Hi I’m Danielle!

I’m a life long KW resident, and was born right here in Kitchener at WRHN (formerly Grand River Hospital).

I grew up on the north end of Waterloo near RIM park and was heavily involved in Scouting growing up. This included a lot of volunteer work like tree planting, garbage cleanups, food drives, and running activities for local youth. Scouting and the junior naturalist program at Laurel Creek Nature Center sparked my life long love of camping, the outdoors, and the natural world.

For high school I attended Bluevale Collegiate Institute and was the Captain of the Bluevale Electric Car Club. At this time I also had the pleasure of serving as the Scouting Area Youth Commissioner for Kitchener and Waterloo, which included representing local youth needs at our the Council level, and running leadership training programs for younger youth.

For University I went to the University of Guelph, and completed a bachelors degree in Microbiology with a minor in Molecular Biology and Genetics. During my degree I helped found the Guelph iGEM team and competed at an international level in this biology research competition.

After University I moved back to KW and became integrated in the local startup and innovation ecosystem. In 2021 my brother and I founded a biotech company (Ceragen) developing disease testing for greenhouse fruit and vegetable growers. We went through the University of Waterloo’s Velocity Startup Incubator Program, raised over $3.5M in funding, and were selected for Forbes 30 under 30 in 2023.

During my time at Ceragen I also regularly volunteered to help with student entrepreneurship workshops and pitch competitions. I mentored dozens of students, including the over 20 co-op students we employed at Ceragen over the last 5 years. In 2022 Ceragen won the University of Waterloo Co-op Employer Impact Award for Impact in Research after we were nominated by our co-ops. Most recently I helped Velocity organize an Agrifood Innovation Challenge in collaboration with the Ontario Greenhouse Fruit and Vegetable Growers association (OGVG) and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA).

Moving on from my startup adventures, I have decided to get back to my roots in volunteering and community development and run for City Council.

Today I live in the Williamsburg Area in Ward 5 with my partner Oleksii (Alex), our two friends, and their dog Cinnamon. On the weekend I can be found birding in the Huron Natural Area, shopping for fresh produce at the Farmer’s market, out in my garden tending to far too many tomato plants, or swing dancing at Remix’s studio in Uptown Waterloo.