Helen Choi is a dynamic, talented, empathetic, and experienced fundraiser. She is also a leading public relations consultant to nonprofits, public sector organizations and socially conscious driven for-profit enterprises. She is a strong advocate for compassion, generosity and thoughtful investment in causes related to vulnerable women and children.
Helen brings a wealth of experience working with boards of directors, volunteers, donors managing complex projects to scale which includes representing Parkdale Community Food Bank, ReelWorld Film Festival, The Yonge Street Mission, and Eva’s Phoenix Rising $11.2 Million Capital Campaign.
She is the recipient of Ryerson University’s Communicators Forum Award and the Hansa and Ramesh Mehta Fundraising Management Award; Diversity Fellow, Inclusive Leader with the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Foundation of Canada Philanthropy.
Helen has her B.A in Political Science and post graduate studies in PR, Fundraising, and Volunteer Management. International Media and Business Exchange with MBC Television and Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea covering global affairs in East Asia.
Twitter: @iamhelenchoi
Website: www.iamhelenchoi.com
Hava Goldberg is a passionate fundraiser and community builder who
is currently the Senior Development Officer, Community Engagement
at the Sinai Health Foundation. She is a proud alumunus of the University of Guelph and holds a Masters in Non-Profit Management (specializing in Jewish Communal Services) from Spertus College (Chicago). Hava has worked in the non-profit sector for nine years and in fundraising for the last four years. She has been an active volunteer and fundraiser for as long as she can remember. Currently, she sits on the Board of Directors of Common Compass, volunteers for Future Possibilities for Kids and is a member of the CIJA Young Leaders Circle.
Through her combined academic and professional experience, Gerri has developed a spirited zest for the nonprofit sector, making every effort to advance the notion that leadership is best achieved by engaging any person’s strengths and interests, enabling them to reach their full potential and generate
greater impact.
Gerri graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Global Development Studies from Queen’s University, holds a Certificate in Fundraising Management from Algonquin College and will graduate with a Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership from Carleton University in Fall 2016. She is a proud Canadian of Ugandan heritage who in her spare time, enjoys riding her bike, exploring and travelling to new places, singing – especially a cappella – or having a good laugh with friends over a cup of tea.
Frances Quintero Rawlings is a community organizer, educator and consultant.
She is currently the Project Manager of Development at Samara Canada, a non-
partisan charitable organization dedicated to reconnecting citizens to politics.
She is passionate about social justice and working on projects that improve both
the human and design experience, especially those that contribute to broader
systemic change. She is a strong advocate for human rights and she has worked
with multiple stakeholders in many sectors including community services, health,
youth programming, civic engagement, immigrant and refugee services, and
women’s rights. In 2014, she was selected as an emerging female leader in
Canada to participate in the Canadian Women’s Foundation Leadership Institute
in partnership with the Coady Institute at St. Francis Xavier University.
Fran loves to travel and feel it is one of the best ways to gain perspective on life,
culture and ethics. She’s an avid cyclist, an aspiring aerialist and she loves a
great read, especially historical fiction.
In fall 2016 Fran will begin a Masters of Design in Strategic Foresight and
Innovation at OCAD University.
She is very grateful to have been selected as an AFP Fellow in Inclusion and
Philanthropy.
Fatima Sajan obtained an honours degree in Political Science from York University in 2008. Since then, she has worked in both community engagement and fund development, and is personally committed to diversity, inclusion, human rights and civic engagement. In the community, she has served as a Board Member for several non-profit boards including Mosaic
Interfaith, which her father co-chaired for 32 years.
In 2012, Fatima helped establish a group called Muslim Friends of Humber, committed to raising $250,000 for Humber River Hospital. This opportunity was the catalyst for 10 organizations having never collaborated before, to develop lasting friendships and future plans for working together. In 2014, she was a recipient of the “Women Who Inspire” award by the Canadian Council of Muslim
Women.
In 2015, Fatima became an Advocacy Coordinator for the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), an organization dedicated to supporting the human rights and civil liberties of Canadian Muslims and by
extension, all Canadians.
Derek Spooner, M.A., is a non-profit, management and fundraising professional
with a strong background in program and fund development, operational design,
data analysis, communications and team motivation. After working for Stevenson Children’s Camp and Western University, Derek went on to build dynamic and profitable fundraising teams at Artsmarketing Services, Inc. and Free The Children in Toronto. He is currently the Executive Director of the Canadian Music Therapy Trust Fund. His portfolio includes $9.04m of fulfilled gifts between 2011 – 2016 for the Toronto International Film Festival, Save The Children Canada, The New England Aquarium, The Boston Museum of Science, Mirvish Theatre Productions and Free The Children. Derek holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) and Masters degree from Western University.
Claudia discovered her passion for fundraising – specifically building donor relationships – when she held a part-time job as a student telefundraiser at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. That introduction into the world of fundraising convinced her that this was the career path to suit both her talents and her desire to actively serve her community – and she hasn’t looked back since! In over 8 years as a fundraising professional, Claudia has gained experience in a number of roles ranging from annual giving to donor database management both in the healthcare and social services sectors. She is currently the Donor Relations Officer, Major Giving at The Scott Mission. In her spare time, Claudia enjoys golfing, backcountry camping, volunteering with her neighbourhood association, and renovating her century home with her husband. She is delighted to be a part of AFP’s Fellowship in Inclusion and Philanthropy and is looking forward to learning from and growing with her peers in the Fellowship.
Betty Xie is the Development and International Programming Associate at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. A filmmaker and a fundraiser, Betty is passionate of bringing in support for arts non-profit and film projects that celebrate diversity and inclusion. At Reel Asian, she manages the festival’s membership program and assists the Executive Director to secure corporate sponsorship and public funding. When she is not working at the festival to put Asian films on screen, she writes, directs and helps to produce them.
Follow Betty on twitter and instagram @xiebetty
Anita has spent her career determined to address our most pressing social challenges and believes in the transformative power of young people and education to create positive change in a world that needs it now. She has worked on university campuses for more than a decade dedicated to identifying,
designing and initiating groundbreaking scalable programs that would create significant impact.
Anita is currently the Executive Director of Meal Exchange(MX), a national non-profit that works with thousands of post-secondary students to build sustainable food systems and fight poverty. Previous to this role, she was the Manager of Knowledge Mobilization at Social Innovation Generation, a national
collaborative addressing Canada’s social and ecological challenges.
Anita has worked nationally and internationally as a consultant focusing on youth engagement, innovative education practices, and systems change. She holds a Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies and a Graduate Diploma in Social Innovation. She is currently a CivicAction DiverseCity Fellow, and will be pursuing a PhD at the University of Toronto in the Fall.
Anil Kanji is Head of Acquisition & Engagement at Greenpeace Canada. He leads a team that drives member growth by crafting clear, compelling stories that inspire action, and works closely with Program teams to ensure stewardship and people power is baked into the development of Greenpeace’s advocacy campaigns. He built the digital engagement team from the ground up, and is
constantly driving innovation and learning within the organization. As a member of the Strategic Leadership Team Anil is looking forward to using the Fellowship to help enrich and expand upon existing policies and practices around diversity and inclusion at Greenpeace around the world.
Anil has worked for Greenpeace globally, and most recently graduated from a year-long executive leadership program run by Greenpeace International. Prior to Greenpeace Anil was with MuchMusic/MTV’s marketing team for nearly a decade, working in brand partnerships to build and execute hundreds of integrated marketing campaigns for the world’s biggest advertisers.
Connect with Anil on LinkedIn or Twitter.
