Julia Dotson, Coordinator

Ms. Dotson holds a BA (Spanish and Latin American studies) and an MBA.  She has broad business experience, including diverse international assignments, and has worked for small, medium and large companies.  Among her responsibilities have been strategic planning, financial and operational management, international contract negotiation, proposal development, and program implementation.

As the College’s first International Business Program Coordinator and primary program professor from 1993-2000, Ms. Dotson designed the first student exchange and study abroad initiatives, including programs in Poland, Finland, China, Mexico and Paraguay.  She has represented Confederation College on many international projects and in the design of Ontario standards for International Business programs.  From 2000- 2005, Ms. Dotson represented the College in Paraguay as technical advisor for a CIDA-funded business development project.  She resumed her teaching and coordination roles in the International Business & Trade program in 2012.

Her extensive travel outside of North America has included Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America 

 Liisa Hupka

Liisa Hupka holds a Bachelor of Administration degree from Lakehead University, and a Masters of International Management degree from the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, Minnesota). 

Upon completion of her Masters degree, she worked in the financial industry (Bank of Montreal) before embarking on an exciting marketing career in Toronto.  She has hired, trained and managed hundreds of staff for promotional events across Canada for such clients as Canadian Tire, L'Oreal, and Coca-Cola.    Her final position before returning to Thunder Bay was Regional Manager for a successful field marketing company called Match Marketing Group.  Liisa is excited to be back living in Thunder Bay, raising her family and teaching courses in International Business for Confederation College!

W. Todd Maki

 Todd Maki is an educator who has incorporated extensive business experience into the classroom in order to encourage learners to think beyond what is known to expand their world view. 

 He is a business development professional with over 20 years’ experience in strategic planning, marketing, sales and operations working in Canada, the U.S., South America and Asia.  As an individual, he is committed to superior performance and excellence demonstrated in projects that include: marketing and promoting products from inception to market; creating sales programs that have exceeded expectations; developing quality relationships with customers and strategic partners; creating dedicated teams achieving unprecedented success; and developing business plans that have attracted and captured capital investment.

 He is a native of Thunder Bay with a B.A. and B.Ed. from Lakehead University.

Hui Pan

Hui Pan holds a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Windsor, ON, combined with thirteen years of applied teaching experience in a post secondary classroom setting. She has been teaching Mandarin Chinese with Confederation College since January 2006. She developed the curriculum for both the Fundamental Chinese and the Conversational Chinese courses.  Hui is a certified Mandarin court interpreter who has been involved extensively in translation and interpreting work. She is also a registered social worker who received her Honours Bachelor Degree of Social Work from Lakehead University. Hui is currently working part time as a community outreach worker with the Negahneewin College her teaching role.