Yorkville University recently announced the 2026 recipients of its President’s Award for Teaching Excellence – an annual award celebrating faculty who exemplify outstanding dedication to student learning, their own teaching practices, and academic excellence.
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The award, which recognizes faculty for their contributions to “inspiring and facilitating learning in ways that leave a lasting and meaningful impact on students,” named Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) faculty member Niloofar Ashktorab, Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MACP) faculty member Dr. Jodi Basch, Bachelor of Creative Arts (BCA) faculty member Kate Carder and Master of Education (MEd) faculty member Dr. Mary Drinkwater as this year’s recipients.
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“The President’s Award for Teaching Excellence is one of the highlights of my year – a chance to pause and celebrate the faculty who make Yorkville what it is. This year’s recipients bring such dedication, creativity, engagement and genuine care to their work, and you can see it in the way their students grow not just as learners, but as people,” said Dr. Julia Christensen Hughes, President and Vice Chancellor of Yorkville University.
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“Great teaching is transformative, and these educators hold themselves to the same standard of growth they ask of their students. Recognizing that commitment isn’t just something we’re proud to do – it’s central to who we are as an institution.”
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The President’s Award for Teaching Excellence recognizes and celebrates faculty who:
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– Cultivate dynamic and interactive learning environments that motivate and challenge students to explore their curiosities, deepen their skills, and apply their learning in new and impactful ways
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– Offer learners constructive, timely, and specific feedback that inspires them to reflect on their work, encouraging growth, resilience, and a commitment to continuous improvement
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– Create inclusive learning environments that anticipate, celebrate, and respond to the diversity of learner needs and experiences;
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– Engage students in authentic learning opportunities that enable them to demonstrate our Signature Learning Outcomes (SLOs), enhance their employability, expand their professional networks, and connect them to communities.
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2026 President’s Award for Teaching Excellence Recipients:
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Niloofar Ashktorab | Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
“In the last few months, reflecting on my teaching journey has taught me so much about who I am and what I value. In discovering my own sense of belonging, I’ve realized how important it is to foster that same belonging for my students. The moments they remember most are when they feel seen, valued, and inspired to believe in themselves. This award strengthens my commitment to creating those moments every day.”
Bio: Niloofar Ashktorab, PhD, MBA, is a full-time faculty member in the Bachelor of Business Administration program at Yorkville University. An educator and researcher with expertise in Economics, Business Analytics, Sustainability, and data-driven decision-making, her research has focused on topics including environmental sustainability, resilience, resource management, optimization modeling, and the application of analytics to complex economic and social challenges. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented her work at national and international conferences, contributing to interdisciplinary conversations on sustainability, policy, and evidence-based decision-making.
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With more than a decade of teaching experience, Niloofar is committed to creating engaging, inclusive, and student-centered learning environments that help students connect theory to practice. She teaches a range of business and quantitative courses and is particularly passionate about supporting diverse and international learners. Her teaching emphasizes active learning, real-world applications, collaboration, and critical thinking, while fostering a sense of belonging and confidence in the classroom.
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Jodi Basch | Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MACP)
“I am truly honoured to receive this award. I feel incredibly lucky to spend my career doing work that I am passionate about and find deeply meaningful. One of the greatest privileges of this role is supporting the growth and development of future counsellors as they prepare to make a difference in the lives of others, and I am continually inspired by my students. I am grateful for this recognition of work that I genuinely love.”
Bio: Dr. Jodi Basch is a full-time faculty member at Yorkville University in the Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology program. She is a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), a Certified Canadian Counsellor-Supervisor (CCC-S) with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), and an Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT) with the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT). She earned her Ph.D. at Queen’s University, a Master of Counselling Psychology from the University of Ottawa, and a Trauma Therapy certificate from Wilfrid Laurier University.
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Dr. Basch served as the project manager for a SSHRC-funded pan-Canadian study on university student well-being. She has authored and co-authored peer-reviewed journal articles and edited book chapters on the topics of resilience, authentic leadership, well-being, and transitional periods. Dr. Basch provides therapeutic support to college and university students, healthcare workers, first responders, and individuals recovering from workplace injuries.
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She is a certified Brainspotting therapist and has completed training in Narrative Psychotherapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, and Cognitive Processing Therapy. Dr. Basch also supervises novice counsellors, supporting their professional development and clinical growth.
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Kate Carder | Bachelor of Creative Arts (BCA)
“I know it’s a cliché, but just being nominated for an award like this is an incredible validation! I’m deeply appreciative of this award and feel very, very lucky to work with such amazing faculty and students. The BCA program is truly special – I can honestly say that it brings out the best in me!”
Bio: Kate earned her Master of Fine Art in Studio Practice from the University of Western Ontario in 2019, presenting her thesis exhibition, Spanning, at the McIntosh Gallery, London. She also holds a Bachelor of Fine Art in Art History and Studio Art from Concordia University, Montreal, and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto.
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Kate joined the Liberal Arts faculty at Yorkville University in 2021 and then moved to the Bachelor of Creative Arts faculty in 2023. She is an inaugural SoTL Scholar at Yorkville University for her research project “Bridging Cultures through Inclusive Educational Practices in BCA Courses at Yorkville University”, along with her research partner Dr. Navdeep Kaur (MACP faculty).
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Outside of the classroom you can most often find Kate in her studio or exploring the hiking trails around her home in Stouffville, ON with her partner and their dog Patty. She also loves collaborating on creative projects and cosplay with her stepson and stepdaughter.
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Dr. Mary Drinkwater | Master of Education (MED)
“Receiving the announcement that I had been chosen as one of the four 2026 recipients of the Yorkville University’s President’s Award for Teaching Excellence was a great honour. I have been so touched by the comments and accolades shared over the years, by students and Yorkville faculty colleagues. Over the years, I have been in awe of the amazing collaboration, engagement and outside-the-box thinking that our Yorkville Master of Education graduate students have demonstrated. It is their passion and commitment to becoming transformative leaders of change, within their schools, institutions, community and professional organizations, that truly continues to inspire me.”
Bio: Mary Drinkwaterholds a PhD in Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto, with a focus on educational leadership and policy, and a collaborative specialization in Comparative, International and Development Education. Combining 29 years of secondary school teaching and leadership experience, with teaching at OISE, Queen’s University and Yorkville University, Mary brings extensive experience in many facets of educational leadership, policy, curriculum development, pedagogy, and assessment, including the integration of technology and pedagogy to create critical, creative, collaborative, and engaging learning for higher education, nationally and globally.
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In 2024, she received the top teaching award at OISE/University of Toronto (“Distinguished Contributions to Teaching”), and now in 2026, she is receiving Yorkville University’s highest honour for teaching, our President’s Award for Teaching Excellence. She is a past member of the executive of the Africa Special Interest Group (SIG) for the Comparative International Education Society.
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Her most recent publication is a 4-volume international handbook: The Bloomsbury Handbooks of Crises and Transformative Leadership in Higher Education (Bloomsbury, 2024/2025). The 4-volumes focus on: values and ethical change; context; diversity; and ethics of care.
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2026 President’s Award for Teaching Excellence Shortlist:
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In addition to our 2026 Recipients, Yorkville is also pleased to announce five additional faculty members who were shortlisted for this year’s President’s Award for Teaching Excellence:
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Amanda Evans | Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MACP)
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Bio: Amanda M. Evans (she/her), Ph.D., LPC (VA), NCC, ACS, BC-TMH is a counsellor educator and practicing counsellor. Amanda works as an adjunct faculty member both within the MACP and DCP programs at Yorkville University. As a therapist, Amanda works with couples, families, and folks with neurodiversity. She is EMDR trained and identifies as an existential-humanistic counsellor. As a researcher, Amanda studies race-based trauma, ally development, health disparities, and neurodiversity. She loves working at Yorkville and thinks Yorkville has the best students ever.
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Kateryna Franchuk | Bachelor of Interior Design (BID)
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Bio: Kateryna Franchuk is a full-time faculty member in the Bachelor of Interior Design program at Yorkville University. Through teaching, research, and professional practice, she is passionate about preparing future designers to create spaces that are not only beautiful and functional, but also support human health and wellbeing.
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A graduate of Yorkville University’s Bachelor of Interior Design program, her research interests focus on the relationship between the built environment and human wellness, including the impact of interior design on physical, mental, and social health. She completed her Master of Arts at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she explored the role of Healthy Interior Design in shaping positive spatial experiences. In 2026, she participated in the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) Conference, where she presented her research and pedagogical work related to health and wellbeing in interior design.
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She also operates her design studio, Via Spazio, working predominantly on residential projects. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes the integration of design theory, evidence-based research, technical knowledge, and a strong connection between education and professional practice to prepare students for successful careers in the design profession. Kateryna is NCIDQ certified, a Registered Interior Designer (ARIDO), WELL Accredited Professional (WELL AP), and LEED Green Associate (GA).
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Aida Kazemi | Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)
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Bio: Aida Kazemi is a faculty member at Yorkville University with over a decade of teaching experience in higher education. Passionate about student success, she creates engaging and inclusive learning environments that help students build confidence, think critically, and connect classroom learning to real-world challenges. Her teaching embraces active learning, experiential education, and the thoughtful integration of emerging technologies such as generative AI. Aida’s current research focuses on innovation in pedagogy and andragogy, active learning spaces and environments, and the impact of generative AI on the labour market. She believes education is most powerful when it helps students discover their potential and empowers them to grow academically, professionally, and personally.
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Steven Noble | Master of Education (MEd)
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Bio: Steven Noble, Ph.D., comes from a multidisciplinary educational background, with over 30 years of experience in adult education across corporate, community, and post-secondary settings in Canada. Their teaching foci include diversity, equity, inclusion, global citizenship, reflexivity, and critical and creative thinking. Early in their career, they learned deeply, from an initial failure while working within an Indigenous community, the power of embracing cultural humility, critical curiosity and ongoing learning. FAIL = First Attempt In Learning.
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Noble’s teaching methods emphasize experiential, arts-based approaches – especially theatre and embodied learning – to engage complex challenging ideas. They intentionally co-create spaces with learners that encourage discomfort and dialogue as pathways to deeper understanding – where the clash of ideas is the sound of freedom.
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They have worked with diverse and typically marginalized groups, and value the reciprocal nature of learning, viewing teaching as a collaborative, messy, and evolving process where roles between teacher and learner often blur. The more we learn, the more we don’t know.
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Louise Olivier | Liberal Arts
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Bio: Dr. Louise Olivier is a multi-skilled and qualified education professional with 21 years of industry experience. She has published in various peer-reviewed journals and books and has presented at multiple international conferences. She has also held diverse leadership roles at educational institutions in South Africa, England, and Canada, bringing a global perspective to teaching, learning, and academic development.
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Her scholarship and practice focus on student success, multimodal pedagogy, alternative assessments, experiential learning, and the ethical and creative integration of Generative AI in Higher Education. She is passionate about designing future-focused learning experiences that foster critical thinking, creativity, and real-world application. She cultivates inclusive and interactive classrooms, strong student support, and collaboration among colleagues, bringing scholarly rigour and practical creativity to every learning environment.
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Yorkville University would like to extend our congratulations to all of the 2026 President’s Award for Teaching Excellence Recipients and Shortlist! For more information about the awards program, go to https://www.yorkvilleu.ca/presidents-award/
