Staff Members
Luigi Ferrara MRAIC, OAA, Hon. ACID O, President ICSID
Director, School of Design, George Brown College, Toronto
Luigi Ferrara is a Registered Architect with seal, a member of the Ontario Association of Architects and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. In 1995, Luigi Ferrara founded the Architectural Literacy Forum (ALF), a non-profit organization composed of volunteer architects who are committed to promoting the public appreciation of the built environment. In 1997, he was made an honorary member of the Association of Chartered Industrial designers in recognition of his contribution to the advancement of the profession. Luigi is currently the Director of the School of Design and the Chairman of the Architectural Literacy Forum. Luigi was recently inaugurated President of the International Council of the Societies of Industrial Design - the global organization for design industry professionals, educators and promoters - having served as President-Elect since 2001.
Luigi served as President and CEO of DXNet Inc., a network for design and innovation that redefined the practice of design using digital media and advanced computing and telecommunication platforms. Between 1996 and 2002 he was the Vice-President of Programs and Services at Canada's centre for design and innovation, the Design Exchange. From 1989 Luigi served as a principal of Ferrara Contreras Architects Inc. Prior to this, he worked for the internationally recognized architectural firm Stirling, Wilford Associates, and with local firms Peter Turner Architects, Paul Reuben Architect and Russocki Zawadzki Architects.
Over the years, Luigi has curated and designed exhibitions for the University of Toronto Faculty of Architecture, the Joseph D. Carrier Gallery, the Ontario Heritage Foundation, Ottawa City Hall, the Architectural Literacy Forum and Design Exchange. Most recently he curated Canadian Dawn an exhibition of wayfinding for the City of Milan, and developed the Canada Innovates Project: a database, website and exhibition of Canadian digital creativity. In his role at Dxnet, Luigi founded Digi-fest, a festival for new media.
Luigi has lectured extensively, speaking at national and international conferences, trade shows, conventions and at leading museums, galleries and institutes. He has addressed public audiences, business leaders, government committees, business and design students, on topics as diverse as design and sustainability, design management, urban planning, information technology, telecommunications and the network society. He has provided consulting expertise for television programs on design and contributes regularly to radio, television and print media.
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Niyousha S. Kerr, B.A., M.A.
Student Services Coordinator
Niyousha brings with her several years of experience working in the Education sector. Upon completion of her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Toronto, Niyousha began her career at Devry College of Technology as the Assistant Registrar before moving into the role of Student Advisor. During her employment at Devry, Niyousha completed a post-graduate diploma in Information Technology. Niyousha soon moved on to Centennial College, where she assumed the role of Program Officer for the Computer Studies program in the Continuing Education Department. In addition, Niyousha has experience in front of the classroom teaching a part-time introductory computer course at Kent College. Niyousha recently completed her Masters of Arts in Education and is currently completing her diploma in Teaching English as a Second Language.
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Priscilla Li
Project Coordinator
Priscilla Li is the Project Coordinator at the School of Design. She studied Industrial Design at the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) and prior to joining the School of Design, has worked with the Beal Institute for Strategic Creativity, the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), and the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC). She is passionate about research, design and education, and has assisted in the development of courses at both George Brown College and OCAD. Priscilla currently divides her time between projects at the Institute without Boundaries and managing the StudioLab program.
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