Jill Ellsworth, Ph.D. is an Internet consultant for Fortune 500 companies. She co-authored The Internet Business Book and Marketing on the Internet, and wrote the best-selling book Education on the Internet. An active Internet particpant, Jill Ellsworth can tell you just about everything you need to know about making your school or business a success in the virtual marketplace.
Dottie Eastman, Ph.D. is on the faculty of The Fielding Institute, specializing in telecommunication Systems, Community Development, and Organizational Studies. Ms. Eastman has been an active promoter of on-line community development and has served as a consultant to a variety of telecommunity intiatives in the United States and Canada. She has over 20 years of experience helping organizations and communities use information technologies, and has consulted with corporations including Digital Equipment, Milton Bradley, and a variety of health agencies and non-profit organizations. She is a proponent of collaborative consulting and participative developments.
Michael Gillespie has been involved in the broadcast, communications and computer industries for the past 20 years. A strong leader and founder of many community groups in Canada, Mr. Gillespie believes the Blue Sky Community Networks have a role to play as an educational tool in Manitoba. Among his other credits, Mr. Gillespie is the founding director of the Blue Sky Community Networks, a founding director and Secretary of Telecommunities Canada, and is the president of the Gray Research Group.
Richard Rosenberg, Ph.D. is a professor of computer science at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of The Social Impact of Computers, which explores how computers have changed the way we work, and what information we consider private.
With over 30 years of experience with privacy protection and access to information issues, Information and Privacy Commissioner David Flaherty is recognized internationally as one of the world's leading experts on privacy and data protection.
Don Vipond, editorial page editor (retired) of the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper, has 15 years of experience screening letters to the editor and opinion articles for libelous or defamatory content. He will outline several practical rules of thumb for choosing which messages to publish and which go too far. Mr. Vipond is a member and frequent user of the Victoria Free-Net.
Also known as "CyberSue" to the many readers of Diverse, Susan Simmons has been helping students, educators and other professionals work with computers for over 10 years. Most recently, she has added Internet training to her portfolio and is working actively in this area. Ms. Simmons managed the immensely popular ScienceTracks and Unmixed Messages Internet projects, designed by the Association for the Promotion and Advancement of Science Education (APASE) to help teachers bring about gender equity in the science classroom and ultimately impact science in positive ways.
Byron Barnard is the director of the B.C. Government Electronic Highway Initiative. Mr. Barnard has worked for the B.C. government for over 20 years in various senior management capacities with three Ministries: Government Services, Finance and Social Services. He has a keen interest in ensuring that government leverages its information and technology investments to more effectively deliver services to the public and to enhance community access to advanced telecommunications services. Mr. Barnard has been an active Internet user for four years and is a member of the Victoria Free-Net.
Greg Buss is the chief librarian at the Richmind Public Library, which is aggressively developing its public Internet services. The RPL expects to to have its own fully operational World Wide Web home page in the fall of 1995, and is installing a T1 line in early August. Mr. Buss and RPL are also exploring the possibility of developing a community information service connected through fiber for the downtown core of Richmond.
Per Kristensen has over 20 years of experience in the information procesing profession. For the last eight years he has directed the City of Nanaimo’s resources in utilizing emerging technology. He has used the Internet to improve the City of Nanaimo’s communications with its citizens, and will describe the framework they have used to take advantage of the Information Highway in his session, "Municipalities on the Internet." Mr. Kristensen has a B.Sc. in Computing Sciences and a Masters in Business Administration.
Cyd Strickland, M.A. has been involved with computers for over 20 years. Ms. Strickland consults for community networks and in the area of collaborative on-line learning. She is currently a consultant to La Plaza de Taos Telecommunity in Taos, New Mexico and is also a Ph.D. student at the Fielding Institute in Human and Organizational Systems. Ms. Strickland was the founder of Cisco Systems, Inc.
Niels Agger-Gupta is a consultant with the Alberta Multiculturalism Commission in Canada. Mr. Agger-Gupta is currently developing an on-line network in Alberta, with the intent of developing a home page and a World Wide Web site for the Diversity Network. He also consults with organizations in the human services, education, and not-for-profit sectors, developing new approaches to learning about diversity and intercultural issues within the context of real-world organizations. Mr. Agger-Gupta is a Ph.D. student in Human and Organizational Systems at The Fielding Institute, where his research interest is in the relationship between diversity and telecommunities.
Paul M.A. Baker is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Policy, and holds an adjunct faculty position with the Department of Public and International Affairs in the area of state and local government and research methodology. Mr. Baker is currently researching institutional issues involved in information infrastructure development, and economic policy implementation and assessment. He has conducted studies based on combined survey and qualitative (focus and nominal group) approaches for both private and public sectors clients. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Public Policy at George Mason University, and holds an M.A. in Urban Planning from the University of Virginia, and an M.A. in International Transactions from George Mason University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Gareth R. Shearman is a founding member of the Victoria Free-Net, Chairman of the Victoria Free-Net Association since its formation in 1992, President of the British Columbia Free-Net Association, and a Board member of Telecommunities Canada.
Bruce McComb designed and launched the Tri-Cities Free-Net, the first Free-Net in Washington State. He has worked with several levels of government, business and special interest groups to assure public access to the Internet, and provides Internet training on an ongoing basis.
Dr. Andrew Patrick, Ph.D. is a Vice-President of the National Capital Free-Net. He is a scientist at the Communications Research Centre in Ottawa, where he researches the cognitive aspects of advanced communications systems. Specific areas of interest for Dr. Patrick include computer-based natural language dialogue systems, multimedia information systems, and computer networks.
Chris Halsall is a specialist in user interfaces and applied real-time computing and networking solutions. His work on the Internet is focussed largely on the World Wide Web, including the Genghis Khan Exhibit, Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers and the Victoria Virtual Ventures. Mr. Halsall is involved with the CGI ability of the WWW to generate interactive pages and to interface with databases and other real-world systems.
Geoff Seeley in a specailist in multiplatform software applications specializing in client/server systems. His current work involves installing and maintaining Internet related software tools and investigating new ways of intergrating these tools into current applications.
Ronda Hauben has been part of the online community for the past 7 years. An instructor in computer studies, she now lives in New York where she is doing research, writing, and presenting talks about the history and importance of computers and computer networking. She is a co-author of the online netbook The Netizens and the Wonderful World of the Net: On the History and Impact of the Net. She is a founding editor and writer for the Amateur Computerist newsletter.
Bill Wresch is a professor at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point. He will speak from his paper, "Bushmen by Satellite" which tackles the question of who is included in the Information Highway and who is excluded? He writes of the Bushmen: "[They] are an extreme example of people who are disconnected from the new age, but they are unfortunately not alone."
An expert in information access issues, Brian Campbell is also very active as the president of the Vancouver Regional Free-Net Association. He is currently the chair of the Canadian Library Association Information Policy Taskforce, and is a founding member of the B.C. Coalition of Information Access. Mr. Campbell has been an instructor at the University of British Columbia and the University of Washington Library School. He has an MA in Sociology and Communications Theory, and works as the Systems and Planning Director at the Vancouver Public Library.
Mr. Park is the manager of the Hamilton-Wentworth FreeNet as well as one of it's founding members. As a moving force on the Business and Steering Committees, he laid the groundwork for fundraising and financial development. For example, he was instrumental in authoring the three year business plan which secured funding from the Ontario Network Infrastructure Program. As manager he is now responsible for ensuring these ambitious plans are carried out.
Tara Ehrcke earned her Masters degree in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia, specializing in Internet policy. She currently works for IBM at the IBM Canada Toronto Laboratory.
Ken Stratford brings more than 20 years of experience in business to his presentation on "Economic Development on the Internet". He is currently the Commissioner of Economic Development for Greater Victoria, but his experience also includes 16 years as a senior manager with B.C. Ferries and B.C. Transit. Mr. Stratford follows developments on the Internet closely, and will spend 20 minutes performing "Two Generations on the Information Highway" with his son, Jordan Stratford.
Quick to take advantage of new technology, David Trueman has made the Chebucto Community Network of Nova Scotia a leader among Canadian community networks. The innovative Chebucto network bases its entire delivery on World Wide Web protocols, and is the first community net in Canada to provide public access terminals via interactive Cable TV technology. When he isn't working as the co-chair of the Metro Community Access Network Society--which runs the Chebucto Community Network--David Trueman is the Systems Manager at Dalhousie University's Computing Science Division.
Mark Timmis practices in the areas of intellectual property law, including copyright, trademarks confidentiality and disclosure law, and business and entertainment law. He provided legal guidance during the creation of the B.C. Internet Association and has been very active in discussions surrounding Internet related issues. Mr. Timmis is a member of the Computer Law section of the Canadian Bar Association (B.C.), and has taught sessions on intellectual property at the University of Victoria Law School.
John McNaull has 13 years experience in the telecommunications industry in a number of roles ranging from research and development through to business development and consulting. He has also has an active interest in issues relating to ecologically sustainable development.
Nick Hough has developed and maintains a special knowledge in the area of data security and encryption technologies and represents client interests in this area. This includes off-line work such as standards and Prices Surveillance Authority submissions, patent licensing and government product approvals.Mr. Hough was a co-founder of the Asia Pacific Telework Association (APTA), established in March 1994 as a result of interest expressed for such an organisation by delegates at the Department of Primary Industries & Energy (DPIE) sponsored "Telecottage '93" conference, held on the Gold Coast in December 1993. He currently is the President of the APTA - and an active member of the UK Telecottage Association.
Rebecca Grant, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of Information Systems in the University of Victoria's Faculty of Business. She is the author of Silicon Supervisors and numerous articles in management magazines. Ms. Grant teaches seminars in electronic commerce to executives and entrepreneurs, as well as courses for undergrads. She'll teach you what it takes to launch yourself and your business in cyberspace!
Stuart Hertzog brings many years of experience in conventional publishing, promotions and media relationsto the new global arena of Internet information distribution and marketing. In November, 1993, Mr. Hertzog joined Vancouver-based Wimsey Information Services Ltd. as Director of Internet Services. With his guidance, Wimsey grew at an astonishing rate to become the Internet connectivity market leader in the Vancouver area, and Canada's premier commercial World Wide Web electronic information publishing site. Mr. Hertzog has since formed his own Internet publishing consulting company, IPS Internet Publishing Services.
Ivan Sinclair is a "new media" professional with a diploma in Applied Information Technology from Capilano College in North Vancouver. He is a specialist in multimedia and graphics software and has been working with companies and organizations to develop their World Wide Web presence since the inception of the Web. His credits include the sites of Pacific Coast Savings, Midland-Walwyn Capital Inc., The Victoria Times-Colonist, The Swiftsure International Yacht Race, British Columbia Federation of Agriculture, and InterFace Magazine.
Jon Gerrard brings his expertise as a scientist and professor to his work as the federal Secretary of State for Science, Research and Development. A fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada since 1982, Dr. Gerrard has been honoured many times by national and international medical institutes. Besides being an avid participant on the Internet, Dr. Gerrard is working closely with the Information Highway Advisory Council and will provide a federal perspective on the development of a national information highway policy.
Donald Farquhar, Q.C. practices in the area of libel, labour and personal injury law. Mr. Farquhar has represented the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper for more than 16 years screening stories and letters to the editor for libelous content. He represented the newspaper in the "Vanderzalm Cartoon Case," an historic Canadian case in which a Times Colonist cartoonist was sued for drawing a satirical policitcal cartoon of politician Bill Vanderzalm. He is a past President of the Victoria Bar Association, and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Barbara Crow, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at the University of Calgary. Ms. Crow was instrumental in developing an Internet site for women at the U of C, which included training campus groups how to access on-line resources, and how to design, write and produce their own World Wide Web pages.
Donna Cardinal teaches courses on cultural policy in the Canadian Studies Program at the University of Alberta. She co-authored A Handbook for Cultural Trustees, has published many journal articles, and presented papers at a variety of conferences including the 1988 and 1993 Social Theory, Politics and the Arts Conferences in Toronto and Boston. Ms. Cardinal was Director of the Cultural Leadership Development Project from 1992 to 1995.
John McGregor is currently a special advisor to the B.C. Government's Electronic Highway Initiative. He has been seconded from his position as Director of Program and Agency Coordination in the Science and Technology Division of the Ministry of Employment and Investment. Mr. McGregor joined the B.C. Government in 1990 as Director of Policy and Telecommunications in the the Office of Information Technology. Prior to joining the B.C. Government, he worked with SaskTel in senior executive positions in Marketing, and Planning and Development. Mr. McGregor has a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Queen's University.
Michael Maser is a co-founder of and full-time learning consultant at Virtual High, a leading edge, information age learning community for teenagers in Vancouver, B.C. A technological innovator, Mr. Maser helped develop WonderNet, a BBS designed to enhance the Virtual High community and provide learning opportunities for VH students and hundreds of B.C. homeschoolers. At VH, all learners are encouraged to use their personal computers to discover for themselves how technology can support their learning needs and interests. Mr. Maser is excited about the potential for WonderNet to create a new and democratic learning era. He is presently completing his Masters degree at Simon Fraser University, and has professional experience as a geologist, journalist and full time public school teacher.
Roger Hart has been involved with the Internet for more than 10 years, and has aggressively promoted equitable access to the Information Highway through such projects as Reseau Atelier Pilot Pedagogique Internationale (RAPPI) and Cue. These initiatives led B.C. to launch the world's first community network outside of the United States, the Victoria Free-Net, in 1992. Mr.Hart was lead consultant in the recent "Free-Net Sustainability Study" for Industry Canada and in 1994 he was elected one of seven founding directors of Telecommunities Canada. Mr. Hart is a principal in Teleconsult Limited and has developed telecommunication plans for such diverse clients as the Provincial Learning Network, the Vancouver Stock Exchange, and B.C. Hydro.
Michael Levy is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Victoria. He is also the Senior Editor of Merlin’s Web: The Magician’s Electronic Magic Magazine. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario in 1978. Dr. Levy’s research interests include advanced programming languages and distributed software.
As Vice-President of the Periodical Writers Association of Canada, Mark Zuehlke will discuss a working writer's perspective of the development of on-line publishing, covering such issues as copyright, libel and defamation.
John Shinnick describes himself as "A rather conventional publisher with an unconventional magazine." His magazine, Media Wave covers the media in all its digitized forms, ranging from print media to Internet publishing, the Web, and much more. Mr. Shinnick has written on the issue of copyright on the Internet and follows developments in this area closely.
Mark Grant has worked in the computer field for over 14 years. Starting off in computer sales support, he was a member of the original Microsoft Excel beta test team in 1985. Mr. Grant then formed his own network and computer consulting company in 1987. He designed many commercial and educational networks that are still in use to this day. After graduating from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Victoria, Mr. Grant began working as a technical analyst for BC Systems Corporation. In 1994, he left that organization to found DataFlux Systems, one of the companies comprising Pacific Interconnect Enterprises Inc.
Brian Wesley, the Managing Director of B.C. Tel Discovery Learning Services, has been working hard for more than three years to bring schools and classrooms on-line. Mr. Wesley will outline how DLS can train you to use the Internet and other multi-media resources, what technologies are available for use in your school, and what exciting new developments are in the future for on-line education.
Larry Kuehn is Director of Research and Technology at the B.C. Teachers' Federation and Labour Liaison on the Vancouver Regional Free-Net Board. He has played a key role in the use of computer-based communications by the BCTF since 1981. Mr. Kuehn is involved in the development of a Union Net for Canadian unions and has made presentations about the use of networking by labour at conferences in Britain, Australia, the U.S. and Canada.
Campbell Good has 15 years experience as a UNIX system administrator both in the private and public sector. As an independent consultant, he has worked on numerous UNIX systems ranging from PDP-11's running Bell Lab's UNIX Version 7 to today's multiprocessor servers. Currently serving on the Victoria Free-Net board of directors and as chair of their Technical Committee, Mr. Good has been involved in the Victoria Free-Net since its inception. He is also a principal of Cumberland Computer Group Ltd.