Intentionally Evolving Together: Challenges, Inspiration, and Possibilities
Date: Friday, June 6th, 2025
Location: Limberlost Campus and online
Our GBC (George Brown College) year-end conference, sponsored by the Teaching and Learning Exchange (TLX), is an annual event focused on teaching and learning. It is a chance to highlight and celebrate all of the teaching innovation and excellence that is happening across GBC. This one-day conference, taking place Friday, June 6th, 2025, at our Limberlost Campus and online, will include a keynote presentation by Dr. Elizabeth "Dori” Tunstall, concurrent sessions led by GBC faculty, lunch, a SoTL photo showcase, and a reception at the end of the day. In-person participants will have an opportunity to join online sessions. Likewise, some of the in-person elements will be livestreamed online.
This year's EvolvED will be offered as part of GBC Programming at Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. In its 94th year, Congress is hosted by a college for the first time. This historical opportunity of Reframing Togetherness invites all attendees to contribute their perspectives with different ways of learning and producing knowledge in order to collaborate on solving historically-rooted problems and offering innovative solutions. Please register for EvolvEd conference with a $30 Community Pass through the Federation website. Registration will open in early April. The TLX will cover the registration fee for presenters.
This year's theme is Intentionally Evolving Together: Challenges, Inspiration, and Possibilities.
Higher education is in a state of disruption and is being shaped by emerging technologies, shifting student needs, and evolving societal expectations. In this dynamic landscape, we are called not just to adapt, but to evolve—intentionally and together.
This year’s conference theme, Intentionally Evolving Together: Challenges, Inspiration, and Possibilities, invites us to reflect on key questions: What challenges us to grow as educators, students, and institutions? Where is our inspiration in times of change? What new possibilities emerge when we approach evolution with intention?
We recognize the challenges and possibilities. From generative artificial intelligence to the mental health crisis and from fostering inclusion to reimagining student engagement, this conference will explore the tensions, triumphs, and innovative ideas that are shaping our teaching practices and the future of post-secondary education. We invite you to submit a session proposal and contribute to our conversations as a teaching and learning community. All GBC employees are welcome to submit proposals.
Conference Schedule
| Registration/Coffee/Breakfast | 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. |
| Opening Remarks | 9:00 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. |
| Keynote (1.5 hour) | 9:20 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. |
| Concurrent Session Block 1 (50 mins) | 11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. |
| Lunch (1 hour) | 11:50 p.m. - 12:50 p.m. |
| Round table or panel (50 mins) | 1:00 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. |
| Concurrent Session Block 2 (50 mins) or 25-minute Spotlight Talk | 2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. Session Block (50 min) or 2:00 p.m. – 2:25 p.m. Spotlight Talk (25 min) 2:35 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Spotlight Talk (25 min) |
| Concluding Ceremonies (40 mins) | 3:00 p.m. – 3:40 p.m. |
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Dori Tunstall
Dr. Elizabeth “Dori” Tunstall is a distinguished design anthropologist, celebrated author, visionary organizational design leader, consultant, and coach. As the renowned author of “Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook,” she is a path-breaker of progressive approaches that challenge conventional design paradigms that exclude and harm Indigenous cultures, Black, and other diverse communities.
With a global career encompassing an Associate Professor of Design Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Swinburne University in Australia, respectively, Dori made history as the first black and black female Dean of a Design Faculty anywhere at OCAD University in Toronto, Canada. Her accomplishments have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, notably the 2022 Sir Misha Black Award for Distinguished Service to Design Education, the inaugural BADG of Honour for Design Education from the Black Artists and Designers Guide, and the 2023 SEGD Excellence in Design Education Award.
Dori holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Stanford University and a BA in Anthropology from Bryn Mawr College. Her current trajectory is firmly rooted in organizational transformation, corporate cultural learning, and dynamic leadership, all within the context of decolonizing design for liberatory joy. Dori Tunstall’s indomitable spirit and unyielding commitment to fostering systemic transformation continue to catalyze change, bridging academia and industry to make a lasting impact.
