RICHARD STURSBERG

BOARD CHAIR

Richard Stursberg is a Canadian Media Executive with more than 30 years of experience. He has been the head of all English language services at the CBC, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada, Chairman of the Canadian Television Fund, President of Starchoice and Cancom, President of the Canadian Cable Television Association, and Assistant Deputy Minister of Culture and Broadcasting for the Government of Canada. He is currently President of Aljess, a boutique media and entertainment consulting firm. Richard is the author of The Tower of Babble, published in 2012, and named one of the best books of the year by The Globe and Mail. Richard is also the author of The Tangled Garden, which was shortlisted for the Donner Prize, given to the best book on public policy written by a Canadian.

 

JILL ZELMANOVITS

BOARD VICE CHAIR

Jill Zelmanovits is passionate about the social change that results from youth development and she has dedicated more than 20 years of her career to supporting non-profit organizations create social change for young people through grass-roots programs and advocacy in Canada and around the world. She is currently the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada, which enables life-changing mentorship relationships to ignite the power and potential of young people. Previously, Jill was the CEO of Girl Guides of Canada, the largest organization for girls and young women with 75,000 members across Canada. As a lawyer who practiced in the private and public sectors, Jill’s expertise informed previous Board Roles with Save the Children Canada and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts including chairing Governance, Advocacy and Membership Growth Committees as well as being a member of Audit & Finance and Strategy & Risk Management Committees. Jill started her career as a lawyer and was a commercial litigator at a Bay Street law firm before working for Legal Aid Ontario representing clients and leading advocacy coalitions for critical policy changes. She also worked as a Development Executive supporting non-profit organizations in Europe and was a Legislative Intern at Queen’s Park. She has lived, travelled, volunteered and worked around the world and across Canada. She currently resides in Toronto with her husband and two teenagers and loves current affairs, travel and running.

Linked-In:  linkedin.com/in/jillzelmanovits

 

JEAN TEILLET

Jean Teillet is Senior Counsel with Pape Salter Teillet LLP. She is a leading lawyer on Indigenous rights law and also works on reproductive rights law. She is Vice Chair of Indspire and on the board of the Glenbow Art Museum and PEN Canada. In 2016, the Association of Ontario Midwives made Jean an honorary lifetime member. She has three honorary doctorates. She was made Indigenous Peoples Council by the Indigenous Bar Association and granted the Order of the Métis Nation. Jean is a published author and frequent lecturer on Indigenous issues. She is the great grandniece of Louis Riel.

 

CARL NICHOLSON

Carl Nicholson recently retired after 28 years as Executive Director of the Catholic Centre for Immigrants Ottawa and the Catholic Immigration Centre Foundation, Ottawa. He has an extensive background in voluntary sector leadership (including 15 years with CUSO) and maintained his own successful fundraising and management consulting company for 20 years. Carl is a graduate of Carleton University and is a Certified Fund-Raising Executive. Carl has served on many Boards including President of the Ontario of Agencies Serving Immigrants, the Advisory Committee to the Deputy Minister for Immigrants, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, and the Ottawa Police Services Board. He is currently Treasurer of the Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy and President of World Skills Employment Centre. Carl has been recognized many times for his service including receiving an honorary degree from Algonquin College in 2018.

 

ERIN BURY

Erin Bury, named one of Bay St. Bull’s Women of the Year, is one of Canada’s top female entrepreneurs, an active startup advisor, and a former marketer and technology journalist. Erin is the co-founder and CEO at online estate planning platform Willful, where she drives the company’s mission to make it easier for Canadians to prepare for and deal with death in a digital age. Willful has been named one of Bay St. Bull’s Power 50 companies, and Erin secured a deal for the company on TV’s Dragons’ Den in December 2021. Erin advises multiple startups including podcasting platform Quill, and real estate platform Doormat.

 

MARIA CORREIA

Maria Correia has worked in international development for 30 years, having worked in some 40 countries across four continents. For over two decades, she worked at the World Bank in Washington DC, where she held various leadership positions on gender, social development and conflict, and championed themes such as the male dimensions of gender, and entertainment for social change. During this period, she led the multi-donor Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program in the Greater Great Lakes of Africa, the largest program of its kind at the time to demobilize ex-combatants. She also co-developed and led the World Bank’s WEvolve Global program, a social media and storytelling platform aimed at addressing gender-based violence in South Asia. Maria is currently a PhD Candidate in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, where her research focuses on cross-cultural collaboration on water stewardship in the Syilx Okanagan territory.

 

MICHAEL AJISE

Michael Ajise has more than 20 years of experience across multiple industries including financial services, management consulting, healthcare, public sector, and telecommunication. He is a seasoned business and information technology professional with expertise in strategy and planning, risk management, wealth management, banking and finance. With an executive MBA from the Kellogg- Schulich School of Business, Michael uses his knowledge, experience and network to help organizations integrate business and technology solutions with a focus on achieving results with high business value.

 

YASMIN FARAH PEER

Yasmin Farah Peer’s values and skills closely resonate with Save the Children and she brings experience from her work with Immigration Refugee Citizenship Canada and a background in Political Science and Human Rights. Her deep commitment lies in spaces dedicated to the rights and well-being of children. Fueled by her passion for driving positive change, Yasmin took the initiative to establish Lives For Literacy (L4L), a youth-led, non-profit organization. As the Executive Director of L4L, which is committed to advancing literacy among marginalized children, she has had the privilege of championing literacy and education within underserved communities.

 

PAULA PEREIRA

Paula Pereira is the National Leader for PwC’s Financial Services Digital Operations Capability, assisting FS clients with operational transformation through digitalization, process improvement, operating model and innovative sourcing strategies. She previously led the FS Industry Aligned team to meet established growth and market presence targets. She also leads the FS Regulatory Operations Practice for Canada which assists clients with transforming their approach to Risk and Compliance and with updating their environments for new Regulatory requirements. She is a recognized Financial Services industry expert on first line governance and control functions.

She has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and is a recognized specialist in the Banking Operations and in the Risk and Regulatory domains.

 

STANLEY ZLOTKIN

Stanley Zlotkin is a Professor of Paediatrics, Public Health Sciences and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist in The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute. In the late 1990s Dr. Zlotkin led the development of ‘home fortification’ with micronutrient powders (called Sprinkles) and by partnering with United Nations agencies over the past decade has distributed Sprinkles to millions of infants and young children globally. His current research and advocacy is focused on controlling malnutrition in children globally. He was awarded the CIHR National Knowledge Translation Award in 2006, the Order of Canada in 2007 and the Order of Ontario in 2015 for his contributions to improving the lives of children globally. He is the inaugural Chief of Global Child Health at SickKids.

 

SYLVIE GODIN

Sylvie Godin has a history of managing sensitive issues, institutional communication and corporate image. As Vice-President of La Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse du Québec, she became involved with the Canadian Council of Provincial Child and Youth Advocates. Lawyer by training she has also held management positions in various organisations including Canadian National, Bell Canada and CIBC. Her political experience with the Premier of Quebec, Robert Bourassa, have been significant such as her involvement on boards including Place des arts and Douglas Hospital Foundation. She is a Board member of Centennial Academy.

 

JANTI SOERIPTO

Janti Soeripto is President and CEO of Save the Children US. She assumed this role in January 2020, after serving as President and Chief Operating Officer since May 2019. In this position, Janti had oversight for setting agency strategy, ensuring all parts of the organization were well managed, staffed, aligned, and operated as effectively as possible. Strengthening accountability for results, and overseeing, integrating and coordinating divisional activities also fell within her scope of work. Prior to joining Save the Children US, Janti worked for eight years as deputy CEO of Save the Children International, where she was responsible for market growth and development, global strategy development, communication and venture partnerships. Before her work with Save the Children, Janti spent nearly 20 years in the corporate sector at companies including Kimberly-Clark and Unilever. She has master’s degrees in Economics and Finance. Janti is half-Indonesian, half-Dutch, is married with two children, and is based in Connecticut.