The Optical Regional Advanced Network of Ontario (ORANO) is a not-for-profit organization that owns and operates ORION, Ontario's advanced research and education network.

The board members reflect a wide range of organizations, from TVO, to one of Ontario's fastest-growing colleges, to a leading health informatics research institution, to Ontario's own global business success story, RIM.

"This is very exciting news," says Board Chair, Maxim Jean-Louis, President and CEO of North | Nord. "We are grateful to be able to continue to draw on the breadth and scope of leadership and expertise represented by our dedicated board members," he said.

"ORION helps Ontario take its place on the world-stage of global research and collaboration. It's important to have a high-powered board of directors to help us deliver on our mission," says Phil Baker, President and CEO of ORION.

This extension to board members' terms is important as ORANO makes the transition towards providing greater value-added services that leverage ORION's technology infrastructure in support of research, learning and innovation. "Our board members' valuable insight and rock-solid skills in business development, marketing and advanced technology and innovation will be very important in the months and years ahead," said Baker.

Three long-serving members have agreed to serve an additional three-year term.

Lisa de Wilde, President and CEO of TVO and formerly of Astral Television Networks, has been a key player in the Canadian film and television industry for over twenty years. Dr. Khaled El Emam is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and the Canada Research Chair in Electronic Health Information at the University of Ottawa. Patrick Spence, Managing Director, North America at Research in Motion (RIM), is part of the senior management team that helped RIM become one of the world's leading information technology success stories.

Staying on for another two-year term is the ORANO Board's Vice Chair, Anne Sado, President of George Brown College.

Other ORANO board members include Terry Mosey, Secretary-Treasurer, former Executive Vice-President of Bell Canada; Robert J. Kennedy, former Director of Education for the North Bay Area School Board and most recently as Educational Consultant for Apple Canada; Sara Diamond, President of the Ontario College of Art & Design; Brian Down, Chief Technologist and Principal Engineer at Sun Microsystems Canada; and Dr. Alan George, Associate Provost, Information Systems and Technology at the University of Waterloo.

The Board also helps play an important role in raising awareness and promoting the importance of ORION as critical infrastructure for research, education and scientific achievement.

The network continues to grow and sign up new organizations, now approaching 90 throughout Ontario. Over 1.6 million students and 125,000 researchers, faculty, teachers and staff now have access to ORION and, through CANARIE's national network, to colleagues and partners across Canada and around the world.

About ORANO
ORANO is a not-for-profit organization that owns and operates the Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION), Ontario's leading-edge research and education telecommunications network. ORION connects Ontario's universities, colleges, medical and other public research facilities, and a number of school boards to one another and to CANARIE, Canada's advanced research and innovation network, and the global grid of research and education networks.

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Media :
Tamara Stoll
Communications Officer
ORION
(416) 507-9860 ext. 224
 [email protected]