Mentorship is more than just mining insight from those in lofty positions. It’s an exchange of ideas, knowledge, and thought that aims to strengthen the abilities of both the mentor and the mentee. As part of the one-year program, DiverseCity Fellows are matched with a senior and experienced city-builder. The mentoring relationship helps the Fellows achieve their personal development goals, develop their aptitude for collective leadership and builds new relationships among civic leaders in our region.
From my own experience, I know the critical importance of mentoring; without it, as a young newcomer from far away, without any contact or patron, I would not have enjoyed a rich and fulfilling life or had the opportunity to develop the qualities of good citizenship that we so much need.
– Alok Mukherjee, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Ryerson University
Our mentors are some of the most inspiring leaders of the region, ranging from the public, private, and community sectors. Take some time to meet the outstanding groups of diverse leaders participating in the DiverseCity Fellows Mentorship program below.
2020 DiverseCity Fellows Mentors

Frank D’Onofrio
Distinguished Public Servant in Residence, Department of Politics and Public AdministrationRyerson University

Farah Mohamed
Board Member & Global AdvisorApolitical Foundation, G(irls)20, Music Canada, RefugePoint

Tim Penner
Vice Chair, SickKids Board of Trustees; Chair of Human Resources and Compensation Committee, Intact Financial Corp; Chair of the Governance, Compensation and Nominating CommitteeJamieson Wellness

Salima Rawji
Vice President of Development, CreateTO; 2011-2013 ELN Co-Chair; 2010 DiverseCity Fellow
Past DiverseCity Fellows Mentors
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Rod Phillips
Chair - Postmedia Canada Corp; Global Head of Client ServicesAfiniti
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Sashya D’Souza
Senior Vice President, Talent InitiativesToronto Finance International
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Dr. Notisha Massaquoi
PrincipalNyanda Consulting
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Lesley Ackrill
Co-Executive DirectorInterval House
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David Agnew
PresidentSeneca College
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Siri Agrell
Executive DirectorOneEleven
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Jehad Aliweiwi
Executive DirectorLaidlaw Foundation
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Paula Allen
Senior Vice President, Research, Analytics and InnovationMorneau Shepell
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Jane Allen
Partner, Chief Diversity OfficerDeloitte Inc.
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Mary Anne Chambers
Corporate Director, Former Ontario Cabinet Minister and Retired Bank Executive
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Upkar Arora
CEORally Assets
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Dany Assaf
PartnerTorys LLP
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Sharon Avery
Chief Executive OfficerToronto Foundation
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Derek Ballantyne
CEOCommunity Forward Fund
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Lesya Balych-Cooper
Interim PresidentCoffee Association of Canada
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Jennifer Barnard
President & CEOWomen’s College Hospital Foundation
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Adrienne Batra
EditorToronto Sun
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Charles Beer
PrincipalCounsel Public Affairs
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Kim Bellissimo
VP People and Organizational DevelopmentWilliam Osler Health System
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Alexander Bezzina
Deputy MinisterOntario Ministry of Children and Youth Services, Government of Ontario
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Rahul Bhardwaj
President & CEOInstitute of Corporate Directors
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Julia Blackburn
CEONPower Canada
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Carrie Blair
Executive Vice President, Chief HR & Communications OfficerSun Life Financial
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Shauna Brail
Presidential Advisor on Urban Engagement, Assoc. ProfessorUniversity of Toronto
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John Brodhead
Executive DirectorEvergreen CityWorks
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Deborah Brown
Vice President, Administration and OperationsRyerson University
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Lesley Brown
Executive DirectorOntario Public Service Quarter Century Club
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Helen Burstyn
Chair, Board of DirectorsEvergreen
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Rob Burton
MayorCity of Oakville
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Celina Caesar-Chevannes
Member of ParliamentWhitby
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John Capobianco
Senior Vice-President and National Practice Lead for Public AffairsFleishman-Hillard
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Robin Cardozo
Chief Operating OfficerSickKids Foundation
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Sarah Chapman
Director, Sustainability & Social ImpactDeloitte Canada
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Olivia Chow
Distinguished Visiting ProfessorInstitute for Change Leaders
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Andrea Cohen Barrack
Chief Executive OfficerOntario Trillium Foundation
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Angela Coke
Associate Deputy Minister, Ontario Shared Services,Government of Ontario
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Terry Cooke
President & CEOHamilton Community Foundation
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Julie Cookson
Executive DirectorAnishnawbe Health Foundation
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Paul D. Davis
Partner, Capital Markets & Securities; Mergers & AcquisitionsMcMillan
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Frank D’Onofrio
Distinguished Public Servant in Residence, Department of Politics and Public AdministrationRyerson University
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Eileen de Villa
Medical Officer of HealthCity of Toronto
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Lisa De Wilde
CEOTVO
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Bindu Dhaliwal
OmbudsmanBMO Financial Group
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Sara Diamond
PresidentOCAD University
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Michelle DiEmanuele
President & CEOTrillium Health Partners
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Dan Doctoroff
Chief Executive OfficerSidewalk Labs
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Han Dong
MPP (Trinity-Spadina), Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Training, Colleges and UniversitiesGovernment of Ontario
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Dwight Drummond
HostCanadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)
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Chris Dulny
Chief Innovation Officer, PartnerPwC Canada
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Diane Dyson
Director Research and Public PolicyWoodGreen Community Services
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Jeff Evenson
Vice President, Urban SolutionsCanadian Urban Institute
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Karli Farrow
Vice-PresidentTrillium Health Partners
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Chandran Fernando
Managing PartnerMatrix360
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Gayle Fisher
Chief Administrative OfficerOntario Pension Board
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Cam Fowler
CivicAction Board of Directors, Chief Strategy and Operations OfficerBMO Financial Group
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Deborah Gillis
President & CEOCAMH Foundation
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JP Gladu
PresidentA2A Rail
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Jacques Goulet
PresidentSun Life Financial
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Ken Greenberg
PrincipalGreenberg Consultants, Inc.
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Andrew Greenlaw
VP, Community Investments and SponsorshipBMO Financial Group
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Barbara Hall
Chief CommissionerOntario Human Rights Commission
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Julia Hanigsberg
President & CEOHolland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
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Melanie Hare
PartnerUrban Strategies
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Neil Heatherington
CEODaily Bread Food Bank
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Sheherazade Hirji
Diplomatic RepresentativeAga Khan Development Network Afghanistan
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Zabeen Hirji
Chair of CivicAction and Executive Advisor, Future of Work at Deloitte
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Tim Hockey
Past-President and CEO, TD Ameritrade; CivicAction Board MemberBoard Chair, CivicAction Leadership Foundation
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Brett House
Deputy Chief EconomistScotiabank
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Sandy Houston
President and CEOMetcalf Foundation
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John Howe
Vice President, Strategic ConsultingParsons Brinckerhoff Halsall
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Tim Hudak
Chief Executive OfficerOntario Real Estate Association (OREA)
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Goldy Hyder
President and Chief Executive OfficerBusiness Council of Canada
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Drex Jancar
Co-founder & CFOThe Remix Project
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Pamela Jeffrey
FounderCanadian Board Diversity Council
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Bilal Khan
2012 ELN Executive Member and 2010 DiverseCity Fellow; Managing Partner & Head of Deloitte DataDeloitte
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Rami Lama
Group Director, Business DevelopmentFjord
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Sandra Levy
Chief People OfficerCanadian Olympic Committee
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Shanin Lott
Chief People OfficerNorton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
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Mary Lowe
Vice-PresidentSt. Michael’s Hospital
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Jennifer Lynn
President and Chief Executive OfficerDiversity Advantage International
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Tracy MacCharles
Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues, MPP (Pickering–Scarborough East)Minister of Children and Youth Services
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Bruce MacDonald
President & CEOImagine Canada
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Rob MacIsaac
President and CEO, Hamilton Health Sciences; Chair, CivicAction
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Andrew MacLeod
President and CEOPostmedia Network
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Paul Macmillan
DTTL Global Public Sector Industry LeaderDeloitte
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Mona Malone
Chief Human Resources Officer and Head People & CultureBMO Financial Group
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Ron McKerlie
PresidentMohawk College and Mohawk College Foundation
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Sean Meagher
Executive DirectorSocial Planning Toronto
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Weyni Mengesha
Artistic DirectorSoulpepper Theatre Company
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Dave Meslin
Political Entrepreneur & Engagement Specialist
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Lisa Milburn
Chief Operating Officer, BMO InsuranceBMO Financial Group
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Earl Miller
Director, Strategic PartnershipsMaRS Discovery District
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Conor Mlacak
VP of ITLoblaw Companies Limited
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Farah Mohamed
Board Member & Global AdvisorApolitical Foundation, G(irls)20, Music Canada, RefugePoint
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Susan Monteith
Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Client Strategy & People DevelopmentNational Bank Financial
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Phil Moore
Former Sr. VP, Deputy General Counsel, & Corp. SecretaryTD Bank Group
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Rosalyn Morrison
Vice PresidentToronto Community Foundation
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Judith Moses
Senior AssociateInstitute on Governance
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Alok Mukherjee
Distinguished Visiting ProfessorRyerson University
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Elizabeth Mullholland
CEOProsper Canada
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Colette Murphy
Executive DirectorAtkinson Foundation
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Farah Nasser
AnchorGlobal News
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Marissa Nelson
Senior Director, Digital MediaCBC
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Leanne Nicolle
President & CEOBig Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto
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Jake Norman
Head of Agency DevelopmentFacebook
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Allan O’Dette
President and CEOOntario Chamber of Commerce
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Naki Osutei
Associate Vice President, Partnerships and Engagement, Global Corporate CitizenshipTD Bank
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Hazelle Palmer
President and CEOSherbourne Health
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Gil Penalosa
Founder & Chair,8 80 Cities; and Chair, World Urban Parks
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Tim Penner
Vice Chair, SickKids Board of Trustees; Chair of Human Resources and Compensation Committee, Intact Financial Corp; Chair of the Governance, Compensation and Nominating CommitteeJamieson Wellness
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Christopher Penrose
Former Executive DirectorSuccess Beyond Limits Education Program
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Tom Perlmutter
Strategic Advisor National Film Board of Canada
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Judy Pfeifer
ELN Founding Member; Chief Communications & Public Affairs OfficerMetrolinx
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Shirley Phillips
Deputy Minister of International TradeGovernment of Ontario
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Jay Pitter
Director, Communications and Stakeholder EngagementInspirit Foundation
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Dale Ponder
Co-ChairOsler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
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Saad Rafi
Partner & National Public Sector Leader Deloitte LLP
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Salima Rawji
Vice President of Development, CreateTO; 2011-2013 ELN Co-Chair; 2010 DiverseCity Fellow
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Euan Roberstons
President and COOMaRS Discovery District
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David Robitaille
Director, Corporate Citizenship & Corporate AffairsIBM Canada
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Mary Rowe
CEOCanadian Urban Institute
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Omar Sachedina
National Affairs Correspondent
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Anne Sado
President and CEOGeorge Brown College
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David Sculthorpe
Former CEOHeart and Stroke Foundation Canada
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Paulette Senior
President & CEOCanadian Women's Foundation
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Zaib Shaikh
Film Commissioner & Director of Entertainment IndustriesCity of Toronto
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Tim Shortill
VP, Strategy, Communications and Public AffairsOPTrust
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Godyne N.L. Sibay
Managing Partner, Ontario Region, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Chair Governance, Nominating & HR Committee
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Jennifer Sloan
Vice President, Sr Business Leader, Public Policy - CanadaMasterCard Canada
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Abdullah Snobar
Executive DirectorRyerson's Digital Media Zone
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David Soknacki
Former CouncillorCity of Toronto
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John Stackhouse
Senior Vice-President in the Office of the CEORBC
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Anita Stellinga
Interim CEO & VP, Community InvestmentUnited Way of Peel
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Hari Subramaniam
CEOeCAMION
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Ken Tanenbaum
Vice ChairmanKilmer Group
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Heather Taylor
Chief Financial Officer and TreasurerCity of Toronto
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Paul M. Taylor
Executive DirectorFood Share
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James Temple
Chief Corporate Responsibility OfficerPwC
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Dori Tunstall
Dean, Faculty of DesignOCAD University
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Anna Ventresca
Vice President, Legal Services and General CounselHamilton Health Sciences
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Lisa Watson
Principal ConsultantStrategies for Social Impact
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Christopher Wein
COO, Lanterra Management Ltd. / President, Lanterra Construction Management Ltd.Lanterra
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Paul Whitehead
Senior Vice President, TD Bank Group Enterprise Real Estate & Canadian Network PlanningTD Bank Group
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Deborah Wilson
VP, Communications & Public AffairsToronto Port Authority
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Tatum Wilson
2009 CivicAction DiverseCity Fellow; Director, Poverty Reduction Strategy BranchOntario Ministry of Community and Social Services
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Geoffrey Wilson
President & CEOToronto Port Authority
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Eva Wong Scanlan
Chief Operating OfficerBorrowell
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Kristyn Wong-Tam
CouncillorCity of Toronto
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Leslie Woo
ELN Founding Member; Chief Planning and Development OfficerMetrolinx
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Janet Yale
President and CEOThe Arthritis Society
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Daniele Zanotti
President and CEOUnited Way Toronto & York Region