The Wood Centre Team
We strive to be the node in a strong network of excellent scholars within and beyond the Ivey Business School, who collectively create transformative learning experiences for current and future business leaders.
Zoe Kinias
Centre Director
John F. Wood Chair in Innovation in Business Education
Zoe is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour, and the inaugural John F. Wood Chair in Innovation in Business Education.
Under Zoe's leadership the Wood Centre will research new approaches to teaching and learning in business, developing innovative curriculum, collaborating with all programs at Ivey to introduce new educational approaches.
Zoe studies Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), how it connects with identities, and interventions to enable leveraging everyone's talent. Her work has been featured in a variety of outlets, including Bloomberg Businessweek, The Case Centre, Forbes, Harvard Business Publishing, Harvard Business Review, INSEAD Knowledge, Ivey Business Journal, The New York Times, and Programme Eve. Zoe presents and engages with diverse groups including academics, students and alumni, and multinational organizations.
My vision as the inaugural John F Wood Chair is to develop a community for pedagogic innovations that better enable educators to equip current and future leaders for the evolution of business. We begin with addressing identified needs for building and integrating technology and inclusive practices, all with a learning mindset and entrepreneurial spirit. -- Zoe Kinias
James Kruck
Manager, Applied Research
James Kruck is Manager, Applied Research at the JF Wood Centre for Business Education Innovation, Ivey Business School at Western University. He came to the role from Ivey's EdTech Lab, where he partnered with faculty and staff to design online and blended learning experiences. His work centres on accessibility, Universal Design for Learning, and the thoughtful integration of AI into learning, with a particular interest in design choices that protect the parts of learning students need to do on their own.
James is a Quality Matters Certified Peer Reviewer and a certified Instructional Skills Workshop facilitator, and has led the FOME (Future of Management Education) Learning Design Working Group, a network of designers and educators from business schools around the world sharing practice on digital learning, AI integration, and assessment design. He holds a PhD in Classics from the University of Western Ontario, where his dissertation examined how Roman translators positioned themselves through strategic choices about what to carry across and what to leave behind — an interest that continues to shape his thinking about what AI tools should and should not do for learners.
Maggie Weller
Wood Centre Senior Associate
Maggie brings deep operational expertise and steady administrative leadership to complex, multi-stakeholder projects. She provides end-to-end administrative and logistical support across Centre projects enabling faculty and partners to focus on content, outcomes, and impact. As a driving force behind the development of the John F. Wood Centre for Innovation in Business Education, she helps translate strategic priorities into well-executed initiatives that advance pedagogical innovation within Ivey and beyond.
Editing & Writing Support
Rachel Farrell
Rachel P. Farrell is an independent writer and editor with 20 years’ experience working with academics, researchers and executives at the world’s top universities. She specializes in turning research and insights into accessible content for practitioners and policymakers.
Wood Centre Research Assistants
Emily Hur
Emily is a fourth year HBA student with a passion for business and sustainability. She is currently supporting the Return to Work as a New Mother project.
Her previous experience includes the Mapping Project, where she researched the evolution of pedagogical innovation at Ivey, and the VR4Teams Project, where virtual reality tools were utilized to create more inclusive spaces for students and professionals alike.
Aisha Olawoyin
Aisha is a Synthetic Biology and HBA dual-degree student who also participates in the Scholar’s Elective and HBA Entrepreneurship Certificate programs.
She currently supports the University Pathways program as a peer-mentor. As one of the few Black women in the HBA program, Aisha is deeply committed to breaking barriers and modeling success for underrepresented students.
Wood Centre Alumni
laurel dong
Laurel is an Ivey HBA 2026 graduate.
Laurel supported the Return to Work as a New Mother – Best Self Intervention Training project in addition to exploring how AI can be effectively leveraged by educators and students to improve learning outcomes.
Tina Sahney
Tina is an Ivey HBA 2024 graduate.
Tina spearheaded the Wood Centre Mapping Project in collaboration with Emily Hur, aiming to explore the history and evolving landscape of pedagogical innovation at Ivey
Alice Peng
Alice Peng is a dual degree Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences and HBA 2026 graduate.
Alice worked on a project with a global organization to enhance their methods for identifying and leveraging innovation. The project focused on developing new products and client interactions to create learning opportunities that can be scaled for broader impact. It integrates concepts like growth mindset and psychological safety to foster a culture of innovation within the workplace.
Kaitlin Butler
Kaitlin is a dual degree Bachelor of Health Sciences and HBA 2025 graduate.
As part of a for-credit research project, Kaitlin is worked on the Return to Work as a New Mother – Best Self Intervention Training project. This research explores how managers can better support women returning from maternity leave by integrating concepts of fifth-trimester allyship, self-affirmation, and WISE interventions.
