Our Team
Liz Rykert — President Meta Strategies
Liz Rykert founded Meta Strategies in 1997. Liz began her career as a social worker, working in community development and prevention. Her interest in finding new approaches to support and engage the changing communities around her lead to the early use of technology for collaboration, activism and citizen engagement. In an effort to find a theoretical basis for her approaches, Liz became a student of complexity science in 1994.
Liz's role on the team is primarily to lead the strategy development process for the organization's online presence. Her knowledge of networks and emergent processes inform her session process planning and facilitation. She has developed approaches to mapping workflows and interconnectedness that use simple creative steps to reveal strategic places for technology to support the work. Liz has a knack for tuning into the unique dynamics of the online world and can help organizations understand how to wield the power of transparency to support greater interactivity and collaboration.
Liz is the co-author of Working Together Online, a book designed to train people in the skills of online facilitation and engagement. She has mentored over 25 people in the role of online animator helping them to successfully weave the online venues with day to day work of their organizations.
Liz worked with the Privy Council office of the federal government to establish a set of guidelines to support federal departments to incorporate online engagement of the public in policy development work. Her consulting practice focuses on assisting organizations identify and implement change related to both technology and leadership that favours a collaborative emergent style.
Liz has a Bachelor's degree in Social Work from Ryerson University. She convenes learning events and groups to explore new approaches to solving big problems. Her volunteer work includes leadership and support as a board member for a broad range of social service and community based advocacy groups. She is currently the Secretary of the board for the Children's Aid Society of Toronto.
Chris Black — Project Management
Chris has over 12 years of hands on experience managing web site development projects. Over the years he has ensured that both timelines and budgets were met for projects both large and small. In addition to keeping projects moving forward, Chris also sees his role as one that helps clients more fully understand their needs during the planning as well as the execution phase of the project. It is not uncommon for new ideas and requirements to emerge during the life of the project. When this happens it is important for the whole team, led by the project manager to be nimble and make the necessary adjustments to the plan.
Chris is an excellent verbal and written communicator. He has a thorough knowledge of web site technology, best practices and what makes for a superior end user experience. Chris has experience managing projects using many different technologies.
In addition to his project management work, Chris has worked on numerous consulting projects relating to the effective use of stakeholder/membership information, user interfaces and web site planning for groups including Health Canada, Community Foundations of Canada and the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario.
Chris received a Bachelors of Fine Arts (Art History) from Concordia University. He has been a member of numerous boards of directors for community groups in the social service and arts sectors as well an active volunteer fundraiser.
Barry Veerkamp — Programming
Barry has over 13 years experience in developing web sites and web based applications. He has worked on a variety of projects both locally and internationally. He has developed online radio projects in South Africa, setup a computer labs in Bangladesh and developed dozens of online projects for diverse organizations throughout Canada.
Barry specializes in online database and custom website development, graphic design, technical consulting ,support and training. He brings a creative, fun and personalized approach to technical challenges and web-based solutions. Barry is energized by working with organizations that do more than just sell products online. Bringing his years of experience working with corporate, non-profit and grass roots organizations across Canada and the globe, Barry is committed to providing clients with accessible tools and integrated solutions helping them achieve their goals both online and off.
Barry has extensive experience as a volunteer board member and has spent countless hours of helping groups better use technology as a volunteer.
Michelle Gay — Design
Michelle has been working with digital media since 1993 when she began as an Art Director at the award winning Mackerel Interactive Media studios. She has been designing interfaces and media works - starting back in the days of diskettes, moving to cd-ROM's, to enhanced CD's, to complex web-based projects and to standalone digital projection artworks.
Whether dynamic educational games designed to teach kids the fundamentals of polynomials, or presenting the Canadian Charter of Rights in multiple languages, to creating room-sized poems operated by touch-sensitive devices, Michelle brings her skills as a designer and artist to each individual project and each challenge.
Michelle has been working with the team at Meta Strategies over the past 2 years bringing her design sensibilities and experience to their projects. When not working with Meta Strategies she collaborates with her sibling (and particle physicist) on dynamically generated complex web or new media projects. Some past examples are designing and building the custom MySQL/PhP architecture and interface for the Canadian Charter of Rights online (including Unicode based languages such as Cantonese and Cree), designing and building the Smithsonian Institute's MySQL database for the New Orlean's CultureFest operations, to National Geographic Media kits, to designing web presence for independent artists which include dynamically presented AV elements.
Brian Elton — Web development
Brian has over 5 years of web development experience in both online application and pure marketing projects. He has developed numerous applications from scratch, being involved in every aspect of the application life cycle — analysis, design, development, testing and training.
Currently Brian's focus is on interface development, through which he has obtained expert knowledge of HTML and CSS
Brian has a Computer Programmer diploma from George Brown College in Toronto, as well as an Honours Bachelor of Physical and Health Education from a previous life.
Marie May — Bookkeeper
Marie is a consultant and advisor with more than fifteen years experience in developing and managing small business systems solutions. Her clients span a diverse array of businesses and not for profit organizations, some of which are also clients of Meta Strategies.
Marie has her CHRP designation and brings a broad range of skills and expertise to ensure best practice on a variety of levels including finance, administration, policy development/implementation, human resources, program development and project management. Marie's energy, commitment and proven ability to build strong relationships with clients and colleagues ensure success.
If you think Marie might have a role in assisting your organization, please contact her directly at marie.may@rogers.com or 416-524-8079
Patricia Thompson — Colleague
Pat Thompson helps leaders lead. She works mostly with the board and senior staff of complex community-based organizations steeped in history and facing adaptive challenges - challenges that call for new learning, patterns of behaviour and innovation.
Pat began her career on Parliament Hill in 1981. For seven years, she worked first for her hometown MP as a researcher and later for the Minister of State (Youth) and the Minister of National Health and Welfare as a policy advisor. She joined the staff of YMCA Canada as Director of Government Relations in 1988. From 1994 - 1998, Pat was the General Manager of Education Services for the YMCA of Greater Vancouver before returning to YMCA Canada as Director of Communications and External Relations. She left YMCA Canada in 2000 to work independently as a consultant on governance, strategy and stakeholder relations.
Pat has chaired the board of a neighbourhood multi-service centre and committees of a mainline church. She has served on the board of a provincial child advocacy network. She was also a leader in an international peace education organization for over 20 years. As a front-line volunteer, she has worked with children and youth on global concerns, with adult learners on their literacy goals, and with low-income communities on economic justice issues.
Before attending university, Pat lived and studied for a year in Sao Paolo, Brazil. She has a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) from Carleton University and has studied theology at the University of Toronto (Victoria University - Emmanuel College). She lives in Toronto and Lakefield, Ontario.
For more information, go to: www.patriciathompson.ca
