Meet the Team
Program Facilitator, District 3
As Program Facilitator at District 3, Alexandra Allen is part of the Programs team helping early-stage talent explore innovation and entrepreneurship. Her primary focus is the Summer Residency Program—arguably the “coolest summer job”—in which recent graduates spend 12 weeks working in multidisciplinary teams to turn ideas into practical solutions for companies and researchers. Alexandra also oversees a number of initiatives to connect talent with startups in the Montreal ecosystem.
Prior to District 3, Alexandra worked in various roles—such as project management, HR, and events—for companies ranging from a startup (Imparture, now Lydian Stone Training) to a global enterprise (Ubisoft). A strong advocate for lifelong learning, Alexandra is currently working towards a Graduate Certificate in Learning Design and Technology at Harvard Extension School and has worked internationally in Canada, the UK, Australia, and France. She holds a Certificate in Management Consulting from McGill University’s School of Continuing Studies, a B.A. in Political Science from Concordia, and is a PRINCE2 certified practitioner (Projects in Controlled Environments).
Instructional Designer, District 3
Houda Jawhar designs and develops learning experiences at District 3 to help entrepreneurs acquire entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, and competencies effectively to move along the startup journey faster and better. Houda is passionate about innovative and disruptive pedagogies and the implementation of learning analytics to design learning experiences that impact individuals and their businesses.
Prior to District 3, Houda completed an MA in Educational Technology at Concordia University and was actively involved in the maker and innovation ecosystem at Concordia, studying how individuals develop and advance skills that are pertinent to the 21st century by collaborating with others across the ecosystem. Before that, she completed a bachelor’s degree in nursing where she worked as a neonatal intensive care unit nurse and as a nursing educator. She worked closely with multidisciplinary healthcare teams to evaluate and improve quality and safety guidelines and policies in clinical settings. She designed, developed, and facilitated learning experiences for future nurses and supervised and trained 300+ nursing students across various clinical settings.
Co-director of District 3
Jane Somerville, MBA is the Director of Programs at Concordia University’s District 3. In this role, she is responsible for leading and developing the program offering targeted to entrepreneurs building startups. Jane is a passionate business professional with more than 25 years of experience working with Canadian entrepreneurs. Prior to joining D3, Jane worked at BDC where she helped small, medium and large companies across Canada, across all industry sectors, building and delivering innovative advisory services in strategic management, digital marketing and sales management. As an entrepreneur herself, Jane founded an online directory of furniture and furniture stores in major Canadian cities.