WCS members are entitled to attend the meetings of the Members to hear reports on WoodGreen’s progress, receive the annual financial statements, and vote on matters brought forward for approval, including the election of Board Directors, appointment of auditors and other special business properly brought before the meeting requiring approval of the Members of WoodGreen.
Leadership Team
Anne Babcock
President and CEO
Anne has a depth of knowledge and breadth of experience across all of WoodGreen’s program areas: seniors services, housing and community supports, family and neighbourhood services, employment and immigrant services. Anne has helped build WoodGreen from a single location with 40 staff members to a $47 million organization with 34 locations, 650 staff and 1,000 volunteers serving 37,000 people each year.
Her involvement in the development of innovative, client-centric programs such as Homeward Bound, First Step to Home, Rites of Passage and the Bruce/WoodGreen Early Learning Centre has been instrumental in successfully positioning WoodGreen as a leader in social innovation.
Anne has developed strong relationships with many community service partners and stakeholders through her significant work on several far-reaching initiatives. She led WoodGreen’s role in the Don Valley/Greenwood Health Link, the replication of Homeward Bound in other communities across Ontario, WoodGreen’s successful integration with Community Care East York and worked closely with the City of Toronto to lead the re-housing process for those who were evicted from Tent City in 2002.
She also serves as a volunteer board member with Toronto Neighbourhood Centres, International Federation of Settlement and Neighbourhood Services and previously with Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association and Riverdale Community Development Corporation and Access Loan Fund. Anne was also the long-time Chair of United Way of Greater Toronto’s Citizens Review Panel for Children and Youth.
Anne Babcock
President and CEO
WoodGreen
Teresa Vasilopoulos
Executive Director
Teresa is a long-time east Toronto resident and has spent the last 25 years of experience as a senior executive in the not for profit sector. Always looking to bring focus and attention to stellar organizations, Teresa has focused her leadership roles in philanthropy on connecting the right people with the right cause at the right time.
Teresa comes to WoodGreen with an impressive track record in the planning and execution of several multi-million dollar campaigns for organizations like WE (formerly Free The Children) and the Michael Garron Hospital (formerly Toronto East General Hospital). Teresa is credited with facilitating of one of the largest private donor gifts ever donated to a hospital in Canada. Her work at WE allowed her to gain an international perspective and where she helped develop and lead the organization’s first major gift campaign in celebration of the organization’s 20th Anniversary.
Teresa is a respected and trusted leader, a consensus builder, an authentic and motivational communicator with a strength in building profile, forging enduring donor relationships and exceeding ambitious revenue targets. As Executive Director of The WoodGreen Foundation, Teresa will be responsible for the strategic direction of the Foundation as it embarks on its exciting next stage of development.
Teresa Vasilopoulos
Executive Director
The WoodGreen Foundation
Randall Freeborn
Senior Vice President
Randall Freeborn joined WoodGreen in 2017 and is the SVP of People and Strategic Initiatives. In this role, Randall is responsible for overseeing the organization’s talent strategy and Equity initiatives. He is also responsible for leading the Project Management Office which includes strategic and operational planning, the data strategy and other enterprise wide projects. In addition, Randall provides leadership to the Youth and Homeward Bound programs.
Randall has more than 30 years of experience in human resources management and strategy in the professional services, media, consulting and high-tech sectors. He has been a member of several global executive teams where he was responsible for delivering result oriented and proactive HR programs and services. He has worked extensively in Asia, North America and Europe. He has also held leadership roles in Project Management and Integrations.
Randall has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from Concordia University in Montreal and a Laboratory Sciences Diploma from Fanshawe College. He is bilingual in French and English.
Randall Freeborn
Senior Vice President
People and Strategic Initiatives
Tishanth Kanesalingam
Senior Vice President
Tishanth joined WoodGreen as its Chief Financial Officer in May 2021. He now leads several portfolios including Finance, Information Technology, Privacy & Cybersecurity and WoodGreen’s newly created Social Enterprise. In his role as the organization’s finance and IT lead, he has the primary responsibility for the strategic planning, implementation, managing and execution of all financial and IT activities of the organization. In his role leading the Social Enterprise, he is responsible for growing the business line and strengthening WoodGreen’s position in the marketplace to create much needed revenue opportunities beyond traditional sources of government funding.
Tishanth has 10 years of experience in transformation in the public sector and not-for-profit industry. He brings proven leadership through prior experiences with multiple professional services firms and a large community hospital in the GTA. He has a passion for transforming organizations from a people, process and technology lens to enable data-driven decision making at the program level.
Tishanth has a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from the University of Toronto, along with his CPA, CA designation.
Tishanth Kanesalingam
Senior Vice President
Transformation & CFO
Mehran Mehrdadi
Vice President
Mehran joined WoodGreen in 2001 in the role of chief information officer. He is responsible for the IT strategy, operations, processes and IT infrastructure at WoodGreen.
He oversees all aspects of information technology, information security, data processing, application development, analytics, network, computing, servers, storage, collaboration and infrastructure across the entire agency and its business units. Under Mehran’s leadership, WoodGreen’s IT has developed and grown to a complex group that supports WoodGreen and number of other agencies, with over 50 sites.
Mehran led WoodGreen’s private-public sector partnership role in developing, implementing and operating the Housing Opportunities and Marketplace Exchange (H.O.M.E.) portal. The H.O.M.E. portal won the prestigious 2016 ISM’s “Application of New Technologies” Award. The ISM Awards recognize innovation in service delivery, application of new technologies, and collaboration across traditional boundaries and excellence in individual leadership in the application of information technology.
Prior to WoodGreen, Mehran spent 10 years in the private sector, including eight years as a managing director of a private company providing a full IT services to universities, government agencies, and large companies. His professional accomplishments include enterprise architect, MRP and ERP implementations, IT infrastructure, Portals, and VoIP.
Mehran holds an MBA from the University of Liverpool, UK and an honours BA in Computer Engineering. He also holds an honours Master Certificate in Public Management from York University, Schulich School of Business, and is a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario. Mehran serves as a volunteer member with the Ontario Ministry of Health HRIS advisory committee and served as volunteer member with the Finance and Audit committee at Mackenzie Health.
Mehran Mehrdadi
Vice President
Information Systems and CPO
Steve Vanderherberg
Vice President
Steve Vanderherberg is the Vice President of Community Programs and has been with the organization in various roles since 2008. Steve and his team are responsible for the program areas of newcomer services, financial empowerment, employment, workforce development and volunteer services impacting over 13,000 clients a year.
Steve has worked in the community sector for over 20 years and is a strong advocate for designing client-centered approaches to empowering individuals towards meaningful employment, financial stability and supportive communities. Steve has extensive knowledge in program delivery and design and holds an Honors Bachelor of Science and Master of Management of Innovation from University of Toronto.
Steve Vanderherberg
Vice President
Community Programs
Elaine Levy
Vice President
Elaine Levy became the Director of Child Care Services in August 1982 when WoodGreen operated two child care sites. Under Elaine’s leadership, in response to community needs and through successful partnerships with key stakeholders, the unit has expanded and currently operates seven licensed child care sites. The other family services provided by the unit include Special Needs Resourcing, summer camps, and an After-School program.
Elaine led WoodGreen’s role in developing and operating the Bruce/WoodGreen Early Learning Centre, a Toronto First Duty site, that integrates kindergarten, child care and parenting support into one comprehensive program. The program contributed significantly to Dr. Charles Pascal’s (Special Advisor on Education) 2009 report to the Premier, by providing the model for early years learning and full-day kindergarten.
Elaine is an active leader in the field of child care. Some of her current and past community involvements include:
- Toronto Child and Family Network
- The City of Toronto Child Care Advisory Committee (Past Chair)
- George Brown College ECE Advisory Committee
- Toronto District School Board Early Years Advisory Committee
- Toronto Coalition for Better Child Care (Past Chair)
- Quality Early Learning Network
Elaine holds a PhD. from OISE/University of Toronto in Early Learning, an M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from McGill University and a B.Ed., and Early Childhood Services certification at the University of Alberta. She is a Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE) and a member of Ontario’s College of Early Childhood Educators. Elaine also holds an Honours Certificate in Voluntary Sector Management from York University.
Elaine Levy
Vice President
Child Care & Family Services
Mwarigha
Vice President
Mwarigha is the Vice President of Housing, Homelessness, Asset Sustainability & New Development at WoodGreen. Previously, he was the General Manager of Peel Housing Corporation, Ontario’s third largest municipal affordable housing corporation.
Mwarigha is responsible for WoodGreen’s affordable housing growth and development strategy. With over 20 years of experience in the sector, he is an acknowledged thought leader and advocate for affordable housing as the foundation of personal well-being, social mobility and healthy inclusive communities in Toronto.
Mwarigha has extensive educational/training foundation including. a Masters in Regional & Urban Planning (UZ) and in Urban Studies (UW) and Non-Profit Leadership & Financial Stewardship certificates from York & Harvard University. Mwarigha is currently Chair of Homeless Connect Toronto and a Board member of Ephraims Place – a community-based organization in the Jane Finch neighbourhood. He is also a member of the Black North Initiative’s Housing Committee. Mwarigha has completed research papers and written policy work in areas of service delivery to low income communities, youth, seniors and immigrant settlement.
Mwarigha
Vice President
Housing & Homelessness Services
Dorothy Quon
Vice President
Dorothy oversees WoodGreen’s largest unit, Community Care which encompasses community support services for seniors, community mental health addictions and developmental services, as well as supportive housing for individuals transitioning out of homelessness. Prior to joining WoodGreen, Dorothy worked for over a decade in the Emergency Department at Michael Garron Hospital, working to serve vulnerable populations in East Toronto.
Dorothy is committed to building integrated care systems focused on a population health approach to planning. Since starting at WoodGreen in 2020, Dorothy has worked jointly at WoodGreen and Michael Garron Hospital to build more formal partnerships between the hospital and community sector to improve transitions for individuals in East Toronto and currently serves as co-chair of the Integrated Seniors and Neighbourhood Care Portfolio in the East Toronto Health Partners.
Dorothy Quon
Vice President
Community Care (Seniors and Health Services)
Board of Directors
Nupi Zubair
Chair
Nupi Zubair is the VP, Wealth Shared Services Business Management at TD Bank Group. She has professional experience in Business Strategy, Change Management, Profit & Loss Management, Leadership and Inclusion & Diversity, and has also engaged in social programing through volunteerism and board involvement. This has offered Nupi both a sense of deep personal satisfaction and the opportunity to learn more about the communities where she has lived and worked. She has some experience with WoodGreen through TD’s involvement with the Homeward Bound program and, more recently, direct involvement as a leader of the TD Wealth Visible Minority partnership on two WoodGreen engagements. Nupi holds a Bachelor of Arts, Honours Degree in Psychology and a Master of Business Administration Degree.
Nupi feels that WoodGreen is a particularly exciting organization because of the breadth of programs and segments of the population that the organization serves. As the child of Indian immigrants that built a new life in Canada, she connects with WoodGreen’s purpose to enhance self-sufficiency, promote well-being and reduce poverty through innovative solutions to critical social needs.
Nupi Zubair
Chair
Karen Myers
Vice chair
Karen Myers is the President and CEO at Blueprint. She manages a diverse and experienced group of staff to develop innovative solutions that enable evidence-informed design and delivery. Over the past twenty years, Karen has built a solid reputation for her ability to lead large-scale, complex projects in workforce development and skills training, from comprehensive program reviews to complete multi-phase system transformations. In addition to her deep expertise in workforce development, Karen brings experience at a high level in a range of policy domains including poverty reduction, income security, and housing affordability. She has extensive experience as a researcher, policy analyst, performance consultant and program evaluator that spans the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Blueprint is one of three partners leading the Future Skills Centre – a six-year initiative with a mission to develop and rigorously test new approaches to help Canadians develop the skills necessary to succeed in the new economy. Karen holds a Ph.D in Sociology from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Public Administration from Queen’s University.
Karen Myers
Vice chair
Jennifer Lee
Jenn Lee is the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Corus Entertainment, leading a team of legal, regulatory and governance professionals. Before joining Corus, Jenn practiced law with a leading, national law firm and then moved to TD Bank Group where she held a number of executive roles in Legal, Risk, Marketing, and Innovation and Technology.
Jenn has worked on digital, cloud migration and data and analytics projects, and through her extensive corporate governance experience, has gained a high degree of financial literacy and understanding of budgeting and financial planning.
Jenn graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours with High Distinction) and a Juris Doctor degree. Jenn speaks several languages including French and Mandarin. She is an active supporter of diversity, equity and inclusion both professionally and in her personal commitments.
Jennifer Lee
Eric Tung
Eric Tung is the General Manager for Receipt Bank North America, a technology company with a mission of supporting accounting professionals to make better small businesses. Prior to joining Receipt Bank, Eric was an executive at Scotiabank, where he was responsible for driving growth across Scotiabank’s 15 million retail and small business customers across Latin America and the Caribbean. He also played a key leadership role in launching Scotiabank’s global digital transformation. Eric started his career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and has held several marketing roles at eBay. Eric is an active supporter of the United Way and served as a Board Chair at St. Christopher’s Anglican Church. Eric holds a Bachelor’s of Applied Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto and Masters in Business Administration and in Public Administration in International Development from Harvard University.
Eric Tung
Raphael Schapiro
Raphael Schapiro has worked as an executive at BMO Financial Group since 2010. His current role is as Head, North American Customer Contact Centre Transformation, where he is responsible for technology initiatives, voice of the customer, and change management, all in the service of building a leading customer experience.
Prior to this he held multiple roles in the Technology & Operations Group building his strategy, technology capital budgeting, project management, and risk management capabilities.
Prior to BMO, Raphael spent six years as a consultant with McKinsey & Company working with clients in multiple sectors on performance improvement and strategy. Raphael holds a D.Phil and M.Phil from the University of Oxford in Economic and Social History and a B.A. from McGill University.
Raphael Schapiro
Ian Tait
Ian Tait has over 30 years of business leadership experience in the IT sector, and the last 15 years in the Public Sector and Healthcare. He was a Partner at Deloitte in Canada for 18 years before joining Deloitte Australia in 2016. In January 2022 he returned to Canada to join Thoughtware Corp., an emerging technology firm operating in the Healthcare and Smart Building sectors.
Ian has a strong background in growing and leading services’ businesses, including development, systems delivery and IT strategy. He led a pro-bono development by Deloitte of a digital solution to support the settlement of Syrian refugees in Toronto for WoodGreen Community Services.
Ian has an M.Math from the University of Waterloo in Statistics and a BSc. from McMaster University in Mathematics.
Ian Tait
Roanne Argyle
Roanne Argyle is senior vice president for Argyle Public Relationships, one of Canada’s largest independent public relations firms. She is an award-winning communications strategist who offers significant experience managing large-scale public information and advocacy programs that include stakeholder and public engagement, thought leadership, issues management and crisis communications. She is a trained and experienced facilitator.
As a passionate purpose-driven leader, Roanne is deeply committed to supporting and building capacity in organizations that serve the public interest, such as WoodGreen Community Services.
She recently volunteered as a Founding Board Member and Chair of the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame, partnered with Social Venture Partners Toronto, and served as the branding and marketing team lead with Eva’s Phoenix Print Shop and as a member of the Public Profile Committee at Eva’s Initiatives. She also spent 10 years as a volunteer and board member of the Leaside Girls Hockey Association.
Roanne has a Bachelor of Arts in English, Film and Communications from McGill University, and a Masters Certificate in Marketing Communications Management from Schulich School of Business, York University.
Roanne Argyle
Shabnum Durrani
Shabnum Durrani is the Head of Corporate Communications at the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) where she oversees all internal and external communications for the transit agency. Prior to joining the TTC, Shabnum worked in a variety of public affairs and communications roles, including as a senior advisor at Queen’s Park where she advised several Cabinet Ministers on a variety of initiatives including spearheading over ten pieces of legislation. Shabnum began her career as a lawyer, working at one of Canada’s largest law firms.
Shabnum has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta, a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, a Masters in Public Policy, Administration and Law from York University, and Masters in Public Health from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2022 she won the TTC’s inaugural Diversity Award and was named Employee of Year for the organization.
Shabnum Durrani
Karl Pelowich
Karl Pelowich is the Head of Culture & Colleague Experience at TD Bank Financial Group where he has enterprise accountability for colleague listening & insights, the employee value proposition, employment branding and TD’s career & redeployment practice. Karl is a seasoned HR executive and has held roles accountable for developing and implementing talent management strategies & frameworks for significant business transformations. Prior roles also include Head of HR for TD’s North American Contact Centres and Technology Infrastructure teams where he was responsible for the development and delivery of people strategies. Prior to joining TD, Karl held a variety of roles at BMO Financial Group in Human Resources, Salesforce Effectiveness, Personal & Commercial Banking, Finance and the Contact Centre. Karl is actively involved in the community as the Board President of JobStart and is an active contributor to Ryerson University’s Top 200 mentoring program. Karl has a BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and an MBA from Dalhousie University.
Karl Pelowich
Vernita Tsang
Vernita is General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Fengate Asset Management. She is a trusted advisor to Fengate’s executive and business lines providing legal advice, solutions and leadership to the company. She has expertise and experience in project-financed transactions, investment funds, investor closings and asset management. She also spearheads various strategic initiatives at Fengate to position the business to scale and grow including in the areas of corporate service innovation, governance, risk and compliance. Vernita provides leadership to Fengate’s Environmental Social Governance Committee and sits on the Equity Belonging Inclusion and Diversity Think Tank.
Prior to joining Fengate, Vernita was at Infrastructure Ontario advising authority clients on all aspects of major civil, social and transit infrastructure projects delivered through public-private partnership models. Vernita began her legal career in the real estate group at McCarthy Tetrault LLP. Vernita earned her Hon. B.Sc. from the University of Toronto, her J.D. from the University of Ottawa and was called to the Ontario bar in 2005.
Vernita is respected by her peers and colleagues as a leader. She has served as a mentor and role model to many professionals. Her leadership was recognized when she was named to the inaugural Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) Championship Team, representing outstanding female leaders in real estate and development. She is a member of the Women’s Infrastructure Network forum and serves as a mentor in the WeWIN Mentorship Program. Vernita is also a member of the National GC Network whose primary mission is to help diverse general counsel advance EBID values in their organization and larger community.
Vernita Tsang
Sandeep Tatla
Sandeep Tatla is the Chief Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the global law firm Fasken. As a member of the Firm’s executive leadership team, she is responsible for designing and leading the Firm’s equity, diversity, and inclusion transformation.
A catalyst for change, she is a forward-thinking executive leader with demonstrated experience successfully leading diversity, equity and inclusion change and sustainability strategies across different and complex industries. Her focus is on systemic and sustainable change. Before her role at Fasken, Sandeep held senior roles in the field, including, as Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at a global financial services firm, Manulife / John Hancock, and Vice-President, and Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability at a leading healthcare technology company.
In 2021, she was recognized by the National Diversity Council as Top 100 Diversity Officer. Sandeep’s work and views on diversity and inclusion have been published in the Harvard Business Review and HR Professional as well as through interviews with journalists from several major news outlets. Before specializing in diversity and inclusion, Sandeep practiced labour and employment law focusing on employment, human rights law and equity legislation.
Sandeep Tatla
John Brodhead
John is currently an Executive at Hakluyt and Company, a global consulting firm that advises decision-makers on the opportunities and risks facing their businesses. Prior to Hakluyt, John was Director of Policy and Senior Advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. John also played other senior roles in the Canadian government, including Chief of Staff to the Minister of Infrastructure and the Minister of Indigenous Services. John also worked in the Ontario provincial government including as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Premier and Vice President of Metrolinx. He also worked in the private sector for Alphabet as part of its Sidewalk Labs project. He lives in Toronto with his partner and three children.
John Brodhead
Rossitsa Stoyanova
Rossitsa leads IMCO’s investment team as the Chief Investment Officer and oversees all global investment activities, including portfolio construction, asset allocation and strategic partnerships.
Prior to IMCO, Rossitsa was Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Design & Construction at CPP Investments where she led the portfolio design and construction team and oversaw the fund’s risk appetite and allocation. Previous to CPP Investments, she was at GE Energy Financial Services where she was responsible for due diligence and structuring acquisitions in the power sector. She also worked in Assurance and Advisory Services at Deloitte & Touche in Chicago.
Rossitsa holds a BBA from Saint Mary’s College in Indiana and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Illinois.