The Globe and Mail’s 2022 Changemakers list shines a light on impressive U of T alumni

Photo by U of T Scarborough

From decarbonizing Canada's economy to boosting Black representation in media, eight U of T alumni have made waves in Canadian business and earned spots on the Globe and Mail’s list of 50 emerging leaders who are changing business today.

• Benjamin Alarie (MA 2002) earned his master of arts in economics from U of T and is the current Osler Chair in Business Law at U of T’s Faculty of Law. Alarie is co-founder and CEO of Blue J Legal, which specializes in software that leverages AI to predict outcomes for legal cases with remarkable accuracy. Blue J, which is currently being used by top accounting firms across Canada and the federal government, supports lawyers in making better decisions about which cases to pursue so they aren’t tying up the courts with straightforward ones.
   

• Phil De Luna (PhD 2019) was a star doctoral student at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, where he researched ways to convert carbon dioxide into fuel at the nano level. Three years after graduation  he's director of the National Research Council of Canada's Materials for Clean Fuels Challenge program, charged with finding the best decarbonization technologies to help the country achieve net zero by 2050.

• Shannae Ingleton Smith (BCom 2005 UTM) wanted her daughter Kensington to see faces like her own in the media. In 2019, she founded Kensington Grey, a management agency that places Black social media influencers in major marketing campaigns. She's changed the lives of her clients and ensured diverse representation in thousands of ads--and always ensures the advertisers have authentic plans in place to dismantle systemic racism.

• Alex Kjorven (BCom 2006 SMC) earned her bachelor of commerce degree as a member of St. Michael's College and is now striving to make home ownership achievable for Canadians. She serves as chief product officer of Ourboro, which co-invests in properties with home buyers. This way, buyers aren’t faced with another huge loan with high interest rates — when it’s time to sell the property, they reclaim their principal payments and split the remaining and appreciated value with Ourboro.

• Dionne Laslo-Baker (MA 1998, PhD 2012) researched maternal fetal toxicology at U of T's Institute of Medical Science. She went on to found DeeBee’s Organics, which makes organic fruit freezies in a solar-powered factory.

• Donna Litt (BA 2011 UC) earned her honours bachelor of arts as a member of University College and has helped Canadians find work during the global pandemic. Litt is co-founder and COO at Uvaro, which retrains retail and service workers so they can pivot to sectors with more opportunities. Since January 2020, Uvaro has graduated more than 300 people in Canada and the U.S.
   

• Shadi McIsaac (MBA 2014) earned an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, then co-founded Ownr, a tech platform owned by RBC Ventures that exists to help start-up companies swim, not sink. Ownr has helped more than 65,000 entrepreneurs by handling their paperwork--everything from from incorporation papers to annual filings.

• Allison Venditti (BA 2005 INNIS, CHRM 2006 WDW) graduated with an honours bachelor of arts as a member of Innis College, then completed a Certificate in Human Resource Management from Woodsworth College. As founder of Moms at Work, she is shining a light on pay equity by launching one of the country’s first compensation-transparent job boards.

Read the full stories of these accomplished alumni and their peers in the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business

with files from Rebecca Cheung