North Forge strives to inspire, educate, and spread the entrepreneurial spirit into the tech and manufacturing community. To continue fostering innovation and providing top-tier programming, we expanded our roster. We are ecstatic to announce the new faces to our team! Please welcome Lisa Dyck, Rami Saad, Jordan Labelle, and Gordon McLean to North Forge!

Lisa Dyck – Executive Assistant to the CEO

Born and raised in Manitoba, Lisa is a seasoned professional with over 30 years of experience in agriculture, business operations, management, and customer relations. Lisa has worked for the Government of Ontario and the Government of Manitoba in various roles, from a senior policy advisor, chief of staff, office manager and was an executive assistant to two Ministers in the Provincial government. Lisa is also an entrepreneur. She co-founded Cornell Crème Ltd., Manitoba’s first producer-processor ice-cream business. Her achievements include being recognized as a Rising Star in Food and Beverage Manitoba and receiving the Producer of the Year award from CIAO! Magazine in 2014. Lisa holds a BA from the University of Winnipeg in Political Science and Conflict Resolution.

Rami Saad – Program Coordinator

Rami is a 2019 US Fulbright Scholar, where he was working as the Head of Department at The College of Saint Rose in New York (U.S.). In Winnipeg, Rami comes from several organizations. He worked as the Project Manager at the African Communities of Manitoba Inc. (ACOMI) and as a Digital Technology and Essential Skills Instructor and Site Coordinator at Workplace Education Manitoba.

Jordan Labelle – Program Growth Lead

Jordan Labelle is an experienced strategic leader and coach who has built expertise in the e-commerce, technology, and small business spaces over the last 15 years. He is focused on connecting the dots throughout a business by creating a deep understanding of the customer and collectively working to solve their biggest pain points. After spending the last 9 years helping build a small tech startup from 30 people to a team of over 400, he is excited to share the knowledge and experience he gained. He has built and led high-performance product, design, and development teams, understood stakeholder needs across every business function, and worked directly with executive teams and investors to create strategy and direction. Jordan has an honours degree from the Asper School of Business with majors in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. He has also completed certifications in product management and agile processes.

Gordon McLean – Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Gordon McLean is a graphic designer and a proven strategic marketing leader with extensive experience conceptualizing and implementing creative and impactful solutions for regional and global brands. Gordon is the Principal and Creative Director at Cadre Creative Agency, a design firm working with B2B and B2C brands. He brings these strategies to life building and positioning brands, creating identities and campaigns to broaden customer reach, utilizing graphic, digital, and spatial design. He serves on the Certification Committee for the Register Graphic Designers Canada (RGD), is a Certification Evaluator and has had the privilege to serve as a Design Mentor and a Student Awards judge for branding.