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2 Simcoe Street South,
Suite 300
Oshawa, ON. L1H 8C1
Canada
Sherry Colbourne is a Canadian entrepreneur with decades of experience in Ontario’s high-tech sector. Her career has taken her to the far corners of the world in pursuit of building strategic business relationships for the companies she has served. As CEO, Sherry guides the direction and growth of Spark Centre and advocates for an international approach to the development of Durham Region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Sherry is a strong believer that entrepreneurism brings diverse cultures and people together and that the opportunity for Durham Region lies in its roots as an innovative and diverse Region.
Tawnya directs and manages the Marketing team, and the overall strategy for the Spark Group of Companies. Tawnya utilizes her decade’s worth of experience to effectively oversee the organization’s marketing efforts, including digital marketing, print and design, communications and events. Collectively, her and her talented team of marketing pros continue to elevate the Spark Centre brand across Durham Region (and beyond).
Cathy Ireland is a passionate business development and program manager professional with significant and diverse industry background and experiences. Over the course of three decades she has successfully spearheaded and implemented business growth strategies, to establish and expand into new territories, entering international markets, and overseeing the professional development of international sales teams for the companies she has served.
Early in her career she worked for Proctor and Gamble, and start-up and expanding local Canadian businesses establishing their footprint in Eastern ON, before moving to the US where she worked at the Canadian Embassy, providing support for Canada’s first Businesswomen’s Trade Mission to Washington DC. When she returned to Canada she worked at a technology company as the Director of Business Development for North America. More recently. her career path has brought her full circle to return to her roots in Eastern Ontario where she has had the opportunity to lead rural program development, facilitating and participating in the implementation of successful entrepreneurial programs, including programs for women entrepreneurs.
Cathy believes whole heartedly a rising tide lifts all boats and together with the Spark Centre Team is committed to building capacity for all entrepreneurs in this region.
Romaine Redman is an Economic Developer who focuses his practice on building innovation clusters/districts. His professional experience has seen him working across many disciplines including research, education, youth empowerment, media, community development, industry development, and public policy. As the Eastern Ontario Innovation Corridor (EOIC) Community Development Manager, Romaine works to seek out and secure community partnerships while understand the unique assets best suited for the impactful development and growth of EOIC clients. He works with his team to create a multi-district innovation network spanning the Durham Region to the Montreal border.
Romaine currently utilizes his education and experience to derive solutions to the many social and economic inefficiencies, all while priding himself on being a part of the consciously positive development of society.
Cara Witvoet is Spark Centre’s Client Success Coordinator, taking great care of our local clients from intake to on-boarding! She is crucial to our CRM system and data management and is a key resource for our co-location program, client workshops and events.
Ghazal Azhar is a recent graduate with a bachelor’s degree in International Business Management and has previously worked in a business services role for the Ontario Public Service, assisting a diverse group of clients.
She is passionate about bringing creative ideas to the table and prides herself in paying attention to details.
Her professionalism and enthusiasm to take on new challenges and execute and deliver demonstrate her commitment to quality and will support Spark in achieving results for the SUV program.
Karan brings years of experience helping start-up companies to raise funds from Pre Seed to Series A. In the past he has worked with some of the leading Venture Capital Firms in areas of Sourcing, Screening, Investments & Portfolio Development.
He has supported a range of due diligence activities such as financial & business analysis, performing financial modelling, and generating competitive landscapes. Karan has also lead teams for planning & conducting entrepreneurial events, demo days and master classes. His sheer passion for innovation and desire to see the Canadian startup ecosystem reach its full potential will contribute to the success of SUV program.
Melanie leads the creative design for The Spark and Spark Centre’s brand. She also provides support for all of Spark Centre’s high potential clients and manages Creative Spark. With an accumulated 20 years of experience in design, Melanie has been able to hone her design skills and gain valuable knowledge of both the editorial and packaging fields with experience designing for Wildly Delicious, Slingshot Inc., Zaxis Publishing, Homemaker’s and Canadian Business Magazine.
Melissa drives the development and execution of Spark Centre’s internal and external communications and public relations strategies in addition to actively running Spark’s social channels and writing content for The Spark: Business and Innovation Magazine. Melissa also works directly with local and national media outlets to ensure Spark Centre and its clients are at the forefront of innovation and technology.
Melissa has over 15 years of experience in communications, content development, media and PR across a wide range of industries including the arts, tech and business.
With an extensive background in graphic design, web design, and videography, Nick transforms concepts into compelling marketing campaigns. He thrives on creating memorable brand narratives that resonate with target audiences. Nick is also responsible for media production for the Spark Group of Companies and the design and maintenance of the company’s websites.
Kailee is responsible for developing Spark Centre’s event strategy and ensuring we are actively supporting and showcasing our entrepreneurs at all of our events.
She leads the planning and execution of TechEx, Durham Region’s Startup Grind Chapter and AVIN, and represents Spark Centre at various community events. Kailee also works closely with partners in the ecosystem to ensure Spark Centre and its clients are active and supporting “Do It In Durham” during Global Entrepreneurship Week.
In her spare time, Kailee loves to hike, camp and portage, and is an avid thrifter!
