GRAND CHALLENGES CANADA - Key Persons

Abigail Speller

Job Titles:

Knowledge Management and Translation Associate
Knowledge Management and Translation Associate Read More / Communications, Corporate Operations, Human Resources & IT

Abigail is a Knowledge Management and Translation Associate and Grand Challenges Canada. Abigail provides support to innovators in tracking and assessing results, as well as developing knowledge products that capture lessons learned and best practices. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Abigail worked in academic and not-for-profit settings with a strong focus on reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health. For several years she was based India, where she worked with the University of Manitoba's Centre for Global Public Health to document stories from frontline workers on a large-scale health systems strengthening initiative. Abigail also spent time with Noora Health, supporting with impact communications and piloting qualitative data collection processes. Her most recent role was with Aga Khan Foundation Canada, where she managed a portfolio of health projects in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Abigail holds a Master of Public Health from Simon Fraser University and a specialist Honours BA in International Development Studies from the University of Toronto Scarborough.

Adetunji Eleso

Job Titles:

Director, Scale and Sustainability
Director, Scale and Sustainability Read More

As Director, Scale and Sustainability, Tunji leads the creation of bridges between the supply of GCC-supported innovations and the demand for solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa. His approach focuses on honouring GCC's collaborative advantage in the innovation ecosystem and increases the likelihood of scale and sustainability of GCC-supported innovations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to his current role, Tunji served as an Acting Senior Portfolio Manager, Risk Capital focused on non-grant investments. He joined GCC in 2019 as an Investment Manager responsible for managing a portfolio of Medical Products & Technologies that improved the lives of mothers and children especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Tunji is an investment and business support professional with over two decades experience supporting clients in financial services, manufacturing and technology sectors in Nigeria and Africa. He has extensive experience in early-stage investing. Prior to joining GCC, he was at Co-creation Hub Nigeria (a pan African social innovation centre dedicated to accelerating the application of social capital and technology for economic prosperity) where for almost a decade, he led the investment team to provide capital and support to hundreds of early-stage enterprises. Tunji has a MSc in International Development from the University of Manchester, UK and a BSc in Estate Management from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Tunji in his spare time is an avid football follower and supporter.

Adiam Abraham

Job Titles:

Program Associate
Program Associate Read More

Adiam Abraham is a Program Associate for the Humanitarian Grand Challenge Portfolio at Grand Challenges Canada. In this role, she supports seed innovators through the negotiation process and throughout the duration of their projects. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Adiam worked at various non-profit organizations and the Canadian government. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto, where she studied Political Science and African Studies. She also completed a post-graduate certificate in Project Management at the University of Toronto. Adiam is very passionate about global human rights, and more specifically, children's rights. During her undergraduate career, she worked alongside local organizations to conduct research on the causes and effects of child labour and youth unemployment in Cameroon. She hopes to live in a world where children can enjoy their childhood, carefree.

Amanda Chiu

Job Titles:

Finance Manager - Programs
Finance Manager - Programs Read More

Amanda Chiu is a Finance Manager - Programs at Grand Challenges Canada (GCC), where she co-leads the management and operations of the Finance Programs team. She provides financial support to the Programs area of the organization, enabling innovators to meet pre-award and post-award financial requirements. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Amanda worked in a corporate tax advisory and reporting role at a large Canadian public company and practiced tax and audit at a national accounting firm, servicing small and large companies in various industries. Amanda obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and obtained her CPA, CA designation in 2014. In her spare time, Amanda enjoys volunteering with her church and the CRA's community volunteer income tax program. She also enjoys tending to her vegetable garden, spoiling her dog, traveling and snowboarding.

Andre Lewis

Job Titles:

Associate Director - IT and Corporate Operations Read More
Associate Director of IT and Corporate Operations

Andre Lewis is the Associate Director of IT and Corporate Operations at Grand Challenges Canada. He is responsible for the planning, provisioning, installation/configuration, operation and maintenance of all system hardware and software and related infrastructure, including end-user systems and devices such as Laptops, Desktop computers, Smart Phones, and Servers, etc. In addition, he spearheads technical research and development to enable continuing innovation within Grand Challenges Canada's technology and business infrastructure. Andre is also responsible for the security, management, and maintenance of GCC's critical business applications. Andre has over sixteen years of experience in the information technology industry - from providing IT support to end users to managing IT Operations and maintaining network infrastructures. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Andre was a Systems Administrator at Canpar Transport, where he was responsible for managing and maintaining their network infrastructure. Andre has a degree in Information Technology Management from York University, a Certificate in Project Management from the University of Toronto, and is a Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator.

Angel So

Job Titles:

Financial Analyst
Financial Analyst Read More

Angel So is a Financial Analyst for Grand Challenges Canada, where her main responsibility is to provide financial support in multiple areas within the financial reporting process, specifically accounts payable, payroll and bank reconciliations, for the corporate areas of the organization. Prior to joining the Grand Challenges Canada team, Angel was completing a Bachelor of Commerce, at Ryerson University, majoring in Accounting with a minor in Business Law. Currently, Angel is actively pursuing her Chartered Professional Accountant designation.

Anil Pathela

Job Titles:

Finance
Senior Director
Financial Services Executive
Senior Director, Finance Read More

Anil Pathela is Senior Director, Finance at Grand Challenges Canada. Based in Toronto, Anil works as part of the management team to deliver on Grand Challenges Canada's mandate, mission and priorities. Anil is a passionate member of the community that continues to volunteer his time to many charitable organizations including the United Way, Junior Achievements Canada, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Anil is a seasoned financial services executive who has worked for over 20 years with multi-national organizations and start-ups in Canada, the USA, and India. In addition to holding a Canadian CPA, CA designation, Anil also has a US CPA designation from the University of Illinois and has also an MBA from National University in California. In his spare time, Anil enjoys playing golf and bicycling in the Summer, and loves to travel overseas during the winter with his family.

Anisah Hooda

Job Titles:

Program Analyst Read More
Program Analyst With the Global Health Innovation Team

Anisah is a Program Analyst with the Global Health Innovation Team. She supports Transition-to-Scale investments to enable innovator success. Anisah joined GCC previously as a summer fellow, where she supported portfolio analysis and management across the Global Mental Health, Saving Brains, and Saving Lives and Birth programs. Passionate about innovation and sustainable development, Anisah is looking forward to building on her experience at GCC and working closely with innovators to develop and apply innovative solutions to critical global health problems.

Anita McKernan

Job Titles:

Senior Legal Counsel
Senior Legal Counsel Read More

Anita McKernan is Senior Legal Counsel at Grand Challenges Canada, where she is responsible for the negotiation and execution of Transition to Scale investment and seed grant transactions. Anita is a lawyer licensed to practice law in Ontario, Canada in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario with over seventeen years of experience in corporate commercial law. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Anita worked as in-house counsel working on a wide variety of corporate commercial matters from real estate development globally to privacy compliance to a variety of procurement, contractor, and benefits contracts. Prior to her in-house work, Anita worked in private practice on a variety of corporate matters with a focus privacy and advertising and marketing compliance as well as corporate reorganizations. Anita holds a BSc, from the University of Toronto (a specialist in human physiology and a minor in English literature), an MSc from the University of Western Ontario (cardiovascular physiology), and a LLB from the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law. In 2001, she was called to the Bar of Ontario. Anita recently completed a LLM at the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto with a focus on health and human rights, as well as Indigenous peoples and Canadian law.

Aoife Allen

Job Titles:

Coordinator
Peer Review Coordinator
Peer Review Coordinator Read More

Aoife Allen is the Peer Review Coordinator at Grand Challenges Canada. Aoife ensures efficient, high-quality coordination of the application in-take and review process, including the innovation screen and the external peer review. She supports the engagement of the external experts and works closely with the Programs Team Leads. Before joining Grand Challenges Canada, Aoife worked at Capstone Infrastructure as and Executive Assistant. Prior to moving to Canada she work for EirGrid, Ireland's National Electricity Grid for 10 years as an Executive Assistant to the Director of Operations and the Events coordinator, managing high profile visitors like Nancy Pelosi and the King of Lesotho. Aoife graduated from Dublin Business School with a BA Honors degree in Marketing and Event Management.

Aparna Kamath

Job Titles:

Program Officer
Program Officer Read More
Program Officer With Grand Challenges Canada 's Global Health Innovation

Aparna Kamath is a Program Officer with Grand Challenges Canada's Global Health Innovation team, where she leads the Maternal and Newborn Health innovations portfolio. Prior to Grand Challenges Canada, Aparna was with the Clinton Health Access Initiative where she was responsible for a portfolio of programs with governments across Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, designing and implementing health financing and health systems reforms towards improving access to primary health care for vulnerable populations. Before that, at the Results for Development Institute, Aparna provided strategic and technical guidance on delivering a total market approach to social franchise networks for sexual and reproductive health services in East Africa. Aparna brings extensive experience designing programs for impact and scale through collaborative public-private approaches from her time living and working across Eastern and Southern Africa. Aparna holds a Master's degree in Global Health and Population from the Harvard School of Public Health, and a Bachelor's Degree in Biological Sciences and International Relations from Smith College.

Barbara Malecki

Job Titles:

Finance Manager - Corporate
Finance Manager - Corporate Read More

Barbara Malecki is Finance Manager - Corporate for Grand Challenges Canada, where she leads the Corporate Unit responsible for corporate budgeting, financial reporting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, corporate tax returns and HST filings, bank reconciliations and monitoring of cash flow. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Barbara was a senior staff accountant in the audit practice at Ernst & Young, with emphasis in the Not-for-Profit, Retail, Service organizations and Manufacturing industries. Barbara graduated from Western University with a Bachelor of Business Management Organization Studies, Honors Specialization in Accounting and has obtained the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation.

Brittney Dudar MGA

Job Titles:

Program Officer
Program Officer, Global Mental Health
Program Officer, Global Mental Health Read More

Brittney holds a Master's of Global Affairs from the University of Toronto's Munk School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Music from Wilfrid Laurier University. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, she completed an Engineers Without Borders Canada fellowship in Kampala, Uganda as an Investment Officer, where she was responsible for sourcing a pipeline of seed-stage social enterprise investments. Brittney also spearheaded the design of Engineers Without Borders' gender lens investing strategy. Brittney has supported early-stage technology businesses and women entrepreneurs in London, UK and investigated behavioral interventions for women's financial inclusion in South Africa. Her professional interests lie at the intersection of innovation, development, and gender equity.

Carolina Kwok

Job Titles:

Associate Director, Global Health Innovations
Associate Director, Global Health Innovations Read More

Carolina is the Associate Director with Grand Challenges Canada's Global Health Innovation Team, in which capacity she focuses on investments that improve the lives of underserved women, girls and children in low-resource settings. Carolina focuses her support on the maternal, newborn health and sexual and reproductive health portfolios. She also provides strategic oversight to the Stars in Global Health portfolio. Carolina has had over eight years of experience in implementing and managing global health programs in Africa and Asia. Prior to joining GCC, Carolina worked at the Clinton Health Access Initiative as a program manager, overseeing market access projects to ensure sustainable and equitable access to the optimal tuberculosis technologies. She had previously worked in scaling up HIV counseling and testing, and family planning services in a mining province in Zambia, and conducted research in the areas of HIV, MNCH, tobacco policies and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Carolina completed her physiotherapy training at McGill University and worked in the areas of neurological rehabilitation in Toronto and Vancouver prior to attaining her MPH from Simon Fraser University.

Caroline Martires

Job Titles:

Senior Financial Analyst
Senior Financial Analyst - Corporate
Senior Financial Analyst - Corporate Read More

Caroline is a Senior Financial Analyst (Corporate) for Grand Challenges Canada, where her main responsibility is to provide financial support for the corporate areas of the organization, including assisting throughout the financial reporting process and preparing financial reports, reconciliations, corporate budget, corporate tax returns and HST forms. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Caroline has had significant financial experience in the professional services industry including a global law firm, as well as in property accounting for a large real estate organization. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and has obtained her CPA designation.

Catherine Bravo-Judah

Job Titles:

Finance Manager - Compliance
Finance Manager - Compliance Read More

Catherine Bravo-Judah is the Finance Manager - Compliance for Grand Challenges Canada (GCC), where she leads the day-to-day operations of the Compliance Team. As part of GCC's risk mitigation strategy on fiduciary project risk, the Compliance Team is responsible for conducting spot-check audits on funding recipients to ensure their financial reporting adheres to GCC's funding requirements. Previously, she was the Team Lead - Compliance, coordinating and overseeing the implementation of GCC's audit plan. Before joining the Compliance Team, she reviewed financial reports, supported the negotiation process and assisted throughout the financial reporting process, as a Senior Financial Analyst. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Catherine was part of the financial advisory practice at Deloitte and the audit practice at KPMG. Catherine completed her undergraduate degree in International Business from Carleton University and obtained her Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation. She also completed her Master of Finance at the Rotman School of Management. She speaks Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese at various levels. Catherine is a BrainWAVE committee member at the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, committed to having a positive impact on children battling or having survived brain tumours.

Chithra Rajaratnam

Job Titles:

Human Resources Advisor
Human Resources Advisor Read More
Member of the Human Resources Professionals Association

Chithra Rajaratnam is the Human Resources Advisor at Grand Challenges Canada. In this role, she provides human resources related guidance, advisory and consultive services to management and staff. Chithra is currently a member of the Human Resources Professionals Association and is actively pursuing an HR designation. She completed her undergraduate studies at Ryerson University. She holds a certificate in Human Resources Management from the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education where she is currently enrolled in the Mental Health and Addictions certificate program. Chithra is passionate about universal access to mental health resources and is inspired by the impact that Grand Challenges Canada has on the lives of individuals in low-and middle-income countries.

Daniel Park - Chief Legal Officer

Job Titles:

Legal Counsel
Junior Counsel
Legal Counsel Read More

Daniel Park is Junior Counsel at Grand Challenges Canada. In this role, he is responsible for reviewing and executing agreements with innovators and ensuring ongoing compliance with a range of Grand Challenges Canada funder requirements and policies. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Daniel worked as an associate lawyer at a labour and employment firm in Toronto where he practiced in all areas of management-side labour and employment law, providing advice and representation to employers and management in both the private and public sector on a range of human rights, labour, and employment matters. Daniel received his Juris Doctor from Western University Faculty of Law and has an undergraduate degree from the University of Guelph in Criminal Justice and Public Policy. During his time at Western Law, Daniel was an Associate Editor on the Canada-United States Law Journal, and between his first and second year at Western University, Daniel interned at a law firm in South Korea. During his free time, Daniel enjoys playing guitar, soccer, and watching movies.

David Brook - Chief Strategy Officer

Job Titles:

Chief Strategy Officer
Chief Strategy Officer Read More

David Brook is Chief Strategy Officer at Grand Challenges Canada. Based in Ottawa, Mr. Brook works as part of the senior management team to deliver on Grand Challenges Canada's mandate, mission and priorities. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Mr. Brook was the founder and President of DBk Consulting Inc. a consulting firm specializing in innovation, health and environmental policy, commercialization and citizen engagement. Prior to founding DBk Consulting, Mr. Brook worked as a Senior Research Associate with the Public Policy Forum in Ottawa. Mr. Brook has an Honours Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (International Development) and a Masters Degree in Political Economy from Carleton University.

David Masse

Job Titles:

Director
Director of Corporate Operations & Human Resources
Director of Corporate Operations & Human Resources Read More

David Masse is Director of Corporate Operations & Human Resources at Grand Challenges Canada, supporting Operations, Communications, IT, Legal, Administration and Finance. David worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for 34 years. During his time at the CBC he worked in a variety of leadership roles in just about every genre of content including Movies, Variety, Documentaries, Current Affairs, Childrens, Comedy and for the last 20 years in Sports. His time in Sports included working on 11 Olympic Games, and numerous FIFA World Cups, Pan Am Games, Commonwealth Games, Paralympic Games and the iconic Hockey Night in Canada. Several of these projects have been recognized as the best in the world. David has degrees in Communication Studies and Commerce from the University of Windsor and is currently a student at the University of Toronto in the GPLLM program Masters of Laws. David is currently the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors for Save the Children Canada, which is a member of Save the Children International, the world's largest independent child advocacy organization. Each summer for the last 15 years David has travelled to the Colorado Rockies to deliver courses with Outward Colorado.

Debora Aguillon

Job Titles:

Associate Communications Officer for the Global Mental Health
Associate Communications Officer, Global Mental Health
Associate Communications Officer, Global Mental Health Read More

Deb Aguillon is the Associate Communications Officer for the Global Mental Health program. She provides communications services in support of seeding and transitioning to scale high-impact innovations that support the mental health needs of underserved individuals, in particular young people, in low-and middle-income countries. Before joining Grand Challenges Canada, Deb worked in communications at the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Services Workers (the College), a provincial regulatory body seeking to protect the public from unfit and unregulated social work and social service work professionals. Her work with the College included providing support in the various stages of the content management lifecycle, leading the creation of digital assets to help amplify their brand story and supporting with public-facing events. Deb has also completed an Ontario Graduate Certificate in International Development from Humber College and a Joint Honours degree in Anthropology and International Development from York University.

Deepika Devadas

Job Titles:

Chief of Staff to Karlee Silver
Chief of Staff, Programs
Chief of Staff, Programs Read More

Deepika is the Chief of Staff to Karlee Silver (Co-CEO). In this role she provides strategic advice and support on the organization's program-related initiatives like the EWEC Innovation Marketplace, Impact Fund, Transition to Scale and new Grand Challenges across its Development, Humanitarian and Indigenous innovation areas of focus, and engages with GCC's strategic partners to help facilitate demand and scaling for innovative solutions. Deepika continues to support the Every Woman Every Child Innovation Marketplace, a joint initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, Norad and USAID, a portfolio she previously managed, by leveraging her health and impact investment expertise to support health-focused start-ups and innovations, that serve low and middle income countries, to achieve their investment, growth and impact milestones during and beyond the transition to scale stages. Deepika comes from a background in health sciences and technologies, through her ten years of experience across a variety of scientific disciplines, including infection biology, virology, immunology, cancer and bioengineering. She is often called upon as a recognized thought leader in the sector of scaling impactful health innovation in low and middle income countries. Deepika was a postdoctoral scientist with the University of Toronto, at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering. She received her PhD from the Hannover Medical School, Germany and her Masters in Molecular Microbiology from the University of Nottingham, UK. Her breadth of international experience also includes her native country, India, where she completed her BSc in Microbiology from the University of Mumbai. Deepika has a certificate in Strategic Management from the Copenhagen Business School and is a candidate for the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation.

Diana Sanchez Guadarrama

Job Titles:

Program Analyst
Program Analyst Read More

Diana Sanchez Guadarrama is a Program Analyst on the OPTions Initiative team at Grand Challenges Canada. Diana is committed to global health and social equity. Her interests and research topics have ranged from women's health interventions to vaccine development for schistosomiasis. For her Master's thesis, she evaluated an intervention preventing intimate partner violence among women in Mwanza, Tanzania. She also has experience in clinical research, coordinating trials for new cancer therapies at a Montreal-based hospital. Diana comes to Grand Challenges Canada with experience on an innovation team - she contributed to designing an intervention to counter female genital mutilation/cutting in Nigeria which was successfully funded as a Stars in Global Health grantee. She is thrilled to be contributing to gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights efforts with the OPTions team and innovators. Diana holds a Master of Science in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and also speaks French and Spanish.

Dominique Laforest

Job Titles:

Program Officer
Program Officer Read More
Program Officer With Grand Challenges Canada 's Global Health Innovation

Dominique Laforest is a Program Officer with Grand Challenges Canada's Global Health Innovation team, where she leads the Stars in Global Health portfolio. This program provides funding to explore transformative ideas at the proof-of-concept stage. Prior to leading the Stars in Global Health portfolio, Dominique supported GCC's Saving Brains portfolio as a Program Associate. Before joining GCC, Dominique lived and worked in Haiti for several years. As an IYIP intern, she conducted research on local agroforestry systems and the impact of urban sprawl on coastal environments. As the Agriculture Programs Coordinator for Meds & Food for Kids, Dominique managed the research, farmer extension, and local procurement initiatives of the organization, acting as the implementing partner lead for a Feed the Future Innovation Lab project. She has also spent time in Ghana with the Osu Children's Library and the Play and Learn Foundation, supporting their work in education and youth leadership. Following her most recent role with the Play and Learn Foundation, Dominique joined GCC wishing to leverage this experience to best support innovators working to address various global health challenges. Dominique holds a BA in International Development Studies from the University of Guelph and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Program Management for International Development from the Humber Business School.

Douglas Chow

Job Titles:

Senior Manager of Communications
Senior Manager, Communications Read More

Douglas Chow is Senior Manager of Communications at Grand Challenges Canada. His role is to provide leadership in terms of corporate communications, which consists of positioning and promoting Grand Challenges Canada as an organization, its brand, its people and its mission. Douglas is an award-winning bilingual PR professional with over 20 years of governmental, agency and public company experience. Recently, as Corporate Spokesperson for CBC/Radio-Canada, he was responsible for developing issues/crisis management strategies and acting as media spokesperson for matters related to: appearances before regulatory and parliamentary bodies; announcements made by the President & CEO; Access to Information enquiries; and wider issues affecting the Canadian broadcast industry. Douglas has also held senior strategic communications roles at Groupe Juste pour rire, Telefilm Canada and Molson Coors. Douglas received his Masters of Arts in Media Studies from Concordia University.

Elizabeth (Elsa) Assefa MGA

Job Titles:

Investment Associate for the Humanitarian Grand Challenge
Investment Associate Read More

Elizabeth (Elsa) Assefa is an Investment Associate for the Humanitarian Grand Challenge team at Grand Challenges Canada where she particularly supports the Transition-to-Scale innovators. Elsa holds a Master of Global Affairs with a specialization in Global Civil Society and Global Institutions. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Elsa worked as a Research Consultant for a humanitarian consultancy firm, primarily focused on evaluations of financing for international assistance. These opportunities provided meaningful experience working with non-profit organizations and governments, such as the UK. During her graduate studies, Elsa acquired field experience in South Africa working with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and in Jordan researching the use of cash assistance by Syrian refugees. Elsa is passionate about sustainable solutions to complex humanitarian challenges and enjoys supporting Transition-to-Scale innovators alongside the Humanitarian Grand Challenge team.

Elizabeth Odza

Job Titles:

Human Resources & Administrative Coordinator

Elizabeth Odza is the Human Resources & Administrative Coordinator at Grand Challenges Canada supporting administration and coordination of corporate operations. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Elizabeth was the Administrative Coordinator for the provincial Toronto Central-Local Health Integration Network initiative focusing on community engagement in east Toronto to help design primary healthcare through connections with the diverse health service providers, patient/client and resident communities, and marginalized groups. Elizabeth has over 15 years' experience in supporting leaders, physicians, and clinical teams in the healthcare system.

Emma Gerster

Job Titles:

Investment Analyst
Investment Analyst for the Indigenous Innovation Initiative Hosted
Investment Analyst Read More

Emma is an Investment Analyst for the Indigenous Innovation Initiative hosted at Grand Challenges Canada. Emma holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management. Before joining Grand Challenges Canada, Emma worked at CI Global Asset Management for 5 years, primarily on the Product Development and Management team.

Erik Miller

Job Titles:

Associate
Data Associate
Data Associate Read More

Erik Miller is a Data Associate at Grand Challenges Canada. Erik provides comprehensive support for the Grants Management System, including optimization, system configuration, creating reports, testing, training, and user support. Erik came to Grand Challenges Canada with a wide range of administrative and database experience in the health and non-profit sectors, including Sinai Health System, Baycrest Health Sciences, the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia, and numerous positions within the federal and BC governments. Erik is a graduate of Simon Fraser University with a B.A. in Economics, focusing on government policy and cost-benefit analysis, and a Certificate in Liberal Arts.

Fawad Akbari

Job Titles:

Director, Humanitarian Innovation
Director, Humanitarian Innovation Read More
Pediatrician

As the Director, Humanitarian Innovation at GCC, Fawad is responsible for the ongoing development and implementation of Creating Hope in Conflict: A Humanitarian Grand Challenge (HGC), as well as other potential grand challenges focused on saving and improving lives in conflict-affected areas. He is also responsible for maintaining strategic partnership related to HGC and informing the Canadian and Global humanitarian policies and systems. Fawad Akbari is a pediatrician, global health, and humanitarian response expert with particular focus on health, nutrition, governance, fragility, and intersection across these themes. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, he was the Regional Deputy Director of Programs and Partnerships with Aga Khan Foundation based in Canada, overseeing a diverse portfolio of multi-sectoral programs and partnerships in Canada and the US, including Global Health, Nutrition and Humanitarian initiatives. Before this, he worked with AKF Afghanistan, Cure International Hospital and Marie Stopes International in different managerial and technical leadership capacities. He has an M.D. degree from Kabul Medical University in Afghanistan, an MPH degree from University of Liverpool in the UK, and a diploma from INSEAD's European Health Leadership Program in France. He has been involved with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research as Fellow, Coach, Resource Person and Mentor in their Afghanistan and Iraq Fellowship programs since 2009. He is an Adjunct Professor at University of Ottawa, School of Epidemiology and Public Health, and a member of the WHO Collaborating Center for Knowledge Translation and Technology Assessment for Health Equity at the same University. His research interests are in health governance, community health, conflict, fragility and health, and health systems strengthening. He also serves on the Board of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan (CW4W-Afg) and Canadian Afghan Association of Health Professionals (CAAHP), two Canadian charities that work in Afghanistan.

Gloria Boly

Job Titles:

Program Analyst for the Stars
Program Analyst, Stars
Program Analyst, Stars Read More

Gloria is a Program Analyst for the Stars in Global Health portfolio at Grand Challenges Canada. This program provides funding to explore transformative ideas at the proof-of-concept stage. Gloria holds a Master of Science in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from York University (Glendon College). Gloria has experience working with various humanitarian organizations, including interning at World Vision Canada during her undergraduate studies and completing her master's consultancy project for the British Red Cross. In addition to her native French, she also speaks Spanish. Before joining Grand Challenges, Gloria worked at ABC Life Literacy Canada, a national literacy organization, where she managed a digital literacy program and helped grow the organization's reach in Québec and the Maritimes. In her spare time, she enjoys baking, cycling and volunteering with LoveTO, the charitable arm of her church.

Jeena Mathew

Job Titles:

Program Officer
Program Officer on the Global Health
Program Officer Read More

Jeena Mathew is a Program Officer on the Global Health Innovations team at Grand Challenges Canada and manages the OPTions Initiative portfolio of investments. Jeena has global health research, program development and implementation experience, working across non-governmental organisations, academic institutions and research centers in Canada, US, Kenya, South Africa and India. Prior to joining GCC, she worked at The SickKids Centre for Global Child Health supporting grant activities for an infant nutrition intervention in Bangladesh. She has previously worked on a demand creation program in Somaliland where she designed, tested and implemented innovative family planning, antenatal care and nutrition interventions. She conducted extensive research in sexual and reproductive health, maternal and child health, human centered design and health financing. Jeena completed a Master's in Bioengineering at the University of Texas and worked in cancer molecular biology at Georgetown University prior to obtaining her MPH degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

Joanita Nakamwa

Job Titles:

Program Associate

Joanita is a Program Associate for the Saving Brains portfolio. In this role, she supports strategic management of the portfolio, venture advisory platform support, innovations due diligence and leads negotiation of funding agreements as well as post-execution support for innovators throughout the course of their projects. Joanita's experience as a registered nurse in Kenya inspired her deep interest in global health. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Joanita was a project coordinator for a provincial HIV policy and research organization where she collaborated with research and community stakeholders to address HIV and other issues affecting the health and wellbeing of Black communities in Ontario. She volunteered at an AIDS service organization where she helped set up a newcomer women's group to promote smoother integration and wellbeing. Alongside her volunteer engagements, Joanita worked on healthy communities initiatives in Ontario as a research and evaluation assistant.

Jocelyn Mackie - CEO

Job Titles:

Co - Chief Executive Officer
Co - CEO

Jocelyn Mackie is Co-CEO of Grand Challenges Canada, giving leadership and oversight to all aspects of the organization's innovation platform, together with Co-CEO Karlee Silver. Prior to being appointed Co-CEO, Ms. Mackie was Vice President of Operations & General Counsel at GCC, where she led the Finance, Operations, Legal and Communications teams, leading the organization's operations, funder relations, deal structuring and negotiations (on grant and non-grant financing deals), financial accountability and risk mitigation management, as well as providing legal and compliance oversight. Prior to joining GCC, Ms. Mackie provided legal and strategic advice to pharmaceutical and technology companies at a boutique law firm with offices in Toronto, Washington and New York. She specialized in intellectual property law and litigation, as well as lobbying for legislative change in Washington and Ottawa. Ms. Mackie started her academic pursuits studying languages and international development, and spent time digging latrines and helping to set up a self-sustaining micro-enterprise with rural women in Honduras. Ms. Mackie has a MSc from the University of Toronto, where she jointly authored a book on ethical decision-making and corporate social responsibility in the bioscience industry. She has a JD from the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, and an honours business degree (HBA) from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario. She was called to the Ontario Bar and the New York State Bar. When not focused on enabling Bold Ideas With Big Impact®, Ms. Mackie spends time with her entrepreneurial husband, three children and two step daughters (aged 2 to 20) at their home in Toronto, family cottage and cattle farm. She stays grounded by taking dance classes, and is active in her community church and children's school.

Joseph (Joe) Torres

Job Titles:

Director, Funder and Partner Relations and Executive Director, Grand Challenges Canada Foundation
Director, Funder and Partner Relations and Executive Director, Grand Challenges Canada Foundation Read More

Joseph (Joe) Torres is the Director of Funder and Partner Relations and Executive Director of Grand Challenges Canada Foundation. Joe is responsible for sourcing and nurturing key relationships for the organization with a priority on key funders, strategic partnerships, prospective new partners, and for developing approaches to engagement, collaboration, and innovation that adds value to each funder and partner organization. Joe comes to us from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where he was the Program Manager for the Enteric and Diarrheal Diseases team in the Global Health Division, providing strategic and operational support across all priority enteric pathogens for the $300M portfolio. Prior to that role, Joe was the Program Manager and lead for the Grand Challenges initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation managing all business, operations, and key partnerships on behalf the program. He has over twelve years of experience developing new Grand Challenges programs and partnerships, while optimizing the systems and processes to support them. Joe helped to develop new Grand Challenge country-specific programs in India, Brazil, and a pan-African Grand Challenges platform. He is a strategic advisor for developing new innovation platforms for public, private and government sponsored initiatives through open sourced innovation platforms and requests for proposals. During his time at the foundation, he served on the board of the Global Innovation Exchange, a platform connecting innovators to funding and key partnership opportunities. Joe was seconded to Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) from the foundation as Director General of Operations & Administration from October 2017- October 2019 and is excited to be rejoining GCC. Before the foundation, Joe worked at the HIV Vaccine Clinical Network teaching non-scientists and community members about basic vaccinology and clinical trials across the globe. Earlier, he coordinated the Human Subjects Training and Ethics training programs for investigators working at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. During his undergraduate studies, he worked for an Insurance Defense Law Firm as Staff Supervisor and Legal Assistant focused on fraud prevention. Joe earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Comparative Literature from San Diego State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Washington. In his free time, he enjoys travel, cycling, sampling coffee from around the world, and volunteering for local community organizations.

Kaitlin Strachan

Job Titles:

Finance Manager - Programs
Finance Manager - Programs Read More

Kaitlin Strachan is a Finance Manager - Programs at Grand Challenges Canada (GCC), where she co-leads the management and operations of the Finance Programs team. She provides financial support to the Programs area of the organization, enabling innovators to meet pre-award and post-award financial requirements. Prior to joining the Grand Challenges Canada team, Kaitlin was a Finance Prime at Bell Canada, where she was responsible for managing program budgets and providing project governance. Kaitlin completed her Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Guelph and obtained her Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation. Kaitlin also works as a Project Accountant at the Hospital for Sick Children managing grant funds for the Neuroscience and Mental Health Portfolio and in her spare time enjoys traveling.

Karlee Silver - CEO

Job Titles:

Co - Chief Executive Officer

Karlee Silver is Co-CEO of Grand Challenges Canada, giving leadership and oversight to all aspects of the organization's activities together with Co-CEO Jocelyn Mackie. Karlee oversees and enables the work of the Global Health Innovation, Humanitarian Innovation, Indigenous Innovation Initiative, and Knowledge Management & Translation teams. She co-leads funder and stakeholder relations, risk management and mitigation, new opportunity development, and strategic planning and decision-making, together with Jocelyn. Karlee has been recognized as one of Canada's ‘Top 40 Under 40' and a Canadian Woman Leader in Global Health. Prior to being appointed Co-CEO, Dr. Silver was Vice President of Programs, where she set strategy for development and humanitarian innovation initiatives, and enabled the programs, investments and knowledge management teams to source, support and transition to scale promising innovations for social impact in low- and middle-income countries. She represents Grand Challenges Canada in the International Development Innovation Alliance (IDIA) and in the Grand Challenges network, and advises on a range of global initiatives aligned with women's and children's health and development, and global mental health. She is the Chair of the Every Woman Every Child Innovation Marketplace Steering Committee. Dr. Silver has been with Grand Challenges Canada since it launched, and led the process of selecting the organization's prioritized Grand Challenges. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Dr. Silver trained in the laboratory of Dr. Kevin Kain at the Sandra Rotman Centre in Toronto, where she helped to identify host responses of malaria infection in pregnant women to harness for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Dr. Silver received her doctorate in genetics and immunology in 2006 from the University of Oxford, where she attended as a Rhodes Scholar. An accumulation of inspirations, including traveling through southern Africa after Oxford, led to a refocus towards global health. Witnessing the strength of women (to sustain their families and communities), and the vulnerability of these same women (to the consequences of poverty) inspired Dr. Silver to apply herself to empowering women and girls.

Kikelomo Koya

Job Titles:

Social Finance Manager Read More
Social Finance Manager With the Global Health Innovation Team

Kikelomo Koya is a Social Finance Manager with the Global Health Innovation team at Grand Challenges Canada. Her primary role is to oversee the Transition to Scale repayables portfolio. Kike's professional experience lies at the intersection of finance and social impact. She previously worked on a UK Department for International Development (DFID) funded market system development program in Nigeria, where she designed and managed the program's access to finance and Challenge Fund interventions. These interventions used grant and blended financial instruments to catalyze private sector participation in social innovation, economic inclusion, and impact initiatives. Prior to this, Kike led a commercial banking unit in a top-tier bank and supported small to mid-sized businesses with accessing various forms of debt financing. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Kike supported a community-based non-profit with a feasibility study that explored hybrid financing mechanisms needed to expand access to employment skills training for persons living on low income, while creating self-generated revenue streams for the non-profit.

Kristin Neudorf

Job Titles:

Director of Knowledge Management & Translation
Director, Knowledge Management & Translation Read More

Kristin Neudorf is the Director of Knowledge Management & Translation at Grand Challenges Canada. Kristin leads the impact measurement of Grand Challenges Canada's investments in innovations that improve the lives of underserved people in low-resource settings. Under Kristin's leadership, Grand Challenges Canada has developed a robust approach to Knowledge Management & Translation, which supports the achievement of GCC's mission and strategic goals. Prior to joining Grand Challenges Canada, Kristin built a career in research and program evaluation, working with both non-profit organizations and academic institutions to evaluate the outcomes of health and development programs around the world. Her experience in the non-profit sector includes developing monitoring and evaluation systems and processes, and leading program evaluations. Kristin's work has taken her countries throughout Asia and Africa, and she has led field work in Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, South Africa and China. Kristin holds a Master's in Science in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, a Diploma in International Project Management from Humber Business School, and a Bachelor's in Biology and Development Studies from Queen's University.

Lahiru Embogama

Job Titles:

Senior IT Analyst
Senior IT Analyst Read More

Lahiru is a Senior IT Analyst at Grand Challenges Canada. He is responsible for the deployment, maintenance, and security of GCC's on-premises / off-premises systems, cloud infrastructure, servers, and end-user devices, in a Windows and Mac mixed environment. Lahiru is also responsible for providing technical support to Grand Challenges Canada employees. Lahiru has over thirteen years of experience in the IT industry as a Systems & Network administrator. Lahiru was a Regional Systems Administrator - North America at EC English Language Centers. He was responsible for managing and maintenance the IT infrastructure for eleven centers across the United States and Canada. Lahiru has a degree in Computing and Information Systems from the London Metropolitan University. Further, he is a Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator and a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) - Security.

Laura Rocoski

Job Titles:

Executive Assistant Read More

Leeat Gellis

Job Titles:

Director, Global Health Innovation

Linda Doran

Job Titles:

Project Manager Read More

Lori-Sara Gauthier

Job Titles:

Program Analyst, Stars Read More

Lucia Eyzaguirre

Job Titles:

Lab Associate Read More

Maddy Toca

Job Titles:

General Counsel & Secretary to the Board Read More

Grand Challenges Canada's programs are primarily undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada.