DC Talks: Alumni Series “From Education to Entrepreneur”

About this class

Join us on November 19 for the next DC Talks: Alumni Series event, featuring a panel of five Durham College (DC) graduates who have found success starting their own business. Moderators Ariel Sully and Cristina Italia will lead a conversation about the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship. These innovators share one thing in common — they leveraged their DC education to turn bold ideas into thriving ventures.

This special event celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit that thrives beyond the classroom — and the lasting connections between education, business, and community.

During this event, the DC Alumni Association (DCAA) will also be launching the Alumni Entrepreneur Toolkit, a collection of resources for graduates to tap into to support their business growth, including hiring opportunities, exclusive partnerships, and savings on small business insurance.

Thank you to our sponsor Kleurvision for supporting this event and our students. The DC Talks: Alumni Series is hosted by the DCAA in collaboration with Lon Appleby’s Global Leader class at DC and aims to inspire current students, facilitate networking among alumni, and highlight success stories. This event is also a part of ‘Do It In Durham Entrepreneurship Week’, Durham Region’s celebration of entrepreneurship held each November during Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Panellists

Brittany Charlton

Law Clerk Advanced, Class of 2016

Brittany Charlton is a Forbes 30U30 entrepreneur and founder of Chocovate Labs. In 2017, Brittany started Ohh! Foods, a line of allergen-friendly, vegan, and gluten-free snacks inspired by her own food allergy. What started as a personal mission became a national brand, landing on shelves in Walmart, Costco, and 1000+ retail doors across Canada. In 2025, she launched Chocovate Labs, a food-tech company developing cocoa-free chocolate that looks, tastes, and performs like traditional chocolate, without using a single cocoa bean. As cocoa prices skyrocket and supply chains strain, Chocovate Labs helps global food brands future-proof their chocolate products through scalable, sustainable alternatives.

Paul Fritzsch

Horticulture – Food and Farming, Class of 2023

After a 20-year career in software technology, Paul decided to follow a lifelong passion for agriculture and return to college. While at DC, he participated in the Student Work program, where he gained invaluable experience in his role as Community and Edible Gardens Ambassador representing the Barrett Centre of Innovation in Sustainable Urban Agriculture. During his last semester, he founded Urban Farm Solutions, an urban agriculture company with a mission to help create holistic communities that are food-sovereign and connected to the health of their own environments. By transforming underutilized urban green spaces into productive and beautiful market gardens, much of the food grown can be donated to local food banks and care organizations.

Zenon Issel

Mechanical Engineering Technology, Class of 1998

Zenon is a mechanical engineer turned entrepreneur with a diverse career spanning engineering, business development, and brand leadership across industries and continents. After graduating from Durham College, Zenon spent over two decades with Solar Turbines where he designed turbomachinery products and managed a team supporting billions in annual revenue. Today, Zenon calls Hawai‘i home, where he blends his technical background with his entrepreneurial drive. Together with his wife, Cindy, he co-founded Surf-fur, a performance outerwear brand that pioneered a new product category in the watersports industry. For nearly 20 years, Surf-fur has provided warmth, safety, and protection to ocean enthusiasts and professionals worldwide, including members of the military and special operations.

Nicole Morais

Hospitality Management – Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism, Class of 2016

Nicole is the founder and CEO of Crave Doughnuts. Launched in 2018, Crave has become a local favourite in Durham Region with its first location in Whitby followed by a second in Oshawa, collectively selling approximately 5,000 doughnuts per week. Nicole has been passionate about hospitality for as long as she can remember and fell in love with the idea of creating memorable experiences through food while connecting with her community. With a focus on locally sourced, quality ingredients, Nicole and the team at Crave bring joy to people’s lives with doughnuts handmade with love from scratch.

Shanondoah Nicholson

Event Management, Class of 2013

Shanondoah is an award-winning event planner who makes magic happen. After 15 years of in-house roles in various industries, she has recently taken Beyond the BEO full time. Shanondoah has a unique ability to understand both her client’s, and her client’s clients’ needs, intuitively. These lead to her routinely producing experiences that attendees speak about for years to come. She is also the creator and host of the Beyond the BEO podcast, which routinely features notable industry guests discussing important topics to further educate listeners about all aspects of the events industry.