We are committed to empowering youth.
Team foodprint!
Tri-Cities 2019
YELL’s educational programs empower youth with the skills, knowledge and network they will need to take on the future.
Focused on youth.
Less than a quarter of graduating grade 12s felt prepared for a career and less than a third felt prepared for a post-secondary education* so we set out to create the course we wished had when we were in high school. As the world becomes more complex, our team continues to develop programs so youth receive relevant educational experiences that evolve with the times.
*Statistics sourced from BC Ministry of Education Satisfaction Surveys
Bridging the gap.
The YELL program is designed to feel like a university course to prepare students for the next phase in their educational journey, better-yet YELL is Canada’s first high school entrepreneurship program eligible for University credit.
Community driven.
YELL exemplifies massive community engagement in action. Our combination of teachers, guest speakers, mentors, industry exploration activities and pitches give youth a network of support that can help them navigate their futures. We work with universities, companies, NPOs, school districts and governments to bring 21st Century skill-building academic experiences and opportunities to youth.
Bold ideas.
YELL uses the principles of entrepreneurship to advance young leaders in any field. Through the integration of the United Nations SDGs, YELL is committed to developing global perspectives in youth and challenging them to tackle big ideas. We believe youth equipped with an entrepreneurial toolbox and a growth mindset will become creative problem solvers that will build a better future.
Our Commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
It’s not enough to mobilize the generation of innovators and hope they create a positive impact in our world. We must ensure that they are inspired to become the positive change makers we need to build a brighter future. YELL has made a commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Partnership online platform. The Partnerships for SDGs online platform is the United Nations’ global registry of voluntary commitments and multi-stakeholder partnerships made in support of sustainable development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These are our objectives:
- Introduce key concepts and lesson plans from SDG Resources for Educators library in YELL’s Entrepreneurship 12 course curriculum.
- Deliver YELL courses in school districts throughout Metro Vancouver and Rural communities in Northern BC.
- Support course content with SDG-relevant speakers, mentors and experiences.
- Encourage students to incorporate a variety of SDGs in their capstone projects and presentations.
- Developing global perspectives on problem-solving in youth, investing in their capabilities and promoting global citizenship.
THE YELL TEAM
Management
Amit Sandhu is the Managing Director of Ampri Group, a portfolio of real estate investment and development companies, and the Co-founder and Managing Director of YELL Canada. Amit finds great joy in being a community weaver and collaborator, supporting his varied interests in the arts, mental health and education. Amit has served on various organization’s committees including Richmond Hospital Foundation, West Point Grey Academy and the City of Richmond’s Economic Advisory Committee. Amit is a recipient of Business in Vancouver Magazine’s 40 under 40 Award, the City of Richmond’s Arts Award, Volunteer Richmond’s Shining Star Award for Corporate Citizenship and the SFU BASS Community Impact Award.
Vivian has a background in marketing and sales and event management and has been working with Canadian companies and entrepreneurs for almost 15 years. She served as the National Accelerator Operations Manager at Wavefront and was in charge of programs for startups and partnerships across Canada. She also managed their co-working space, community and organized multiple large scale events. She now works on various projects and initiatives with different organizations in the startup and tech community. Passionate about supporting entrepreneurs and giving back, she also currently serves as Co-Chair of Vancouver Startup Week. In her spare time, you’ll find Vivian volunteering, attending a fun event or concert and petting every dog that she meets.
Katty is a seasoned professional with knowledge and experience in civil engineering, organizational psychology, and entrepreneurship. After obtaining her professional designation as a professional engineer, Katty co-founded a technology startup and oversaw its operations, marketing, and sales initiatives, applying the problem-solving skills she has acquired while working as an engineer. The combination of being an entrepreneur and learning about intrinsic human motivation as a part of her psychology studies reinforced her passion for helping other entrepreneurs, including the inspired ones in high school and universities, to embrace their individuality and maximize their potentials. At YELL Canada, her responsibility as National Director of Operations is to introduce entrepreneurial mindsets to as many Canadian high school students as possible. In her spare time, Katty is actively speaking and mentoring aspired entrepreneurs, hoping that her experience would shed light on how to establish a future as an entrepreneur.
Matt has 25 years of experience in advising businesses, non-profits and First Nations. His expertise focuses on building and using financial systems and reporting to enable better planning, financial management and decision-making by organizations. His work with clients often includes elements of business strategy and growth.
In addition to running his own consulting practice and a few other entrepreneurial ventures, Matt has had plenty of involvement in programs and organizations which support entrepreneurs, both in staff and volunteer roles. Matt was the CEO of the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce for nearly three years before his move to British Columbia in 2014. In Prince George, Matt served as the Executive Director for Innovation Central Society, a regional technology accelerator, from April 2016 to the end of 2017.
On a volunteer basis, Matt has been involved as an advisor to the Enactus chapter at St. Lawrence College and the AIESEC chapter at Queen’s University. He held national and international leadership positions with Junior Chamber International (JCI) and is currently on the Board of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce.
Heidi Booth is the Community Engagement Officer for the YELL North Team. She has gained experience with entrepreneurs of various company stages through her role as Business Strategy Intern and Economic Research Officer at Hubspace, Economic Development Intern at NDIT, and her participation in UNBC JDCWest’s Entrepreneurship and International Business teams. Heidi acquired her Red Seal in Welding in 2015 and is a strong supporter of women in industry and business. She is always eager to network, is passionate about connecting people to new skills and opportunities and is elated to be working with today’s youth – the business leaders of tomorrow.
Ian first joined YELL in the 2020-2021 school year. Having a passion for entrepreneurship, curriculum development, and maximizing the positive impact he can have on the education of students, he stepped up to join YELL as National Director of Education. Ian is excited to provide oversight on national curriculum plans in support of the vision and goals for the YELL curriculum, through the refinement of instructional materials based on evidence-based pedagogical practices, in order to maintain YELL’s competitive advantage in entrepreneurial teaching and learning.
Jo-Anne was the first YELL teacher and has played an instrumental role in shaping and contributing to its educational practices and culture. She is a hiking trail-lover, teacher, and Athletic Director at West Vancouver Secondary School. Teaching is her second career, and she absolutely loves being a part of the educational and athletic adventures of her students. Jo-Anne is lucky to have been a part of YELL since the beginning; and is so proud of how it has grown from a small passion project of our founders to now a YELL community sharing an even bigger collective passion project!
Joe is excited to join the YELL team. He currently teaches Business Education in Burnaby, and formerly taught in Business Education at a school in East Vancouver. Joe’s history includes participating in UBC Enactus’ Ennovate competition, and he previously worked for two major corporations in Customer Service, Sales, and Management. Joe is passionate about teaching and uses experiential methods and mentorship to empower student leaders in the classroom.
Teachers
I am a Senior Mathematics Teacher at EBus Academy in Vanderhoof BC, currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership at VIU, and excited to be working with YELL Canada again. When I’m not spending time with my family, I can be found tinkering, DIY, playing sports, and just being outside.
Garrett is a Business Education and Spanish teacher at Richmond Secondary School. He studied finance at Central Michigan University and obtained his MBA at the University of Windsor while working in credit risk. Garrett is thrilled to be working with YELL and getting students more exposure to entrepreneurs and real-world businesses. When not at work he enjoys hiking, running, cycling, and salsa dancing.
Ian is a learning support and science teacher at Bert Church High School. He is passionate about helping students build connections in their community and is very excited to join the team and to help YELL expand into Alberta. Ian enjoys coaching, especially Unified Sports (where students with and without intellectual disabilities train and compete on the same team).
Over the past four years, Ian has taught Math and Design at Mulgrave School with a passion for innovating education to fit the emerging needs of youth. He believes the entrepreneurial mindset is a skillset that students will need to gain to optimize success in their adult lives. Utilizing his experience teaching design thinking, and his enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and financial literacy, Ian is excited to be a part of the growing field of Entrepreneurship in Education. Through the YELL program, Ian is excited to facilitate opportunities for students to network, gain mentorship, and learn the skills to pursue their dreams in whatever industry they wish to pursue.
James Nevison is a teacher at Sutherland Secondary School in North Vancouver. He is currently responsible for all Business Education courses at Sutherland, from Marketing to Accounting. He is also the head teacher of Sutherland’s experiential-based Global Perspectives Program, in which he leads Economics 12 and Social Justice 12 courses. James has a corporate background in sustainability and corporate social responsibility, complemented by a Masters in International Leadership from SFU as well as B.Ed and B.Comm (Hons) degrees from UBC.
Jo-Anne was the first YELL teacher and has played an instrumental role in shaping and contributing to its educational practices and culture. She is a hiking trail-lover, teacher, and Athletic Director at West Vancouver Secondary School. Teaching is her second career, and she absolutely loves being a part of the educational and athletic adventures of her students. Jo-Anne is lucky to have been a part of YELL since the beginning; and is so proud of how it has grown from a small passion project of our founders to now a YELL community sharing an even bigger collective passion project!
Joe is excited to join the YELL team. He currently teaches Business Education in Burnaby, and formerly taught in Business Education at a school in East Vancouver. Joe’s history includes participating in UBC Enactus’ Ennovate competition, and he previously worked for two major corporations in Customer Service, Sales, and Management. Joe is passionate about teaching and uses experiential methods and mentorship to empower student leaders in the classroom.
Lydia Taylor heads Business Education at Vancouver Technical Secondary in Vancouver. She brings a rich background in entrepreneurship and leadership development to her teaching, and to the YELL program specifically. Having 20+ years as a senior executive in the biotech sector and as a social impact business consultant, Ms Taylor brings real world experience across multiple industries to her classroom. She is known as a strategist and solver who is passionate about developing people and supporting local business. Her formal education includes a BSc, BEd, MSc in Genetics, and MBA.
Martin Runge is a teacher, business owner, and city councillor in Quesnel, BC. He is currently the department head for business, computer, and career studies at Correlieu Secondary. Having taught all business courses during his time in the district for 30 years he is excited be involved with YELL program this year. He is also pumped to fully utilize and harness the program and the support YELL has to offer… and as always, hopes to see his students utilize everything they learn to make a difference locally and globally.
Sheri Johnson is a teacher at Handsworth Secondary School in North Vancouver. Sheri teaches many of the senior Business Education classes including AP Microeconomics, Economics, YELL and Work Experience. Sheri tries to provide opportunities for students to connect what is learned in the classroom with the real world and thanks all of the YELL volunteers who help make this a reality for her students.
Trevor joined the YELL Canada program this year and is also the new teacher for the business program at Prince George Secondary School. He believes in lifelong learning and recently finished his Master of Education from the University of Victoria focusing on educational technology. In his free time, Trevor likes to spend time with his family and go backpacking in Northern B.C.
Board of Directors
Advisors
Neel Singh is an experienced leader in branding and strategic marketing having a mix of both entrepreneurial and executive leadership backgrounds. Neel is currently Head of Brand Strategy and Customer Experience at BBTV and additionally provides mentorship/advisory to entrepreneurs, engages in speaking opportunities, and serves as an advisor to organizations dedicated to education reform, technology advancement, and climate action.
Chris Kennedy is the Superintendent of Schools/CEO at West Vancouver Schools. He has taught secondary English and Social Studies, and been both an elementary and secondary school principal. Before being appointed Superintendent, Chris was Deputy Superintendent in West Vancouver Schools.
One of the most progressive voices in BC education, Chris has been featured by Macleans Magazine as one of the 100 Young Canadians to Watch and his work has been featured in various local and national publications. He was recently named one of the Top 10 Canadian Newsmakers in Educational Technology.
Kennedy is a writer and presenter on personalized learning and infusing technology in the classroom. Chris balances his professional passions with life as the father of four school-aged children.
Mark Barnes is the Director, Office of Research at the University of Northern BC (UNBC) where leads a team of professionals who provide support to UNBC’s research community to enhance the institution’s research capacity, while providing students with experiential learning opportunities.
He works to increase the awareness of collaboration opportunities with community and industry partners in an effort to facilitate the translation of innovative research into useful solutions to cultivate the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem in Northern British Columbia. He also supports aspiring entrepreneurs by bridging the gap between academia and resources in the community to promote economic development opportunities.
In 2018, he was selected as a Top 40 Under 40 by the Prince George Chamber of Commerce. He is a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) and he holds a B.Sc. (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), a M.Sc. (Biochemistry) and an M.B.A. (Data Analytics and Business Intelligence).