National Board of Directors

Chair

Long-time volunteer, retired lawyer, and financial executive – Mary is a long-time volunteer of the YMCA of Greater Vancouver. She is a current member and a past Chair of the YMCA of Greater Vancouver Board of Directors. She currently is the Chair of the YMCA of Greater Vancouver Foundation Board of Directors. Since 2016, Mary has been a Y Canada Board Member and and previously served as Board Vice Chair. Mary is a retired member of the Law Society of British Columbia. She is a past executive and board member with a BC based independent investment adviser. Mary holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Vice Chair

Daniel is a professor with the Faculty of Business at University of New Brunswick Saint John, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in Strategic Management, Managing Innovation, Small Business Management, and Entrepreneurship. Dan also volunteers extensively, sitting on numerous boards and committees. He currently Chairs the Board of the YMCA of Greater Saint John. Prior to joining UNB, Daniel was involved in founding two technology companies. The first, a global software company, founded in 1992, grew to become a key provider of real time billing and prepaid calling solutions to the cellular telephone industry. In 1999, Daniel founded Prexar LLC, a northern New England based internet and broadband services provider which he grew to service over 35,000 customers across two states to become northern New England’s largest independent internet service provider. He has been teaching at UNB for 17 years.

Director

Mostafa is an Engineer and Project Manager in the field of Media Broadcast with Evertz Microsystems in Burlington, Ontario. Born in Egypt and raised in Kuwait, Mostafa attended McGill University in Montreal where he was an HFA member of the historic Downtown YMCA. Here, Mostafa saw first-hand the positive impact a centre of community can bring to its neighbourhood. Following a move to Toronto, Mostafa jumped at the opportunity to volunteer with the YMCA of Greater Toronto, serving on the Youth Advisory Committee to the Board, as well as the Association’s Government Relations Task Force.

Director

Colleen is an executive coach and business advisor with over 25 years leading marketing and communications for some of the world's largest professional and financial services firms. An expert in transformation and change, she has advised leaders and led global teams through digital transformation, corporate rebrands, innovation programs, and reputation management. In 2020 she left TD Securities, where she led marketing/communications and client/colleague experience. An experienced Non-Profit Board member Colleen is currently the Vice-Chair of ParticipACTION. She is a member of the brand advisory council for Sinai Health Foundation in Toronto. Previous board work includes the YMCA of Greater Toronto, where she served as Board Chair and YWCA of Montreal. Colleen's achievements and contributions have been recognized with Canada's Top 40 Under 40 award and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Director

Daniel is the Vice-President, Marketing and Digital Channels at Export Development Canada. Daniel has more than 25 years of experience as an executive leader in digital media, telecommunications, and emerging technologies with significant expertise in strategy, marketing, and business development. He has held executive positions with Cogeco Connexion, Bell Canada Enterprises and its subsidiaries, and Sympatico-Lycos Inc., and consults for many international telecom operators. Daniel has served on several for-profit and not-for-profit boards, including the YMCAs of Quebec where he is a former board chair. He holds an MBA from HEC Lausanne in Switzerland and has participated in Ivy League executive training.

Director

Nicole Callihoo is the Assistant Deputy Minister, First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education Directorate at Alberta Education. In this position, Nicole works to advance Alberta Education’s goal of an education system that honours the history, cultures, languages, and perspectives of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities with support from the Directorate and the Ministry. Nicole is from the Treaty 6 Territory (Paul First Nation, AB) and is an alumnus from the Johnson Shoyoma Graduate School of Public Policy. She obtained a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Saskatchewan in 2014 and a Bachelor’s Degree in Native Studies from the University of Alberta in 2002. She brings with her a very strong leadership background with more than 15 years of working with Indigenous communities.  

Director

Dan holds the position of President & CEO, and Secretary of the Board for United Way Centraide Canada (UWCC) where he leads a national movement for social change comprising 76 local United Way and Centraide (UWC) organizations serving more than 5,000 Canadian communities. Dan has 20 years of leadership experience within the UWC Movement at the local, provincial, and national levels. He brings his expertise to UWCs’ work on community impact and engagement, public policy, product development, network governance, and business transformation. Dan is leading and championing the UWC transformation and future state vision process for growth and impact. Dan engages with stakeholders through donor, government and media relations, engaging in public policy development to drive the United Way Centraide mission forward. Prior to joining UWC Dan held positions with the Ontario Government and managed an independent consulting practice offering services in urban planning, public policy, housing, and research.
 

Director

Sourov is a Managing Partner at Stryve Digital Marketing where he handles digital marketing executions for clients such as Intel, Oracle, and Syngenta. Previously, he worked in brand management at Unilever. Sourov is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier’s BBA program and attended Harvard Business School for his Executive Education. Sourov was named one of Kitchener-Waterloo’s Top 40 under 40 in 2012 and is a recipient of a Lazaridis School of Business Alumni Award for his business and community building efforts. He is the past chair of the YMCA of Kitchener-Waterloo.

Director

Tyril Froese, CPA, CA is a business advisor and partner with MNP’s Assurance and Accounting group in Mississauga, ON. Working with a wide range of clients and getting to know them on a personal level allows Ty to deliver a wide range of tax, assurance, and advisory services. As a native of Manitoba, Ty joined the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Brandon in 2008 as a young leader. Tyril went on to serve as Board Chair for the YMCA of Brandon, as well as dedicating his time to various organizations including the Westman Dreams for Kids Foundation, as well as the MS Society. At home, Ty enjoys spending quality family time with his wife and two children.

Director

Barbara joined CARE Canada in April 2020 as President and CEO. CARE is part of an international confederation working in over 100 countries to realize the power and positive impact of women’s leadership in their local communities. Before joining CARE, Barbara served as President & CEO of VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation. She has held executive positions with BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Canadian Mental Health Association, and the Vancouver Foundation, and had a successful consulting practice for many years. Barbara serves on the Board of Directors of YMCA of Greater Vancouver, jack.org (a national organization working to change the conversation for Canada’s young people around mental health), the Humanitarian Coalition of Canada, and CanWaCH. She is also a volunteer with the national Loran Scholars Program. In 2016, Barbara was named one of Women’s Executive Network‘s Annual Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada and in 2019, she received the AFP Lifetime Achievement Award. She holds degrees from Queen’s and Carleton Universities. Most importantly, she is the proud mom of three wonderful young adults, and takes her turn at walking her family’s aging golden lab, Rosie.

Director

Ruhee Ismail-Teja is a government relations strategist with experience in private, public, and non-profit sectors. Through her career, she has focused on developing policy to facilitate innovation and technology adoption, improve sustainability, and support the vibrancy of Canada’s business sector. Ruhee is deeply involved in her community, currently serving on the YMCA Canada Board of Directors, ParticipACTION Board of Directors, and the Equal Voice Calgary Advisory Board. She has recently served on the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Board of Governors and the Queen’s University Alma Mater Society Board of Directors. Ruhee holds a Masters of Public Policy from McGill University and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Queen’s University. Ruhee is also an avid runner and triathlete, visual artist, and pianist. 

Director

Dr. Kwame McKenzie is the CEO of Wellesley Institute and is an international expert on the social causes of mental illness, suicide, and the development of effective, equitable health systems. Dr. McKenzie is also Director of Health Equity at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), a Full Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and a consultant working with the World Health Organization on equity. As a policy advisor, clinician, and academic with over 250 papers, 5 books, and numerous awards he has worked across a broad spectrum to improve population health and health services for three decades. He is a co-Chair of the Expert Task Force on Substance Use, a member of the National Advisory Council on Poverty, a member of Canada’s Expert Advisory Panel on COVID-19 and Mental Health, the Minister of Health’s COVID-19 Testing and Tracing Advisory, and was a member of Canada’s Delegation to the High-Level Political Forum on the Social Development Goals. Dr. McKenzie was previously a Human Rights Commissioner for Ontario and Chair of the Research and Evaluation Advisory Committee of Ontario's Basic Income Pilot. In addition to his academic, policy and clinical work, Kwame has been a columnist for the Guardian, Times-online and Toronto Star and a past BBC Radio presenter. 
 

Director

Laurie provides strategic financial leadership as the VP Finance, Chief Financial Officer for JCL Investments Inc. Prior to this role, Laurie held the position of CFO with Universal Helicopters and the KMK Capital Group of Companies. She is the former Deputy Minister of Finance for Newfoundland and Labrador and also served as Assistant Deputy Minister for Business, having held Assistant Deputy Minister positions in three areas of the Department of Finance. Laurie is a past board director of the Brother T.I. Murphy Centre and the Youth in Care Network of Newfoundland and Labrador. She volunteers her time on the Finance and Audit Committee of The Gathering Place, a member of the Rotary Club of St. John's East and is past Board Chair of the YMCA of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Director

Wan-Peng provides technology and innovation leadership as Software Development Manager at ShipperBee, a startup looking to disrupt the delivery industry. Wan-Peng is a past board of director of YMCA of Southwestern Ontario. Wan-Peng volunteers his time on the Finance and Audit Committee of London Health Science Centre, Row Ontario, Alzheimer’s Society of Ontario, as well as Responsible Gambling Council of Canada.

Director

Bruno is the Managing Partner, Office and Markets for BDO Canada. He is responsible for leading a practice of 1,800 people across a variety of business sectors, geographies, and service offerings. He has led the Canadian firm’s Private Equity group and represents Canada on BDO International’s global M&A and Private Equity Steering Committees. Bruno holds CPA/CA and CF (Corporate Finance) qualifications along with an Honors of Business Administration degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario. Bruno is a member of the Maple Leaf Chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization.  

DIRECTOR

As Vice-President of University Advancement for McMaster University, Mary leads an award-winning team with a mandate that includes communications and marketing, government and alumni relations, and fundraising. Mary also serves on a wide range of non-profit boards. A long-time YMCA person, Mary grew up going to YMCA summer camps and continued her relationship with the YMCA when she got involved with the Board of the YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford. As a former Chair, Mary worked closely with the board and leadership team to foster unique partnerships between YMCAs and other partners like universities. The YMCA is a big part of her family too…her husband grew up at the YMCA and her son has been involved in YMCA summer camp for years! Mary is delighted that her Y story continues with the YMCA Canada board.

Past Chair

For much of his career, Marcel Lauzière has headed major national organizations: the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences; the Canadian Council on Social Development; and Imagine Canada. He has also been a senior civil servant: Special Advisor to the President at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Assistant Deputy Minister (DCE) in the New Zealand Ministry of Social Development. Marcel is currently President and CEO of the Lawson Foundation. He has been an active volunteer on boards including the International Council of Social Welfare, the Statistics Canada Advisory Committee on Social Conditions, the Accounting Standards Oversight Council, and the Public Policy Forum. He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Governor General’s Cross for Meritorious Service for his work in philanthropy. He holds an MA in History from the University of Ottawa and has received an honorary degree from George Brown College.