Program Lead, Rising VR

Randell Adjei is an entrepreneur, speaker and spoken word practitioner who uses his gifts to Empower the message of Alchemy. He was recently appointed Ontario’s first Poet Laureate. Randell, is the founder of one of Toronto's largest youth led initiatives; Reaching Intelligent Souls Everywhere (R.I.S.E Edutainment). In 2018, R.I.S.E received the Toronto Arts Foundation’s, Mayor’s Youth Arts Award. Randell is the author of “I Am Not My Struggles,” a powerful Anthology released in 2018. Randell was also named CBC’s Metro Morning’s Torontonian of the Year in 2015 and NOW Magazines Local Hero in May 2017. In 2020 Randell opened up for President Barack Obama at the Economic Club of Canada.

Enterpreneurship Lead, RisingVR

Chantelle is a business mentor and coach with more than a decade of experience across multiple disciplines. Her expertise ranges from strategic marketing and research, financial analysis, and strategy design to management training and development, which she uses to help entrepreneurs and organizations bridge the gap between research and practice. As a consultant, Chantelle uses design, metrics, and analytics to inform strategic business development and critical marketing and strategy. Driven by her passion for research, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship in Canada, Chantelle consistently participates in studies examining the challenges the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) community faces when navigating North America’s entrepreneurial terrain. Chantelle has an MBA in Strategic Management from Wilfred Laurier University and a BA in Business Economics - Economic Analysis and Statistical Methods from York University.

VR Lead, RisingVR

Britt Channer, B.InfoTech is a creative technologist, technical developer and product manager with experience in legal tech and game design with a passion for technical empowerment and innovation in minority communities. As a partner at Futures and Fringes, she leads technical projects for early start-ups and educational programs. Between managing engineering teams and teaching, she is fluent and participative in the e-sports gaming community and worked with organizations like Red Bull Gaming and OCADU.

Design Thinking Lead, Rising VR

Working at the intersection of brand, music, venture & infrastructure projects for creative people, Bianca Li Channer is a designer, brand strategist and entrepreneur. Alongside speculative driven design projects at Futures and Fringes, she develops artist brands and world-making strategies for global music labels through design thinking, under F2 Projects.

Her co-founded social enterprise, RIOT CLUB is an holistic export development program for Canadian recording artists to incubate and develop abroad. Her work has been recognized by girlboss, ELLE Canada, CBC, Toronto Star and HXOUSE. Bianca was highlighted in Complex Media's Good Looking Out series for millennial entrepreneurs, hosted by Karen Civil.

VR Lead, RisingVR

Quentin VerCetty is the founder and steward of the Black Speculative Arts Movement Canada ®©™, as well as the founder and director of AstroSankofa A.I.®. He first started the collective in 2021 and formally launched the organization in 2022. As one of the world's leading Afrofuturist a-r-tographers, specializing with keen interest in 3d digital and hybridization of sculpting modelly he recognized the underrepresentation and exclusion of Black Canadian as being contributors in the new media realm such as screen industries and rapid-prototype and has been seeking to close that gap through his own artistic practice and communal efforts.

The AstroSankofa Arts Initiative (AAI)® is an artist driven non-profit art organization and arts collective focused on public art, metaverse and web3 ventures, and community engagement, using the framework and lens of Afrofuturism as a means of community building, empowerment, healing, growth and encouragement for social change.

Enterpreneurship Co-Lead, RisingVR

Natassia is a seasoned communications and arts professional with over a decade of experience in integrated marketing, event management, and public relations. A graduate of the Seneca College Creative Advertising program, Natassia merged her love for the arts sector with her formal education in marketing and has spent the last 13 years applying effective communications and marketing strategy to non-profit arts organizations in Toronto. She has led and managed major fundraising initiatives and marketing campaigns, sponsorship development programs, large-scale public events, organizational transitions, and strategic planning initiatives.

Natassia is currently working as an independent communications professional, writer, and arts educator and is an associate with CQ Business Consulting Inc. She is also the owner and principal consultant at Natassia Morris Communications + Creative Services. Her recent work includes: working with K-12 and post-secondary institutions on anti-Black racism/anti-racism initiatives; leading provincial and national media campaigns for B3 organizations; and co-facilitating business and entrepreneurship workshops for RisingVR.