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Plenary Speakers
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Education Session Speakers
Plenary speakers
David B. Posen M.D.
David Posen was a family physician for 17 years before specializing in stress management and lifestyle counseling in 1985. He lectures widely across North America, and his client list includes a host of Fortune 500 companies. He is also the best-selling author of five books including 'The Little Book of Stress Relief', 'Is Work Killing You?' and his newest book, 'Authenticity'. His books have been translated into more than 10 languages and he has been profiled online, on television and in print in both Canada and the United States.
David lives and works in Oakville, Ontario and practices what he preaches. When not seeing patients, writing or public speaking, he is an avid reader, musician, baseball and tennis player.
Linkedin ~ Twitter ~ Plenary Session
Edgar Villanueva
Edgar Villanueva is a nationally-recognized expert on social justice philanthropy and author of Decolonizing Wealth, which offers hopeful and compelling alternatives to the dynamics of colonization in the philanthropic and social finance sectors.
Edgar currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Native Americans in Philanthropy; a Board Member of the Andrus Family Fund; and Senior Vice President at the Schott Foundation for Public Education. In addition to working in philanthropy for many years, he has consulted with numerous nonprofit organizations and national and global philanthropies on advancing racial equity inside of their institutions and through their investment strategies.
Linkedin ~ Twitter ~ Plenary Session
Hon. Senator Ratna Omidvar C.M., O.Ont.
Senator Omidvar has over 30 years of experience working in the charitable sector at senior levels of management as well as serving as a board director and a volunteer, including leading a private foundation, the Maytree Foundation. Senator Omidvar has served as a board director and advisor on over 30 charitable boards including public agencies, boards and commissions. Senator Omidvar is also an internationally recognized voice on migration, diversity and inclusion. In April 2016, she was appointed to the Senate of Canada as an independent Senator representing Ontario. As a member of the Senate’s Independent Senators Group she holds a leadership position as Liaison. Senator Omidvar also served as Deputy Chair of the Special Senate Committee on the Charitable Sector. Senator Omidvar was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2005 and became a Member of the Order of Canada in 2011, with both honours recognizing her advocacy work on behalf of immigrants and devotion to reducing inequality in Canada. She is the co-editor of Five Good Ideas: Practical Strategies for Non-Profit Success (2011). Twitter ~Plenary Session
Yogesh Bhathella CPA, CGA, CFP, TEP
Yogesh is a Partner with KPMG's Enterprise Tax practice based in the Langley, B.C. office. He has more than 20 years of experience providing tax and estate planning advice to private clients in a variety of industries.
Yogesh has extensive experience advising private corporations and high net worth families on a broad range of taxation and business matters including business reorganizations; wealth, gift and inheritance tax planning; trust and estate tax services; succession planning; and buying and selling a business.
Linkedin ~ Plenary Session
Sukhminder S. Virk LL.B.
Sukhminder is a lawyer and mediator with a practice that emphasizes working with family enterprises. In his corporate practice, he advises both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. He has experience in succession planning, corporate governance, complex corporate reorganizations, and business mergers and acquisitions.
Sukhminder is active in the community volunteering with various not-for-profit organizations. He has served as a Chair of the Board of Governors of the Justice Institute of BC, Director for the Fraser Valley Estate Planning Council, and Director of the South Asian Bar Association of BC. He is currently on the board of Moving Forward Family Services Society, a charity focused on supporting mental health.
He is a regular speaker on a wide range of topics including Estate Planning, Corporate Succession, and Diversity & Inclusion.
Linkedin ~ Twitter ~ Plenary Session
Andrew Chunilall CPA, CA
Andrew joined Community Foundations Canada in 2013 and became CEO in 2017, following a six-year tenure as Vice-President of Finance for the London Community Foundation and his long-standing service as a finance and regulatory expert for Canada’s philanthropic sector. Now at the head of the community foundation movement, Andrew is working closely with the Community Foundations of Canada Leadership team, Board and foundations in Canada and abroad to help the philanthropic sector transform, innovate and meet the new challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. Linkedin ~ Twitter ~ Plenary Session
Naki Osutei
Naki Osutei is the Associate Vice President, Social Impact (Canada) for the Global Corporate Citizenship department at TD Bank. Naki joined TD in 2017 to help develop The Ready Commitment, TD's global corporate citizenship platform. Prior to coming to TD, Naki worked in Executive Talent Management at CIBC supporting the development of executives and 'near-executives' while also working to diversify the executive pipeline; was an HR Director for, and led the corporate diversity and legacy strategies for the TORONTO2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games; and developed several city-building projects and leadership development programs at CivicAction, including co-creating DiverseCity Fellows, North America's first "civic MBA".
She is also an avid volunteer, currently serving as a member of the Board of Governors of University of Guelph. At TD she co-chairs the Black Employee Network and is a member of the Black Executive Steering Committee. In 2020, Naki was named to WXN's Top 100 Canada's Most Powerful Women.
Linkedin ~ Twitter ~ Plenary Session
Natasha Smith LL.B.
Natasha Smith is a member of Miller Thomson LLP’s Social Impact Group, with a practice dedicated to providing practical legal advice to charities and non-profits, exclusively. In an effort to ensure that these organizations achieve their missions and mandates successfully, Natasha assists these entities with a variety of matters including corporate governance and tax compliance.
Natasha's practice focuses on helping her clients to determine the best structure for their organization and to navigate the complex regulatory environment in which they operate.
Prior to commencing her law degree, Natasha received a B.A. in communications from the University of Calgary.
Linkedin ~ Twitter ~ Plenary Session
Session Speakers
Aimée Lindenberger, CFRE
As Chief Engagement Officer at Refocus Communications & Fundraising, Aimée spends her days helping charitable organizations more deeply engage their supporters, and raising more money to make the world a better place. With over twenty years of marketing and communications experience, a tender heart and insightful mind, and as one of only three people in Canada to have obtained a Philanthropic Psychology Certificate from the Institute of Sustainable Philanthropy in the UK, she brings new approaches to charities across Canada, helping them build fundraising communications and Legacy Giving programs. Whether working with the largest national organizations, or local one-person shops, she brings her unrelenting curiosity and a drive to make meaningful connections with supporters to every organization she works with. Aimée is Chair of the CAGP Greater Vancouver Chapter, and serves as a member of the Fraser Valley Committee for the Greater Vancouver Chapter of AFP.
Albert Labelle
At PearTree, Albert is focused on supporting the company's long term growth objectives by developing deep and sustainable client relationships in Quebec and across Canada. Albert works closely with current and prospective donor clients, their charitable causes and their advisors. He is a Director of the Quebec chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), is serving a 2 year term as board member and Chair of the Investment Committee of the Montfort Hospital Foundation in Ottawa. He’s also a Director of the Jewish General Hospital Foundation and is actively involved in fundraising efforts with various charities. Prior to joining PearTree, Albert has held senior executive management roles with corporations such as American Express, AVCO Financial Services, Canada Trust, Assante and CST Consultants. He has provided leadership to hundreds of employees and, together, achieved superior results. Specifically, Albert has developed an expertise in business development - building distribution channels and facilitating organizational change. His business approach centres on exceeding clients' expectations by delivering a flawless client experience
Allen Davidov, MBA, CM
Allen Davidov, MBA, CM. is the Vice President & Practice Leader of the not-for-profit, energy, transportation, and public sector at Environics Analytics. With nearly twenty years of experience in marketing, analytics, and fundraising, he has worked with organizations of all sizes to unlock the value of information in decision-making and business strategy. Prior to joining EA, Allen successfully led marketing, and a variety of fundraising programs at a number of organizations, including Sinai Health Foundation, Habitat for Humanity GTA, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Ontario Region, St. John’s Rehab Hospital Foundation at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and North York General Hospital Foundation. Allen is also an active member of the Canadian Marketing Association Not-For-Profit Council, a marketing and data volunteer with the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, and a member of Seneca College’s Marketing Advisory Council. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Liverpool, a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Ryerson University, a Creative Advertising diploma from Centennial College, and a Chartered Marketer certificate from the Canadian Marketing Association.
Amanda Stacey, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
Amanda Stacey is a partner in the wealth and private client group, and charities and tax exempt organization group at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP. Ms. Stacey provides advice in the areas of wealth management, estate planning, charity and not-for-profit law. She advises clients on Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, family business succession planning, and corporate re-organizations. Ms. Stacey also advises on the establishment, tax compliance, governance, and regulation of charities and not-for-profit organizations. She also assists financial institutions with issues pertaining to administering estate assets, registered and non-registered accounts, powers of attorney and capacity issues. Ms. Stacey was the Chair of the board of CAGP from 2017-2019 and a board member from 2012-2020. She is a frequent writer and speaker on a variety of estate planning and charity and not-for-profit topics.
Arundel Gibson CHRL, MBA
Arundel joined KPMG in 2018 and brings over 20 years of diverse experience as a result of leadership roles in not-for-profit and corporate environments. Arundel works with clients to understand their vision for impact, establishing a strategy with goals and metrics for success. Focusing on strategy, governance, operations and evaluation, Arundel provides insight to clients as to how they can demonstrate long-term social and environmental impact. Arundel is well-versed in identifying, analyzing and implementing processes to drive impact informed decision-making and reporting. She has facilitated round table discussions with clients about social impact trends such as developing funding criteria, impact reporting and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Betty-Anne Howard CLU, CHS, CEA, CFP
For over 22 years, Betty-Anne has been guiding individuals, couples and families to realize their financial dreams. With her specialization in strategic philanthropic planning she has been able to direct millions of dollars to the charitable sector while dramatically reducing taxes for those individuals she has assisted. Betty-Anne is an accomplished author having published her most recent book, Making Your Dreams a Reality and has been interviewed by The Globe and Mail and Carleton University's publication, Philanthropy in Action. She is a member of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners having also been their Ottawa Education Chair, and for two years served as a Trustee at the Institute for Advanced Financial Education. Growing up in poverty and fueled by her father's illiteracy in rural Ontario, BettyAnne became committed to higher learning; becoming the first person in her family to attend university and obtain a Masters and Honours degree. Later on she developed and delivered courses at both Queen's University and st. Lawrence College. She's been honoured with numerous awards for her public speaking, and has facilitated a variety of inspirational talks to organizations such as the Ottawa Estate Planning Council, Friends of the Earth Canada, Action Canada and the Canadian Association of Gift Planners. Betty-Anne has been an active Board and Committee member for such organizations as Queen's University Ban Righ Foundation, the Kingston Unitarian Fellowship, the Sexual Assault Crisis Centre and the Kingston Arts Council. She has been on the Board of the Kingston District Health Council where her involvement was instrumental in obtaining Ministry of Health Funding for the first Sexual Assault Crisis Centre in Canada. Betty-Anne lives with her spouse and adopted golden doodle, Phoenix, on beautiful Bass Lake between Kingston and Ottawa. They enjoy the great outdoors and spending time with their horses, Stella and Brooklyn.
Brad Offman, MA, MBA, CFRE, MFA-P
Brad Offman is Founder and Managing Partner of Spire Philanthropy, a management consultancy specializing in corporate-charitable partnerships and philanthropic advisory services. He is the former Senior Vice President, Strategic Philanthropy at Mackenzie Investments, former President of the Mackenzie Investments Charitable Foundation and Managing Director of the Mackenzie Charitable Giving Fund. Prior to joining Mackenzie, Brad served as Vice President, Development at the Toronto Community Foundation. Brad is currently on the Board of the V-42 Foundation, the CAGP Foundation and Benefaction Foundation; and sits on CAGP's Government Relations Committee and the Editorial Advisory Board for Gift Planning in Canada.
Brenda McEachern LLB, TEP
Brenda's 30 year career spans law, insurance and philanthropy. She uses a creative multidisciplinary approach to help affluent clients define and craft their philanthropic legacy. She applies her intimate knowledge of insurance and trusts to customize solutions for each client's individual circumstances. Brenda received her BComm and LLB from UBC. She is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and the Canadian Association of Gift Planners. She is a frequent lecturer on succession planning and charitable giving.
Brittany Sud
Brittany Sud’s practice focuses on estates and trusts, including both planning and administrative matters, as well as taxation as it relates to those areas. Brittany has developed and implemented cohesive estate plans for clients, reflecting their financial objectives and both short and long-term goals. She advises high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs and professionals on probate planning, income tax deferral and minimization strategies, family business succession planning, disability planning and philanthropic planning. Brittany’s estate administration practice includes advising estate trustees on their role and responsibilities, preparing applications for probate and administering the Canadian estates of non-residents. Brittany also advises charities and not-for-profit organizations on various matters to achieve their mission.
Charlotte Paul CIM®, CDFA
Charlotte Paul is an Associate Portfolio Manager and the founder of Perspective Wealth Management, a full service brokerage firm operating under their parent company, Raymond James. Her focus is on helping women maintain – or re-establish – financial wellbeing during times of transition (like divorce or the loss of a spouse). She also works with, and advises, small charities and private foundations. Charlotte has personally had to navigate times of major transition – including the death of a partner – which has given her a unique understanding of the fears, emotions, and challenges women face at these critical times. Her goal is to help women establish independence and financial wellbeing so they can live life to its fullest and achieve the goals they’ve set for themselves and their families. Charlotte holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Victoria, and is a Chartered Investment Manager (CIM). She has also been recognized by the financial service industry as a finalist in the prestigious Top Under 40 Award in 2019. Originally from British Columbia, Charlotte has lived in Toronto since 2015. When not at work she enjoys spending time with her English bulldog, Benedict, and exploring all of the exciting things that Toronto has to offer.
Christine Kang
Christine Kang is a Manager of Gift & Estate Planning at SickKids Foundation. She is passionate about building relationships, developing data driven and efficient processes to grow gift planning, and the power of philanthropy. Christine previously worked in the financial services sector where she held various roles in reporting, strategy, communications, and project management. In her free time, she enjoys reading psychology books, cultivating herself into a tea connoisseur, and watching the Leafs.
Claude Drouin
A donor-centered fundraising professional with over 20 years of experience in planned giving, annual giving, major gifts, and stewardship. Currently the Manager of Planned Giving at the University of Ottawa since 2016, Claude previously served as the Director of Philanthropy at the Canadian Museum of History and War Museum for 14 years and also worked at the Queensway Carleton Hospital Foundation. A Member of CAGP since 2006, he currently serves on CAGP’s National Education Committee and was Chair of the CAGP Ottawa Chapter (2008-2011).
Colleen DeJager
Colleen spent 23 years in the financial services industry, 17 of those years as a Trust Officer, followed by 13 years as Director of Planned and Memorial Giving at one of Canada’s largest teaching hospitals where she built a successful and robust planned giving program. This history cultivated a passion for helping charities develop successful, informed and professional planned giving practices. Colleen is now a Senior Consultant for PGgrowth Inc., an active member and faculty of CAGP and Past President of the London Estate Planners Council.
Ed Sluga, CFRE
Ed Sluga, CFRE, is the co-founder of PGgrowth Inc. and the current President and Managing Consultant. Ed is one of Canada's most experienced planned giving professionals. An innovator and thought leader in the sector for over 25 years, Ed has helped hundreds of organizations develop and benefit from long-term, sustainable and proactive fundraising and planned giving programs. Focusing on developing organizational structures and operations so that they are positioned to experience success for the long-term, Ed's chief motivation is helping organizations achieve the goals of their mission within their communities. Ed has an unmatched perspective on the development and planned giving approaches available to organizations. Ed is the co-author of Worthy and Prepared along with Peter Barrow, host of the PGgrowth Planned Giving podcast, Professor with the Humber College Fundraising Management Program and a regular presenter of the AFP Fundraising Fundamentals Course.
M. Elena Hoffstein, FEA
M. Elena Hoffstein, FEA, has a practice focused in all areas of estate planning, family business succession planning, corporate reorganization both pre and post mortem planning. Elena is recognized as a leading expert in charity and not for profit law. In Elena’s charity law practice, she advises charity clients on legislative, tax and regulatory matters and provides proactive advice to both charities and donors on tax effective charitable gifting. In recognition of her leadership and career contributions, Elena received the Ontario Bar Association’s “Award of Excellence in Trusts and Estates.” She is also a recipient of Lexpert’s “Zenith Award” and has earned the preeminent “AV” ranking in Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer- Review Ratings. She is a frequent speaker at the Canadian Tax Foundation and Ontario Tax Foundation, Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners conferences, the Law Society of Ontario, The Ontario Bar Association and Canadian Association of Gift Planners. She is a co- author of Charity Law in Canada and co- editor of Charities Legislation and Commentary and Charity Law in Canada & The Trusts chapter of Halsbury.
Eli Clarke
Eli Clarke is a donor-centered fundraiser with a passion for legacy giving. At the University of Toronto, Eli supports donors in achieving their philanthropic goals. Prior to U of T, Eli oversaw the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada's legacy giving program. An active volunteer, Eli is the Co-Chair of the CAGP GTA Chapter's Education Committee. Before beginning his career in fundraising, Eli was a sought-after professional tuba player who performed across North America and was a founding member of Band Bajha Brass, North America's first Bollywood Brass Band.
Geoff Love
Geoff Love is the President of Love Environment and has been in the environmental consulting business since the early 1980s. For almost 40 years, Geoff has worked across Canada, the US and Europe on leading edge waste diversion programs with a focus on producer responsibility for blue box and other recyclable materials. Geoff is a co-founder of Extended Producer Responsibility Canada (EPR Canada) and the former chair of the Pollution Probe Foundation and Friends of the Earth Canada. He has also been active on climate change issues for over 25 years and is President of his local cycling club. Geoff is a widower now living in Stratford Ontario. His wife Mimi died about 4 years ago (at home) from ovarian cancer; she had been the Executive Director of one of Canadas first community based hospices. Geoff makes annual donations in Mimi’s honor to the Rotary Hospice of Stratford Perth. He does a spring walk with his 7 year old twin grand-daughters and also acts as a story teller for the local hospice as part of its on-going fundraising to cover operating costs.
Gillian Stovel Rivers MA, CFP®, CEA
It is Gillian’s earliest memory of money. And she felt guilty about it for years. As a child, she and her family were on vacation in Florida. Her great-grandmother gave her a $20 bill. It was an absolute fortune. Gillian put it in her little red purse and then lost it. She forgot it in the rental car when the family had to exchange it. Two very early lessons were learned. First, it’s not fun to lose something. Second, money has emotion tied to it. Gillian is very tuned-in to what other people are feeling about money, and she sees every day as an opportunity to learn from and build on the day before. A daily practitioner of CrossFit, she is described as famously nice by her friends and also, owing to her ever-tougher training, as “a machine.” “What gets me out of bed is the pursuit of being a well-adjusted, healthy, efficient, perceptive, responsive, joy-based machine. And the better I operate the machine, the better parent, sister, daughter, coach and advisor I become. As I like to say, ‘This is how I wealth.’”
Holly McLellan
Holly is a second-generation immigrant to Ontario, and grew up in the Niagara region, on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabeg Peoples. She has worked in the education, social service, environmental, and philanthropic sectors since 2000. She is passionate about contributing to a philanthropic future, with the boldness and openness this time is asking from us as people, as systems, and as members of the interdependent natural world. Holly is the Executive Director of the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative Canada (YPI), an award-winning public foundation dedicated to youth civic engagement and participatory grant-making.
Holly Wagg, CFRE
Holly Wagg (CFRE) is Managing Partner and Head Counsel at Good Works. She's the co-author of You Can't Take it With You: The Art and Science of Legacy Fundraising (the second edition of Iceberg Philanthropy), the go-to book on planned giving that shows fundraisers how very ordinary donors make extraordinary gifts to charity in their wills. Through her legacy, digital and direct mail fundraising, she's had the privilege to work with clients like WWF Canada, Kids Help Phone, Nature Conservancy of Canada, CARE Canada, Ontario SPCA, SOS Children's Villages Canada, and the Ottawa Hospital Foundation. Holly co-founded the Ten Oaks Project in 2004 for which she was honoured with a lifetime achievement award in the queer community before she cracked 30. She's a widowed, and re-married, mother of six (two adopted, one bio and three step children) who does an abundance of yoga, crossfit, hiking and eats ice cream to stay grounded.
Jackie Mersereau
Jackie Mersereau is the Senior Development Officer - Planned Giving at the Nature Conservancy of Canada, focusing on direct response, digital campaigns and other marketing initiatives which bring in new Planned Giving leads and prospects to NCC. Jackie is currently on Parental leave introducing her son to nature and changing lots and lots of diapers.
James F. McMillan
James McMillan has been the Director of Philanthropy at St. Margaret’s School in Victoria, British Columbia since September 2020. As part of an amazing team of academic leaders that are building an exciting new strategic plan for the school, he has been able to fully participate in this process and bring the concept of building philanthropy into this plan. From 1987 to 2020 he was the Director of Advancement at Selwyn House School and part of a highly successful Advancement Team that was responsible for raising significant capital and endowment funds for Selwyn House. James is a member ISAP - Independent School Advancement Professionals Canada (Formerly CAISAP) since 1987; a former member of the Board of CAISAP since 1995; and President of CAISAP in 1997. He is also a member of CAGP and AFP. James received a BFA in percussion performance and music composition from Concordia University, and a MA in Educational Administration from McGill University. In addition to teaching at the Faculty of Music at McGill University for 13 years, and the Graduate Faculty, Educational Administration, at McGill University for two years, he was the Director of Music at Selwyn House School from 1979 to 2008 and taught jazz, rock and blues to Grades 5-11 from 1979 to 2011.
Janice L. St. Denis, CFRE
Janice L. St-Denis, CFRE, is a passionate relationship fundraiser with nearly 20 years of experience working in major gift and legacy fundraising. She has worked with The Arthritis Society, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and currently leads the team in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Janice feels strongly about the need for open conversations about death and believes that people-serving professions should attend to this privilege with great care. If you’d like to connect, follow @jlstdenis on Twitter, check out her blog (deathed4professionals.blogspot.com), or connect via LinkedIn.
Janine Purves
Janine Purves specializes in wealth, estate, and legacy planning with a focus on family philanthropy. She has assisted in re-directing over $6 million to the charitable sector through various means including Donor Advised Funds. She has been quoted in numerous publications including The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail and has been featured on City TV. Janine is a past Chair of the Richmond Hill Board of Trade and recipient of its Trade Professional Services Award. She has served on the Financial Advisory Committee for Seneca College, and has raised over $400,000 for the Mackenzie Richmond Hill and Vaughan hospitals through the “Joy of Aging” fundraiser which she co-founded. Janine has received numerous accolades, including The Advancing Women and Girls Award, conferred upon by both the Provincial and Federal governments, which recognizes leaders in the community. She has also been honoured with the Portraits of Giving Award, given to those individuals who have contributed to their community, as well as the Literacy Award from the Business Women’s Networking of York Region for helping to spread excellence in financial literacy.
Jennifer Button
Jennifer Button is the Head of Philanthropic Advisory Services at RBC Wealth Management. She works with investment advisors and investment counsellors across Canada to help implement charitable giving strategies and plans with RBC Wealth Clients.
Jen Pederson, CFRE
Jen Pederson, CFRE has worked in the charitable sector for nearly 20 years and feels completely at home with CAGP. As Philanthropic Advisor at Saskatoon Community Foundation, Jen works with donors and allied professionals on strategic gift plans that are meaningful for donors and the causes they care about most and with agencies looking to build endowments and legacy giving programs. Jen is grateful for the opportunity to help with this session and hopes what’s shared is both inspiring and empowering.
Jenny Mitchell, CFRE, DMA
Chavender’s vision is to help more people do more good. Founder and president of Chavender, Jenny Mitchell (CFRE, DMA), works closely with not-for-profit leaders to change the world - one mission at a time. Chavender assists clients, across Canada and the U.S., to inspire their donors and achieve their fundraising goals through personalized fundraising coaching and training. Before completing her CFRE, Jenny trained as a classical musician and earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts. She brings her creative approach, her drive for excellence, and her passion for people to the world of not-for-profits.
Jennifer Robins
Jennifer is the non-profit lead on the Not-For-Profit, Public Sector, Transportation and Energy practice at Environics Analytics. With fifteen years of sales, marketing and analytics experience across education, government, not-for-profit, healthcare, and travel and tourism industries, she is responsible for helping charities and foundations apply EA’s products and services to attract and retain donors, corporate partners and volunteers. Jennifer holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in French and marketing management from the University of Guelph and a Masters in Business Administration degree from Hult International Business School.
Jill Nelson, CFRE, MFA-P
In a fundraising career spanning over 30 years, Jill has worked for a variety of charities, large and small. For the last 20 years she has specialized in planned giving, at the Canadian Cancer Society Ontario Division and at The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation where she is Associate Vice-President, Estate Giving. Prior, she oversaw fundraising from all sources at the Ontario Division of the Canadian Paraplegic Association (now Spinal Cord Injury Ontario). Jill believes that working together and learning from each other is essential for charities as they navigate the sensitive journey of encouraging, accepting, and receiving planned gifts. She is Faculty with the CAGP Original Gift Planning Course, and speaks across the country on gift planning. Jill is an active volunteer in the community, and currently serves on the National Board of CAGP and the CAGP Foundation Board. She is proud to have been the 2011 Recipient of the CAGP-GTA Chapter’s Jasmine Sweatman Award for outstanding commitment to Gift Planning and is a “Friend of CAGP”.
Joady Guyot
Joady has been with Assante Wealth Management for 25 years, and is the VP of Advisor Engagement. She is passionate about helping Assante’s advisory teams elevate their client offering through training and educational events. She also manages the Assante Women’s Networking Group, a program focused on connecting female advisors in the organization to provide support and mentorship to each other.
Jon McPhedran Waitzer
Jon is passionate about convening diverse stakeholders around shared interests in a renewed philanthropic sector, with a commitment to facilitating equitable participation across differences in power and position. They currently organize with Resource Movement and the EDGE Funders' Alliance, and work as a strategic advisor to Powered by Data. Jon's professional experience includes leadership roles across the fields of grassroots community services, international development, and management consulting.
Justin Pilon
Justin Pilon is the Associate Director, Development at Western University’s Ivey Business School. With nearly 10 years of fundraising experience with grassroots causes, faith-based organizations and post-secondary institutions, Justin is a passionate facilitator of conversations that help donors and organizations achieve their philanthropic and fundraising goals. As a new leader, Justin is an advocate for strategic and compassionate leadership in the not-for-profit sector and believes good leadership has the potential to deepen relationships, improve organizations and advance mission. Justin is the current Chair of the London, Ontario, Chapter of CAGP (Canadian Association of Gift Planners) and serves as a Director of St. George’s Anglican Church, London.
Karen Hudson
Karen Hudson is VP, Growth Initiatives for Benefaction Foundation, a registered charitable Public Foundation helping high net worth Canadians incorporate strategic giving into their wealth management plans to accomplish their philanthropic goals in a tax-smart manner. Prior to joining Benefaction, Karen had a successful 20-year career in the wealth management industry with a focus on market research and advisor practice management. Karen graduated from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours). Karen is Co-Chair of the CAGP GTA Chapter; Co-Chair of Halton Gives; and co-author of the first comprehensive study of donor advised funds in Canada, published in 2018.
Keith H. Sjögren
Keith Sjögren is a Managing Director at Investor Economics, a leading provider of research and advisory services to the financial services industry in Canada. In his role, Keith is responsible for identifying and managing consulting and research engagements with a wide range of financial institutions and businesses. Prior to joining the consulting profession in 1995, Keith held a number of executive positions at CIBC including Senior Vice President, Private Banking & Trust and President, CIBC Securities. His banking career spanned retail banking, wealth management and international banking. He has lived and worked in the United States, Iran, the United Kingdom and Singapore. Keith was educated at Carleton University, Ottawa and the University of Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers and holds the Partners, Directors and Officers qualification of the Canadian Securities Institute. Keith is the Chair of the Advisory Committee to the Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership program at Carleton University, a member of the Investment Committee of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation and a member of the Executive Committee of the Emeritus Counsel of the Canadian Opera Company. Keith is a member of the Seniors Expert Advisory Committee of the Ontario Securities Commission and a special committee of the Portfolio Management Association of Canada that selects an annual winner of an award for excellence in investment journalism. Keith is the author of a number of major reports on issues such as the transfer of wealth; women and wealth; the HNW client in Canada, as well as reports on the issue of women and philanthropy and, very recently, donor-advised funds. He is a frequent speaker at wealth management conferences and has also spoken at major conferences dealing with philanthropy and the charitable sector.
Kimberley Blease
When it comes to building high-value donor relationships, Kimberley’s energy, enthusiasm and thought leadership is unparalleled. With over 35 years of experience in both the corporate and not-for-profit sectors, Kimberley is a fundraiser and marketer who believes in building high value donor programs from the ground up. She helps not for profit organizations raise the bar on the experience their donors receive and inspiring donors to do more in the process in order to raise more money. She believes in the incredible power of legacy marketing to build real relationships with donors. In her role as EVP at Blakely, Kimberley leads the consultancy business, bringing vision and proven strategy to clients biggest challenges.
Leah Eustace, ACFRE
Leah Eustace, ACFRE, is President and Head Paddler at Blue Canoe Philanthropy, where she specializes in copywriting and storytelling. She's also a member of The Case Writers, a small group of writers and designers who work with some of North America's most impactful nonprofits. Her volunteer work is extensive: she's Vice Chair of Professional Development on the AFP Global Board and sits on the ACFRE Credentialing Board. Leah is an AFP Master Trainer, a Stability Leader and holds a Certificate in Philanthropic Psychology (Distinction) through the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy.
Liz LeClair, CFRE
Liz LeClair is proud to call herself a fundraiser and a feminist. She brings more than 15 years of experience to her role as the Director of Major Gifts at the QEII Foundation in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Liz is a director with Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), and is the current Chair of the AFP Women’s Impact Initiative. In 2019, Liz published an op-ed with CBC on her experience being sexually harassed by a donor. She is a co-founder of the National Day of Conversation, a day dedicated to raising awareness on sexual harassment of fundraisers.
Michelle Johnson, CFRE
Michelle is a seasoned frontline fundraiser, activist, donor and donor advocate and a self-described "gregarious introvert". Michelle is passionate about gift planning, the environment, social justice, kids and critters. She's worked at complex multinational ENGO's and small shops, making donor dreams and mission worthy gifts happen. Michelle's built several profitable programs from the ground up, with little or no budget, since 1996. She's a believer that philanthropy can be re-imagined through current and future gifts to create a more just future for all. She's serving her second term as CAGP's Vancouver Island Chapter Chair.
Nicole K. D'Aoust, LL.B
Nicole D'Aoust is a Partner in Miller Thomson LLP's Social Impact Group in Toronto. Nicole advises charity and non-profit clients across Canada and internationally on a wide range of topics and issues. Nicole also advises clients who are seeking to establish a social enterprise or carry on a business through a charity. She has expertise dealing with animal law issues in the charitable context as well as the taxation of First Nations bands and their activities, including commercial activities. Nicole has completed CPA Canada's three-year In-Depth Tax Course, as well as the Canadian Board Diversity Council's Corporate Governance Education Program for charities and not-for-profit corporations. Nicole is formerly the Co-Chair of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's Young Leadership Council. She is currently a member of the executive of the Ontario Bar Association's Charity and Not-for-Profit Law Section. Nicole is co-editor of the Social Impact Group's newsletter. Nicole works with clients in English and French.
Patricia Ward
Patricia Ward is the National Project Manager for Estates Administration with Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. In this role, Patricia and her team are responsible for the administration of all estate gifts to Heart and Stroke in Canada. Working in the area of Estates and Trust exclusively, for over seven years, has provided her with opportunities and experience dealing with a variety of issues, circumstances and court proceedings. Patricia has worked in the charitable sector for the last 15 years and is a member of the Toronto Chapter of CAGP. Patricia’s greatest achievement, in her opinion, is her four children who she spends time with whenever she can. In her spare time she likes to travel, read, attend concerts and play tennis.
Patrick O'Connor, MFA-P, FEA, CFP, CLU, TEP, ChFC
Patrick is the President of Blackwood Family Enterprises Services. Blackwood is a firm that specializes in working with very affluent families to help guide them along the journey to address the many challenges of transitioning from generation to generation. This involves working with families with a current operating company or significant land/investments assets that needs to be transitioned. Blackwood assists these families and their advisors with the difficult conversations that are so often needed in order to make sure all voices within the family are heard. Our disciplined process ensures that all of the major topics are discussed, and very often one of these key topics is philanthropy. Helping families get clarity and focus around philanthropy is an important aspect of a successful transition from generation to generation.
Paul Nazareth, MFA-P
Paul Nazareth, Vice President, Education & Development at the Canadian Association of Gift Planners has spent the last 21 years in Canada’s philanthropic sector. Most recently VP at the charity CanadaHelps, he has been a philanthropic advisor with a national Wealth Management firm working with donor advised funds, spent over a decade with Churches and charities like the University of Toronto. Paul is on the board of several charities, is on the Advisory Council of the Carleton Masters in Nonprofit Leadership program, lead faculty instructor for Advisor Education with Knowledge Bureau as well as tax and advisor communities like CPA, Advocis and Estate Planning Councils. Paul writes on philanthropy for a variety of publications as well as appearing on national radio and television to speak about creating a personal legacy through charity.
Peggy Killeen, CFRE
Peggy Killeen, CFRE, is a development consultant with over 30 years of leadership experience in non-profits. Her career began in South Africa, managing grassroots advocacy, human rights and community organizations. She has also worked for international agencies in Central Africa and the former Yugoslavia. In Canada she specialized in fundraising, mainly for healthcare and education, with some forays into adult literacy and immigration services. Peggy has served as a Director on the Boards of CAGP and the CAGP Foundation, and now works part time for the CAGP Foundation as its Development Director. Her mission is to work with authentic leaders to increase the capacity of their organisation to build and sustain fundraising revenue. Planned giving is her passion. She is a Senior Consultant for PGgrowth in Quebec. In 2020 she was given the Friend of CAGP Award in recognition of her significant contribution to the advancement of strategic charitable giving both on a local and national scale.
Richa Arora
Richa has been with KPMG for over a decade and brings over 18 years of diverse, global experience to the Family Office team. She has worked with family enterprises and large corporations in a variety of industries and specializes in facilitating discovery sessions and designing meaningful strategies to overcome barriers and challenges in a business and family setting. She helps affluent families align their core values and purpose with their business strategy, family governance and human resources. She uses her behavior management training and experience to create change strategies that have a lasting impact.
Rochelle Greaves, BA Mathematics
Rochelle Greaves has worked for over a decade as an analytics professional. She spent the majority of her career working for major financial institutions in Toronto where she used her knowledge to measure key metrics and trends. With a B.A. in Mathematics from York University in Ontario, she has excellent knowledge of statistical packages and analytics tools. Currently, as the co-founder of Story Point Consulting, Rochelle continues to use her skills to provide coaching and training for nonprofit staff and volunteers. Her favourite work includes training people to use data to direct their fundraising strategies.
Roxanne Tackie, B.Comm
Roxanne Tackie holds a B.Comm (Honours) degree from the University of Manitoba and has over 10 years experience in the non-profit sector. As a former Executive Director, Roxanne's role as a nonprofit professional has included identifying prospects, developing and implementing stewardship plans, and reporting on the impact of donations. Roxanne currently provides coaching and training for nonprofit staff and volunteers that lack formal instruction in fundraising. The best part of her work is learning about the diverse organizations within the nonprofit sector, and using her skills to help people develop genuine and long-term relationships with their donors.
Ryan Fraser, CFP, CIM, MFA-P
Ryan is a nationally known Financial Planning & Philanthropy expert, and a leader, volunteer, and founder of many charitable organizations. He is the author of Driven By Purpose: 32 Remarkable Stories about Growing your Wealth and Leaving a Transformational Legacy. He is a faculty member for the MFA-P Designation, and has volunteered extensively for CAGP as a chapter chair, a member of the Education & Program committees, and most recently as the chair of the CAGP Working Group on Life Insurance Donations.
Sam Laprade, CFRE
Sam loves to connect people! As a professional fundraiser Sam works closely with generous donors to impact some of the most vulnerable people in her community and country. Over a 30-year period Ms. Laprade has raised money for important charities in her community such as: The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, the Ottawa Humane Society and the Ottawa Mission Foundation. In 2009, Sam started as Director, Gryphon Fundraising (www.gryphonfundraising.com). Ms. Laprade shares the importance of donor database analytics with fundraising professionals worldwide. In addition to her work with Gryphon Fundraising, in October 2017, Sam launched her full-time consultancy to assist non-profits with fundraising strategy, stewardship, board relations, coaching and audits. Ms. Laprade is an engaging speaker who receives high ratings. Her speaking engagements include: AFP International Conference, the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, the Association of Donor Relations Professionals and AFP Congress (Canada). Sam was the keynote speaker at the Closing Plenary for AFP Congress 2018. In 2021, Sam will be the keynote speaker at the National Conference for the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand. Sam is the creator and host of “An Hour to Give” on 1310 News, Ottawa and News 95.7, Halifax. This radio show highlights non-profit organizations and philanthropy. Ms. Laprade also writes a monthly column for the Ottawa Business Journal entitled “Philanthropy in Ottawa”.
Serena Hak
Serena started her career at Free The Children in 2009, and has since become Head of Philanthropic Advisory Services at CI Assante Wealth Management and Executive Director of The Donor Motivation Program® Canada. With a decade of experience in the philanthropic sector, she is committed to helping Canadians realize their giving potential. She has been featured in The Globe and Mail and National Post’s Guide to Charitable Giving and is a frequent speaker with the Association of Gift Planning Professionals (AFP) and the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP). Serena currently serves on the Board of Outside the March and AMREF Canada. In 2018, she joined The Toronto Foundation Vision 2020 Cohort which was later awarded Martin Connell Spirit of Philanthropy. Outside of work, she loves sailing and trotting around Toronto with her beagle, Bogart.
Sharon Redsky
Sharon Redsky is resident of Winnipeg and First Nation member of Shoal Lake #40 with mixed heritage. She is an Indigenous fundraiser with Redsky Fundraising and has extensive experience working with Indigenous-led organizations. Previously employed as a Strategic Partnership Coordinator for the Dakota Ojibway Child & Family Services, responsible for all aspects of fund development and strategic partnerships. She was the fund developer at the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, responsible for fundraising, government relations and networking with key stakeholders to build strategic partnerships. Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata translated means “we all work together to help one another." Sharon is a board member of the Association of Fundraising Professional Foundation for Philanthropy. Sharon was awarded the YMCA-YWCA Women of Distinction, Community Champion Award in 2017.
Shereen Munshi
Shereen is a first-generation immigrant to Canada migrating with her family from Lusaka, Zambia. Her experiences with wealth disparity and segregation have shaped her outlook on life. She has a compulsion for equity, justice and cultural preservation. As Communications Manager at The Circle, Shereen is responsible for programming, strategic communications, storytelling, resource sharing and partnerships.
Sonya Swiridjuk, CFRE
Sonya Swiridjuk, CFRE, got her start in fundraising with her youth bowling league in Winnipeg, convincing her dad to make a “major gift investment” and buy her lots of chocolate after most of it had already been eaten. Today, Sonya’s fundraising activities convince people to invest in causes to create change. Her experience spans 29+ years of working in and for charities, as well as volunteering with the AFP Greater Toronto Chapter and the Resource Alliance’s International Fundraising Congress. Sonya proudly achieved her CFRE designation in 2003, has served as a Canadian Subject Matter Expert for CFRE International, and has been a CFRE Ambassador since 2018. She still can’t resist boxes of chocolate sold for clubs and schools.
Stephen George
Stephen George is a Fundraising and Leadership coach and consultant, specialising in helping charity leaders become more entrepreneurial leaders who change behaviour and raise more money. He is currently working on global legacies strategies for international NGO’s and runs a leadership and coaching programme. He has over 30 years’ experience at all levels in the UK and internationally at NSPCC, UNICEF, RNIB, Action on Hearing Loss, Maggie’s and Scope and is a speaker, writer, podcaster and contributor to NGO’s. He is a former chairman of Remember a Charity, and a former Vice Chairman of the UK’s Institute of Fundraising. He is currently a trustee at UK children’s charity CLIC Sargent.
Yolanda Benoit
As Senior Manager, Will & Estate Gifts at The BC SPCA for the past seven years, Yolanda works with supporters, professional advisors and executors, passionately facilitating the final requests of donors, many of which are complex and challenging, as well as those with legal claims. Previously, she spent over 10 years raising funds in the healthcare sector. Yolanda is a director on the CAGP National Board and a member of the Vancouver Chapter, the Fraser Valley Estate Planning Council, and an Associate Member of STEP, where she earned her Certificate in Estate and Trust Administration. She pursues her passion of gift planning and estate administration thanks to the support of her husband, two sons (and study buddies!) and dog, Digger!!
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Quiet Legacy Planning Group
The Foundation (WCPD)