Stacey Wallin(she/her)
Founder + Board Chair
Founder and Board Chair of CAIN, with extensive experience in nonprofit management, advocacy, and innovation ecosystem development. During her time as CEO at CAIN from 2017 to 2023, she grew the organization's membership to over 150 organizations, representing over 90% of Canada's accelerator and incubator market. Under her leadership, CAIN secured a federal government contract to collect innovation data and generate policy recommendations, and launched seven national working groups addressing critical issues including access to capital and talent development. She informed amendments to Canada's Startup Visa program with the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. Currently, as CEO of Psychedelic Safety Institute, Stacey continues her commitment to driving systemic change in mental health. Her career spans finance, innovation and implementation, health tech, policy advocacy, and psychedelics.
Tom Ogaranko(he/him)
Board Vice-Chair
Founder of Challenge Ventures, accelerates sustainability solutions through innovation challenges, digital tools, and systems thinking. He develops carbon roadmap strategies for global agri-food and bioenergy companies, advises a $150M impact fund for Métis Settlements, and serves on the board of a circular-economy bio-industrial park in Edmonton. Trained as a lawyer, Tom has built analytics and software firms, co-developing the Challenge Dialogue System, now used globally to align diverse stakeholders behind bold innovation.
Carl Schmidt(he/him)
Board Member
A technologist and entrepreneur who loves building things that last. He co-founded Unbounce and spent nearly 13 years as its CTO, leading the company from startup to scale and making it one of the first SaaS platforms to bring AI into marketing. Along the way, he spoke to audiences across North and South America about technology, entrepreneurship, and the future of marketing. Beyond startups, Carl has guided nonprofit organizations through pivotal transitions, including chairing the board of Hope Lutheran Christian School during a period of renewal and growth. Today, he explores the intersections of technology, creativity, and community — from hands-on engineering projects and sustainability ventures to hosting folk concerts in his basement pub.
Jennifer Davis(she/her)
Board Member
A management consultant focused on deepening collaboration and innovation to drive the equitable transition to a low carbon economy. Over her 20-year career, Jennifer has advised and provided practical support to the Government of Canada on innovation policy and program design and implementation; helped structure and implement private sector innovation consortia and sustainability programs; and facilitated a range of complex dialogues with Indigenous rightsholders and stakeholders. Now President of SystemShift Inc. Jennifer holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Environmental Science Degree, as well as a professional certification in change management.
Steve Currie(he/him)
Board Member
Combines his love of startups working with Graphite VC with his passion for strategy and innovation. A tech industry veteran, Steve has been a startup founder & CEO, and worked in senior leadership roles in large organizations for more than 25 years in industries such as enterprise information systems, automotive dealer management software, sports data analytics and surgical robotics & tracking systems. He has led teams in Asia, Europe and North America. As a global leader in company growth and corporate innovation, he ran the world's largest corporate open innovation hub with clients such as GM, Mattel, TD Bank, Canon, Manulife, Canadian Tire and Globe & Mail. Steve also led Communitech's startup program overseeing coaching and mentoring to 500+ startups each year in Waterloo Region.
Manager of Stakeholder Relations at CAIN, where she supports strategic initiatives to share ecosystem learnings and strengthen member relations. A recent graduate from the BCom program at McGill University with double concentrations in Sustainability and Social Enterprise Strategy, Johanna originally hails from Edmonton and has long focused on giving back to her community — whether by serving as a Student Trustee on policy decisions in her school division or advocating for youth citizenship as a United Way Youth Ambassador. At McGill she was Editor in Chief of ESG McGill, a youth-founded business club publishing articles on ESG topics, and worked as a research fellow studying the financial sustainability of fair trade organizations and social enterprises. Johanna believes that business innovation can be a force for social good, and aims to support the shift toward more sustainable business.
Mirai Fukushima(she/her)
Data Analyst
CAIN's Data Analyst, specializing in visualizing and managing data. Mirai aggregates data on startups, incubators, and accelerators in Canada from various sources and creates accessible visual deliverables for analysis. Originally from Japan, she has been in Canada since 2022 to pursue a Data Analytics diploma. Mirai previously worked as a newspaper writer (police beat) in Japan for three years; her interest in numbers and visualization led her to change career paths. Beyond CAIN she is a Data Journalist, writing data-analytical articles for Toronto-based Japanese readers. Her goal is to deliver meaningful and accessible dashboards to CAIN's members.
Matt Mayer(he/him)
Advisor & Research Lead
Advisor & Research Lead. Matt has extensive experience applying systems thinking, facilitating strategy, and advancing leadership across sectors in North America — unifying people and fostering collaboration as organizations evolve toward what the future requires. He has founded and grown two consulting firms over the past decade, working largely with mid-market companies across industries including natural foods and energy. Examples of his collaborative work include the Energy Futures Lab (accelerating Canada's energy transition), the Circular Economy Innovation Lab (packaging in Ontario), and the Climate Leadership Lab (engaging citizens in Red Deer on climate leadership). Matt holds a Doctor of Business Administration and is a faculty member of the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy.
