Who We Are

Chair
Amir Novin, Founder, ScoutMe.ca

Amir's promising career as a triangle player was cut short after learning that the triangle wasn't an integral part of a rock band. Amir is a UBC graduate and Founder of Scoutme.ca, Canada's first athletic recruiting website. He has an extensive Sales & Marketing background in the realm of sports marketing, sports management and software. Amir, an entrepreneur, continues to consult on different start-ups in the web 2.0 model as well as explore and broaden revenue models for public and private companies.

Co-Chair
Warren Smith, LL.B, Board Member, Make-A-Wish Foundation

Warren Smith is a board member with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of British Columbia and the Yukon.  Warren, himself a survivor of a life-threatening childhood illness, was inspired by his personal experience to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  He has been involved in numerous successful fundraising efforts on behalf of Make-A-Wish.  Outside Make-A-Wish, Warren is the Regional Director (BC) for The Counsel Network, Canada's leading legal recruitment firm, where he has established a reputation for not only successful lawyer recruitment, but also for assisting clients in the strategic planning and development of both law firms, practice groups, and corporate counsel structures.

Steering Committee

Arash Adnani, President of Blender Media

Arash Adnani is the President of Blender Media Inc, one of Canada's leading media and communications firms for publicly traded companies.  During Arash's time with Blender Media the company has been ranked repeatedly as one of Canada's fastest growing companies. Blender Media has worked with over 300 public company clients  from North America and Europe, having worked in a wide range of investor focused projects including web design & development, managing marketing campaigns, producing a top rated nationally broadcasted radio show, publishing a weekly market research report and much more.  Blender Media is also a very active company in the community having raised over $100,000 for different charities and always looking to get involved with more.  

Allen Manser, Founder Mantech

Allen Manser graduated from the Sauder School of Business in 2006. Upon graduating, he spent almost two years with the Management Consulting group at Accenture, where he completed strategic work in the resources and high-tech sectors. Allen currently works in a business development capacity at Mantech Enterprises, as director for a recently founded communications technology startup, and also serves as a board member for the Cascadia Forum.

Eric Mak, Sales Manager, Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver

Born and raised in Vancouver, Eric is a devoted hospitality professional. His service and people-first philosophy launched him into the prestigious President's Club of Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts.
Currently he represents the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver as a Sales Manager for the international and travel Industry markets. Eric holds several committee positions in the hospitality industry including the Douglas College Hotel & Restaurant Managment Advisory Committee, where he assists in curriculum development and student mentorship.

Farzad Forooghian, Associate, Lang Michener

By day, Farzad is a lawyer at Lang Michener LLP, with a practice focused on securities and corporate finance. By night, he is not a rock star. His mom still thinks he could have made it.

Kerri Parker, Sales Associate, Tourism Vancouver

Upon graduating from Simon Fraser University with an Arts Degree in 2004, Kerri Parker spent 10 months working aboard in Florida at Walt Disney World.  Returning back to Vancouver, she graduated from the British Columbia Institute of Technology with a Marketing Management Diploma in 2006.  Currently Kerri works at Tourism Vancouver in the Meeting & Conventions department.

Justin Elton, President and CEO, Clubvibes.com

Since joining the Clubvibes.com team in 2002 Justin has developed the Corporate and Online Media segment of the business, taking Clubvibes.com from a local Vancouver nightlife based website to North America's fastest growing nightlife network. Throughout his years at Clubvibes, he has also developed and executed a number of large-scale nightlife events, including the 5-year running Vancouver Nightlife Awards and the TELUS Fresh Cuts Nightclub Series. He is excited to be working on this unique event and looks forward to finding the right sponsors to team up with for this great cause.

Susan McKenzie, Nurse, Ambulatory Clinic

Susan McKenzie worked in the Emergency Department of the Children's Hospital in Ottawa for a number of years before getting her Masters of Nursing Education and moving to Vancouver. In Vancouver, she taught nursing at the VGH School of Nursing and then moved on to BCIT to teach for 10 years as a full time nursing professors. She has been involved over the years as the co-ordinator of the Arthritis Society annual fundraiser in Prince George, vice-president of the Board of Directors at the Prince George YMCA, as well as 10 years volunteering at the "Y" as a fitness instructor & fundraiser for the various projects at the YMCA & related fitness events that were held there.

Joshua Jassebi, Account Manager, BMO Bank of Montreal

After graduating from Simon Fraser University in 2007, Joshua joined BMO Bank of Montreal as a financial services representative and has since progressed into an account management position. Joshua also brings his expertise in the nightlife promotions industry to the steering committee through countless events throughout Vancouver's nightclub industry during his half-decade in event planning. The 2005 Clubvibes.com Vancouver's Next Big Promoter award is among Joshua's recognition in this industry.