COSTI - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director
- Executive President
Job Titles:
- Director
- Executive President
- President
- Vice President
- Corporate Office
Job Titles:
- Director
- Co - Chair of Levitt - Safety 's Sensitivity
- Vice President, Information Technology at Levitt - Safety
Chuks Ezeokafor is Vice President, Information Technology at Levitt-Safety, a national distributor of safety products and services. He has previously held senior technology roles at major corporations in Canada, United States and Nigeria, and co-owned and led Sales and Marketing at RMV Publications.
Chuks is Co-Chair of Levitt-Safety's Sensitivity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and he volunteers his time as a career coach and mentor to undergraduates and mid-career professionals in the greater Toronto area. He has a Master's in Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University, and a bachelor's and Master's in Computer Science from the University of Lagos.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Executive President
- President
- Vice President
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Board
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Director / Chair - Strategic Planning Committee / Member, Finance & Audit Committee / Nominations & Governance Committee
Mike has been a Board Member of COSTI for 50 years and represents a link to COSTI's early days as a small and largely ethno-specific agency.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Canada Research Chair
- Director / Chair, Women 's Service Committee
Rupa is Canada Research Chair in the Economic Inclusion of Immigrants and Associate Professor in the Department of Human Resource Management at the Ted Rogers School of Management. She studies the employment experiences of immigrants and racialized Canadians, both from the perspective of highly skilled immigrants, as well as temporary foreign workers.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the Board of COSTI Immigrant Services
Fausto Gaudio is a current Member of the Board of COSTI Immigrant Services. An accomplished banking executive, Fausto is the founding and current President and Chief Executive Officer of IC Savings. He has been leading this credit union - one of Ontario's best managed - since it began in 2000. A firm believer in community banking, he had the singular vision of launching a financial co-operative within the Italian-Canadian community in the Greater Toronto Area.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Secretary
- Treasurer
Job Titles:
- Director / Member, Strategic Planning Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Senior Director, Planning and Program Development
Janet Hallett has over twenty-eight years of progressive management experience in managing the capacity and growth of concurrent programs, community engagement, program development, and management experience for diverse ethno newcomers, youth and women. She has over ten years' experience working with youth and management, noticeably working with teen parents.
Janet was a longstanding member of the Toronto Community Partnership Committee, past Co- chair of the Toronto West Local Immigration Partnership (TWLIP), Chair of the Education Resource TWLIP Action Group, and a member of the TWLIP Collective Impact Team. She currently sits on the Peel and Halton Labour Market Partnership, Peel-Halton-Dufferin Language Partnership (LP) Committees, York Region Local Immigration Partnership, the Peel Newcomers Strategy Group Central Planning Table and the Anti-Black and Systemic Discrimination Collective.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Secretary / Chair, Information Technology Advisory Group / Member, Finance & Audit Committee
Jim is retired after a career in engineering and IT management. He is currently working as a technology journalist with special interests in technology marketing and communications.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Director
- Founder and Managing Director of the Orion Group
Director / Chair - Public Relations & Communications Committee and Development Council, Member, Nominations & Governance Committee / Strategic Planning Committee / Women's Committee
Julie is the Founder and Managing Director of The Orion Group, a Toronto based, boutique firm delivering a full suite of Human Capital Management services to small, mid-size and large companies in the Property Development, Construction and Real Estate Industries. She is a part-time Professor at George Brown College where she teaches courses in Human Resource Management. Julie is a certified DEI Specialist who assists companies in creating inclusive hiring practices and developing more diverse workplaces. Previously, Julie held the position of Vice President of Sales for Direct Energy (Centrica PLC), a publicly listed, worldwide, energy retailer. Julie has over 20 years of executive level experience in the private sector.
Karen Traboulay is a senior strategic marketing and communication professional passionate about engaging diverse audiences and shaping narratives. She has more than 20 years of experience synthesizing complex business strategies into compelling storylines, promoting brands and enhancing organizational reputation.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Vice President, Human Resources
- Director / Chair, HR Committee
- Member of the Board of Mens Sana
Marcellina is Vice President, Human Resources, for Celestica, a Canadian global leader in design, manufacturing and supply chain solutions.
She is an experienced Senior Human Resources Professional with a strategic business perspective. Through her work with the Ministry of Labour, The Sun Products Corporation, Molson and Bombardier Aerospace, Marcellina is known as a leader in the development and integration of human resources strategies, policies and programs to support the achievement of business results.
Marcellina is a member of the Board of Mens Sana and former Member of the Board of Centro Scuola and former Chair and Board Member of Harmony Day Care.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Executive President
Job Titles:
- Director / Member, Public Relations & Communications Committee
Nicky Mezo is a Chartered Marketer with over twenty-five years of marketing experience in the Financial Services sector, working for leading brands. For the last six years, she has worked for TD Bank in various senior roles. Her present role is Vice President of Marketing, Personal and Business Banking where her team creates and executes compelling marketing strategies that benefit the customer. Prior to joining TD Bank, she worked for PayPal for six years as Head of Marketing for Canada joining as the second employee in Canada. PayPal was a start-up in Canada at that time, and she was hired to create a high performing Marketing team. Before PayPal, Nicky spent almost ten years working at American Express in various strategic marketing roles.
Nicky has always had a passion for giving back whether at the companies she has worked for through her Women in Leadership endeavours or externally via the Canadian Marketing Association where she is a current Board Member elevating the Marketing profession in Canada.
Job Titles:
- Director
- President
- Treasurer
- Vice President
- Chartered Professional Accountant and Chartered Accountant
Pina is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Chartered Accountant and has spent the last twenty years as a business and financial professional at Loblaws Inc. Currently, she is involved with training and change management for corporations with Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) projects. Her extensive business acumen includes strategy, planning and analysis, risk management in addition to financial operations, financial reporting and board governance.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Secretary
- Chartered Professional Accountant With 25 Years
Refat is a Chartered Professional Accountant with 25+ years of corporate business experience, plus 15 years more recently with the Aga Khan Development Network. He has worked in the United Kingdom, North America, and Central Asia. Refat is a C-Suite executive (CFO and CEO) in Corporate Canada and the Charities sector with experience in governance, strategy development, operational execution, and financial and risk management. He was the Chief Financial Officer of the Aga Khan Museum until his retirement at the end of 2020.
Rena Zhou graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering, with a major in Electronic Engineering from Beijing, China.
Rena then worked for a few years as a computer programmer, building a number of accounting software applications. By the end of 1990, Rena came to Canada and a few years later switched her career to the accounting field. In 2004, Rena achieved her Certified General Accountant designation Rena has worked in a number of private industries including: a private high school, a marketing company, an insurance company and a logistic company, as well as a not-for-profit organization, Harbourfront Corporation. Working at senior management positions, Rena has gained sound experience in financial accounting, financial reporting, auditing, taxation, system conversion, budgeting, strategic management and sound business practices. Rena joined COSTI in July 2013.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Leadership Team
Samina has a proven track record of dynamic and visionary leadership of more than 26 years in the public sector. Her diverse career includes working in government, higher education, and community services, on a range of initiatives, including strategy-setting, transformation, service and program delivery, grant funding management, policy, and public affairs, including working with the Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration, and International Trade. Samina is driven by a passion for collaboration and innovation and enjoys working with diverse communities on issues of justice, public policy, and social development, using an equitable and inclusive lens. Her sectoral experience spans justice, human rights, gender-based violence, public safety, education, innovation, and economic development.
Recently, Samina has held leadership roles at York University, including Executive Director and Executive Lead of an equity-driven service delivery transformation. She is a well-respected leader and her contributions have been significant, especially in the establishment of the community-driven strategy-Safer Together, and her leadership skills and operational experience were instrumental in updating the university's critical incident, emergency, and operational plans, including leading the response to COVID-19.
Samina has a personal connection to settlement services as a child of immigrants, and she began her career in the settlement sector, establishing the HOST program in Peel Region. Samina is committed to giving back to the community and has personally focused on access to education and employment for diverse communities. She has also served as a part-time Faculty Member of the Social Services Worker Diploma Program - Immigrants and Refugees at Seneca College.
A creative and results oriented professional with an enthusiasm for people, organizational change, and innovation, Samina has led diverse teams who have achieved awards for innovation, teamwork, and excellence. In 2019, her team earned a York presidential team award and a commendation from the City of Toronto and the Red Cross, for leading relief efforts for residents of the Gosford Tower Fire. In 2016, her teams won the provincial government's Amethyst Award for leading the development of a gender-based violence prevention campaign, and she has won awards for grant financial administration, service delivery, and innovation. Samina holds an M.Ed. from the University of Toronto, an Executive MBA from the Schulich School of Business, York University and the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. She is currently a PhD student, with a focus on leadership, equity, and public administration.
Job Titles:
- Director, Education Services
Job Titles:
- Director
- Tony Di Zio / Treasurer
Job Titles:
- Director / Member, Nominations and Governance Committee
- Member of the Advocates Society
Tosh is a member of The Advocates Society and the Canadian Association for Food Law and Policy. He is a regular volunteer with Pro Bono Ontario's Legal Advice Hotline and Appeals Program.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer
- Tony Di Zio / Treasurer
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Chairman of the Investment and Fundraising Committee of the Canadian Council for Refugees
- Director Social Services
With a Masters in Psychology and teacher training certification from England, Yasmine came to Canada from Pakistan in 1999, following a twenty-five year career in teaching and educational administration in both Iran and Pakistan, where she was also responsible for educational program development. Prior to leaving Pakistan, Yasmine was the Regional Director for the largest private network of schools in South Asia. She has supervised a number of educational projects funded by the World Bank, IMF, CIDA and the Aga Khan Foundation.
Yasmine has served as Chair of the Investment and Fundraising Committee of the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) and co-chair the Immigration and Settlement Working Group of the CCR. She is a member of the Board of the Social Planning Council of York Region as well as being a member of the Social Inclusion Working Group which is part of the Central Planning Table of the Peel Newcomer Strategy Group. In the past, Yasmine served as Co-Chair of the South Asian Community Services Network - York Region, member of the Woman Abuse Council, and Treasurer of the Board of the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA).