Board of Directors
Patrick Johnston, Chair
Borealis Advisors, Toronto
William Kerr, Past Chair
JSE Partners Inc., Oakville
John Beattie
TELUS Communications, Toronto
Michael Bradley
NorthCard, Toronto
Matthew Choi
Physician, Hamilton
Brenda Gainer
Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto
Karim Harji
Venture Deli, Toronto
Joan McCalla
Director and Distinguished Fellow, Cisco Systems, Toronto
Sue Tomney
YWCA of Calgary, Calgary
Sean Van Doorselaer
Lind Equipment Ltd, Toronto
Deryck Williams
Grant Thornton, Toronto
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Patrick Johnston is founder and Principal of Borealis Advisors – a consulting firm that works with Canadian charities, foundations and other non-profit organizations. Patrick has spent most of his professional life in leadership positions in Canada’s charitable and philanthropic sectors. At various times, he has served as Chief Executive of the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (now Imagine Canada), the National Anti-Poverty Organization and the Canadian Council on Social Development. Patrick has also had extensive Board governance experience at the community, national and international level including service on the Boards of Philanthropic Foundations Canada, Vartana, the United Way/Centraide Canada, the Council on Foundations (Washington) and CIVICUS (Johannesburg). Patrick has undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Education from York University and Queen’s University respectively. He also holds an M.S.W. in Social Policy, Planning and Administration from the University of Toronto.
William Kerr is the Chief Executive Officer of TalentWise Solutions LLC, an emerging HR technology company based in Bothell Washington, and has had an extensive business career spanning the globe focused on strategic and business development as well as financial management. Mr. Kerr held multiple senior executive positions at global communications equipment company Nortel Networks Corp. including Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President of Finance, Vice President and Treasurer, and Vice President and Controller. In addition Mr. Kerr has held senior positions with organizations such as BCE Inc., PHH Corp. and Forstmann Little. Mr. Kerr is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Queens University, Kingston, Ontario.
John Beattie is Vice President of Business Transformation Enablement at TELUS Communications in Toronto. He has held three other VP roles at TELUS over the past 11 years as well as many different IT positions in a 28 year career working for various companies in Calgary and Toronto. Prior to working in IT, John spent 2 years working as an elementary school teacher. He has been a life-long believer in charitable giving and volunteering and has volunteered at nursing homes, food banks and shelters as well as donating financially to local and international charities. John has a BSc in Computer Science & Math from University of Toronto as well as a Bachelor of Education from the Ontario Teacher Education College.
Mike Bradley is Managing Director at NorthCard. With nearly 25 years’ experience in the electronic banking / payments business, Mike works with leading North American banks, retailers, technology companies and card networks to develop strategies and drive key initiatives. Most recently, Mike managed Visa’s products in Canada, driving the deployment of Visa’s chip and contactless cards, and the launch of new credit and debit card products. Mike also led innovation activities in e-commerce and mobile commerce. Prior to Visa, Mike led several strategic initiatives for Bank of Montreal. In addition to his work with CanadaHelps, Mike has been an active Member of the United Way of Greater Toronto IT Committee from 2002 to 2012.
Matthew Choi is one of the three co-founders of CanadaHelps, and has served on its board since its inception. Matthew holds a BSc from McMaster University and an MD from Queen’s University. His research in the fields of pediatrics, surgery, and patient safety has been presented and published nationally and internationally. He has engaged in international health fieldwork in the Himalayas, has spent time in Africa in a trauma unit, and has represented Canada as the only Canadian to be selected as a medical volunteer by the 2004 Athens Olympics Committee. He has received numerous awards for his community service and professional achievement and is currently finishing his training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Manitoba.
Brenda Gainer is the Royal Bank Professor of Nonprofit Management and a professor of Marketing at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. Since 1996, she has been the Director of York University’s Nonprofit Management and Leadership Program. She completed her PhD in Administrative Studies in 1992 and also holds an MBA degree and previous M.A. and B.A. degrees in History. Brenda teaches in several graduate programs at Schulich and also directs a wide range of professional education seminars for community organizations. Her main research interests are nonprofit management, marketing and philanthropy. Before embarking on an academic career, Brenda worked in the areas of First Nations land rights, women’s issues and the arts. Her professional and public service includes advisory boards and directorships in the academic, government and community sectors. She is currently President-Elect of the International Society for Third Sector Research.
Karim Harji is a co-founder and partner at Venture Deli, which helps to grow and capitalize companies that matter to the world. He also leads Purpose Capital which helps investors and advisors to design and implement impact investment strategies across a range of sectors, asset classes, and regions. He previously worked at Social Capital Partners, and co-founded SocialFinance.ca. Karim teaches social entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Applied Engineering at the University of Toronto, and is a Senior Research Associate at the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation at Carleton University. He serves on the Boards of the Social Investment Organization, the Small Change Fund and holds a Masters degree in Public Administration from Carleton University.
Joan McCalla is a Director and Distinguished Fellow with the global public sector team, Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), Cisco Systems. This team provides strategic advice to public sector organizations around the world that are interested in how ICT-enabled transformation can help them to achieve their program objectives and priorities. Until late 2006, Joan was Corporate Chief Strategist with the Government of Ontario’s information and information technology (I&IT) organization. Appointed in 1999 as the government’s first Chief Strategist, Joan provided leadership for Ontario’s highly regarded e-government strategy. Joan was with the Ontario government since 1977 in various planning and policy positions at several ministries. Joan was an original Board member of the Institute for Citizen-Centred Service and is currently serving as a Fellow of the Institute. The mission of the ICCS is to promote high levels of citizen satisfaction with public sector service delivery through research and other initiatives to promote service quality and innovation. Joan is a graduate of the University of Toronto (M.Sc. Urban and Regional Planning) and the University of Alberta (B.A. Honours Geography).
Sue Tomney is Chief Executive Officer, YWCA of Calgary.
She has an extensive background in communications and marketing and has held senior-level positions with both nonprofits and corporations prior to joining the YWCA of Calgary in December 2010, including Executive Director of the Calgary Stampede Foundation; VP, Marketing and Communications for Imagine Canada; and Director of Communications and External Affairs at TransAlta Corporation. Ms. Tomney served on the Joint Table on Awareness for the Government of Canada’s Voluntary Sector Initiative and is currently on the board of the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations. Her recent voluntary sector experience includes cabinet member for Calgary’s United Way campaign, governor for EducationMatters – Calgary’s Public Education Trust, executive committee member of the 2008 Governor General’s Leadership Conference, and a member of the Community Engagement and Awareness Committee of Calgary’s Poverty Reduction Coalition.
Sean Van Doorselaer is the CEO of Lind Equipment Ltd, a manufacturer and distributor of electrical safety equipment for hazardous and industrial locations. He was appointed to this position following the acquisition of Lind by OPK Capital, a private investment fund that he co-founded and managed. Prior to OPK Capital, Sean was Vice President and a founding employee of Social Capital Partners (SCP), an organization that invests in and supports businesses that are creating jobs in economically marginalized communities across Canada. Earlier in his career, Sean spent several years as a strategy consultant at The Monitor Group. Sean holds an MBA from Queen’s University and an undergraduate degree in business administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business (University of Western Ontario).
Deryck Williams is the National leader of Grant Thornton’s Charity and Not-for-Profit practice group, overseeing delivery of client services and the professional development of NPO staff. He also is a member of the executive team for Not-for-Profits of Grant Thornton International. He currently serves on the CICA Risk Governance Oversight Board for Not-for-Profit Organizations. Deryck has worked with charities for more than 20 years both in practice and as a volunteer. Beyond his CA qualification, he obtained a Certified Management Consultant designation to enhance his consulting skills for NPOs and charities. Seeing a need for his clients to receive advisory services in IT, he qualified as a CA specialist in IT to provide value added service in IT matters. He has been recognized as a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants for his years of dedicated service and commitment to the NPO/charitable community.