Inspiring Future Women in Science

School Groups: Teachers may make group bookings for up to 8 students by contacting [email protected].

Individuals: Individual registrants should complete a registration form and return to [email protected]

Register now

Individual and Group Registrations will be accepted in the order they are received until the event is full. Your registration status will be confirmed within 48 hours of submission. Once registration is full a waiting list will be created.

The event will also be webcast live at 9:00am ET on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.

Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2025    Location: Perimeter Institute 

Elisa Torres Durney - student and Founder, Girls in Quantum 

Elisa Torres Durney, a 19-year-old Chilean student, is the founder of Girls in Quantum, an organization dedicated to making quantum computing education accessible. The initiative has built a global network of ambassadors, reaching over 5,000 students in 25+ countries through free educational resources, workshops, and mentoring programs.  

Recognized as one of Forbes Chile's 30 Most Powerful Women and a top 10 finalist for the Global Student Prize, Elisa is committed to advancing gender diversity in STEM and quantum computing. She collaborates with organizations such as UN Women, Inspiring Girls, and G100: Mission Million. Elisa has also spoken at international events organized by companies including The Lancet, The Economist, TEDx, Women Economic Forum, EY, and the InterAmerican Commission on Science and Technology. 

Holly Fruehwald - Research Office, National Research Council of Canada 

Holly obtained her BSc in Chemistry from Ontario Tech University in 2017, she then went on to complete her PhD in Materials science at the same institution. Her research focused on the design of materials for electrochemical energy systems such as Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers. After completing her PhD she then went on to do a Post-doctoral Fellowship at the University of Waterloo where she studied advanced structural characterization techniques for solid state materials.  

Currently Holly is a Research Officer at the National Research Council of Canada working at one of the Clean Energy Innovation centers. Holly is very involved in her communities taking part in various working for inclusivity groups on the campuses she has been involved with, and Nationally with the Canadians Working for Inclusivity in Chemical Science and Technology group. In her free time she likes to read, cook, and craft. 

Stephanie Holko – Director, Strategic Partnerships and Growth, Innovation Factory

Stephanie serves as the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Growth at Innovation Factory, a business accelerator and regional innovation centre serving Hamilton and Halton Regions.

Prior to joining Innovation Factory, Stephanie held engineering and management roles in the steel industry and advanced manufacturing funding space. Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and MBA in Innovation and New Technology from McMaster, and is currently enrolled in the Strategic Foresight and Innovation MDes program at OCAD University. She is currently the Past Chair of the Ontario Society of Engineers. 

Erin Zimmerman – Evolutionary Biologist & Author

Erin is an evolutionary biologist turned science writer and scientific illustrator.  

She holds an MSc in fungal population genomics and a PhD in plant molecular systematics, both from the Université de Montréal. She also completed a BSc in Plant Biology & Physics at the University of Guelph. She has illustrated a number of scientific research articles, including the description of a newly discovered plant species, Arquita grandiflora.  

During her doctoral research on the evolutionary history of legumes, she collected specimens in the remote rainforest of northern Guyana as well as working as a visiting scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. As a postdoctoral researcher at Agriculture Canada, Erin worked on legume transcriptomics from a crop improvement perspective.

Erin moved into science writing following her post-doc and is also the editor of the Canadian Botanical Association Bulletin. As a writer, Erin’s interests lie in botany, evolution, scientific illustration, and the history of science. Her work also explores the intersection of science and motherhood.  

Erin’s first book, Unrooted: Botany, Motherhood, & the Fight to Save an Old Science, was published last year by Melville House/Penguin Random House Canada. It explores the history of women in botany, the experience of becoming a mother in science, and the importance of natural history research to preserving biodiversity and slowing species extinction.

Erin has also published nine scientific research papers in botany and mycology, and is a contributor at New York Magazine, HuffPost, Smithsonian, Undark, and Narratively, among others. Erin was a long-time science blogger at her site, Questionable Evolution, and now writes a botany and evolution newsletter, A Feast for the Curious. 

Katy Celina Sandoval - PhD candidate in Neuroscience, McMaster University

Katy is a first-generation Latinx PhD candidate in Neuroscience, deeply committed to community engagement and promoting diversity and inclusion. She actively supports students from diverse backgrounds, advocating for women in STEM, Latinx representation in academia, and mental health awareness. Driven by a passion for giving back, Katy is dedicated to helping others achieve their academic and personal goals by leading with example as she navigates through grad school.

Lucy Ho - Founder and Executive Director, Hackergal

Lucy Ho is the Founder and Executive Director of Hackergal, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology by inspiring girls and gender-diverse learners to explore opportunities in technology. After a decade in the technology and venture capital industries, Lucy was drive to start Hackergal in 2015, motivated by her own experiences as one of the few women - and women of colour - in the room. Since then, Hackergal has empowered over 30,000 girls across Canada with computer science education, fostering confidence and curiosity in tech. As a leader, Lucy is passionate about creating inclusive opportunities and driving meaningful change in the industry.

Students will have to opportunity for small group discussions with a number of speed mentors from a variety of STEM fields, including: physics, forestry, software engineering, veterinary medicine, health & safety, climate change, environmental engineering, and more.