uOttaKnow features
Illuminating. Inspiring. Entertaining.
Highlights from the uOttaKnow podcast with host Gwen Madiba (MA ’12; BSocSc ’08) featuring our uOttawa community around the world.
Balarama Holness (BA ’08, BEd ’14): On football, justice, and the power of sharing his own story
Balarama Holness (BA ’08, BEd ’14) can draw parallels between his uOttawa athletic career and his political activism. Whether it’s politics or football, Balarama says they’re both team sports: they involve mobilizing people from all walks of life and working together in community to achieve shared goals.
Alumni Harley Finkelstein and Lindsay Taub talk entrepreneurship, family, and curiosity
Harley Finkelstein (LLB ’09, MBA ’09) and Lindsay Taub (MEd ’10) met at uOttawa and have achieved so much together and individually. Harley is an entrepreneur, lawyer, and president of Shopify, and in 2021 was named the University of Ottawa Alumnus of the Year. Lindsay is a child and family therapist at Child in Mind, an Ottawa-based child psychology clinic. They’re also the parents of two young daughters, Bayley and Zoe.
Geneviève Côté: Using music and the arts to bridge languages and cultures
Since graduating from uOttawa with a degree in civil law, Geneviève Côté (LLL ’92) has had an illustrious career and worn many hats across the Quebec cultural scene. A member of the Quebec bar, Geneviève is better known for her contributions to concert production and music promotion across the province and country. For her latest role, Geneviève moved from Montreal to Granby, where she is serving as executive director of the Festival international de la chanson de Granby.
Phil De Luna: Using technology, policy, and finance to create climate change solutions
For Phil De Luna (MSc ‘15), a scientist and research capitalist working to advance climate technology, curiosity has always been a core component of his life. Phil explains that his job as a scientist is to be professionally curious—to experiment and understand what happens when we change things and interact with the world.
