Board of Directors

Executive Members

Yeugenia Kazantseva

Chair

Yeugenia was born and grew up in the former Soviet Union – in the capital city of Moscow. She has called Toronto her hometown since 1993. A graduate of the University of Toronto, Yeugenia worked at TELUS Communications as a Project Manager and later as Program Manager for over twelve years, focusing on business integration projects. She now enjoys a full-time career in real estate.

Yeugenia has dedicated a significant amount of time to volunteering in the charitable and non-profit sector, including organizations such as Northern Secondary School Council, the Northern Secondary School Foundation, Women’s Connections Network, Women's Executive Network (WXN), and the Arthritis Society.

Salim Zulfikar Somani

1st Vice-Chair

An Ismaili Muslim born and raised in Kenya, East Africa, Salim has had extensive engagement in voluntary services as a member of various provincial boards including, the Economic Planning board, the Education board and Youth and Sports board, the Religious Education board, etc.  He has also presented at a variety of youth focused seminars at universities across the province, focusing on ethics and morals.

Salim has a bachelor’s degree with a double major in Commerce and Economics from the University of Toronto. He commenced his training as a Chartered Accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)’s national offices in downtown Toronto after which he obtained his postgraduate designation of Chartered Accountant. He currently holds a designation of a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and is a registered member CPA, Canada, CPA, Ontario and CPA, British Columbia. He is also qualified as a CPA in Illinois, USA. Salim currently owns and operates an advisory, accounting, audit and tax practice in Toronto, Ontario. He was a tribunal member of CPA Ontario’s Disciplinary Committee involved in the governance function responsible for adjudication on tribunal hearings of members of the profession and in 2022 appointed as the Deputy Chairperson of the governance function of CPA Ontario’s Appeal Committee in its mandate to confirm, overturn or amend decisions and orders of members of the CPA profession in Ontario.

Salim has maintained various leadership positions including the custodianship and representative leadership at a community center in Toronto for three years responsible for the improvement of the quality of lives of all segments of the community including younger children, youth, seniors of the community and for developing strategies that supported the most marginalized members of the community.

For over 10 years Salim was engaged in providing international professional voluntary services to the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) being one of the largest private development networks in world where his work involved supporting the establishment and operations of The Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance under AKDN’s network. He provided training on leadership, finance, internal audit, and leading and executing international external audits of microfinance institutions in Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique), the Middle East (Syria), Central Asia (Tajikistan and Afghanistan) and in North Africa (Egypt).

Salim is also a recipient of many awards including the prevailing Ministry of Culture and Citizenship Award for multi-years of outstanding service to the community. As a central part of his life, Salim remains committed to the ethic of service to individuals, the community, and society at large both in Canada as well as internationally.

Julie Rezvani

Vice-Chair EDI

Bio coming soon

Iqbal Ali

Treasurer

Bio coming soon

Gerald Mak

Secretary 

Gerald Mak is currently a Senior Manager within the Ontario Public Service. Prior to joining the OPS, Gerald has worked in various financial and professional institutions including PwC, CIBC, RBC and Scotiabank with roles in risk, communications and technology departments.

With over 15 years in community service, he has volunteered and served on various boards and advisory committees including St. John Ambulance, City of Toronto, Toronto District School Board, Digital Media Zone, Big Brothers and Sisters of Toronto, Toronto Police Service, Ryerson University, University Health Network and Junior Achievement Ontario. Gerald is extremely passionate about his community and the well-being of others.

For his community work, he has received several awards including the Prime Minister's Canada Volunteer Award, Governor General's Sovereign Medal for Volunteers, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship, Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers, Ontario's June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award for Voluntarism.

Gerald holds a Commerce degree from the Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University, an Executive Master’s degree in Communications from McMaster University and has completed executive education modules at Queen's School of Business.

Members

Catharine Dutt

Catharine is a Risk Consulting Partner in RSM Canada’s consulting services business, with extensive experience and technical expertise in financial services and risk management across a number of functions and industries.

Catharine most recently worked for one of Canada’s large banking institutions as VP and Global Head of Strategy, Planning and Operations for Internal Audit. In this role, she was responsible for the strategic direction of the global audit function, along with audit committee oversight and global governance reporting, global financial management, professional audit standards and data analytics. She also has extensive experience with global regulators and expectations for internal audit functions, having served in a Chief Audit Executive role for a U.S. national bank.

Prior to Catharine’s ten years in banking, she held increasingly senior positions for eleven years at one of the largest global professional services firms, specializing in financial institutions.

Originally from Toronto, Catharine holds a Master of Accounting and Honours Co-op B.A. in chartered accounting, both from the University of Waterloo, and is a chartered professional accountant in both Canada and the U.S.

Catharine enjoys playing golf in her spare time in Toronto and photography on her travels.

Eugene Choi

Eugene Choi is Managing Partner at Blue-Mark Management Consultants, where he and his firm specializes in Strategic Planning Facilitation, Operating Model Definition, Organizational Design, and Complex Change Management. Eugene has experience working with clients from a wide range of industries, including banking, information & analytics, insurance, CPG, and more.

Outside his professional career, Eugene is recognized for his dedicated service to the community. He has previously served on the Board of Directors at Kennedy House, a non-profit organization providing housing programs and social services for at-risk youth. He has also consistently engaged in mentoring roles at the University of Toronto, providing guidance to students and young alumni. In 2021, his significant volunteer contributions were acknowledged when he was presented with the prestigious Arbor Award by the University of Toronto, the highest honour granted by the university to exceptional volunteers.

As a member of the Board of Directors of the Children's Aid Society of Toronto, Eugene brings his professional acumen and commitment to service to further the organization's mission.

Gave Lindo

Gave has over a decade of experience as a lawyer, executive, and board director within the media and cultural sectors where he has commissioned, structured, or advised on a range of projects across film, television, digital content, gaming, festivals, and live theatre. He is currently leading the content strategy for TikTok in Canada as Director of Content Programming. Previously, he led CBC’s digital content offerings including CBC Gem, CBC.ca, and CBC Kids as Executive Director of OTT Programming. Gave also served as Executive Director of the Reelworld Film Festival, worked as a business executive at CBC, and practiced media law at Fasken LLP. Gave has been appointed to the boards of a number of organizations including Ontario Creates (OMDC), the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto, Obsidian Theatre Company, and Laidlaw Foundation. He currently serves on the board of the Children's Aid Society Toronto and the TO Live St. Lawrence Centre Redevelopment Committee. He is a frequent speaker on the intersection of content and innovation and holds BA, MBA, and JD degrees from the University of Toronto.

Marshall Schnapp

Last year Marshall and his Partner adopted through CAST an amazing little boy who just turned seven. Marshall has a Bachelor of Arts, a law degree and a Master of Laws in Alternative Dispute Resolution. He has 15 years of experience in dispute resolution. He started as a litigation lawyer and moved into dispute resolution; his practice includes mediation, arbitration, workplace investigation, workplace restoration, conflict/negotiation coaching, complaint handling, and facilitation. In 2017, he was appointed as the first Chair of the Complaint and Resolution Council for Student Societies at the University of Toronto. Marshall enjoys spending time with his son and partner; among other things, they enjoy being outdoors, playing tennis and traveling.

Randy Carter

Randy has over 30 years of experience with Toronto Police Services. Currently, he is Unit Commander of 33 Division. He possesses an MBA from Queen’s School of Business, a BAA in Justice Studies from Guelph University and has taken Executive Leadership Training through the FBI National Academy.

Randy is currently a board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters Toronto and director of Senior Officers Organization, and is a director-at-Large, Toronto Business Club and Queen’s School of Business Alumni.

Shruti Paul

Shruti's professional background is at the intersection of strategy and healthcare. This includes Commercial Strategy for pharmaceutical and medical device clients, Business Development for health-focused private equities, and Performance Excellence for Johnson & Johnson. She currently works in the Corporate Strategy and Business Development team at McKesson - Canada's largest distributor of medicines and medical supplies.

Shruti has also had a keen interest in social causes - she set up a social enterprise supporting local Indian artists during her undergraduate studies, and was recently also a Board member at Fort York Food Bank, a Toronto-based Food Bank. In her spare time, Shruti enjoys traveling, playing poker and exploring hikes and trails around the city.

Andrew Bedeau

Bio coming soon

Bruce Sinclair

Bio coming soon

Deputy Chief Robert Johnson

Bio coming soon

Derek Eng

Bio coming soon

Karen Shira

Bio coming soon