and as a solopreneur that served clients both locally and across North America. He has passion for bringing designs to life while ensuring performance and accessibility standards are met. Kevin has English/Dutch settler heritage and grew up in the lək̓ʷəŋən Territory (Victoria), where he and his family still reside and call home. 

Outside of work, he is an experienced amateur birder with a keen interest in natural history.  He teaches beginner birding courses and leads field trips for local birding and nature groups.

Tom Spetter

Lead Designer

Tom Spetter brings over 30 years of professional design experience to Animikii. He has extensive agency experience as well as 20 years of serving the local Victoria business community as a freelance graphic designer. Passionate about digital photo retouching, design, branding, illustration and web design, Tom loves the challenge of making something look great, as well as functional. Tom is a graduate of Vancouver Island University’s Graphic Design program.

Tom is a Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation member and is honoured to work and live with his family on the traditional territory of the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Lkwungen, Songhees and Esquimalt) Peoples of the Coast Salish Nation. When not at work, you can find Tom shredding Pentatonic scales on his ever-growing collection of guitars.

Reza Soleimani

UI/UX Designer & Developer

Reza is a Web Designer & Developer who brings a unique Front-End Development skill set combined with his background in design. He is constantly seeking improvement to become a better human being and be more successful in his career.

Reza loves his family, nature, biking, anything about technology and video games! His heritage is Persian, and he is grateful to live on unceded Haudenosauneega (Iroquois), Anishinabek (ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᒃ), and Huron Wendat territory.

Nicole Strangman

UX/UI Designer

Nicole is a UX/UI designer who is passionate about making people’s lives better through technology. With a Master of International Business from Queen’s University and a UX Design Graduate Certificate from St. Lawrence College, she has a holistic approach to design that allows her to view a project from multiple lenses. She is Cree and Métis from Alberta and currently lives in Ontario on Treaty 57 Territory in the homelands of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Huron-wendat Peoples. Creativity is a big part of Nicole’s life and you can find her painting or knitting in her free time. 

Lindsay Tannahill

Junior Software Developer

Formerly a teacher, Lindsay has transitioned into the tech world in hopes of combining her passions of education and development. She loves to travel and has been lucky enough to teach in Aotearoa New Zealand and Nunavut. Now a Junior Software Developer for Animikii, she currently lives on the traditional territory of the Lək̓ʷəŋən Peoples. Lindsay is thankful for her time spent living on the traditional territories of the Saugeen Ojibway Nations as well as Inuit and Māori land. When she's not practicing her new coding skills, Lindsay loves to make pottery, go exploring, and advocate for greater mental health care with the Mental Health Society of Greater Victoria.

Karim Teja

Chief Finance Officer (CFO)

Karim is an accomplished financial and operations executive with over two decades of success in technology commercialization. He is recognized for his financial expertise, strong negotiating skills, providing excellent customer service and meeting fiduciary obligations to the Board of Directors and shareholders. He capitalizes on his strong business acumen and experience to resolve critical financial and business decisions. He is experienced in public and private company management, financings, investor relations, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, intellectual property, P&L management, cash flow management, securities and exchange regulations, inventory management, A/P, A/R, payroll and foreign currency.

He has an extensive background in bringing new technologies (hardware, software, and green tech) to market, manufacturing and distribution of regulated products, financial management of consulting practices, and mergers and acquisition work. In 2006, Karim was one of the winners of the coveted Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (and was a Finalist in 2005) for his instrumental work in rapidly commercializing and distributing globally a new healthcare product.

Samantha Tweet

Operations Manager

Samantha is proud to be born and raised on Vancouver Island. She is Coast Salish and a member of the Snuneymuxw First Nation. Samantha is an Operations Manager at Animikii. She has a foundation in business and over 10 years of experience providing executive support. Samantha is passionate about working in Indigenous business, building the capacity of Indigenous people, and working for a socially driven company.

Amanda Willis

Product Owner

Amanda Willis is from Coast Salish (Stó:lo), mixed European and Filipino ancestry, living in the unceded traditional territories, including the Semiahmoo, Katzie, kʷikʷəƛ̓əm, Kwantlen, Qayqayt and Tsawwassen Nations (Surrey). Amanda has been with Indigenous Health for nearly 5 years, beginning as a facilitator with the San’yas Training program, and also including time as a new mom, Lead Facilitator, and Harms Screening Analyst. Prior to working with Indigenous Health, Amanda has worked in a variety of roles, including Indigenous, service provider and youth engagement, community-based research, and child rights education with the Representative for Children and Youth, and with the Social Policy and Research Council of BC.

Amanda’s education has held a technology & design focus, with a BSc in Interactive Arts and Technology and MA in Educational Technology and Learning Design, as well as an MA in Interaction Design (and user experience(UX) from Malmo University, Sweden. 

Jeff Ward

Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Jeff founded Animikii in 2003 and has orchestrated and managed its growth ever since. Everything Jeff does in business is geared towards uplifting his family, communities and Indigenous Peoples. He is Ojibwe and Métis, originally from Manitoba, and now lives and works in Victoria, BC on Lekwungen territory. Jeff is a web designer, software developer, author, and speaker. He also serves as a board member for Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN).

Robyn Ward

Board Member

Robyn (BA, CEC) has been part of the Animikii since 2003. She is an Executive Coach and Counsellor. Robyn is of Ukrainian, English, German and Mixed European ancestry. She was born in Winnipeg, MB on Treaty 1 Territory. She has two brilliant Anishinaabe boys (14 & 18), and is grateful to work and live with her family on beautiful unceded lək̓ʷəŋən Territory, also known as, Victoria, BC.