About us

Julie’s lifelong passions for storytelling and learning led her to become a growth strategist specializing in education technology. Building on her experiences directing brand, marketing and communication strategy for multiple organizations, Julie joined Pressbooks in 2022. In addition to a B.A. in English from BYU, Julie has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Her particular joys include reading, hiking, cooking, time with family, and hosting an annual strawberry pie party.

With a background in music and computer science, and a long time open source advocate, Christopher has worked as a freelance consultant and IT director. He led the software and systems development of McGill University’s web publishing system, was part of the team that brought Linux to the PlayStation 3, and was a co-founder of a Montreal startup that delivered open source web monitoring.

Ricardo is a passionate software developer with a keen sense user needs. After creating solutions for a wide variety of projects, he learned that technologies, frameworks, and coding languages are powerful tools to create products to make people happier. In his spare time, he loves to cook Argentinian asado for his family and friends and play jazz music on his guitar.

John has spent most of his career supporting students, faculty, and staff of higher education institutions. Starting as a student working the back-to-school rush at the University of Alberta Bookstore, John’s career in higher ed spans four decades. When he isn’t working he can be found in the kitchen preparing meals for friends and loved ones or at the curling rink trying to find his draw weight.

Amy graduated from McGill in 2019 with a degree in chemistry. Despite having enjoyed pipetting solutions into tiny vials, she realized that experiencing such opportunities are predicated on the accessibility of resources. Feeling strongly about these ideas, she joined Pressbooks, where she gets to exercise her love of continuous learning while contributing to a meaningful and collaborative environment. On any given day, she spends most of her time watching films, cooking, and enjoying the outdoors.

Thomas joined Pressbooks in 2021 with much enthusiasm for open access and expanding the possibilities for teaching and learning. He has a master’s degree in music composition and a background in arts administration and coding. Outside of his work at Pressbooks, he is a musician and writer with an interest in experimental music and different kinds of electronic music ranging from the marginal or underrepresented to the popular. He enjoys reading, going for walks, and doing Pilates.

Twenty years ago, Os began building annoying flash intros with mouse trailing animations preloaders and obtrusive techno background music loops. Before the WordPress era, he discovered PHP4 and went crazy building hundreds of web apps. Os has a Computer Science degree and Zend Certified Engineer PHP certification. He is in love with trip hop, acid jazz, and Cm/Fm based music. He is also an active open source contributor.

Sandra graduated from the John Molson School of Business with a Bachelors of Commerce in Marketing. However, after realizing that she didn’t want to pursue marketing, she accidentally fell into sales and has enjoyed it since. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, listening to a good audiobook by the water, and going on adventures.

Felipe, a.k.a Dalcin, is a food enthusiast who happens to work in software development. A graduate in computer science with a major in Big Data, he has a passion for learning and is always excited to create new things. In his free time, Dalcin loves to spend quality time with his wife and dog, play video games, and travel (always trying the local cuisine).

Caroline started her career in administration and finance in the architectural and design world, and then moved into the financial services sector. Next she spent well over a decade with an institutional/non-profit organization, and she is now thrilled to join the IT/edtech world. In addition to a snowstorm and a walk through the woods afterward, she enjoys good meals with family and friends and a round of golf.

Elsie graduated from Cuyahoga Community College with a degree in Social Sciences. She moved from Cleveland Ohio to Montreal in 2018. She loves dancing, traveling, building furniture, but most of all she loves sewing, which she taught herself. Her love for sewing and fashion pushed her to start an online clothing business Projet Fador Inc., where she gets to share her African background. You’ll find her at times modeling the colorful designs she creates on Fador’s social media pages.

Darrin began his publishing career in 1996 working with the large educational publishers in higher ed, helping faculty and students with course needs. Darrin enjoys working with his hands, so you can usually find him fixing his cars or doing some sort of home renovation with his wife. He loves food and enjoys cooking for his family daily. When not in the kitchen he can be found at the gym working out.

Helping people make good use of tech tools and publishing are two recurring themes throughout Mich’s professional life in the higher education, private and community sectors and as a freelance consultant. They have a masters degree in Political Science and History from the University of Zurich. In their free time, Mich enjoys traveling to and watching women’s soccer games or going for walks preferably with a dog or two.

With a background in design and nearly a decade of experience working at museums, Michelle brings a holistic approach to design in both physical and digital spaces. She is highly motivated to create functional, accessible, and joyful designs together with the people who use them the most. Outside of work, she loves spending time in the garden and singing karaoke.