Meet the team.The archiTEXT team is an eclectic, dynamic, hilarious, creative, and inspired group of people - from the worlds of design, business, research, art, and various other places - that come together with a common passion to be part of a design and creativity dialogue.
Zahra Ebrahim - Principal, Partner, Founder- Born in Kenya, raised in West Vancouver, and educated at McGill University in Montreal, Zahra started archiTEXT five yearsago, at 22 years old. She brings together diverse groups to tackle the intersections of architecture, design,and creativity with social change, the environment, politics, economics, equality, health, and pop culture. Using various methods ranging from curationto public engagement to conceptual art, she engages a broad spectrum of the public across the country in design discourse.
As the youngest professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD), she teaches in the Think Tank Program, getting the next generation of designers asking complex questions of themselves and the world around them. She is also the co-lead on the Community. Design.Initiative. a legacy project engaging some of Canada's most marginalized youth in architecture and design in Toronto's priority neighborhoods. Zahra spent two years serving as Innovator in Residence at the Design Exchange, Canada’s National Design Museum.
In her spare time, Ebrahim is the co-Executive Producer on We're Up Here: A Fresh Look at Canadian Design set for production in 2012, and also volunteers as the Co-Chair of Outreach for Couchiching Institute of Public Affairs and as the Chair of Events for Architecture for Humanity (Toronto Chapter). She also sits on the Canadian Commission for UNESCO Youth Advisory Group, the ReThink Breast CancerBreastfest Film Festival Committee, and contributes to the OnSite Review and The Mark. In the winter, she volunteers with the OntarioTrack 3 Association, teaching children and youth with disabilities tosnowboard. Zahra was recently recognized as one of the Global KnowledgePartnership's Top 100 Young Global Social Entrepreneurs. 
Sherry Lin - Creative Director, Partner- Sherry first connected with Zahra at an Architecture for Humanity meeting. A few months later, after a tour of the What Has Architecture Done For You Lately exhibit, she fell in love with the work and people of archiTEXT. She originally came on board to help with the Community.Design.Initiative but soon her skills and passions expanded her reach to many other projects.
A graduate of Ryerson University, Sherry has a Bachelor of Interior Design, a Certificate in Architecture and is also LEED certified. And just in case you thought she didn't have enough degrees, she also has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Accountant. Her broad range of experiences, from Canada's largest public accounting firm to an exhibit design firm to an interior design firm, allows her to interface with a wide client base.
In her spare time, Sherry has volunteered with various youth organizations including Junior Achievement and was recently nominated as Advisor of the Year by Junior Achievement. As a sustainable designer, the idea of creating housing sustainably prompted her to enter the 2010 IDSWest/AFH Vancouver PreFab 20/20 Competition. The concept behind this 400sf house was based on the modularity of LEGO blocks.
Aside from being a lover of all things design, Sherry is a passionate foodie. Everything from books, to TV shows, to cooking, creating recipes and, of course, eating! Because of this last love, she is also an avid runner, having run her first half marathon last year (aiming to do one every year). She loves to blog about design, food and culture. 
Sonja Millermaier - Associate- A recent graduate of the University of Michigan in Architecture and French and Francophone studies, Sonja is an import from our Southerly neighbor, the good ol' USA. After interning briefly with the studio inthe Summer of 2009, Sonja has returned to archiTEXT to pursue her passions as an architecture thinker, creator, and collaborator. Working primarily on the FutureBuilders program here at archiTEXT, Sonja is passionate about the power of design to affect and motivate social change, and the way in which architectural thinking and education can involve youth and spark creative imagination. Sonja enjoys coupling her passions for community development, social and environmental change with a promotion of the arts and artistic expression. A former dancer, Sonja still pursues her interests in dance, music and the performing arts while spending the rest of her free time outdoors, rain or shine. Sonja has worked previously in the Chicago area with an Urban Sustainable Design Studio on issues of sustainable urban development where she collaborated with an effort to implement urban farming and public neighborhood gardening to promote sustainable food systems in the greater Chicago area.
Jackie Beale - Associate- A graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design in Environmental Design, Jackie brings a passion for cities and their movement and how design concepts can be adapted to new locations and situations. She is a thinker, designer, photographer, athlete and culture and culinary enthusiast. Her broad range of interests and skills allows her to curate a variety of projects that come through the archiTEXT door. Jackie brings experience working with youth and bridging the building and urban landscapes of a city along with a persistent curiosity to explore.
