About OFD
What does OFD do?
The Office of Faculty Development is all about helping faculty soar. Whether your focus is research, teaching, administrative leadership, clinical work, or a combination of those, we’re invested in your success. Once we meet you at New Faculty Orientation, you can’t get rid of us! If you have questions about anything or everything related to your role at the university, we’ll get you the answers or find the people who can. We support career development, leadership development, and teacher development. We offer resources, workshops, programs, and consultations for full-time academic staff and faculty members with adjunct/clinical appointments. We want to hear your new ideas for useful resources and programs and we’d love to hear about a workshop or session that you’d like to facilitate for faculty.
Who is OFD?
Dr. Fareen Zaver
Associate Dean
Dr. Zaver, MD MSc’22, associate dean of OFD, is an emergency medicine physician and associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine. Her master’s degree in medical education focused on the challenging transition from trainee to unsupervised practice, and she has led multiple national curricular changes in this area. She is dedicated to developing a community of faculty leaders across CSM who are empowered to advance equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, and anti-oppression initiatives. Dr. Zaver has received numerous awards including Avenue Magazine’s Calgary Top 40 Under 40, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Robert Maudsley Fellowship for Studies in Medical Education, the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians Top Education Innovation Award and multiple PGME, UME and Department of Emergency Medicine teaching awards. While not at work, Dr. Zaver loves to follow her taste buds, traveling to destinations around the world with her husband and new baby daughter.
Dr. Jacqueline Hui
Director, Teacher Development
Dr. Jacqueline Hui, MD MHPE CCFP (PC) FCFP DTMH, studied Family Medicine and Palliative Care at the University of Toronto, initially working in rural and remote areas before settling in suburban Toronto. She spent years abroad, living and teaching in Kenya, the Netherlands and South Africa before settling in Calgary with a focused practice in Palliative Care. In 2014, she completed her Master of Health Professions Education (MHPE) at Maastricht University, Netherlands, with an interest in the Four-Component Instructional Design (4C/ID) model and curriculum development. As the previous Program Director for Palliative Care and Assessment Director of the Family Medicine residency program, she realized that great feedback starts with a great teacher.
Jacqueline has now transitioned to the roles of Faculty Development Lead for the Department of Family Medicine and Director of Teacher Development with the Office of Faculty Development. She is excited to create a local and sustainable community of practice for teachers and to promote more inclusivity and equity in health professions education.
Dr. Jessalyn Holodinsky
Director, AI & Data Education and Ethics
Dr. Holodinsky, PhD is an Assistant Professor (Data Science) in the Department of Emergency Medicine, with cross-appointments to the Departments of Community Health Sciences and Clinical Neurosciences. She has over a decade of experience in university-level teaching and learning, predominantly teaching statistics and machine learning. She prides herself in making statistics both accessible and fun (yes, it is possible!) and has a goal of increasing data literacy across students and faculty alike.
Dr. Holodinsky's research focuses on complex problems at the health system level - like overcrowding in the ED - resulting in the optimization of healthcare services and patient outcomes. She is highly skilled in administrative and big data use, complex modelling techniques including machine learning, and health system level research. She received her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Calgary and also holds a Master's of Science in Health Services Research. Dr. Holodinsky has also trained in Toronto (Sunnybrook Research Institute & ICES), Melbourne (Melbourne Brain Centre - University of Melbourne), and Dublin (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) lending an international perspective to her work.
Dr. Holodinsky is an advocate for using data to make change in the healthcare system and profoundly believes that "Data Saves Lives". She is excited to take on this new role at OFD and achieve a vision of increased data literacy across the Cumming School of Medicine.
Dr. Amonpreet (Preet) Sandhu
Director, Career Development and Sustainability
Dr. Sandhu, MD FRCPC MSc (MedEd), is a Hospital Pediatrician and clinical associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics. She completed her master’s degree in medical education at the University of Calgary in 2012 and she has been involved in multiple initiatives and roles related to medical education in UME and PGME. Specifically in Faculty Development Dr. Sandhu has been the Interim Deputy Department Head Pediatrics for Education and Professional Affairs and PRISE simulation. She has developed and/or presented workshops and curricula in the areas of challenging communication, precision coaching in CBME, transitions into and out of medical practice and meaningful career development. She has been recognized for her efforts and impact with both clinical teaching and leadership awards. Preet will bring a lens to the Director of Career Development and Sustainability role that is broad in scope and anchored in both the student and faculty experience.
Dr. Sandhu is honored to take on the new role of Director of Career Development and Sustainability for the CSM. “Thoughtful career development and sustainability is often overlooked yet it’s critical to the work that all CSM faculty members do. Through this role I hope to spark conversations and make space for reflection and planning that will help all CSM faculty members thrive!”.
When not at work, Dr. Sandhu can be found cheering on her competitive children at sporting events or listening and dancing to music anywhere music can be played!
Danielle Kiss
Faculty Development Coordinator - Operations
Danielle joined OFD in early 2019 after spending a year learning the intricacies of being a CSM administrative assistant while working for two prolific and successful researchers. She brings many years of administrative experience to the OFD team, having been an office manager and technical editor for forensic engineers/accident reconstructionists in her pre-UCalgary career.
In her off-campus life, you can find Danielle digging in her garden, camping in Kananaskis, volunteering in her community, and being a super enthusiastic hockey mom!
Dr. Kiara Mikita
Sexual Violence Educator
A creative and playful educator, Kiara has been with UCalgary since 2017 when she became the Inaugural Postdoctoral Scholar at the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning after completing a doctorate studying sexual violence. She then worked with the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services, and with Faculty of Social Work and CSM’s Precision Health Program before joining the OFD as the Sexual Violence Educator. Her current role, split between CSM and AHS, brings together Kiara’s passions for and expertise in sexual violence and in teaching and learning, allowing her to raise relaxed eyebrows, engagingly frustrate established social sensibilities, and gently help retract jut jaws while building capacity and community among people interested in ending sexual violence.