About Us
Our Vision
To help millions of students create opportunities for growth and become more confident achievers, regardless of any challenges they encounter.
Our Mission
To inspire and encourage student growth, and improve their well-being through evidence-based programs.
Driven by our Core Values
Our Team is committed to…
Proudly designed in collaboration with
educators, principals, educational and child
psychologists, and psychometricians.
Dr. Richard Feenstra
Dr. Richard Feenstra is an educational psychologist with a focus on goal theory and decision-making. Instrumental in the CU-SMART curriculum development, he uses a unique approach to optimizing the SMART methodology, ensuring its efficacy amongst students. Rich changes the way we interact with and create goals.
For over two decades he has conducted research and helped organizations improve training and educational programs around the world.
Since 2012, over 140,000 students in 186 countries have enrolled in his online courses to learn evidence-based strategies for goal setting and problem solving.
Rich is a member of the American Education Research Association and the Society for Judgment and Decision Making. He holds an M.S. in workforce development and a Ph.D. in educational psychology with an emphasis on learning and technology.
Dr. Yaniv Elharrar
Dr. Yaniv Elharrar, co-director of the West Island Therapy and Wellness Centre, has been working with children, adolescents, and their families for the past 20 years.
He specializes in conducting assessments (psychological, psychoeducational, and developmental) and providing psychotherapy.
His role with ConnectU has brought tremendous value across multiple areas for the CU-Program, including content and process. His expertise in student mental health has made the program an invaluable asset.
Dr. Elharrar earned his doctorate degree in Psychology from the Université du Québec a Montréal, and is also a member in good standing with the Ordre des Psychologues du Québec.
Dr. Elharrar also currently acts as an expert consultant for various schools, school boards, medical clinics and educational boards across Quebec.
Vivian Chan, PhD
Vivian is the lead psychometrician for ConnectU Student Assessment (CUSA). As an organizational psychologist, her passion is to help individuals, teams, and organizations grow and excel at work. Her contributions have helped design the CUSA psychometric models, which significantly improve the quality of actionable data for schools.
Vivian is deep-skilled in talent assessment design, validation, and debrief. Her expertise has provided solutions in talent onboarding, leadership development, employee experience, and program evaluation. She works with various sectors, including non-for-profit organizations, small to mid-sized businesses, and academic institutions.
She has been the primary psychometrician who helped lead the publication of 5 clinical/educational and corporate assessments during her time at Multi-Health Systems, Inc. (MHS), a leading publisher of scientifically validated assessments for more than 30 years.
She obtained her Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology at the University of Waterloo, and is a professor of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the University of Toronto.
Dov Shapiro
Dov Shapiro is an Experiential Educator and Business owner with over 30 years experience working with children.
As Founder and CEO of ConnectU Program Inc., Dov brings the vision and tenacity to ensure the CU Program positively impacts as many students as possible. His strong business mindset has scaled the program to benefit all users from administrators, to teachers, to parents.
Dov has over 3 decades of North American education, camp and management experience. His previous roles as Director of Westcoast Connection Travel Camp (NY), Owner/Director of Camp Chateaugay (NY) and Mad Science Director and Science Teacher (FL) have brought a wealth of knowledge to the team about the academic industry.
Dov has had the opportunity to empower over 15,000 students, in 4 countries and 3 continents over the last 3 decades.
A proud American Camp Association Speaker, he is an esteemed award-winning Camp Director, having spoken at multiple conventions and workshops, and educated over 10,000 camp professionals.
Erika Rath
Erika Rath is the Director of Student Services and Residence Life at The Sacred Heart School of Montreal where she oversees student life, student integration, boarding, and much more.
Erika is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to challenge and empower students. This is why her involvement with the CU Program has been foundational in supporting students in their educational journeys.
Erika has been working in the educational field for over 15 years. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Relations from Concordia University, and a Bachelors of Education from the University of Toronto. She earned her Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology from McGill University and a graduate certificate in Human Resources from Simon Fraser University.
Erika integrates several schools of thought into her teachings, including: Executive Functioning Skills, Social Emotional Learning activities, Learning Strategies, and Personal Growth. She ensures that the students are fully engaged and learn about themselves not only as students, but as individuals.