Our Board of Directors

A serial entrepreneur and catalyst for social impact, Christiane believes education and empowerment are key solutions to a diverse knowledge-based labour force, which is both a moral and economic imperative that raises the overall level of human capital and labour productivity.  Combining over ten years of industry leadership with community activism both in Canada and globally on issues related to civic engagement, capacity building and support for the underserved, she was a nominee for CBC Champion of Change.  As a founder, economist, speaker and leader in innovation, she continues to advocate for diversity and inclusion across Canada’s knowledge-based industries towards driving innovation and growing the economy.

Farahana’s passion for STEM dates to her childhood, where she worked with her family’s company developing leading edge technologies. This has informed her career in implementing technologies, leading projects in excess of $1B in value, and in managing technology risks. She has a deep commitment to community activism both locally and globally, including founding community and health care centers in Nepal, advocating for at risk mothers in Calgary and galvanizing corporate community partnerships via the United Way. Academically, she received a Master of Laws (LL.M.) at University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, she has received an MBA in Social Policy from Brandeis University, and holds multiple designations in Cyber Security, Project Management and Change Management.

Sviatlana’s passion for diversity and inclusion began as she first became interested in entrepreneurship, and through that journey has witnessed first-hand what diverse voices can accomplish. Her experience participating in multiple Hackathons highlighted issue of the lack of diversity in leadership and the workforce in the technology sector, particularly for women and visible minorities. Since that time she remained active in efforts to encourage more diverse and inclusive workforce in Canada. She graduated with an Honors Bachelor of Science from York University in 2017.

Having witnessed firsthand the power of education through his upbringing in the Congo and subsequent full-ride scholarship awards for university, Sosthene has a passion for education and mentorship. He believes in leveraging education and mentorship to achieve economic empowerment and develop future innovators, creators, and entrepreneurs, particularly among visible minorities. Sosthene is a petroleum engineer by training and he currently works as a Corporate Banking professional at a large financial institution in Toronto. Sosthene received an MBA from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University and he is currently pursuing his CFA designation.

Candice is an entrepreneur and a social impact & healthcare technology enthusiast. Through her professional and volunteer experience as a female leader in entrepreneurship, technology and various NGOs, Candice deeply understands the power of education and community on reshaping the landscape of future leaders. Having the opportunity to work with under advantaged youth, particularly girls in both developing and developed countries, she is determined to remove the barriers to success that under advantaged youth face, and that may eventually have a negative impact on the social and economic outcomes. Candice is the Co-Founder of BalancePro, a healthcare start-up focusing on fall prevention for seniors. She is also the board member of Survivors Unleashed International, a not-for-profit organization helping fund education for sex trafficking survivors. Candice is a Chartered Professional Accountant and received her Master of Business Administration from Queen’s University.

Lucas co-founded Y2 Entrepreneurship Labs, a non-profit that provides students in high school and middle school opportunities to develop their problem-solving and innovation skills, and their entrepreneurial mindset. Y2's objective is to make this training accessible to as many students as possible, regardless of social or economic situation. He is also a co-lead of Startup York, a volunteer-run community of almost 600 entrepreneurs and business owners in York Region. One of his projects was to partner with several York Region libraries to run the EIR (Entrepreneurs in Residence) Talks speaker series, which has featured more than 100 speakers spanning many industry sectors, and business stages. Lucas is a member of the York Angel Investor network, a Program Co-Director of the new SHAD York (Lassonde) campus, and has been a workshop facilitator, speaker, mentor and judge at many entrepreneur- and student-focused forums. Prior to this, Lucas spent 8 years leading teams at TELUS and 7 years consulting to a variety of clients with Accenture.

Lily is deeply passionate about Youth and Economic Empowerment. After working in the private sector, Lily transitioned in to International Development and currently works at the Clinton Health Access Initiative, where she focuses on increasing access to HPV vaccines for women in low-middle-income countries. Locally, she has been an active member of a Youth Development NGO and served as a Youth Ambassador for the 2015 Pan Am Games. She is a graduate of the Richard Ivey School of Business.

Rena is passionately involved in the start-up community in Canada through her experience with venture capital and entrepreneurship. Her experiences  have allowed her to witness the biases women and minorities face when launching a business. She currently sits on the board of ADVAANA, an organization dedicated to helping underpriviledged youth. She is a recipient of the Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers. She graduated from Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario.