Our Team
Shirin Karoubi
Executive Director
Diana Hosseini
Instructor
Natalie Duncan
Instructor
Tiffany Schofield
Program Coordinator
Jasmin Liu
Instructor
Lily Jeon
Instructor
Ashley MacDonald
Instructor
Maggie McCutcheon
Instructor
Lorena Salome
Instructor
Yannie Lo
Communications Coordinator
More about us
Hey there, I'll be one of the instructors for the Toolbox program. I'm an urban planner, woodworker, sister, aunt, and insist on doing everything myself. I went to UTSC for my Bachelors of Art and UBC for my Masters in urban planning. Projects I gravitate towards are in social housing, youth work, waste management, and environmental planning.
In my spare time I like to binge watch TV but I tell people I’m reading instead.
Shirin Karoubi
Executive Director
Hi! I'm a Toolbox instructor and I love to get my hands dirty. I'm an artist who makes kinetic sculpture and I'm looking forward to helping spark a passion for making. I've been an instructor in different institutions and worked with children, youth and adults. I went to UTSC for my Bachelor of Arts and to NSCAD for my Master of Fine Arts.
I like to: read sci-fi, solve crosswords, fix or make things for friends & family, and listen to the same song on repeat until I just can't anymore.
Diana Hosseini
Instructor
Hiya! I’m Nat, one of the instructors at Toolbox. I joined Toolbox to help others realize their creative potentials. I have experience working with youth and children, running tinkering programs which teach young people how to merge electronics and art. I also spent a year teaching art at an East York private school. I went to UTSC for my Bachelors of Art, Glasgow School of Art for my Masters of Fine Arts, and George Brown for welding courses.
My hobbies include welding, reading and bone articulation.
Natalie Duncan
Instructor
Hey! I'm the Program Coordinator for Toolbox. I'm an artist, curator, friend, sister, and aunt. I'm interested in creating and facilitating arts programming in the Scarborough community, and exploring the possibilities for collective movement in the suburbs. I went to UTSC for my Bachelor of Arts and York University for my Masters of Fine Arts.
I'm an avid reader, concert attendee, and Instagram scroller.
Tiffany Schofield
Program Coordinator
Hello! I’m one of the Toolbox woodworking instructors. I am also a multifaceted artist/designer/maker with a strong DIY ethic, and work a lot with youth and adults alike. In my practice, I create various art objects and functional pieces that draw connections between things and reveal uncommon ways to look at the things around you. I went to OCAD for a BDes majoring in Industrial Design and minoring in Furniture Design. I hope that in this program I can inspire you to share my curiosity for how things work, be creative, solve problems, and gain an appreciation for wood as a living material with so much history.
You will often find me: attracting sawdust, petting cats, exploring urban ruins, collecting old junk, or falling deep into a wikipedia rabbit hole about some random topic.
Jasmin Liu
Instructor
Hey there! Excited to meet you. A little about me, I'm an educator and creative technologist by day, designer and artist by night. I believe there's nothing quite as fun, empowering, and grounding as letting your creativity out through hands-on fabrication. I've got an educational background in architectural design, and have lots of work experience designing and building innovative projects, with all sorts of people! Looking forward to meeting you, too.
In my spare time I get easily distracted exploring the abundant parks, buildings, ethnic foods, and other great offerings of Toronto, all while riding my bike.
Lily Jeon
Instructor
Hi, I am an instructor with Toolbox! I work as a Furniture Designer + Artist. Graduating from Sheridan Craft and Design - Furniture Program. I enjoy trying out new ideas and materials that challenge the perception of art and furniture.
I have worked primarily with teens and youth and are inspired by their freedom of thought and willingness to try.
When I am not in the studio, you are likely find me out riding my BMX, drawing or in the forest.
Ashley MacDonald
Instructor
Maggie McCutcheon has been making and designing fine furniture since 2016, when she graduated from Sheridan’s Craft & Design program, both for other makers and under own operation. Her practice has morphed away from her wooden roots as she explores graphic mirror work.
Maggie spent the last year living and creating in Marfa, TX, where some pieces are on display still.
Maggie McCutcheon
Instructor
Lorena Salomé is a Toronto-based artist with a background in photography, film, tech and a BFA from OCAD University where she specialized in electromechanical sculpture. In September 2019, Salomé is starting her Masters on Digital Media at York University. She incorporates various technologies in her work using everyday objects and dismantled electronics to make sound sculptures and robots. From the early video works to the kinetic installations there is always a point in common, the use of found and repurposed objects. Her work has been exhibited and published locally and internationally since 2003. Salomé has taught electronics and video in several educational institutions and art galleries in Canada and Argentina.
Lorena Salome
Instructor
Yannie is a Toronto-based illustrator and motion designer with a BA in Fine Art History. Having grown up in Hong Kong and in Canada, she enjoys incorporating elements of Chinese visual culture and art in her illustration practice, and is inspired by Chinese folk art traditions and mid-century print design.
Her hobbies include finding new ice cream shops to visit and learning new languages.
