Governance

Chris has over 25 years of finance and accounting experience in the Financial Services sector and is currently the Chief Financial Officer of DRI Capital Inc, a global healthcare royalty investment manager.  Prior to his current role, Chris spent over 10 years at the OMERS pension plan holding progressively more senior finance and operations roles.  Before his roles at OMERS, Chris spent seven years at TD Bank and he began his career at KPMG.  Chris is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and received a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto.

Andrew Gray is a partner at a Toronto law firm. He lives in central Toronto with his family, and has been involved as a volunteer in work addressing housing and food insecurity and community and individual capacity-building for many years. He joined the board of Fred Victor in 2020 following the amalgamation of Fred Victor with CRC, an agency in Regent Park; prior to the amalgamation, Andrew was the chair of CRC. Andrew also sits on the board of All Saints Church-Community Centre in the Moss Park area of Toronto. Andrew attended the University of Toronto, earning BA, MA, PhD and LLB degrees. He has taught for many years as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

Retired healthcare executive living in Toronto’s St Lawrence community.

Anne’s career spanned 40 years in public health and community home care. Following five years as the Executive Director of the Community Care Access Centre Simcoe County, she moved to Toronto in 2007 to focus on performance measurement and quality improvement in the delivery of provincial programs in home and community care.

Trained as a nurse, Anne has a Master of Health Science degree from the University of Toronto.

Becoming a member of the Fred Victor Service Quality Committee in 2008, Anne joined the Board of Directors in 2020.

Deane spent almost 25 years at Loblaw Companies leading some of its largest retail businesses including Loblaws Supermarkets, No Frills, and Real Canadian Superstore (Ontario). While there, Deane was significantly involved with the development of the Presidents Choice/NoName brands. After spending a few years in corporate real estate at Cadillac Fairview, Deane moved west to be the CEO of Calgary Co-operative Association, the largest retail Co-operative in North America. There he established a charitable foundation to support local organizations like the Mustard Seed, YWCA, and food banks.

Deane was on the Advisory Board, chair of the curriculum committee, and was Retailer in Residence at Ryerson University, School of Retail Management. For the past 10 years, Deane has been on the Canada Committee for Human Rights Watch, and currently co-chairs the HRW Children’s Rights Committee. Deane, with his wife and three children have all worked at, and continue to support an orphanage in Honduras. Deane serves on the Governance and Fundraising committees of the Fred Victor Board of Directors.

Deane graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Commerce, completed the Retail Executive Program at Cornell University, and the Retail Executive Program at Babson College in Massachusetts.

David retired after a finance and accounting career spanning the public accounting (Price Waterhouse), oil and gas (Gulf Canada), banking (Bank of Montreal) and pension (OMERS Administration Corporation) industries. David also leads the Board of a seniors affordable housing residence in Mississauga and is a Board member of the Mississauga Food Bank.

In addition to the CPA, CA accounting designation, David also holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Business Administration, both from the University of Toronto.

A mission driven, fiscally responsible, strategic thinker committed to social justice and healthy communities, who leads change with compassion and strength. Jawad Kassab has spent most of his career ensuring access to justice for refugees and immigrants, transforming business operations, building productive relationships, and improving governance in the legal, health and social services sectors.

Over 22 years, Jawad worked at Legal Aid Ontario (LAO), most recently as Executive Lead for LAO’s $32M Refugee and Immigration Program transforming its operations and services with a focus on quality improvement, cost-effectiveness and efficiency. Demonstrating his commitment to governance and community, Jawad has served as director on a number of Boards, including Parkinson’s Canada, Four Villages Community Health Center, Silver Circle West Toronto Support Services for Seniors, and now Fred Victor.

Jawad holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Ivey, a LLB from Dalhousie, and a Master of Divinity degree from The University of Toronto.

Executive Director, Zeo Organic Foods and Inorganic Co.

Neill Carson is Clinical Director and Site Lead of SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health. He is an experienced health-care leader, knowledgeable in collaborative leadership, evidence-based planning and organizational transformation. A social worker with experience in children’s, youth and adult mental health, he has provided and supervised direct service in mood and anxiety disorders, substance misuse disorders, concurrent disorders, dual diagnosis and trauma.  He has taught certificate courses with York University and George Brown College focused on Dual Diagnosis assessment, treatment, service planning and staff administration.

Neill received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from the University of Toronto, and his Master of Social Work from Wilfred Laurier University. His professional development learning includes completing Health Canada’s EXTRA Fellowship in evidence-based administration in 2016 and the University Health Network’s certificate in Collaborative Leadership in 2015.  He is presently completing the Teaching Scholars Program at The Hospital for Sick Children.

Neill came to SickKids CCMH from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) where he was an executive director, an administrative director and a program manager. Neill served on the board of Ontario’s largest supportive housing provider, Mainstay Housing, from 2010 to 2016. He was President and Board Chair from 2013 to 2016.

Christina is an experienced fundraising professional with twenty-years experience raising funds, creating campaigns and building sustainable and engaged bases of support for charitable organizations and political parties. Data-driven and relationship focused, she has helped grow monthly giving programs, launch new initiatives and develop strategic partnerships. Christina graduated from the University of Guelph with an Honours Bachelors of Arts in International Development and completed her MBA at the Schulich School of Business.

Dr. Sandra Bennett is a public health dentist and epidemiologist with experience in public health policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. In addition to her clinical practice in the public and private healthcare sectors, she has also worked in research and academia. During her career with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, her work largely focused on oral health and child/youth health. She now works as a healthcare consultant.

She has volunteered for a number of charities, including serving on the Family Selection Committee of Habitat for Humanity, Toronto.

Dr. Bennett holds a Master of Science degree, a Diploma in Dental Public Health, and a Diploma in Gerontology from the University of Toronto, Canada, and a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Otago, New Zealand.

Michele is the CEO of OUTFRONT Canada, one of Canada’s leading Out-of-Home companies. She is committed to driving the business forward with passion, innovation and thoughtfulness; including a focused commitment to partnering with key community agencies. Michele has been active in the Canadian Media industry for over 30 years, including positions in radio, print, market research and advertising. She has lived in downtown Toronto for most of her life and is delighted to be able to join an organization that plays such a key role within the city.

John Hinds is the President and CEO of News Media Canada which represents over 800 newspapers and news media organizations from coast to coast to coast. As president and CEO he serves as the industry’s voice on public policy issues, while also managing the organization’s comprehensive research and marketing portfolio.

A lawyer by training, John has previously served in senior political roles both federally and provincially. He also has extensive experience as a public affairs consultant.

John strongly believes in giving back to his community. He has a served on a number of for profit and corporate boards including United Way of Toronto, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Harbourfront Centre and Solus Trust Company. He is a former Chair of Casey House Hospice and a former Vice Chair of St Joseph’s Health Centre.