cmha york region board of directors

Vice-President and Director: Ali Soheil

Ali Soheil has been with BMO for 28 years. During these years he has held over number of different roles across Sales, Marketing, Product Manufacturing, Strategy, Contact Center, Risk, IT, Process Engineering, Change Management, Program Management and Operations. Ali has earned the reputation of an enterprise leader who delivers results with a strong focus on employee engagement and culture. In addition to his professional career, Ali is actively involved in the community. He is a strong advocate for diversity, youth employment, education & Mental Health. Ali is a digital leader who actively uses social media to advocate, promote and educate. Ali loves to publish articles on subjects he is passionate about, some of which have been featured in management and leadership sites. Ali holds an EMBA from the Ivey School of Business. He also holds a B.Sc. and Masters in Project Management from Schulich. He is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and Lean enterprise Practitioner. Ali’s key areas of expertise Include: Business strategy and execution, Business and process transformation, Change management, Business innovation, Risk management & Employee engagement & Culture.

Treasurer and Director: Evelyn Sutherland

Evelyn Sutherland has over 15 years of experience in finance and marketing roles. Currently Ms. Sutherland serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Staples Canada ULC (“Staples Canada”). In this role, she is responsible for Staples Canada’s overall financial strategic direction, including all aspects of financial reporting and planning, treasury and controller's operations, taxation, payroll, as well as M&A, procurement and real estate asset management. Prior to her appointment at Staples Canada in 2018, Ms. Sutherland held the position of Chief Financial Officer at Enercare Inc., helping to oversee the company’s significant growth during her tenure. Prior to that role, Ms. Sutherland was the Chief Financial Officer of Key REIT, at which time the organization managed a portfolio of 220 retail properties in seven provinces across Canada. Prior to this position, Ms. Sutherland was Chief Financial Officer of the United Purchasing Group of Canada, the Canadian purchasing group for Yum! Brands. In 2016, Ms. Sutherland was named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women and received the Canadian Dealmakers Award for Mid-Markets. Ms. Sutherland is a Chartered Professional Accountant and holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting from the University of Windsor and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario.

Director: Bozica Balenovic

Bozica Balenovic is a Director of Taxation at Enercare Inc. where she oversees the tax compliance, tax planning and the financial statement tax reporting process. Prior to joining Enercare, Bozica spent over 10 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP helping both Canadian based multinational corporations as well as inbound multinationals navigate the Canadian corporate tax environment. Bozica has experience advising companies on various complex tax issues relating to their operations, including business expansions and restructuring. Along with a strong technical tax background, Bozica has strong analytical capabilities, sound business sense and a creative mind. Bozica is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Director: Laura Bhoi

Laura Bhoi is the Chief Executive Officer of Renascent Fellowship and Foundations, one of Ontario’s longest-standing treatment providers, with facilities in Toronto and Brooklin, Ontario. Prior to working at Renascent, Laura held senior leadership roles at Toronto-based addiction treatment centre, Bellwood Health Services, including the position of President from 2009 until 2015. Laura’s career also encompasses marketing management in the private sector and working with the hospital sector for the Ontario Ministry of Health. Laura earned a B.A. in Psychology (Honours) at Queens University, an MBA in Health Services Management at McMaster University and a Certificate in Addiction Studies, also at McMaster.

Director: Joe Blomeley

Joe Blomeley is Morneau Shepell’s Senior Vice President, Ontario Region Leader and Public Sector. He has been with the company since 2016 and is responsible for leading Morneau Shepell’s business in Ontario, working with large strategic clients, overseeing Morneau Shepell’s national public sector strategy and liaising with senior government officials. Joe regularly delivers thought-leadership on public policy, healthcare, innovation and HR issues. Prior to joining the firm, Joe was Vice President, Innovation and Skills at the Business Council of Canada, where he was responsible for innovation, education and healthcare policy, as well as leading the day-to-day operations of the Business/Higher Education Roundtable. In this role, Joe worked closely with the CEOs of Canada’s largest companies. Joe holds Master and Bachelor of Arts degrees, respectively, from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University and the University of Western Ontario. He is a member of the Canadian Mental Health Association–York Region’s Board of Directors; the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s Health Advisory Committee and the Banff Leadership Forum; and is a Policy Fellow with the University of Ottawa’s Education Policy Research Initiative.

Director: Jacqueline Delfosse

Jacqueline Delfosse is an accomplished consultant with over 20 years of Human Resources and Training and Organizational Development background. Her experience includes Human Resources, Operations and Call Center Management with a speciality in Learning and Organizational Development. She has worked in various Senior Management capacities, including Senior Manager Training & Development, Manager, Global Learning & Organizational Consultant and has implemented key learning and professional development initiatives across organizations. Jackie has served as a board or committee member on several foundations and associations over the years, and became a board member of Canadian Mental Health Association in 2014. As a senior consultant with Morneau Shepell, Jackie specializes in Leadership Development and raising awareness about Mental Health in the Workplace. She has consulted with, trained, educated and coached thousands of managers and employees, drawing on insights from over twenty years of corporate experience as a manager and human relations professional. She proudly works with industry leaders across the country on Mental Health in the Workplace initiatives and consulting in a way that clarifies the role of the leader and brings a down-to-earth understanding of the complex arena of mental health in the workplace.

Director: Michael Favelyukis

Michael Favelyukis is the Vice-President, Finance and Administration, of Community Trust Company. A Chartered Professional Accountant, Michael has particular expertise in tax issues and securities. He obtained his International Bachelor of Business Administration from Schulich School of Business, York Univeristy in 2004, a continuation of his studies which began in the Netherlands. An avid global traveller, Michael is fluent in Russian, Hebrew and conversational in Spanish.

Director: Mustafa Khaliq

Mustafa Khaliq is an accomplished analytics geek and storyteller. Over a 15 year career in the dynamic consumer goods industry, Mustafa leveraged multiple data and research sources to support marketing and sales with their brand stories and strategies. In addition, Mustafa developed and implemented national training programs and successfully managed the execution of new cost-efficient and user-friendly reporting platforms across the organization. Mustafa is also very passionate about several of his side projects which include: a wardrobe and image consulting service for time-strapped and fashion savvy professionals, an online men’s clothing and accessory line called Viktor and Muse and a marketing consultancy service which helps companies target and engage with underserved ethnic groups. In the same way Mustafa has helped clients grow awareness and engagement with communities, he hopes to bring the same success with CMHA and its vision and objectives. Mustafa earned his MBA from the Schulich School of Business and his B.Sc. from the University of Toronto.

Director: Marion Ma

Marion Ma is a Director of Finance at Just Energy. As Director, Marion oversees the financial reporting, corporate accounting, and controllership function for the energy company. Prior to joining Just Energy, Marion spent a number of years at Enercare creating a technical accounting and financial reporting department for the water heater and HVAC company. She also spent over seven years at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as a manager of assurance for real estate, manufacturing and municipal government clients. A graduate of University of Waterloo (BSc, MAcc), Marion is a CPA with many years’ experience in advising companies on complex technical accounting issues. With a strong background in technical accounting and applied theory, Marion excels at problem resolutions, financial reporting, and analysis

Director: Roy Saad

Roy Saad has over ten years of experience working with NGOs, business and the public sector. In his current role as Manager, Communications with LifeLabs, he’s part of a national team that deals with media requests, brand awareness and stakeholder engagement. Prior to joining LifeLabs, Roy was the Director, Stakeholder Relations and Public Affairs with United Way of Peel Region and was responsible for media profile, issues management and oversaw a team that executed corporate engagement, youth engagement and senior executive engagement opportunities.

Director: Michelle Simard

Michelle Simard is a collaborative, solutions-oriented professional with over ten years experience, specializing in strategic planning, business intelligence, corporate strategy & analysis, risk management, financial services, negotiation and transactions, information compliance, privacy law and data protection regulation. Versatile and highly skilled, she is able to provide organizations with strong executive leadership and sound legal counsel to mitigate risk/exposure, avoid litigation, develop and negotiate legal agreements, implement cybersecurity and incident response measures, interpret policy and navigate regulatory issues and regulatory requirements. She employs evidence-informed practice (EIP) concepts and QA programs, while also auditing processes, assessing legal and financial implications and utilizing best practices. Michelle also teaches negotiation tactics and strategy at Osgoode Hall Law School as she is an experienced conflicts resolution negotiator and mediator with advanced negotiation skills. Michelle advises on risk management, policy development, health and privacy law matters and administrative procedure to various organizations and boards. Michelle currently serves in Senior Management as Senior Legal Counsel and Privacy & Data Protection Officer at the 4finance Group for North America Operations.

Director: Cynthia Sargeant

Cynthia Sargeant is an experienced lawyer with in-house leadership skills managing people and expertise dealing with complex legal issues in the areas of M&A, Corporate and Commercial Work, and Corporate Governance. Currently, Cynthia is Of Counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP where her practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, securities law, and general corporate and commercial matters. Cynthia has acted for public and private companies and underwriters in connection with public offerings, private placement financings, purchase and sale transactions (including by way of a take-over bid and plan of arrangement) and corporate reorganizations. Cynthia provides ongoing advice to public issuers with respect to corporate governance requirements, continuous disclosure obligations and stock exchange matters. Prior to joining Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Ms. Sargeant was in-house counsel at The Toronto-Dominion Bank and was previously a Partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.

Director: Dawn-Marie Stevens

Dawn-Marie Stevens is a sales and marketing leader who helps companies bridge the gap between corporate vision and sales execution. Coaching sales teams to focus on mission critical sales activities that increase market penetration. She has a customer-centric approach with a history of establishing and managing key accounts that result in long-term partnerships. Dawn-Marie earned her Bachelor of Arts, Psychology/Counselling, from the University of Alberta. She currently works with Clean River Recycling Solutions.

CEO and Director (Ex Officio): Rebecca Shields

Rebecca Shields began her tenure as the CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association for York Region and South Simcoe in May 2012. Her model of transformational impact leadership has focused on responsive and innovative solutions to individual and community needs. She has over 18 years’ experience in senior leadership in a variety of social profit organizations, including the Executive Director of CMHA Vancouver Burnaby Branch and Deafblind Services Society of BC, and Director of Development for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. The recipient of numerous accolades for her innovative leadership, Rebecca is a mental health advocate, philanthropist, and committed community builder who, after many years, has figured out that great planning inspires hopes and dreams and not the other way around.