OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Halima Murji , President
Halima joined the ETCHS board in June 2014 and is currently the Vice-President. Halima received her MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. She then worked with Eli Lilly Canada for 8 years in strategic sourcing, compliance, privacy and is a certified Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma. She has significant experience in understanding customers’ needs, improving existing processes and designing new processes to ultimately improve the customer experience. Halima left her job to pursue her passion – an entrepreneurial venture in Early Childhood Education. When she isn’t busy working on projects, Halima likes to travel, play badminton and is an active volunteer in her community.
Edorh Hubert, Vice-President
Edorh Hubert first joined the ETCH board in June 2017. He is currently a criminal defence lawyer and managing partner at CohenCampbell CIC and a member of the Ontario Jobs and Recovery Committee. He became a partner in the firm approximately 10 years ago. As a defense lawyer and managing partner, Edorh has initiated and been actively involved with a number of innovative projects. Edorh has volunteered at East Toronto Community House, as well as with several other organizations.
Eric Plato, Treasurer
Eric Plato first joined the ETCHS board in 2014 and has served as board treasurer since 2015. Eric is a CPA, CMA who has held many finance roles in the non-profit sector for over the past 25 years. Between work and board experience he has worked with organizations with budgets ranging from under $100,000 to over $100 million. He currently is a consultant in the sector and also teaches financial management at Centennial College. Eric is dedicated to supporting non-profit and charity leadership in learning and gaining confidence in matters of non-profit financial management.
Casey Sabawi, Secretary
Casey Sabawi first joined the ETCHS Board in June 2017, and in the past year, has served as Secretary of the board. He was born and raised in Singapore, and is a first generation immigrant to Canada. He presently works as a senior manager for a national charity that provides programs and services in support of Canadians living with disabilities. Casey is committed to the principles of social justice, equity, and diversity; and strives to live up to his responsibilities to Reconciliation, and in honouring Canada’s treaty relationship with Indigenous Peoples. Casey considers it a privilege to serve on ETCHS Board to support the well-being, needs and aspirations of the residents of Toronto.
Andrew Do
Andrew is currently a Service Designer with the City of Austin but is a resident of Toronto. He also has an independent freelance civic design and policy research practice. He likes to apply a human-centered lens to solve wicked civic problems through a combination of digital products and analog services. He was previously a policy researcher with the Brookfield Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He helped to co-found CivicTechTO.
Growing up in Toronto, he was a beneficiary of public and community-based services in Toronto while growing up. He’s a champion of Toronto’s immigrant-owned culinary scene. Interviewed a variety of restaurants about how they started their business, including neighbourhood favorite Sampaguita Village Restaurant on Bathurst and Wilson as part of 6ixspots.
Kendra Kerr
Kendra is currently the Community Investment Officer of MLSE Foundation and is responsible for more than $7.7 million a year in charitable giving. Kendra earned a B.A (Hons.) from Queen’s University and a B. Ed from U of T. She has a background in non-profit capacity building, strategic impact investment and corporate social responsibility. Kendra is passionate about sector innovation, gender equality and a good slice of pizza.
Keetha Mercer
Keetha has 15+ years experience in the non-profit sector, primarily in youth programming, preventing gender-based violence, housing and homelessness, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities. She is currently the Director of Community Initiatives & Grants at the Canadian Women’s Foundation. Keetha is a Queer woman, a program designer/facilitator, community organizer, and organizational development enthusiast. She has lived and worked throughout the country and has made Toronto home for the last 7 years. Keetha is committed to community led programming from an intersectional feminist perspective, with a strong emphasis on collaboration. She is an avid reader of fiction, aspiring herbalist, and chocoholic, with one too many tattoos, who enjoys laughing at her own jokes and is semi-seriously planning her escape off the grid.
Wayne Miranda
Wayne’s passion is to develop social, environmental, cultural organizations serving un(der)served communities. He has co-founded several international social enterprises. Wayne is interested in the power of social finance to accelerate and deepen positive change. Wayne is currently the Social Finance Lead at the McConnell Foundation. He also has relevant Canadian social innovation experience as a Director of Growth at the Centre for Social Innovation. Wayne loves padding and hiking in Canada’s beautiful national provincial parks.
Raju Mohandoss
Mohandoss is the Director of Newcomer Services at WoodGreen Community Services and has over 12+ years of management experience specializing in social services program design, evaluation, human resource and financial management. Previously he was the Director of Programs and Services at The Neighbourhood Organization (TNO) and has provided consulting services to various non-profit organizations in Ontario. Mohan has also served as the chair of the board of directors at the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture and at the Mennonite New Life Centre. Mohan identifies himself as part of the newcomer community in Toronto and is committed to empowering the newcomer community.
Nargis Noori
Nargis grew up in the Toronto area and is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a double major in Sociology and Psychology. She is inherently curious and solution-driven with a passion for community capacity building and innovation. She currently works in the banking industry as a business transformation and change management lead.
Shatabdi Sarker
Shatabdi holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from York University and a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) designation. She is currently working at the Royal Bank of Canada as an Internal Audit Manager. Over past 10 years, through her volunteer work with non-profit originations such as United Way and Toronto Enterpriser Fund, Shatabdi created transformation by designing new programs, engaging diverse stakeholders and leading and managing entrepreneurial teams and working groups. During her time at RBC, Scotiabank and Manulife, Shatabdi participated in and co-founded Employee Resource Groups focused in practicing and encouraging a corporate culture of presence and awareness, specifically in the area of newcomer and at-risk youth.
Rohan Thompson
Rohan Thompson is the Workplace Equity Manager with the Peel District School Board. Rohan has always had a focus and commitment to youth development, crime prevention through social development, community development, anti-racist practice and advocacy. Most recently, Rohan worked for the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council where he was the manager of Communications and Community Engagement. During his time with the Crime Prevention Council Rohan was instrumental in working with the community, the local school board and students to develop Black Brilliance, a Black youth led initiative that brings attention, education and advocacy to address anti-Black Racism that high school students in Waterloo region face. Rohan also played a lead role in working with community partners and Black professionals in Waterloo region to develop the ACB (African, Caribbean and Black) Network. Rohan was the Project Manager for inREACH, a youth street gang prevention program that operated for four years until its Federal funding came to an end. In additional to his professional work, Rohan is a community volunteer, sitting on several boards, providing front line support and coaching in minor athletics. Rohan holds two degree’s from Wilfrid Laurier University including his Masters in Social Work. In his spare time, Rohan is also passionate about the sport of football and has been a youth football coach for over 12 years.