Board
The Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson
Co-Founder, Co-Chair
The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Canada’s 26th Governor General from 1999-2005, is universally acknowledged to have transformed the office during her six years at Rideau Hall and to have left an indelible mark on Canada’s history.
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John Ralston Saul
Co-Founder, Co-Chair
John Ralston Saul is an award-winning essayist and novelist. His 16 works, including Voltaire’s Bastards, A Fair Country and The Comeback, have been translated into 29 languages in 38 countries. Saul is the Co-Founder & Co-Chair of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, President Emeritus of PEN International, and Co-Founder & Honorary Chair of French for the Future. He is a Companion in the Order of Canada and a Member of the Order of Ontario.
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Martin Katz
Board Director
Martin Katz is Founder and President of Prospero Pictures. One of the most prolific feature film producers in Canada, Katz’s credits include Hotel Rwanda, which was nominated for three Academy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards, and Bronwen Hughes’ Stander, which the London Observer called “the greatest heist film since Reservoir Dogs.”
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Zai Mamdani
Board Director
A professional with a depth of corporate and non-profit experience, Zai Mamdani leverages her education and experience to provide strategic leadership and operational guidance.
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Irfhan Rawji
Board Director
Irfhan Rawji is the Founder & CEO of MobSquad. This innovative Canadian start-up ensures high-calibre software engineers with U.S. work visa challenges remain working with their current company but near-shored from Canada.
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Khalil Shariff
Board Director
Khalil Shariff has served as Chief Executive Officer of Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC), a leading Canadian global development agency, since 2005.
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Staff
Daniel Bernhard
Chief Executive Officer
Daniel is a first-generation Canadian who has dedicated his career to public benefit following a short stint in corporate consulting.
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George Carothers
Senior Director, Ideas and Insights
George is a research professional with global experience spanning academia, consulting, and non-profit management.
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Mike Crum
Senior Director, Philanthropy
Mike has four decades of leadership experience in philanthropy ranging from volunteer-led community organizations to billion-dollar university capital campaigns. Originally from the US, he moved to Canada when his partner accepted a post at the University of Toronto. He embraces Canada and the opportunity to raise his children in such a diverse country.
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Salimah Dhalla
Senior Director, Strategy and Operations
Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Salimah is the ICC’s resident newcomer advocate, bringing the perspective of our beneficiaries into every program and decision.
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Tarun Tripathi
Senior Director, Growth and Innovation
Tarun is a marketing and growth professional with 20+ years of experience across media industries, from film to social and digital media and branded content.
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Roberto Esteban Alvarez
Director, Global Partnerships
Originally from Mexico, Roberto moved to Toronto at eighteen to pursue a Bachelor’s degree and ended up staying. He left momentarily to Spain to complete a Master’s degree in Public Administration.
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Terri Heggum-Allen
Director, Finance
Terri Heggum-Allen spent the first part of her career with a special focus on small and family businesses. Then, in pursuit of a comprehensive grounding in tax planning, Terri took a position as Tax Manager in the Tax Department of a national CPA firm, where she completed her Tax In-Depth training.
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Kelly Taylor
Director, Volunteers
Kelly has a BSc in Cognitive Science from the University of Toronto and a Recreation and Leisure Diploma – Fast Track from Humber College. Kelly has most recently worked for 18 years in the Not-For-Profit sector and has over 20+ years of volunteer management experience. She is excited to share her passion for volunteering with newcomer youth. Kelly enjoys spending time with family, baseball, curling, and travelling in her spare time.
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Gaurav Vaz
Director, Product & Marketing
Gaurav is a generalist and entrepreneur at heart. In the last 15 years, he has built multiple companies and has had varied professional experience in diverse industries including software engineering, web design and development, music and media.
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Olga Nseya Nkuba
Events Manager
Born In the Democratic Republic of Congo and having lived in five countries through her childhood, Olga developed a love and appreciation for different cultures at an early age which has followed her throughout her career as a seasoned client service professional, primarily working with Government of Canada organizations. She has a love for learning, understanding, and helping which has aided her growth in leadership roles and event/program coordinating. During her spare time, she enjoys painting, discovering new music and cooking.
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Tanya Hemley
Office Manager & Executive Assistant to the CEO
Tanya was born and raised in Kingston Jamaica. She immigrated to Canada at the age of 13. Tanya has over 20+ years’ experience in the administrative field and spent 6 years as a bookkeeper.
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Joyce Chan
Bookkeeper
Joyce has worked in serving profit and non-profit organizations. Her passion is volunteering at women’s shelters and practicing stand-up comedian routines.
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Mojoyin Adigun
Volunteer Placement Lead
Mojoyin was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and immigrated to Canada in her early teenage years. In her professional journey, she has extensive experience in volunteering and various associated programs. Mojoyin’s passion for inclusion and helping others has led her to actively create and participate in various initiatives to impact the community positively.
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Shadia Vargas
Volunteer Sourcing Lead
After 14 years overseeing the operations of the volunteer organization she co-founded in Peru, Shadia moved to Montreal to pursue a Master’s in Educational Leadership. As a former education and social entrepreneur, she has a mission-driven spirit and loves working for a purpose. She has long experience implementing volunteer cooperation programs, connecting volunteers with educational institutions, leading and coaching youth teams, and building strategic partnerships at local and overseas levels. During the last few years, Shadia has also worked in education and leadership programs at reputable institutions such as McGill University and Fanshawe College.
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Kathryn Hawco
Program Lead
Born in Victoria, BC, Kathryn has moved several times and landed the longest in Ottawa, ON. Kathryn completed her undergraduate degree at Carleton University in Global and International Studies, with a specialization in Global Development.
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Ayesha Mohammedy
Program Lead
Born in Pakistan, Ayesha is a first-generation Pakistani who immigrated to Canada at a young age. She spent her childhood in Toronto which exposed her to a multitude of cultures and peoples and that have inspired her studies into Political Science and English at the University of Toronto.
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Arash Safavi
Digital Marketing and Communications Lead
Arash Safavi is digital media savvy and creative thinker. In addition to having 12+ years of experience in content creation, he also has 6+ years of experience in digital media and digital marketing. This is complemented by strong design skills and a multimedia background. His educational background includes an MFA in Art, Media, and Design as well as an engineering degree. His interest, research and practices lie around diaspora, photography and visual storytelling.
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Natalia Garcia Basilio
Philanthropy Coordinator
Natalia holds a BA in International Relations and possesses a strong background in project management, event management, fundraising and research. She has worked in a variety of environments that include non-profits, as well as local and national governments and embassies.Natalia was born in Mexico, and after having first visited Canada as an exchange student, she has called Canada home since 2016. Before coming to Canada she lived and worked in Serbia and Montenegro. She is fluent in English, Spanish and Serbian.Natalia is passionate about languages and understanding how they reflect the cultural richness of the nations that speak them. She loves trying international cuisines and learning about the stories behind each dish.
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Andrew Beer
Customer Support Specialist
Andrew Beer has worked with the ICC since 2011 and marveled at its change and growth into what it is today. Keen on streamlining processes, Andrew has a database background and is Canoo’s bilingual customer service guru.
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Arjun Andotra
Events Specialist
Arjun is an experienced event producer and tour manager with over 10 years of experience producing international music festivals, concerts, stand-up comedy shows and branded properties, such as EDC, NH7 Weekender, Red Bull Tour Bus and YouTube Fan Fest.
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Stuti Bindesri
Bilingual Events Specialist
Holding a diploma in Events Management and a Bachelor of Commerce in Hospitality & Tourism, Stuti brings a solid background to her work. As the Settlement Agency Lead at ICC, she oversees different lines of collaboration and plays a crucial role in maintaining strong partnerships. With fluency in English, French, Creole, and Hindi, Stuti effectively communicates and collaborates with partners from diverse backgrounds.
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Maria-Jesus Diaz
Bilingual Events Specialist
Maria-Jesus is a multilingual Communication, Events & Marketing Specialist with a Public Relations Degree from Humber College and over 15 years of experience. She became a fluent polyglot at the age of seven, speaking Spanish, French and English and grew up on three continents, making her a natural communicator and globe-trotter. Through her travels, she has learned the importance of cross-cultural communications and international affairs. She is passionate about people & cultures, culinary & Astro tourism, and the healing arts.
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Chelsea Brown
Digital Communications Specialist
Chelsea Brown is the Digital Communications Specialist at the Institute for Canadian Citizenship. She is also the founder of Millie, a social enterprise and community that amplifies women’s voices, creates access to education and economic growth for women worldwide. A women’s advocacy champion and human rights/education equity activist, Chelsea sits on the International advisory board of NGO Femme International, an organization that helps address the needs of menstruators in low-income communities. Chelsea has collaborated with 70+ women globally, shared 40 WOC stories, created the Sitti x Millie scholarship campaign for Palestinian women and girls living in the Jeresh Refugee Camp in Jordan, revived the Pin Project helping Syrian refugees, and more.
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Nabil Fairbairn
Monitoring, Evaluating Analytics Specialist
Nabil is a recent graduate with a degree in Linguistics and Cognitive Science. His interests lie at the crossroads of Artificial Intelligence and Language.
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Adiba Hasan
Research Specialist
Adiba earned her Bachelor’s in Religion and Political Science from Augustana College in Illinois, United States and Master’s in Global Affairs at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, Canada.
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Jayani Srigouranga
Program Specialist
Jayani completed her undergraduate degree at Carleton University in Anthropology with minors in African Studies and American Sign Language. Additionally, during her undergrad, she was involved in many extracurricular activities that involved student support/engagement and research. With her parents immigrating to Canada from Sri Lanka, making her a first-generation Tamil Canadian, Jayani has and continues to explore the meaning and experience of being a part of a diaspora. She strongly believes in the power of community and will take any opportunity to learn something new. Working with and supporting newcomers’ sense of belonging is a role she holds near and dear to her heart. In her spare time, Jayani loves to cook, read, spend time with her friends/family, travel, and tend to her many plants.
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Jenna Brownlow
Program Assistant
Jenna completed her Masters in Museum Studies at the University College Cork in Ireland. Having worked in a variety of museums and galleries in Canada and Ireland, she is passionate about building community connections through art and culture.
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Vidah Reghat
Program Assistant
Vidah is a first-generation Canadian, currently finishing her undergraduate degree at The University of Toronto, specializing in Bioethics and minoring in English studies. Growing up in a Filipino-Iranian household, she understands how empowering it can be when cultures collide. Using her multiple years of customer service experience, Vidah is adamant about providing the best bi-lingual assistance (in both English and French) to any inquiring Canoo members.
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Jasmine Garland
Partnership Success Assistant
I grew up in a culturally diverse family and have been fortunate to travel to 24 countries. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Certificate in Sexual Health Rehabilitation, I do whatever I can to help people become more confident within themselves and their lives.
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Join our team!
Our team is the key to the successful delivery of the Institute’s programs. Our team members bring a diversity of perspectives to our work and reflect the lived experiences of Canadian society.
Our Supporters
We are constantly inspired by our community of passionate supporters. The unparalleled commitment of our donors and partners is what builds the strength of our programs.
