Meet the Speakers

*NKBA CEU Speaker

Deborah Gottesman

MBA, P.Eng., LC, IES, Assoc. IALD, CIE
Principal of Gottesman Association
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Deborah has a unique contextual understanding of lighting from all perspectives; her career spans over 30 years in all facets of the lighting industry, including design, engineering, management, education, and manufacturing. Since establishing Gottesman Associates in 1999, Deborah’s creative, rigorous, passionate and client-driven approach have brought award-winning lighting designs to a wide range of satisfied and repeat clients.

An electrical engineer with an MBA in Real Property, Deborah has successfully worked on projects in many sectors, and has taught lighting at all levels to a wide audience from students at colleges and universities to senior architects.

Tom Butters

Executive Director, NCQLP Lighting Certified, The Lighting Agora

​As the Senior Manager then Director of Canlyte/Philips Lighting Concept Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 2000 to 2016, Tom developed and delivered top level lighting education to thousands of attendees in all segments of the lighting industry.

Tom was the co-developer, along with F.X. Morin, of the globally successful free lighting app “IES Ready Reference”. He is the creator of “Light for Life – a Global Collaboration 2020” which involved 17 webinars from 15 lighting organizations from around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tom was the director of the IES’ free 4-hour live webinar “Germicidal Disinfection in the Days of COVID-19” which had over 3600 live attendees from 56 countries and has been viewed by thousands more as a free offering on the IES website.

While Tom is a multi-award-winning lighting educator, he considers his true success to be the hundreds of former education attendees whom he has helped find a life passion through lighting.

Tom is a proud board member of the Nuckolls’ Fund for Lighting Education.

*NKBA CEU Speaker

*NKBA CEU Speaker

Roz Kavander

Founder of Roz Morgan Design
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I am a guide through the labyrinth called colour and design. I am a guest speaker, an educator, a problem solver, a traveller, a friend.  I am passionate about getting the right colour, the right design, the right flow.  Its about your physical health and peace of mind.  In business it can be about your bottom line.  I love every colour because each one has a place just like you, and me, and everyone who wants to love where they live.  You can find me speaking at High Point, developing colour education programs for corporations, planning beautiful interiors for clients and trend forecasting as a member and past board member of CMG.  Otherwise you will find me at home enjoying my new puppy.

David Baker

Owner of Remodel Media

David Baker has been in the kitchen and bath remodeling industry since 2005, and has also worked in news and media production since 2013. He currently has over fifty thousand followers on TikTok, where he focuses primarily on product education in the Kitchen and Bath Industry.

Dr. Wael Ramadan

Professor of Project Management and Strategy
PhD, PMP, LSSBB, PMO-CP, SPC, SDP, POPM, SA, SMC.

Dr. Wael Ramadan is a Professor of Project Management and Strategy at Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced learning. He is an internationally experienced consultant, author, and speaker with three decades of international experience.

He is the past president of the PMI Lakeshore Chapter (2013-2014), an editorial board member of the Universal Journal of Management (UJOM), and a member of PMI’s Ethics Review Committee (ERC) (2022 – Present).

His academic background includes a B.Eng. in Biochemical Engineering from the University College London (England), an MBA from the Maastricht School of Management (Netherlands) with Distinction, and a PhD from Cleveland State University (USA).

Wael is the recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship. He is also a contributing author to the bestselling book on project management, The Keys to Our Success, and author of the book, The Asset That Money Can't Buy.

His industry certifications include Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB), LRQA - ISO Quality Auditor (2000), Project Management Professional (PMP)® since 2001, Scaled Agile Framework SAFE Remote Trainer, and PMI ATP Trainer.

He has designed and delivered more than 5,000 hours of PMP® exam prep training and is a frequent speaker at global conferences and professional events.

Donna Church

Manager of Marketing and Communications at KOHLER

Having led Kohler Canada’s marketing and communications for over 15 years, Donna is an excellent resource for commentary and insight on universal design and the Canadian marketplace.
 
Donna has conducted many seminars for interior designers and colleges across the country, as well as media interviews for magazines, newspapers, TV and trade journals. She has made guest appearances for TV and online video sites, with suggestions inspired by design and gracious living.
 
Donna’s understanding of leading-edge technology, the Canadian marketplace and demographics – coupled with the knowledge of premium brand kitchen and bath products – provides her with insight into the needs of designers and clients.
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*NKBA CEU Speaker

Usman Sheikh

CPA, CMA
Founder, CEO of Web Worx Labs & College Instructor 

As the founder and CEO – he likes to believe he is the Chief Motivating Officer of Web Worx Labs.

He started the company over 7 years ago to help his friends while working in the corporate world full time in planning & analytics.

Before he knew it, he was helping more people with their digital marketing than he could handle and realized the need to find an all-star team dedicated to helping customers the same way he helped his friends and family.

He loves helping onboard new clients, setting & aligning on the strategy and ensure all projects and campaigns are set up for success. Before starting Web Worx Labs, he was leading organizations towards high growth with a focus on all things including planning, finance, strategy, branding, marketing & analytics.

He is a proud father of 3, a readaholic and passionate about strategy and the internet of things.

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