We Are LCC

Stuntman Sam is up for anything. Ask him to prank complete strangers on their birthdays, all in the name of fun and a few laughs, and he’s game. As a radio host for Montreal’s morning radio show with The Beat, Stuntman Sam is so named for the risks that he takes and the publicity stunts that he stages to garner attention for the station. In his words, not all radio hosts are comfortable doing the “dirty” work, like contacting unsuspecting listeners and fabricating outrageous stories to elicit on-air reactions. Enter Mr. Lupovich.

Mr. Lupovich is also a voice-actor and highlights his acceptance into the Acting Conservatory at York University as a major achievement. The program, which offers intense training in stage and screen acting, admits only 16 students. During his time at York, Mr. Lupovich landed several roles in both TV and film.

Mr. Lupovich has many fond memories of certain teachers at LCC who encouraged his penchant for the arts. “They were endearing people who loved what they did and made a point to foster the students’ talents and cater to their interests. I attribute much of my work ethic and attitude to what I learned from them.”

Sam moved back to his beloved hometown of Montreal in 2014. He studied Acting/Voice at York University, and Radio Broadcasting at Humber College. Sam loves finding ways to connect with people, and radio is a brilliantly creative vehicle for him to explore that.

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Lily Mariani has just completed grade10 at LCC and joins us to talk about her personal project - Sport for All where her main focus is that no matter who you are, the importance of physical activity can not be denied. She acknowledges the sad reality that many children with disabilities do not get enough physical activity because of lack of equipment & resources and designed a manual to show how sports can be adapted with minimal cost and equipment so everyone can play! She is also the first girl in the history of LCC to make the juvenile baseball team, an accomplishment to be proud of and is the recipient of the Peter W Webster ‘60 Scholarship & Award.

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Christopher Shannon joined LCC in 2005. Since then he has overseen the implementation of three strategic plans, the school’s most successful fundraising initiatives and the construction of several state-of-the art learning facilities. Under his leadership, LCC has also developed a clear vision for campus and program development with an emphasis on program excellence, innovation and sustainability. This includes a more global orientation with the adoption of the IB curriculum in the high school, active membership in the Round Square International Association of Schools and broad student participation in the Duke of Edinburgh leadership programs.

During his tenure at LCC, Mr. Shannon has been President of the QAIS and served on the boards of CAIS, Round Square and the Vimy Foundation, which provides unique learning opportunities for young Canadians exploring Canada’s notable WWI legacy. Prior to coming to LCC, Mr. Shannon served for six years as head of school at Stanstead College in Quebec’s Eastern Townships.

A fluently bilingual Montrealer, Christopher Shannon graduated from Selwyn House School and from Pre-University at LCC, making him the first alumnus to head Lower Canada College. He pursued his education at Queen’s (B.A.), Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales – University of Geneva (Master's in International Affairs) and Brock University in Ontario (Master's in Educational Administration). Chris and his wife Hilary have two children: Leah (Pre-U ’06) and Matthew ’07 (Pre-U ’08), both proud graduates of LCC.

David Schwartz '87, Chair of the Board, has been the chief financial officer of Nuvei Corporation, a global fintech company, since November 2018. From 2010 to 2018, he was a senior executive of The Aldo Group ultimately being appointed chief financial officer in 2015. From 1999 to 2009, David was a senior financial executive of Optimal Payments and chief financial officer since 2002. He started his career at Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP where he held positions in assurance and financial advisory services. David holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University, is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and member of the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec since 1996, as well as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). David and his wife Leanne have three daughters: Daniella ’17, Kaylee ’19 and Madison ’23.

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Trevor Williams, LCC parent of Riley ‘26, grew up in Little Burgundy, an inner-city Montreal neighbourhood. His perseverance and basketball skills landed him the opportunity of a lifetime— a basketball scholarship to an American university and a chance to play for the Canadian national team. 

After playing for division 1 universities in both Louisiana and New Jersey, Trevor played against basketball legends including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird from the 1992 USA Dream Team.

However, Basketball glory was not what Trevor was after. He returned to Montreal with a vision to change the lives of youth across the city. With childhood friend Dean Smith, Trevor founded the Trevor Williams All-Star Basketball Academy in 1992, an instructional basketball camp that drives youth to be the best that they can be. The Trevor Williams Basketball Academy has a distinctive mission: to create good basketball players, but more importantly, good people. In 2002, Trevor expanded his vision founding the Trevor Williams Kids Foundation, a non-profit organization aimed at teaching life skills to youth from impoverished families.

Both the camp and the foundation are clear manifestations of Trevor’s motto: “Academics plus athletics equals a perfect education.” He continually stresses the importance of balance; and the importance of health, well-being and education. By educating and empowering youth, he has made a tremendous difference in the lives of youth across the city.

Trevor Williams now coaches basketball at Dawson College and continues to serve as both Director of the Basketball Academy and President of the Foundation. He is a well-known and widely respected figure in the Montreal community and in the basketball community of universities across North America.

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Leslie Levinson has taught at the Mackay Centre School since 1989. She holds a Bachelor of Education in Physical Education, a Masters in Adapted Physical Activity and a Certificate in Inclusive Education all obtained at McGill University. Leslie began her teaching career at Mackay as a physical education teacher, later moving into the classroom. After attending an inspirational conference in New York in 1998, Leslie experienced a professional epiphany that would shape her career and forever change the lives of all her future students. With full support from the administration at Mackay, Leslie returned home to spearhead the creation of an Augmentative Communication class for students with complex communication needs and has been working with these students ever since.

Leslie stays up to date with the seemingly constant innovations in the fields of technology and teaching methods that have enhanced and improved the quality-of-life experiences of her students (and their families) by regularly attending AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) conferences.

Twice a year, Leslie also takes her students to Camp Massawippi, an adapted camp in the Eastern Townships for a three-day camping adventure, which provides much needed respite for parents/guardians. Accompanied by support staff and caregivers, Leslie’s students can experience the joys of sleep-away camp, in a secure setting for the first and sometimes only time, memories they will likely never forget. She also coordinates annual field trips to the Atwater Market, the bowling alley as well as hockey and skating outings (thanks to LCC).

In recognition of her undying passion and unconditional commitment to her students, Leslie was honoured to be the recipient of the EMSB Teacher of Inspiration award in 2014.

While there has been a long-standing relationship between Lower Canada College and the Mackay Centre School, Leslie has a personal relationship with LCC as well. She is the mother of LCC alumni: Blair '10, Josh '13, Drew '17, Pre-U '18 and Kirsten '20, Pre-U '21. Her husband, Scott graduated from Lower Canada College in 1981 and her late father-in- law Martin worked at LCC from 1965-2000, first as head of the Science Department and later in his career as Assistant Headmaster of Academics. Rounding out the Mackay/LCC connection, two of Leslie’s children participated in the Reverse Integration Program at Mackay, Blair (1997-1998) and Kirsten (2012-2013). Kirsten is now the director of Camp Massawippi’s summer day camp.

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Jennifer Irwin is terrible at hockey, but that hasn’t stopped her from having a tiny (huge) crush on Sidney Crosby.

She holds a bachelor's and master's degree in English literature, as well as a Bachelor of Education from McGill University. She teaches Middle and Senior School English at Lower Canada College. The students she admires most are the ones who never stop trying.

She lives in Montreal, QC, with her husband, two sons, and a cat and dog who are locked in the grips of an intense love/hate relationship. This is her first novel.

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A recognized motivational speaker and healer, LCC parent, Olga Munari, is an inspirational force in the breast cancer community, mentoring cancer patients and families and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer research. Following her first best-selling book, The Joy of Cancer: A Journey of Self-Discovery (2012), Olga presented her memorable and exhilarating story of survival in a TEDx Talk in Las Vegas, Nevada. Today, she continues to inspire through public speaking, writing, coaching and media appearances.

A prolific best-selling author, Olga bares her soul in her book The Joy of Life: Now What? (2020), revealing the emotional devastation at the hands of an abusive uncle. Her latest book, The Joy of Healing: Overcome Victimhood. End Denial. Live Life. (2021), Olga sheds the effects of sexual abuse through her mother’s story, exhuming the past and discovering that loving oneself and others is the universal cure for disease.

A student of Dr. Deepak Chopra’s meditation instruction and graduate of Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica, Olga shows us how to embrace, not deny, our inner struggle to bring out the best in us.

Olga is mother to Andrew ‘06, Laurie ‘08 & Jeremy ‘14.

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In this episode, we welcome LCC’s Michele Owen, director of student life and Gillian Shadley, school counselor for a conversation about positive education and social emotional learning models.

Ms. Owen holds a Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Social Work from McGill University. Ms. Shadley holds a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Social Work from McGill University, along with a Master of Arts in Education from Concordia University. Both have completed a certification in positive education and PERMA-V and have been working at Lower Canada College for 19 years.

Positive education brings together the science of positive psychology with best practice teaching to encourage and support individuals, schools and communities to flourish. It is a combination of “feeling good and doing good”. Positive education focuses on specific skills that assist students to strengthen their relationships, build positive emotions, enhance personal resilience, promote mindfulness and encourage a healthy lifestyle.

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Natascia Lypny ‘08, Pre-U ‘09 is the features producer for CBC Saskatchewan, based in Regina. She leads in-depth and longform storytelling on the web, television, radio and social media. Since graduating from the University of King’s College's journalism program, she has worked in six provinces. She loves mentoring developing reporters.

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Natalie Voland is the parent of an LCC alum from the class of 2022 and current parent of a grade 9 student.

Natalie has been reinventing the process of real estate development for over 25 years. With a background in social work, she has a unique and purpose-driven, design-centred outlook on development that prioritizes historical protection of civic assets. She is forward-thinking; using buildings to unite communities and push environmental advocacy. 

Natalie is an award-winning, socially-driven developer and a leader of the Quebec B Corp movement, where her companies contribute to the protection of the environment, foster social inclusion, while making market-driven profit to further the economic development of Montreal. She manages 1.5 million square feet, supports over 500 entrepreneurs, and is an active expert, public speaker, and mentor. Her newest venture - Quo Vadis Capital - is investing in carbon mitigated accessible housing to address inclusion and climate change in real estate.

Natalie sits on several boards and think tanks associated with her passion to be a leader in environmental, social and governmental (ESG) development. She is an active master planner, and partners with universities to use her assets as teaching and prototype tools to evolve concepts on what kind of city we want to build as citizens and corporate leaders. Natalie is a PhD candidate and member of the Concordia Chair of Excellence in Research on Smart and Resilient Cities and the Next Generation Cities Institute specializing in the bridge of market business practices that drive sustainability on the built environment.

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