Board of Directors

Prior to Evok, Val worked with the Creative Destruction Lab to develop mentorship programming for advanced material start-ups. She led the development of the High School Girls Program to promote diversity in STEM. Val also worked with Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) to support Canadian clean tech startups and SMEs with non-dilutive funding, and focused on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategies for the portfolio. Val holds a BSc in Chemistry from Queen’s University and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia. Her doctoral research was in materials discovery for next-generation solar cells.

Dr. Greg Smallwood is Principal Research Officer and Team Leader for the Aerosol and Gas Metrology Team in the Metrology Research Centre at the National Research Council of Canada. Dr. Smallwood has held several leadership roles at the NRC and was the inaugural President’s Science Advisor and an inaugural member of the President’s Research Excellence Advisory Committee between 2018 and 2021.

As Principal Research Officer, Dr. Smallwood has been a keynote speaker at several international conferences and has contributed to over 200 refereed publications, primarily in measurement science of aerosols, combustion, and nanotechnology. Dr. Smallwood received the prestigious 2022 Canadian Science Policy Centre Trailblazer Award in Science Policy - Science for Policy, the first such recipient. He is an inaugural Fellow of the Combustion Institute, a distinction conferred in 2018. Greg is co-founder of the International Workshop series on Laser-Induced Incandescence, Canadian Mirror Chair for ISO TC229 – Nanotechnologies, Liaison between ICAO/CAEP/WG3 and SAE E-31, and holds several other outreach positions. He holds the title of Mercator Fellow with NETZ/CENIDE at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany. He received a B.Sc. degree from Queen’s University, an M.Sc. from the University of Ottawa, and a Ph.D. from Cranfield University, all in Mechanical Engineering.

Janice Warkentin Steeves is the President and CEO of Deep Tech Canada, a national non-profit organization that connects Canada’s emerging technology sectors through ecosystem building, global partnerships, and strategic programming. Since 2015, she has played a central role in shaping the organization and expanding its national and international impact.

With more than 20 years of experience in policy, governance, communications, and ecosystem development, Janice leads a wide range of initiatives—from trade missions and strategic partnerships to training programs, events, and innovation challenges. Her work bridges industry, government, and academia, helping Canadian innovators scale and compete on the global stage.

In addition to her work at Deep Tech Canada, Janice holds a leadership role within an International Standards Organization (ISO) committee and serves on several boards dedicated to advancing innovation, collaboration, and impact. Outside of work, she finds inspiration through travel, gardening, and meaningful conversations that challenge perspectives and spark connection.

Marie D’Iorio is a Senior Strategy Advisor with the Office of the Vice President Research at the University of Ottawa and is President of Deep Tech Canada. Prior to joining the University of Ottawa, she led the National Institute for Nanotechnology (2011-2016) and the Institute for Microstructural Sciences (2003-2011) at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). Dr. D’Iorio obtained a Master’s and a Doctorate degree in Solid State Physics from the University of Toronto. After a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at IBM Zurich Research Laboratories, she joined the NRC, where she established Canada’s first very low temperature, high magnetic field laboratory to study quantum semiconductor devices and later led one of Canada’s first research programs on organic light emitting devices.

In 2015 she launched NanoCanada, to connect the nanotechnology community across the country and to facilitate partnerships and collaborations between academia, industry and government linking facilities and expertise to support the translation of scientific breakthroughs to the marketplace. She has served as President of the Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada and President of the Canadian Association of Physicists.

Isabelle joined Deep Tech Canada in December 2020. She started her career working for the RCMP Behavioral Sciences Branch. She later moved to the National Research Council, where she met her future Deep Tech Canada family and spent the next 8 years working for various government organizations. At Deep Tech Canada, she plays a pivotal role in overseeing and orchestrating our many programs, projects and events; she also serves as Corporate Board Secretary.

Isabelle holds a bachelor’s degree in International Development and Anthropology from the University of New Brunswick. Outside of work she enjoys travelling, hiking, being out in nature and spoiling her two doodles, Sissi and Khaleesi.

Luke Caplette is an innovative leader with a wealth of knowledge and expertise in both the technology and oilfield services sectors. He currently holds the role of Chief Financial Officer at Pure Environmental. Born in Calgary, Alberta, Luke received his Bachelor of Finance at Mount Royal University and continued his education journey by getting his CA designation shortly thereafter.

His drive and passion for scaling businesses was evident in his early years and he quickly landed a role at an esteemed accounting firm. After growing exponentially and even being the recipient of the companies’ 40 under 40 award, he moved in-house to a publicly traded oil field services company. Through hard-work, dedication, and loyalty, he accelerated into the CFO role, where he continued to grow the organization.

Luke moved to a new role at an international technology company where he raised more than $26 million in equity and over $20 million in debt. Luke acquired companies all over the world in Zurich, Strasbourg, New York, Phoenix and Calgary – all within two short years. Starting at Pure in July 2022, he has more than 12 years’ experience in both the private and public sector working for small, local organizations, up to international companies.

At Pure, Luke oversees all of its financial affairs while providing direction for its corporate strategy and development. Luke knows the value of people and building a great team to ensure Company-wide success. He is a loyal and creative leader, always looking outside the box for innovative solutions.

Greg Baker has over 20 years of experience in international export/business development and investment attraction, with a focus on the Asian region.  Having worked for both the University of Alberta and the Government of Alberta - including 8 years as the government’s in-market representative and the Managing Director of the Alberta Korea Office in Seoul - Greg has helped many small and medium sized Canadian technology companies to gain a foothold in Asian markets. Having worked with DeepTech Canada on developing many of its previous outcome-based missions to the Asia region, as a member of the board of directors, Greg is now looking to guide the organization as it develops and implements a comprehensive set of international market strategies.

Jennifer Arndt is the Managing Partner of the Calgary office of DLA Piper (Canada) LLP and practices in DLA’s Canadian Capital Markets Group, specializing in securities, corporate finance, banking law, and M&A. She advises TSX and TSXV-listed companies on public offerings, acquisitions, and corporate governance across sectors such as technology, life sciences, energy, and mining. Jennifer has led major transactions for clients including Nanalysis Scientific Corp., Draganfly Inc., GBLT German Battery & Lighting Technologies PLC, and Canacol Energy Ltd., with deal values reaching up to US$500 million. She is a member of the Law Society of Alberta and the Canadian Bar Association. 

Danina Kapetanovic is the Vice President of Innovation and Chief Health Innovation Officer for the Waterloo Regional Health Network and the University of Waterloo. She leads the Care Next Coalition, a regional health innovation ecosystem uniting research, technology, care delivery, and community engagement. Previously, she was Chief Innovation Officer at Montreal’s CIUSSS West-Central, where she founded OROT, the Connected Health Innovation Hub. Danina also led Hacking Health, a global movement that launched over 1,500 digital health projects, and spent nearly two decades with the United Nations advancing global health and nutrition initiatives. She holds degrees from McGill University and the City University of New York and speaks five languages. 

Leana Keto is an Associate Principal with BDC Capital’s Industrial Innovation Venture Fund, where she combines her background in engineering with extensive experience supporting early-stage ventures. 

Before joining BDC Capital, Leana was Program Manager at SVG Ventures | THRIVE, an investment fund and accelerator focused on food and agriculture innovation. She previously served as Energy Stream Manager at the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), where she helped science-based start-ups secure mentorship and capital, and played a key role in identifying technology verticals to shape venture recruitment in the energy sector. 

Earlier in her career, Leana gained hands-on engineering experience in Canada and the United States through roles at Schlumberger and Husky Energy. 

She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering and an MBA, both from the University of British Columbia.