The ELORIN Opportunity Response Team is comprised of biobusiness experts with deep connections throughout the region and beyond within research, academia, industry, government and funding agency circles. Each member of our team is equally empowered to provide advice, resources and support as we help connect the links of the biobusiness value chain.
Shelagh McDonald, Executive Director
Shelagh McDonald has been involved in establishing ELORIN since its conception in June 2004 as a result of the Provincial government’s BCIP program. Prior to this, she worked for Queen’s University, most recently as the Associate University Registrar, Recruitment and Undergraduate Admissions, a position that she held for 12 years. She has a keen interest in economic development for the region, in people, students and learning, and the vital role that collaborations play in the ability of a community or country to grow and develop. Shelagh obtained her B.A. and MBA degrees from Queen’s University.
Board of Directors
Doug Girvin, Chair
President, Stantive Technologies Group
Mr. Girvin is President of Stantive Technologies Group. He has built innovative relationships by using a collaborative approach to leveraging the best of private and public sectors.
In 1992, Sun Microsystems of Canada asked Mr. Girvin to establish a Sun presence in Eastern Ontario. Through his company, here presented Sun directly, giving him access to all of Sun's resources as he sat in Sun's organizational structure, yet he remained an independent business Based on his success, Sun asked Doug to establish a similar presence in Ottawa to serve the research, municipal and hi-tech communities in the National Capital Region. This operation grew from $2 million to over $30 million in sales within 3 years. In March of 2007, Mr. Girvin divested the Ottawa business to focus on opportunities, both within Sun, the Southeastern Ontario region, and beyond.
Mr. Girvin's passion for innovation in public/private partnerships has culminated in his success as the private sector lead in the research partnership of High Performance Computing Virtual Laboratory (HPCVL), based at Queen's University. Over the past 9 years this public/private partnership has grown to be one of Canada's most successful with approximately $150 million (audited) invested by all parties, including Stantive Technologies Group, Sun Microsystems, CFI (Canadian Foundation for Innovation), ORDCF (Ontario Research Development Challenge Fund), ORF (Ontario Research Foundation), OIT (Ontario Innovation Trust), SERC (National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada), Entrust and others. There are currently 6 institutional partners, including the founding members, Queen's, Royal Military College of Canada, University of Ottawa and Carleton University.
Mr. Girvin's volunteer work has included membership on the Boards of
the Kingston Economic Development Corporation, The Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund ($1B research granting agency), the President's Advisory Council of the Royal Society of Canada, the OCRI
(Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation), Research Management Board and others. As well, he has served as a guide and mentor to numerous
early-stage companies on product, sales and infrastructure strategies. In 2000 he was named 'Business Person of the Year' by the Kingston Chamber of Commerce. Currently, Mr. Girvin is a member of the Imagine Kingston Round Table, a group of institutional, business and community
leaders dedicated to the advancement of Kingston. He is also a member
of the Industry Canada Roundtable on Canada's Science and Technology
Strategy. As well, he is a Governor of the Kingston General Hospital.
Mr. Girvin was born into the family of one of Canada's leading Research Health Scientists. The son of a neurosurgeon and an emergency nurse he grew up immersed in academic language and thought and while he studied economics at the University of Waterloo and consequently developed his career in business, he retained an ongoing fascination for academic and health care research and innovation.
Timothy Smith, Vice Chair
CEO, Octane Orthobiologics Inc.
Dr. Timothy Smith served as Vice President and Director of Millenium Biologix since founding the company with Sydney Pugh in 1992. In this capacity, he was responsible for company operations with a concentrated emphasis on research and development. A key aspect of this role involved coordinating multidisciplinary teams of life scientists and engineers in the development of next generation medical products. Dr. Smith became Chief Science and Technology Officer in December 2005.
Dr. Smith obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (Biomedical) from Queen's University in Canada in 1988, following his Masters of Science from Queen's University in 1985. In anticipation of a career in new medical technologies, he expanded his studies to include Business Management from the School of Business, Biomaterials Development from the Clinical Mechanics Group and Clinical Trial Design from the Department of Epidemiology. Dr. Smith is a member of Canada's National Sector Team for Advanced Materials, a member of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research and a member of the American Society of Materials.
David Berg, Past Chair
Technology Group Leader
E.I. DuPont Canada Company
David joined DuPont in November 1986 at the Research and Development Centre in Kingston, Ontario. He has progressed through a series of different roles over the past 19 years and is currently Technology Group Leader – Process Development with responsibility for leading a diverse portfolio of projects including development and licensing of Versipol® catalyst technology, and development of a new family of biobased polymers. David is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Queen’s University in the Department of Chemical Engineering since 1997 and was Treasurer of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering from 1996 to 1999. David obtained his B.Sc. in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering from the University of Calgary in 1984 and his M.E.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Western Ontario in 1986. He took a leave of absence from DuPont to obtain his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University in 1993.
Anne Vivan-Scott, Treasurer
V.P., Commercial Development
PARTEQ Innovations
Anne Vivian-Scott (MBA, Concordia; BASc, Waterloo) is Vice President of Commercial Development of Queen's University's PARTEQ Innovations. She joined PARTEQ in 1998 and has been responsible for the commercialization of intellectual property arising from Queen's research since that time. In that capacity she discusses intellectual property issues with faculty, assesses new disclosures, identifies potential licensees, negotiates license agreements and creates new ventures where warranted to develop commercial products arising from Queen's intellectual property. She assisted in the management of Canada's first university-managed captive venture fund, the $7 million Working Ventures CMDF Queen's Scientific Breakthrough Fund, created in 1999.
Anne was trained as a chemical engineer and worked in the design-engineering-construction field prior to completing her MBA. Prior to joining PARTEQ in 1998 she was a Manager of Product Line Finance at Nortel Networks.
Shelagh McDonald, Secretary
Executive Director
ELORIN
John Baker
President & Founder
Stonehedge BioResources Ltd.
John joined Bioniche Botanicals, a division Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. in 2000 as the General Manager of the unit. Located in the biodiversity rich Quinte Region, John investigates the scientific application of botanicals for their application in either Animal Health or Human Health products.
John is also the President and Founder of Stonehedge BioResources Ltd. Created in 1994. Stonehedge specializes in information, research, development, and technology transfer; as it applies to the production, processing, and utilization of medicinal plants and industrial hemp. Since 2000, the focus of Stonehedge has been on Cannabis bio prospecting, plant breeding and the development of industrial hemp fibre industry in the Eastern Lake Ontario Region.
Over the years, John has worked on several domestic and international projects, including research and work with native food and medicinal plants of El Choco, Colombia, conducting research in Cannabis (Hemp) biodiversity and most recently involved in a collaboration which set up a CO2 Supercritical Fluid Extraction pilot plant at Loyalist College.
He remains current in today’s ever-changing world by sitting on many Boards. John is a member of a graduate committee (University of Ottawa), an advisory committee at Loyalist College and the Board Chair of elorin, as well as a Board member of the Welsh Pony and Cob Society of Canada. He has also spoken at conferences and symposiums worldwide on plant-based medicines.
John is a naturalist, a horticulturist, a recognized plant breeder with the Canadian Seed Growers Association, and a licensed hemp breeder with Health Canada. He obtained his B.Sc. degree in 1972 from the University of Guelph, completed a M.Sc. degree in 1988, and been a member on the Ontario Institute of Professional Agrology (P.Ag.) since 1972. John and his wife Christine live on a farm in the Quinte region and have an active international equine breeding program.
Graham McRae
President & CEO
Bioniche Life Sciences
Founder of both Vetrepharm Animal Health and Bioniche Inc., (the predecessor companies to Bioniche Life Sciences Inc.)
Born in Australia, Mr. McRae has had a lengthy and diversified career in the pharmaceutical industry, in Australia and Canada.
In 1971, Mr. McRae joined Pfizer Animal Health in Australia and held various sales and managerial positions. He was transferred to Canada in 1975.
In 1979, Mr. McRae founded Vetrepharm Animal Health to focus on research and development in animal health, with a keen desire to develop non-antibiotic solutions for animal health problems.
Bioniche Inc. was founded in 1992 by Mr. McRae to develop Vetrepharm's technologies for human health applications.
Steve Rosa
Manufacturing Service and Quality MBB
Sabic Innovative Plastics
In his current role, Steve is a leader within the global compounding Center of Excellence for Sabic Innovative Plastics (formerly General Electric Plastics). He is responsible for the processes, which optimize the operation and availability of compounding assets. Prior to this role, Steve served as Site Manager for the Sabic plant in Cobourg, and held numerous other manufacturing roles within Procter and Gamble, CAE Fiberglass, and ZCL Composites.
Steve is active in the manufacturing community, and served as President of the Northumberland Manufacturers’ Association for three years during its inception. Recently, he has helped to spearhead an alignment between the manufacturing associations in Northumberland, Quinte and Kawartha, in order to drive strategic opportunities collectively. The group, known as ACSEOM (Allied Consortium of South Eastern Ontario Manufacturers) will work together to help overcome some of our key common challenges.
Dan Holland
Dean, School of Business & Management Studies, Bioscience & Justice Studies
Loyalist College
An academic management professional with twenty two years experience in the community college field, Dan currently holds the position of Dean, School of Business and Management Studies, Bioscience and Justice Studies at Loyalist College, Belleville, Ontario.
Dan earned a B.A. from the University of Windsor, B.Ed. from Queen’s University, M.A.Ed from Central Michigan University and is currently pursuing his Doctorate through CMU. Dan also holds a Fellowship in the Institute of Canadian Bankers.
Dan has been recognized nationally and internationally for his leadership in the development and delivery of online courses at the postsecondary level. He has presented his model for consortium development at major conferences throughout North America and the U. K.
As a community minded person Dan has served on various Board of Directors: (Quinte Health Care Corporation, Belleville General Hospital Foundation, Belleville & District Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Clubs, Loyalist College Board of Governors).
Dan lives in Belleville with his wife Lisa and their daughter Rebecca who attends Queen’s University.
Doug Somers
Executive Coach and Strategy Consultant
Doug is a seasoned executive with global experience in both large multinational as well as small startup technology companies. As Co-President and CEO of the Cassidy Bay Group Inc he specializes in team building and executive coaching, strategic planning, and overcoming business startup and growth challenges. Doug's coaching and consulting work has taken him through both Canada and the US, and over his career he has been a speaker and panel moderator across the Americas and Europe.
Prior to his work with the Cassidy Bay Group, Doug co-founded Bridgewater Systems, a successful supplier of telecom software systems to the largest communications service providers (TSX: BWC). As CEO he helped build the company and its customer base, raising significant venture capital in the process. Prior to Bridgewater, Doug was Vice-president and General Manager of the Network and Service Management business unit at Newbridge Networks Corporation where he introduced a new line of management and control systems while growing a profitable global software business.
Doug is a seminar leader and facilitator of OCRI’s Entrepreneur’s Edge, an intensive training program for entrepreneurs. He is also Chairman of the board of the High Performance Computing Virtual Laboratory (HPCVL), a multi-university research facility, and has sat on several other corporate and industry boards.
Doug has a BSc. in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University, practitioner certification in NLP, and he is a Certified Professional Co-active Coach (CPCC).