The FIRSt Team

Dan Reilly

Dan oversees all project management at FIRSt. Since beginning work at George Brown over a decade ago, his strategic thinking skills, commitment to process improvement, and leadership capabilities have made him integral to the effective planning, execution, and closing of countless projects. Previously, Dan managed projects of all kinds, from statistical studies for the federal government to small-town music festivals. Dan graduated from George Brown College with an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration and was the recipient of the Project Management Award of Distinction. He now teaches in the School of Management, training the next generation of Project Managers. Outside of work, Dan has completed his Professional Fromager certification and can often be found at the Rogers Centre cheering on the Blue Jays.

Robert McCurdy

Rob McCurdy brings considerable academic and industry experience to his role as Senior Food Scientist at George Brown College’s Food Innovation and Research Studio. Rob has both a Bachelor and Master’s Degree in Food Science from the University of Guelph. Rob has more than 25 years of experience in product and process development/innovation, project management, quality systems design, market research, scientific writing, large and small scale manufacturing, and process validation/optimization processes within the food industry. Rob’s retail & food service experience includes roles as a Quality Scientist (Royal Canin Canada), Senior Scientist (Mars/Masterfoods, USA), Technical Director (Lyons Magnus) and Applied Research Scientist (Food Innovation and Research Studio (FIRSt), George Brown College). Rob’s technical expertise includes product formulation, nutritional compliance testing, thermal processing, market research, sensory evaluation, technical writing, food chemistry, bench-top to production scale-up, regulatory compliance, and quality system management. Rob’s extensive product development portfolio spans a wide range of food categories including sauces, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, confectionery products, fruit compotes, variegates and fillings, shelf stable entrees, pet foods, salad dressings, salsas, smoothies, fudges and caramels. Since joining GBC in 2014, Rob has been instrumental in the success of over 50 applied research projects and product development-related services at FIRSt.

See Robert’s projects. 

Lorenza Carandang

Lorenza brings extensive experience in administration and managing operations to her position as Finance and Admin Coordinator at FIRSt. Her diverse skill set ranges from client management to financial and wealth management to investor and shareholder communications and budgeting. Prior to joining FIRSt, she worked at Kingsdale Shareholder Services and AIG Philippines. Her considerable history of office management ensures that our partners and projects are supported by streamlined operations and an efficient infrastructure. Lorenza has a B.Sc. degree in Business Administration from the University of the Philippines.

Candace Rambert

From learning family recipes to working in hotels around the world, Candace’s passion for food has been her driving force. With over 16 years of culinary and foodservice experience, she has proven skills in recipe and product development. Candace values building strong client relationships at FIRSt and has a proven track record of meeting the demands of FIRSt’s diverse and dynamic clients, who are often at the cutting edge of the foodservice and the consumer package goods industry. By collaborating with food scientists and culinary students at FIRSt, she applies her culinary and sensory science experience to meet the needs of FIRSt’s diverse clients to produce best-selling products. Her product roaster includes ready to drink beverages, sauces, healthy snacks and nutrition focused recipes which help in the recovery of certain medical conditions. Since starting her career at FIRSt, she has seen first-hand how innovation continues to push the boundaries when developing unique products, and how food continues to bring people together. Candace holds a B.A from the University of Windsor and is an alumnus of both the George Brown College (GBC) Culinary Management and Italian postgraduate programs. Candace is a member of the Research Chef Association is also a past recipient of the prestigious Ontario Hostelry Institute’s ‘Top 30 Under 30’ award.

See Candace’s projects. 

Kassandra Wagner

Kassandra leads all regulatory affairs activities at FIRSt by providing interpretation and communication of federal and provincial legislations, guidelines to support business growth, product integrity, claims substantiation, third party certification and compliance. Her strong analytical skills enable her to present complex information from scientific and legal sources. Drawing upon her industry experience, with over 1000+ product reviews in diverse food categories, she takes a proactive and pragmatic approach to guiding clients through an increasingly intricate regulatory environment. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Food Science (Honours) with a minor in Nutritional and Nutraceutical Science from the University of Guelph. She also has certificates in Advanced Canadian Nutrition and Ingredient Labelling from NSF International, as well as Artisan Bread Baking and Culinary Arts from George Brown College. 

See Kassandra’s projects. 

Nuvi Dhaliwal

Nuvi has been managing projects and grants within the Healthcare and Food and Beverage Industry for 7+ years. Before joining George Brown, Nuvi managed medical research grants for the Physicians’ Services Incorporated (PSI) Foundation, and worked for the Greenbelt Fund supporting and promoting increased demand for and access to local food in Ontario. Nuvi uses project management skills heavily at FIRSt to meet business objectives while upholding exceptional customer service in order to run the best operations possible and continuously engage in projects. Nuvi has a BA from University of Guelph. She continues to nurture her passion for food and beverage by taking classes in George Brown’s Wine, Culinary and Baking Arts program.

Michelle Kienitz-Henderson

Michelle brings a value-chain approach to FIRSt, where she has supported hundreds of food entrepreneurs throughout the product development process. Her academic and professional careers have focused on primary agriculture, agri-food, and agri-technology and she even occasionally assists on her parents’ cash crop farm. With a BA in Social Development (University of Waterloo) and a MA in Political Science and International Development (University of Guelph), she uses her interdisciplinary background to bring creative and holistic solutions to clients and partnerships. Michelle enjoys eating food as much as she enjoys working in the industry and is deeply committed to growing the food value chain in Ontario and Canada and increasing opportunities for Canadian food & agri-food companies.