Independent Consultant

Summer is just around the corner — and what better way to welcome it than a little wander by the water with good company? 🌊 We will grab a ice cream at Ice Creamonology (250 Queens Quay W) — one of the best spots in Toronto, right on the waterfront, and then walking along the lake together, cones in hand. ☀️🍦 Good vibes, fresh air, and great conversations with women you haven’t met yet. And if the energy is right… we might just have a little secret game waiting by the water 👀😄 Feel free to make $2 voluntary donation for meetup monthly fee: interac to mech.mandeep@gmail.com See you all there 💜

The Test Tribe 13th Toronto Meetup – From Tests to Trust: How QA Creates Value That Outlasts Technology Shifts Tools change. Frameworks evolve. AI reshapes workflows. But one thing remains constant: the expectation that QA delivers value. In a world of rapid technological change, the real question isn’t what tools we use - it’s how QA creates trust, clarity, and better decisions across teams. At the 13th Toronto Meetup, we step back from tools and trends to explore a deeper question: What does quality really mean to the business - and how can QA deliver it consistently, regardless of technology shifts? **Event Details** * **Date: April 29th, 2026 (Wednesday)** * **Time: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET** * **Venue: Tribal Scale** * **Maps Link:** https://maps.app.goo.gl/hqUyAVXKLQhPFsUK6?g_st=ic (Please enter via **35 John St.**, where a volunteer will be stationed downstairs to guide you to the venue) **Session: From Tests to Trust: How QA Creates Value That Outlasts Technology Shifts** **Speaker: Youssef Menkhour** **About the Session** Technology in QA is evolving rapidly - but expectations from stakeholders often remain unchanged. In this session, Youssef Menkhour brings a QA Director’s perspective to explore: * What different roles (engineering, product, business) actually expect from testing * How QA creates value indirectly, beyond test execution * Why traditional outputs - tests, reports, meetings - often fail to drive real decisions * How to simplify QA practices to better support clarity, alignment, and impact This talk challenges conventional thinking and focuses on how QA can move beyond activity-driven work to become a driver of trust and decision-making within organizations. **Key Takeaways** * Understand what stakeholders truly expect from QA * Learn how QA delivers value beyond test cases and execution * Simplify testing outputs to better support real decisions * Shift from activity-driven QA to impact-driven quality engineering * Build practices that remain relevant across changing technologies **About the Speaker** Youssef Menkhour is a Director of Quality Assurance with 15+ years of experience leading enterprise and SaaS-focused QA organizations across industries including insurance, banking, media, and telecommunications. At Alithya, he advises clients on quality modernization, helping organizations adopt automation-first strategies, shift-left testing, and CI/CD-aligned delivery models. Youssef is passionate about redefining QA’s role - from a supporting function to a strategic contributor that drives trust, alignment, and long-term value. **Why You Should Attend** * Gain a leadership perspective on the future of QA * Learn how to create value beyond tools and frameworks * Understand how to align QA work with business outcomes * Rethink how testing supports decision-making * Connect with Toronto’s QA and tech community **About The Test Tribe** The Test Tribe is the world’s largest software testing community, empowering testers globally since 2018. With 700+ events and 150K+ members across 130+ countries, we bring testers together to learn, grow, and connect through meetups, conferences, cohorts, masterclasses, and more. By RSVPing, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy and consent to be contacted by The Test Tribe and our event partners.

\*These classes are not a language exchange, but instead are meant to be a step in between so that students feel confident maintaining in depth and grammatically correct oral conversations outside of class\* \***Meetup event numbers only tend to show new students registering and do not include returning students attending class.** **Per class, there is an average of 7 students.** The first 2 classes are free and then only cost between $18 and $35 depending on which type of class you want to continue with\* These French, English (For Spanish and French speakers only), and Spanish classes are primarily meant for adults who are travellers, or who are planning to live in a French, English, or Spanish-speaking country. The classes are primarily oral-based through guided conversations. They will teach you how to handle conversations in situations such as **"Going to the Convenience Store"**, **"Making Plans"**, **"Negotiating Prices"**, and **"Going out for a Drink"**. To ensure that students get used to using the language automatically, students will learn to maintain contextual conversations with timing before moving on to the next lesson. Call (647)787-9953, e-mail us info@monkeylingo.ca, or visit monkeylingo.ca for more information! **Online and private classes are also available!** No other language classes are as conversational as these ones. We guarantee it! Cheap parking can be found using the "Spot Hero" app.

A hands-on workshop on turning insights into ideas that actually hold. Most ideas aren’t bad. They’re just… premature. ​We’re trained to move fast, jump to solutions, and make things look good quickly. ​But good design doesn’t come from speed. It comes from **seeing differently.** ​This session is about breaking that habit. ​This hands-on workshop explores how ideas actually emerge i.e through tension, constraints, and collaboration and not just creativity. ​ **👉 To secure your spot, please register via [Luma](https://luma.com/caozni5i): https://luma.com/caozni5i** (*Meetup RSVPs don’t guarantee a seat*) # ​**What we’ll do:** ​**Start with people (but not in a fluffy way)** ​Map real experiences ​Surface assumptions ​Interrogate what we think we know ​ ​**Push beyond obvious ideas** ​Generate more (and worse) ideas — on purpose ​Break out of default thinking patterns ​ ​**Make it real** ​Work with constraints ​Shape direction ​Turn messy thinking into something tangible ​ ## ​**What you’ll take away** * ​Why most teams default to shallow thinking * ​How to actually *practice* divergent thinking (not just talk about it) * ​What it means to move from insight → concept * ​How constraints make ideas stronger, not weaker ​**Who this is for** * ​Professionals who want to relax, nerd out, and build fun things * ​Designers who are tired of surface-level workshops * ​People who jump to solutions (you know who you are) * ​Anyone curious about how ideas *actually* come together ​ ​**About Service Design Drinks (SDD)** ​SDD is a community of practice for people interested in service design. ​We host casual, hands-on sessions to learn, share, and grow together - no fluff, just thoughtful work and conversation. ​ ​**Agenda** ​5:30 pm \| Arrival \+ settle in ​6:00 pm \| Workshop session ​7:30 pm \| Stay back and connect

\*These classes are not a language exchange, but instead are meant to be a step in between so that students feel confident maintaining in depth and grammatically correct oral conversations outside of class\* \***Meetup event numbers only tend to show new students registering and do not include returning students attending class.** **Per class, there is an average of 7 students.** The first 2 classes are free and then only cost between $18 and $35 depending on which type of class you want to continue with\* These French, English (For Spanish and French speakers only), and Spanish classes are primarily meant for adults who are travellers, or who are planning to live in a French, English, or Spanish-speaking country. The classes are primarily oral-based through guided conversations. They will teach you how to handle conversations in situations such as **"Going to the Convenience Store"**, **"Making Plans"**, **"Negotiating Prices"**, and **"Going out for a Drink"**. To ensure that students get used to using the language automatically, students will learn to maintain contextual conversations with timing before moving on to the next lesson. Call (647)787-9953, e-mail us info@monkeylingo.ca, or visit monkeylingo.ca for more information! **Online and private classes are also available!** No other language classes are as conversational as these ones. We guarantee it! Cheap parking can be found using the "Spot Hero" app.

The literature on biomedical conflicts of interest tends to focus on the ways in which research integrity and patient safety are prejudiced when researchers are funded by the Pharmaceutical Industry. But similar ethical problems also arise at the macro level when institutions, such as hospitals and universities depend on drug company funding to support research or patient care. Over the past half century, the University of Toronto and three of its affiliated hospitals — Sick Kids, CAMH, and UHN — have been involved in a series of major scandals. One scandal in particular — involving the U of T, Sick Kids Hospital, Apotex and Dr. Nancy Olivieri — achieved worldwide infamy and has resulted, to date, in the publication of four books, a blockbuster movie, a plethora of scholarly articles, plus innumerable newspaper and magazine stories and television programmes. Another book is on the way, and a Netflix series is on the cards. In this talk, I'm going to explore the conceptual elements of "conflict of interest" and show how institutional conflict of interest lies at the heart of this greatest of all Canadian academic scandals. I'll also discuss role played by academic leaders and hospital bioethicists. Arthur Schafer https://umanitoba.ca/arts/arthur-schafer Professor Department of Philosophy University of Manitoba **About the Speaker:** Arthur Schafer is a Canadian ethicist specializing in professional and applied ethics, with a special focus on bioethics, philosophy of law, social philosophy and political philosophy. He is the Founding Director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba. He is also a full professor in the Department of Philosophy and an ethics consultant for the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. Schafer has published widely in the fields of moral, social, and political philosophy. He is author of *The Buck Stops Here: Reflections on moral responsibility, democratic accountability and military values*, and co-editor of two books: *Ethics and Animal Experimentation* and *Fragile Freedoms: the global struggle for human rights*. His curriculum vitae lists more than 90 scholarly articles and book chapters, covering a wide range of topics, with a special focus on issues in professional and bio-medical ethics. Professor Schafer is National Research Associate of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which has published two of his Reports. Schafer has been a frequent guest on CBC radio and television and has written numerous articles for The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Winnipeg Free Press, The Medical Post, and The Sunday Times (London). **\* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \*** This is a talk with audience Q&A presented by the University of Toronto's Centre for Ethics that is free to attend and open to the public. The talk will also be streamed online with live chat here [to be posted]. About the Centre for Ethics (http://ethics.utoronto.ca): The Centre for Ethics is an interdisciplinary centre aimed at advancing research and teaching in the field of ethics, broadly defined. The Centre seeks to bring together the theoretical and practical knowledge of diverse scholars, students, public servants and social leaders in order to increase understanding of the ethical dimensions of individual, social, and political life. In pursuit of its interdisciplinary mission, the Centre fosters lines of inquiry such as (1) foundations of ethics, which encompasses the history of ethics and core concepts in the philosophical study of ethics; (2) ethics in action, which relates theory to practice in key domains of social life, including bioethics, business ethics, and ethics in the public sphere; and (3) ethics in translation, which draws upon the rich multiculturalism of the City of Toronto and addresses the ethics of multicultural societies, ethical discourse across religious and cultural boundaries, and the ethics of international society. The Ethics of A.I. Lab at the Centre For Ethics recently appeared on a list of 10 organizations leading the way in ethical A.I.: https://ocean.sagepub.com/blog/10-organizations-leading-the-way-in-ethical-ai

SPEAK WITH CONFIDENCE! If you’re interested in improving your public speaking and leadership skills at an entertaining, educational and inspirational meeting, please visit us … it’s free! We meet weekly on Wednesday evenings. The location or link will be sent to those who confirm attendance. Brainwave Speakers Toastmasters club is a place where strangers become friends, where new ideas and experiences are shared. With a wide variety of ages, backgrounds and experiences, our members are an interesting and diverse group. Regardless of whether you are a professional, student, stay at home parent, job seeker or a retiree, you will find something of value at Brainwave Speakers Toastmasters club. Please feel welcome to visit us! Contact our Vice President of Membership at karen.goodyear333@gmail.com for details.

Don't be disappointed if you don't see a bunch of people attending. I advertise this on multiple platforms and the class usually sells out. \*\*If you don't use Paypal, email me at ralph@socap.ca and we'll figure it out. You can pay be etransfer or with a credit card/cash at the venue.\*\* Improv comedy uses several techniques to create laughter. These include, creating an atmosphere free of judgement, saying 'yes', active listening, being positive, putting your focus on others, and the importance of play and laughter. Not coincidentally, these are the same things that happen to us naturally when we are bonding with another person. In this class, we'll explore these techniques not with the goal of being funny, but with the goal of being people that other people want to be around. The teacher, Ralph MacLeod, is a co-founder of two independent improv clubs in Toronto - Bad Dog Theatre and Social Capital Theatre. He's been teaching improv for over 30 years. He also teaches these same techniques to several organizations including UofT, Google, Kraft, Shopify and many, many more. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have! FAQs and Good To Know.... After every event, a group from this class sit down and have a drink together so be prepared to stay if you want! Of course, you don't HAVE to. You also don't have to be single or bring a friend. The vibe of this class is much more 'making new friends' than a 'singles' mixer'. We usually run to 8:15 so pay for extra parking!

Join the Toronto Founders Hub every other Saturday at 3:30pm for our regular meetup at 5 Elements Espresso Bar. Sit down with other entrepreneurs to network and discuss business ideas or strategies. \- Broaden your network \- Get critical feedback \- Socialize in low pressure setting I look forward to seeing you!

The playbook for AI agent integration is becoming predictable: build an MCP server, expose your APIs as tools, and define the rules in prompts. That approach works, but it often pushes workflow and guardrails into client-side logic, where they are harder to enforce and easier to bypass. This talk presents a different approach. HATEOAS (Hypermedia As The Engine Of Application State)—a largely overlooked part of REST—allows an API to describe allowed actions and constraints at runtime. That makes it a natural fit for agents, which need clear, machine-readable guidance about what they can safely do next. We’ll show this in action with MoneyMate, an AI agent that performs sensitive operations such as money transfers. Using the Spring HATEOAS project, the agent is guided entirely by the API rather than by hardcoded tools or fragile prompt logic. AI hype aside, this is ultimately a talk about architectural validation. For years, HATEOAS was the hill REST purists loved to die on—complete with finger-wagging about “doing REST correctly”—while everyone else quietly shipped simple JSON and moved on. It turns out the purists weren’t wrong—just 20 years early. Come see why that extra structure finally pays off when your client is an LLM. **About the venue** Free Times Cafe has bistro-style seating and a full food and drink menu. Please consider helping to support the venue by planning to have supper during the talk. **Speaker Bio** Adib Saikali is a distinguished engineer at Tanzu by Broadcom, focused on helping Tanzu’s largest customers design and build cloud native applications and platforms using Spring and Kubernetes. Adib is the author of Securing Cloud Applications a book that teaches application developers the fundamental security technologies and protocols required to secure cloud native applications. Over the past 25 years Adib has worked at startups and global enterprises on numerous software systems in a variety of roles, from software developer, architect, agile coach, and CTO. He has developed a 360-degree view of what it takes to build software systems efficiently, and economically.

### Each Crossroads & Connections workshop is a fast, friendly mash-up: short demos, paired practices and intentional reflection. We keep it light, embodied, and social—so wisdom lands in your muscles and your circle, not only your mind. There isn’t one technique that fixes everything, for everyone, in every situation. ### What is it? We pair complementary domains to spark shared flow, fresh insight, and unforgettable “aha!” moments. You leave with lived skills, not just notes. * **Dialogue** gets you out of solo spin: small-group formats expose blind spots and sharpen “shared reality,” so your next move matches *this* person and *this* moment. * **Imaginal** practice is guided “as if” rehearsal you look *through*, not *at*: walking the beats before the scene means your body recognizes turns when stakes rise. * **Mindfulness** steadies the camera: attention stops jerking around, drama gets de-amplified, and you can catch the instant you’re narrating motives and swap in one honest question. * **Embodiment** makes it actionable through direct, non-verbal experience and how your inner experience matches your outer expression. Facilitators: Varies Fee: $30USD - Or a 10-pack for $200USD [Please visit here](https://awakentomeaning.com/crossroads-and-connections/) for registration and more information.

Join other experienced and aspiring agile coaches and professionals to: * develop and practice your coaching skills in a peer-to-peer environment * share current successes and challenges in your work environment and get support from each other * learn from each other, build better relationships and experiment with new ideas ***NOTE:*** Pre-registration is required for this event. **Please arrive 10 minutes early** to check in at the security desk.

**How to take control of your subconscious and harness its power!** Join us for an eye-opening lecture where the speaker will break down complex ideas in a clear and practical way. You’ll gain insights into: ✅ The true definition of the subconscious ✅ How it generates unwanted emotions ✅ Its real purpose and function ✅ What determines the pressure it exerts on you And the most important topic: **How do you take control of your subconscious!** But this isn’t just another lecture where you sit and listen passively. It’s interactive and engaging—you can ask questions at any time. 📅 Reserve your spot now! Seats are limited, so don’t wait too long to sign up. Location: 1266 Dublin Rd, Columbus, OH 43215 Hosted by the Hubbard Dianetics Foundation

It feels like we just saw each other 🤷. Join members of the local design and UX community for our monthly breakfast. For May we’re stopping in for Rooh’s popup breakfast/cafe concept. You know someone is getting the lobster yuzu croissant, and that’s not even the prettiest thing on the menu!.

It’s time to take control of your mental health. How do you get rid of stress, anxiety and uncertainty? These emotions are buried deep in your reactive mind. Find out what the reactive mind is, and in the process find yourself. Here is the secret of being positive and free: Thinking positively is not enough. You also have to get rid of the negative thinking. Your mind is like a garden. You can plant many beautiful flowers in it, but if you don't get rid of the weeds when you plant your flowers, the weeds will soon take over the whole garden. A positive thought is like a flower in your mental garden, and a negative thought is like a weed. You cannot expect to have a positive mindset if you continue to have negative thoughts dwelling and growing there. So, how do you get rid of the negative thoughts? That's what this Meetup is all about. Attend this local meeting and find out! The Meetup event will be led by a consultant who had helped many people live happier in life. Be sure to click on the red "Attend" button below to come to this local event. We look forward to seeing you there. This group is created by the Dianetics & Scientology life improvement center.

Bring your business cards and network in person with other business professionals! Gold Star Referral Clubs is one of the most established professional networking organizations in the country, with multiple groups in central Ohio. Join us!

Join the CONNECTED Westerville Mastermind Group for a dynamic afternoon of B2B networking! This event is perfect for professionals looking to expand their business connections, share insights, and foster collaboration within the community. Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out, this event offers a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas, build relationships, and grow your network in a supportive environment. Connect with like-minded individuals, explore potential partnerships, and discover new opportunities for professional growth. Don't miss out on this chance to enhance your business network and take your career to the next level with CONNECTED Westerville Mastermind Group! We meet the 4th Monday of every month from 11am-1pm. Welcome and general networking from 11am - 11:30am with core meeting 11;30 - 12:30 and a final round of networking from 12:30 - 1pm.

Private Group. Closed to the Public Knowing ourselves and understanding our abilities is the first step toward wielding our gifts with control and accuracy. In subsequent classes we will verify and hone our talents with activities and discussion. These are hands-on workshops and participation is expected. The goal of our series will be to develop expertise in areas of particular interest such as mediumship, channeling, divination, healing and, etc.. Our ultimate directions will be determined by class members as we evolve. I look forward to sharing and discovering with you. - Cynthia