Maryam Nabavi, ALDP Program Director
As Program Director, Maryam guides the overall design, development, and delivery of ALDP and contributes to building a culture of academic leadership at UBC. Maryam is an Academic Leadership Coach and has extensive training in group facilitation, conflict engagement, and a variety of tools and frameworks for advancing systems change. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Studies (UBC) and a Masters in Adult Education and Community Development (OISE/UofT). She has published in the areas of faculty equity in service work; citizenship learning; and inclusive teaching and learning. Prior to joining ALDP, Maryam held a Post-doctoral Teaching and Learning Fellowship at UBC and most recently worked at the Equity & Inclusion Office where she led strategic institutional change processes for faculty and staff, including serving as Chair of the Staff Committee of the Antiracism and Inclusive Excellence Taskforce. Outside of UBC, Maryam is co-founder and principal of Rhyza Coaching & Consulting, a collaborative that supports racialized leaders and change-makers on their (inner) leadership journey.
Tom Scholte, ALDP Academic Director
Tom is a Professor in the Department of Theatre and Film. In addition to receiving his acting (BFA) and directing (MFA) training at UBC, he holds a PhD in Systems Science from the University of Hull (UK). He has worked with such theatre companies as the Arts Club, Vancouver Playhouse, Tamahnous Theatre, Pi Theatre, Boca del Luca, Nakai Theatre, Theatre for Living and was a founding director of Neworld Theatre. His film work has been seen at such festivals as Sundance, Berlin International Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival. His research focusses on the development and application of methods of applied theatre to the modelling of complex social systems; particularly those in conflict. He has published this work in such journals as Kybernetes, Constructivist Foundations, Futures, and Systems Research and Behavioural Science and in book chapters and co-edited volumes for Springer and Elsevier. In addition to his role with ALDP, Tom is the Faculty Lead of Conflict Theatre@UBC, another avenue through which he gets to engage with his research in the university context. He has served in a number of key positions at the university that have given him valuable experience in the key areas in which Academic Leaders at UBC are most active. He served two years as a Member of the Faculty of Arts Curriculum Committee and then three years as that committee's Chair. This also made him a member of the Curriculum Committee of the Faculty of Graduate and Post-Doctoral Studies. He has also served on the Dean's Advisory Council on Promotion and Tenure in the Faculty of Arts and as Acting Head of the Department of Theatre and Film. He has also served the scholarly community as Vice-President of the American Society for Cybernetics.
Olivia Sperry, ALDP Program Manager
Olivia has been Program Manager since 2019 and manages all aspects of the program including content development, participant engagement, session design, and delivery. She continues to run ALDP's annual Treasure Hunt event, which was showcased at EAB's North American Conference for Provosts. She holds a Bachelors in Sociology and a certificate in Community Engagement and Service Learning from the University of Alberta and is currently working towards her PMP certification.
