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.
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.
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. Ayesha is also a lettering artist. She speaks four different languages fluently, English, Urdu, Gujarati, Hindi while in the process of learning Spanish and Arabic. Her passion for cultures, peoples, and languages have translated into being a part of Canoo that focuses on a sense of belonging for newcomers.
Ayesha spends her spare time actively being involved with family or learning something new to cook.
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. Kathryn has always been a people person. Working with children on the Autism spectrum, volunteering with elderly folks, providing personal care services to physically disabled adults, and now, fostering belonging for newcomers to Canada have all been rewarding and fulfilling fields of work. Outside of work, Kathryn enjoys spending time in nature, reading, volunteering in her community, and travelling.
Adiba earned her Bachelor’s in Religion and Political Science from Augustana College in Illinois, United States, and her Master’s in Global Affairs at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, Canada. She interned with the International Organization for Migration in Switzerland where she worked with the Return and Reintegration Team. Before moving to Canada, she was a research fellow at the Othering and Belonging Institute, focusing on the impact of racial anxiety on voting behavior. Adiba is a Bengali citizen, born and reared in the United Arab Emirates and establishing herself in North America. Working in the realms of immigration and inclusion has been a core element in her journey. Adiba’s spare time is usually spent with her cat, doing henna, or experimenting with different teas and spices, usually ending in a colorful mess.
Joyce has worked in serving profit and non-profit organizations. Her passion is volunteering at women’s shelters and practicing stand-up comedian routines.
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. Beginning his career at the Liberal Caucus Service Bureau in the 90s, over the years, he has coolly and personably represented institutions such as Toronto Hydro, Employment Standards and the Elementary Teachers of Toronto to their stakeholders, clients, and customers.
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. For 6 years Tanya worked at Across Boundaries a mental health community drop-in center for visual minorities, refugees, and immigrants. She’s also worked in the manufacturing, automotive and public relations industries.
Tanya loves spending time with the ones she loves, listening to music and cooking.
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. Immediately after, he started working with John helping him with his presidency at PEN International and writing many interesting things. Afterwards, he briefly consulted for non-profits where the ICC became one of his clients, which hired him full time. He started at 6 Degrees, booking speakers, and securing partners and audience members for the program. Roberto is currently the Manager of Strategic partnerships. In this position, he led the launch of #EqualChance with a wonderful team. He is now working with another great team to get existing and new Canoo partners on board with the next phase. After several years in Canada, Roberto now enjoys the winter. Testament to this is his attendance at an outdoor music festival in Montréal next February. Roberto lives in Parkdale in Toronto.
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.
Having gained this vital experience, she rejoined the family firm, Loftus Allen & Co., with strong technical training in corporate and personal taxation and has been a partner in the practice, specializing in family business, tax and estate planning ever since. In 2019 she received her Arizona CPA to assist with cross-border tax planning.
Terri has completed training as an Imago Educator to facilitate dialogue through difficult conversations. She has extensive experience facilitating business family meetings relating to ownership, family, and business issues.
Terri served as the National Director for the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise, National, from 2000 to 2005, travelling throughout Canada connecting with Family Businesses and assisting them with their communication and technical issues.
Terri served on Connex Ontario Health Services board from September 2010 to June 2018. She was Board chair in her final two years. Connex is Ontario’s Mental Health Helpline. http://www.connexontario.ca/
