EVERGREEN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Board Director
- Vice President of North American Digital
Akif Unal is the Vice President of North American Digital Marketing and Personalization Strategy at TD Bank. With over 15 years of experience in marketing, analytics and digital, Akif has worked for distinguished brands such as RBC and Capital One. In his current role, Akif oversees the delivery of personalized, connected and legendary omni-channel customer experiences through relevant and timely marketing communication, as well as the development and execution of North American digital marketing strategies to drive customer engagement, increase brand awareness and generate revenue
Alison joined Evergreen in 2021. As a Program Director, her portfolio includes both national and local programs focusing on community resilience and civic commons. She also provides support for the ongoing growth and development of Evergreen's program and impact evaluation strategies.
Alison has spent her career in the non-profit sector, holding leadership roles within operations, partnerships, programs and regional growth strategies for youth-focused development and educational work. She is adept at designing and implementing programs that drive impact, align with communities, and deliver value to partners.
She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from McGill University and a certificate in International Project Management with a focus on monitoring and evaluation from George Brown College.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chair and Chair, Program and Capital Development Committee
Andrea DelZotto understands that building is as much about creating community as it is about construction. As a member of the founding family of Canada's leading condominium developer, Tridel Group of Companies, Andrea has been immersed in the residential construction industry for most of her life. She also served as an executive at Tridel for 25 years and is currently a director on the Tridel Group Board.
Andrea has always been very focused on driving innovation and helping to re-imagine the way people live. This led her to start Concrete Cardinal, a research, innovation and investment group that champions the well-being of communities and the individuals who live in them, with special attention given to the experiences of women and youth. Concrete Cardinal supports the invisible aspects of community building, like belonging, engagement, opportunity, physical and mental health and resilience, which are becoming the new criteria for defining what a successful community looks like.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Member of the Board of Directors of Royal Bank of Canada
Andy is a member of the Board of Directors of Royal Bank of Canada and RBC Group Holdings LLC. Prior to that, he spent most of his career at Goldman Sachs & Co. which he joined in 1985 in New York. He served in a variety of progressively more senior leadership roles within the organization during his 30-year career, including as Senior Strategy Officer of the firm globally from 2012 - 2014, as Head or co-Head of the Global Financial Institutions Group in both London and New York from 2002 - 2012, and as co-Chair of the Firmwide Commitments Committee (primarily overseeing the firm's equity underwriting activities) from 2011 - 2015.
He acted as a member of the Canadian Federal Government's Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance and subsequently as a member of the Task Force for Resilient Recovery. He sits on the Advisory Board for the Institute for Sustainable Finance at Queen's University and the Centre for Building Sustainable Value at the Ivey Business School, where he is also Chair of the Ivey Advisory Board. He is also a Board Member of Evergreen, which focuses on building sustainable cities. He is a founder of the Chisholm Thomson Family Foundation.
Andy sits on the Investment Committee of ArcTern Ventures, a cleantech venture capital firm, and acts as an advisor to Novisto and Riskthinking.ai. He also sits on the Board of MaRS, Canada's leading innovation hub.
He holds a B. Comm. from Queens University (1981) and graduated with an MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University in 1985. He lives in Toronto with his family.
Carole-Ann has dedicated her time and efforts making a socio-economic impact on a national level over the past several years. She contributed to the Ontario Trillium Foundation, where she sat on several panels, namely, Ontario Communities, Youths and Francophones. She is actively involved in the Children's Aid Foundation as co-Chair of the Teddy Bear Gala, Fundraiser and member of the Brand Advisory Committee. Carole-Ann has also sat on the Evergreen Board of Directors since 2019, and is an active member of the compliance committee. She has also recently accepted an advisor role at the LEAP Pecaut Centre for Social Impact. She has been a member of the Québec Bar Association since 1992 and holds a Masters in Laws (LL.M.) and Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.). Her professional career encompasses executive roles at GE Capital, Bell Canada and Minnesota Power as Canadian legal counsel, strategy and business development.
Chris Crowell's career has included leadership roles in startups and multinational corporations, focusing on alliances and ecosystems, business development and product management.
Chris has been at the forefront of developing several innovation clusters and partner ecosystems. Selected experiences include building the global third-party technology partnership program at OpenText, developing the launch strategy for The PIER at the Port of Halifax and developing the corporate innovation program at the Volta Innovation Hub.
Chris currently serves as a director in Deloitte's consulting practice. He chairs the board of Ignite Atlantic and serves on the Innovation Centre Board Committee for TechNL. He co-founded Tidal Venture Partners, an emerging venture capital fund focused on disrupting pre-seed and seed-stage investing in Eastern Canada.
Chris holds a B.A (Honours) in Mass Communications from Carleton University and a L.L.B. and MBA from Dalhousie University. He is a graduate of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business's LEAD Corporate Innovation program.
Job Titles:
- Board Director
- Chief Human Resources Officer at TMX Group
Cindy Bush is Chief Human Resources Officer at TMX Group, responsible for leading all aspects of TMX's Human Resources function in support of the company's corporate objectives, including strategy development and execution, workplace culture, performance management, and talent development and acquisition.
Ms. Bush joined the company in December 2020 after more than 25 years of international experience in human resources, talent strategies and culture transformation. Most recently, she served as Chief Human Resources Officer at Cineplex and had previously held leadership roles at companies ranging in size from 30 to 100,000 employees, including Foresters Financial, OMERS, and CIBC.
In 2008, she authored Project Managing Change: Practical Tools and Techniques to Make Change Happen, a global best-seller published by Financial Times Business Enterprises.
Ms. Bush holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Carleton University and a Masters of Education from the University of Toronto.
Hibaq Gelle is an award-winning tri-sectoral leader in the areas of community development, policy development, and stakeholder engagement.
Hibaq is passionate about equity and inclusion and is committed to improving outcomes for the most marginalized. She has a decade of experience working with various levels of government, the non-profit sector and private industry to advance equitable policies and community investments.
For her contributions to city building, Hibaq was awarded the CivicAction Emerging Leader Award, the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award, the Community Benefit Champion Award, and the Canadian Urban Leadership Award.
In her free time, she spends it investing in the next generation of young leaders. When she's not at work or volunteering, you will find Hibaq enjoying her love of reading or discussing the next big system shift!
Job Titles:
- Director, Information Technology
The primary purpose of my role is to align technology strategies with the overall business goals and objectives. Additionally, I manage and oversee the technology systems and infrastructure her at Evergreen.
With over 15+years of hands-on experience serving at a diverse range of organizations in industries including law, wealth management, manufacturing, and government, I have extensive knowledge in IT strategy, infrastructure, project management, team leadership, business continuity planning, stakeholder engagement and aligning technology solutions with unique business needs.
A "fun fact" about me is that I enjoy doing small home renovations in my spare time and I am a sportaholic.
Jennifer Angel is a builder of community, momentum and places people love. Together with partners, Jen builds inclusive, sustainable places that attract people and investment, enhance resilience and contribute to well-being for all. She works with public and private sector interests to find a common purpose and support thriving communities. She has contributed to creating some of Nova Scotia's best-loved places by land and sea. Her professional portfolio includes real estate, infrastructure and program development, participatory planning and design.
Jen was recognized in Atlantic Business Magazine's Top 50 CEOs in Atlantic Canada in 2021 and the Most Powerful Women in Atlantic Canada in 2022, she recently received the Inaugural Wije'winen Allyship Award 2022 - Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre; and her team has received multiple project awards, most recently achieving Rick Hansen Gold Certification for Peggy's Cove, 2022. She is a co-founder of the annual Art of City Building conference, bringing placemaking through leaders from around the world to Halifax.
She holds an MBA (Marketing) from Saint Mary's University, a BA (Philosophy) from Dalhousie University and the ICD.D from ICD-Rotman.
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Senior Leader
Joyce is a senior leader who has been working in the non-profit environmental sector since 2005. She joined Evergreen in 2020 and, as a Program Director, leads Evergreen's national programs to support communities in improving their cities through multiple approaches (e.g., increasing canopy cover, affordable housing supply and inclusive public spaces). Prior to that, Joyce was the executive director of an environmental charity for eight years. Joyce's expertise includes leading multi-partner collaboratives, community-based monitoring and engagement, policy and governance, environmental education and fundraising. She currently serves on the boards of the Small Change Fund and the Ontario Land Trust Alliance. With a degree in biology, Joyce loves plants and animals, and her favourite tree is the tulip tree.
June joined Evergreen in April 2015 and provides operational and strategic leadership for the finance department, including oversight of Evergreen's accounting operations, financial analysis, reporting and budgeting processes. June served progressive positions in the areas of finance and accounting in the private sector prior to joining the non-profit space. June is grateful to be part of an organization that allows her to partner with colleagues to enable Evergreen's mission of making cities more livable, green and prosperous. June is a CPA, CMA and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University.
Fun Fact: June's morning ritual always includes a hot beverage and multiple daily puzzles (eg., NYT mini crossword).
Kathleen oversees Evergreen's finances and fiscal responsibilities. She manages Evergreen's internal and external financial reporting and designs the systems and solutions to ensure the organization is financially resilient. Kathleen's work allows Evergreen to be adaptable and flexible, so it's free to take innovative approaches to pursuing its mission of creating flourishing cities. Kathleen is a Chartered Professional Accountant with over a decade of experience in the not-for-profit sector. She holds a BBA from Wilfred Laurier University.
Job Titles:
- Director of Planning and Development
- Director, Development & Planning
Kourosh Rad serves as Evergreen's Director of Planning and Development, bringing over a decade of urban planning expertise and passion. His background includes project management and planning consulting, where he has led the design and development of numerous mixed-use buildings and master-planned communities.
Kourosh has initiated several regional, national and international projects to inspire change, including the "Art of City Building Conference" in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has also led workshops around the world about public consultation, equitable real estate development, and creative bureaucracy. He received the 2017 Young Planner Award from the Canadian Institution of Planners and has also served as a jury member for the Government of Canada's Smart Cities Challenge in 2019.
An 18-year ‘veteran' of Evergreen, Lois brings deep institutional memory to her work, as well as a breadth of experience in program design and management, strategic planning, and fundraising.
She holds a Master's degree in Geography as well as a BA from the University of Guelph and lives in Toronto, on the traditional homelands of the Wendat, Haudenosaunee, and Anishnaabek Confederacies, with her spouse and two children.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Government Innovation
Martin oversees Evergreen's local and national programs that put into action our vision for flourishing cities. He makes sure that Evergreen adapts to the needs of the communities it serves and that programs evolve and grow to take advantage of new opportunities. Martin works to keep Evergreen nimble by building the partnerships and collaborations that we need to thrive and pursue our mission.
Martin has a lengthy background as a government policy advisor, in not-for-profit governance, and sustainability policy. He holds a BA from Memorial University.
Job Titles:
- Director of Facility Operations at the Brickworks
- Director, Facilities Operations
Matthew Breen serves as Evergreen's Director of Facility Operations at the Brickworks site. He brings over a decade of facility maintenance, operations, and capital project experience from commercial, hospital, and recreational facilities. His background includes facilities maintenance program development and implementation, where he has successfully implemented best-practice maintenance programs for facilities with a wide range of service needs.
Matthew has brought sustainability and utility management into the fold with his preventative maintenance programs to allow facilities to drive down operational costs and be proud of the energy savings impact.
Job Titles:
- Director, Events & Hospitality
Meghan is our Director of Events & Hospitality. She is a seasoned professional with a unique background in leading events, sales and business development initiatives that align with the distinct needs of each client, as well as organizational values and ethical standards. Highly organized with a proven strength in building, managing, and polishing multiple competing projects while simultaneously executing 200+ events annually within demanding deadlines.
Prior to joining Evergreen, Meghan led the Events Team at the Toronto Public Library and is passionate about bringing events to life that enhance our public spaces and our city.
Overall, Meghan has a passion for continuous learning, which has directly influenced personal and professional growth and development. Meghan holds a Diploma in Event Management from George Brown College and is pursuing an International Bachelors in Business Administration from Memorial University.
Job Titles:
- General Counsel and Director, People & Culture
Melanie leads a talented team of People & Culture professionals, working together to make Evergreen the best possible place to work and volunteer. In addition to ensuring a people-first approach is applied to workplace policies and practices, Melanie provides strategic advice on legal matters and oversees the organization's Board governance program. Before joining Evergreen, Melanie was the Executive Director of Human Resources and Labour Relations in the Office of the Premier of Ontario and a lawyer who practiced in the areas of employment, labour and election law.
Melanie is a graduate of the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law and of Wilfrid Laurier University. At home, she hits the hiking and biking trails with her family and actively instills a love of two important things in her two young children - popcorn and the Toronto Maple Leafs!
Robert Lawrie began his career with the Ford Motor Company in finance in Dearborn, Michigan and earlier in marketing in Brussels. He is an internationally qualified lawyer, having practiced privately in Canada and the U.S. and in senior corporate positions in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. Rare in his profession, for 20 years, Rob practiced corporate, securities and administrative law for clients in the automotive, energy and airline sectors and later reinvented himself as a complex commercial litigator in Los Angeles. More recently, as an investment banker, he was a partner in Europe's largest, headquartered private equity firm, CVC Capital Partners and now focuses on early-stage venture capital as an investor in clean, med and bio tech with his family office, Hawk Capital.
He is an independent director on Hitachi Limited boards in Canada and the U.S. and also has more than three decades of experience on not-for-profit boards, mainly in health, education and culture. He was board chair of the Canadian Cancer Society for six years, during which he led a strategic realignment resulting in amalgamations with the next largest charities in the sector. Rob is known for his effective governance and strategic leadership. In addition to the Evergreen board, he is currently a board director at the Ronald McDonald House in Toronto.
Job Titles:
- Board Director
- Chartered Professional Accountant
Shabin is a Chartered Professional Accountant and non-profit director. Shabin has volunteered on various non-profit boards over the past 15 years, including as a trustee of the Art Gallery of Ontario and a director of the Toronto International Film Festival. She currently serves as director of the National Gallery of Canada Foundation as well as the Writers Trust of Canada.
Steve Mennill is a planning, housing and policy consultant with a particular interest in promoting change in our financial and housing supply systems to improve climate compatibility, social inclusion and affordability.
Steve served in a wide variety of strategic and operational roles throughout a 30-year career with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), including executive positions in housing policy, leading the mortgage insurance business, chief risk officer, and his most recent role as chief climate officer. Steve has also worked as a consulting urban planner.
Steve serves on the board of directors of the Ottawa Food Bank, the advisory committee of the Intact Centre for Climate Adaptation and two community-based associations in Ottawa.
Steve holds an MBA from the University of Toronto (Rotman), a Diploma from the University of Waterloo, a Diploma in Urban Land Economics from the University of British Columbia and attended the Queen's Leadership Program. He is a professional urban planner (MCIP, RPP), and holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Job Titles:
- Director, Marketing & Communications
Sunali leads Evergreen's Marketing and Communications team and has the joy of helping to bring good ideas to life. She works to tell the story of how public spaces help solve some of the most pressing issues of our time while helping reconnect us to the things that matter most to our communities and nature . She loves building community and believes that everyone has a role to play in ensuring that our cities are bursting with life. Sunali has worked in branding, communications, sales and mass fundraising in the non-profit and education sectors and holds a business degree from the Ivey Business School at Western University.
Suzy brings decades of varied non-profit and corporate experience to her role in leading Evergreen's fund development team. After graduating from Princeton University, Suzy worked in Marketing and Development at several US arts organizations. She earned her MBA at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management before working in research, project management, and client relations at the renowned Toronto corporate sponsorship agency Arts & Communications, then as Air Canada's Marketing Manager in Toronto.
For 15 years, Suzy was a Senior Associate with NetGain Partners, where she had the pleasure of working with a variety of clients, helping them with strategic planning and fundraising. Suzy has raised millions of dollars for vital organizations in the community.
When not working, Suzy hangs out with her family, dances, swims, golfs, hikes, and tends her wild garden. She used to be a mime, but the rope and the wall only got her so far.
Job Titles:
- Board Director
- Director of Generation
Mr. Milroy is a director of Generation Capital Limited, a private family office located in Toronto. He is a director of APi Group, where he serves as a member of the Audit Committee and as chair of the Compensation Committee, and a director of Interfor Corporation, where he serves as chair of the Audit Committee and as a member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee. Mr. Milroy previously served as a director of Restaurant Brands Inc. and one of its predecessors, Tim Hortons Inc., serving on the Audit Committee of both companies.
Mr. Milroy has sat on the boards of numerous not-for-profit organizations. He currently sits on the board of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation (past chair), the Century Initiative, Evergreen, and the Pacific Parkinson's Research Institute.
Mr. Milroy worked for BMO Financial Group from 1993 to his retirement in 2015. From 2008 to 2014, Mr. Milroy served as CEO of BMO Capital Markets, where he was responsible for all of BMO Financial Group's businesses involving corporate, institutional and government clients globally. In 2014, BMO Capital Markets had revenues in excess of $3.7bn and net income of approx. $1.1bn and employed approximately 2400 people in Canada, the United States and international markets. Mr. Milroy was a member of the BMO Financial Group's Executive Committee, Operating Committee, Management Committee, Risk Management and Reputational Risk committees, as well as various other oversight committees. For over 21 years, Mr. Milroy held progressively senior positions within the investment banking group. From 1988 to 1993, Mr. Milroy worked in the investment banking industry in New York and Toronto. He began his career practicing securities law in Toronto.
Mr. Milroy holds a Bachelor of Law and Master of Law from Cambridge University, an LLB from Dalhousie University, and a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University. He has completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. Mr. Milroy is a member of the Law Society of Ontario.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operations Officer and Project Director at Curious Public
- Secretary and Chair, Governance and HR Committee
Tracey is Chief Operations Officer and Project Director at Curious Public. Over the course of her career, Tracey has served as a communications planner, strategist and executive advisor, where building and maintaining effective relationships have underpinned all of her work with key stakeholders and within organizations.
She has been a communications/senior advisor and project manager in government and in broader public and private sector organizations, including the Office of the Premier of Ontario, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and Toronto Metropolitan University, where she used her outstanding people management and organizational skills to resolve issues and drive projects to successful completion. She has led numerous cross-departmental initiatives and projects, such as developing strategies and protocols for new external relations, patient and stakeholder engagement, and employee relations programs.
Tracey has a strong sense of obligation to the well-being of children and has brought her communications experience to a number of child-focused charities, including positions on the board of directors of the African Relief Committee in Canada and Mothercraft. She has also volunteered with Visions of Science, a non-profit focused on advancing the representation of African Canadian youth in the fields of science, mathematics and technology, the African Canadian Children's Heritage Program, and more recently, with Gilda's Club Greater Toronto.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer at OPTrust
- Treasurer and Chair, Finance and Audit Committee
Upton is the Chief Financial Officer at OPTrust. He previously held senior positions at the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), Global Vice President Finance and Chief Accountant at Sun Life Financial, and progressively senior positions at General Electric, HSBC and PwC.
He also advises on a variety of finance issues and serves as a working group member of the Accounting Standards Board, reviewing pension plan standards.
Upton received his bachelor and masters from the University of Waterloo and has his CPA in both Canada and the United States.