Board of Directors

Aanu Adeleye

Chair

Aanu holds an MBA from St John’s University, Peter J Tobin College of Business and is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in the State of Illinois and is a Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

She is an integral member of the KPMG Public Sector practice in British Columbia and has over nine years of experience servicing clients in the public sector practice including advanced education institutions, school districts, local governments, and not-for-profit organizations.

She has experience implementing complex accounting pronouncements relating to financial statements audits, compliance audits, and pension plan audits. She is also part of KPMG’s accounting advisory group, for which she assists with technical issues and conversion plans, including those related to Public Sector Accounting Standards (PSAS), IFRS, and Not-for-Profit Standards.

Aanu continues to provide professional audit services to organizations for regulatory compliance including U.S GAAP.

She is also a Junior Achievement Instructor by assisting in reinforcing important academic and leadership skills and assists as a volunteer for the immigrant integration program at DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society. Her Interests include travelling, community development and recreational sports.

Julia Kim

Vice-Chair

Julia retired from her professional career in 2017 from RBC Phillips, Hager & North Investment Counsel after 21 years. At the time of her retirement, she held the position of Vice President & Investment Counsellor. In this role, she provided investment counselling and individualized investment management services to a diverse clientele, including private individuals, foundations and non-profit organizations, for 21 years. She also held senior management roles in the company and served on the Women Advisory Board. She joined Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management Ltd. in 1996 and became a partner in 1999.

Julia is a 2019 Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative (ALI) Fellow. The goal of the program is to assist experienced leaders to find a pathway to solving important social problems in the next stage of their professional lives. A key part of the ALI program is to spend one year in an intensive structured program at Harvard.

Julia has a long history of volunteering in the community. Her current community volunteer work also includes serving as a board member of the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, and a member of the Finance & Investment Committee. She is the Chair Emerita for SFU Board of Governors, past Chair of the Minerva Foundation for BC Women and the International Women’s Forum BC. She also served on the board for the Vancouver Opera, Family Services of Greater Vancouver, and volunteered for the United Way of the Lower Mainland.

Julia graduated from the University of Calgary with a degree in commerce and obtained the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation in 1997.

Deanna Louth

Treasurer

Originally from Toronto, Deanna is now an accounting and consulting services director in the PwC Calgary office. Over the course of her 14-year career with PwC, Deanna has developed a deep experience in the energy, mining and power and utilities industries serving her clients in both an audit and advisory capacity. Deanna has significant experience with complex accounting matters and Canadian and SEC filings. She is currently the secretary of the global energy, utilities and mining technical committee for PwC and volunteers as a member of the CPA Canada Oil and Gas Conference Advisory committee.

She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Wilfrid Laurier University in 2007 and obtained her Chartered Professional Accountant qualification in 2011.

Wendy Bryans

Secretary and Governance

Wendy Bryans is a retired lawyer who specialized in family law policy with the federal Department of Justice. In recognition of her work with Justice Canada, she received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2012. She also served on the board of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, an interdisciplinary and international association of professionals dedicated to the resolution of family disputes.

In 2008, Wendy was active in setting up the bilingual HIPPY-Ottawa site. For the past 12 years, she has continued to support the local Ottawa HIPPY program through fundraising efforts and collaboration with a group from the Canadian Federation of University Women who help prepare the HIPPY materials and assist at group events and graduations.

Bruce Flexman

Past Chair

Bruce Flexman is the Immediate Past Chair and CEO of AdvantageBC and a former Chair of KPMG’s Board of Directors and Managing Partner of its tax practice, responsible for overseeing 900 professionals. He is past Chair of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) Tax Policy Committee, which included the tax managing partners of the six largest accounting firms in Canada. Bruce is Treasurer and Board member for Vancouver Economic Commission, an agency of the City of Vancouver to strengthen the city’s economic future.

Bruce obtained a degree in Engineering Mathematics from Queen’s University and an MBA with Distinction from Cornell University. Bruce was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia for his service to the CPA profession and community. He was previously awarded a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant (FCPA). He is a past Governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation and a FCPA of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants. Bruce supports the Arts Club Theatre Company as the past Chair of its Board and member of its Foundation.

Jane Hilderman

Director

Jane is a leader in Canada's public policy sector presently engaged as Vice President of Public Affairs and Partnerships at Blueprint, a nonprofit that empowers practitioners and policymakers with data and evidence to solve complex challenges. Previously, Jane spent four years as the Executive Director of the Samara Centre for Democracy, a nonpartisan charity dedicated to strengthening democracy to better serve Canadians. Jane previously worked on Parliament Hill. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Toronto and a BAH from Queen’s University. Jane and her family make the Prairies their home.

Stephanie Kirkland

Director

A career federal public servant, Stephanie Kirkland was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of the Pay Administration Branch at Public Services and Procurement Canada in June 2019.

In this role, Stephanie oversees the administration of compensation for the core public service, ensures first point of contact issue resolution and employee supports through the Client Contact Centre, and provides leadership over the continued evolution of pay business processes and system supports.

Stephanie joined PSPC in July 2018 as Director General of Business Enabling, Transformation and Analytics within the HR-to-Pay Project Office. Prior to joining PSPC, she held various senior management roles for over 10 years at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), including as the Director General of Settlement and Operational Performance Management. Notably, as the Director General of the Biometrics Project Office, Stephanie also led the implementation of a major Crown project to introduce biometric screening into the immigration process, winning various awards, such as the 2014 GTEC Distinction Award of Excellence in Collaboration.

Stephanie holds a master’s degree in public administration with a specialization in management from Dalhousie University.

Stephanie is a road-biking enthusiast and member of a sailing crew in Ottawa. She is a certified Spinning instructor, Ringette Canada certified competitive coach and fitness trainer, and an active contributor to cardiac disorder research and fundraising activities.

Soumaya Qureshi

Director

Soumaya created and heads a compliance department of innovative solutions to research, investigate and undertake enforcement of bylaws for the City of Toronto. With a rich background in Risk Management, Mathematics and Statistics, she mandates risk assessments on modern threats that are designed to bypass traditional preventive measures.

Distinguished by her ingenuity, Soumaya stands as an ambassador for purpose-driven organizational excellence that is agile and resilient despite disruptive change. She is renowned for spearheading the digital transformation of Toronto’s Municipal Licensing & Standards’ licensing services program through digitization, AI and process modernization, and is celebrated for implementing compliance audit programs involving multinational corporations operating in Toronto.

Soumaya is an avid traveler and artist who has immersed herself in cultures around the world supporting artists from impoverished communities.

Danielle Takacs

Director

Danielle has dedicated herself to helping women, new Canadians and young people. Other areas of attention are Indigenous relations and fostering agricultural appreciation. Encouraging young women to gain the hard and soft skills they’ll need for leadership roles in work and/or communities has led to Danielle’s support and involvement with Equal Voice. Each year, she also mentors a U of T Political Science student for six months sharing work experiences and advice.

She has travelled to developing countries to establish schools and social services so that communities have what they need to thrive. This influenced her efforts to help four refugee families relocate to Brant County and Brantford. She has served Brantford in various capacities, being appointed to several city board positions. In 2015, she decided to walk the talk and put her name on a ballot for a seat in the House of Commons. She came back in 2019 and made further inroads.

Previous roles include serving as the inaugural Public Relations/Communications Coordinator for Kiwanis Clubs located between Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador, and as President of the Canadian Club of Ottawa encouraging national dialogues.

For the last ten years, Danielle has leveraged public affairs to pay forward the opportunities that have presented themselves to her. At TD Bank Group, Danielle’s government relations focus can be summarized as D&I (including HR, women in leadership, accessibility/PWD and combatting racism).

Bart Egnal

Director

Bart has spent more than two decades working with senior executives and their teams to help them speak as influential, inspirational leaders. His passion is helping individuals and organizations to define and communicate ideas that lead to business results.

He began his career with The Humphrey Group in Toronto as a speech writer and coach, and has taken on progressively more senior roles. In 2009 he opened the firm’s Vancouver office, in 2011 the firm’s Calgary office, and in 2013 oversaw the firm’s entry into Mexico. He purchased the firm and took on the CEO role in January of 2014 and continues to lead The Humphrey Group’s global growth. Today, he also owns and serves as Chairman of the Niagara Institute, a national leadership development firm focused on the everyday leader.

He is the author of Leading Through Language: Choosing Words That Influence and Inspire, which was published by Wiley in 2015. Today he is the host of The Inspire Podcast, an interview series that explores leadership communication that is in its sixth season with over 100,000 listens. Bart is passionate about promoting equity, diversity and inclusion, and was proud to be recognized in 2015 by the International Alliance of Women 2015 as a recipient of their TIAW World of Difference 100 Award.

Bart has an Honours B.A. in history from the University of Toronto. In his spare time he enjoys skiing, road bike racing and spending time with his wife and three children. He is a Board member at Mother’s Matters Canada, a national charity focused on serving low economic status mothers and their families. He is active in giving back to the community, most recently organizing a fundraising bike event for Daily Bread food bank, and serving as a trustee at Runnymede United Church.

Lizon Chiasson-Foulem

Director

Lizon Chiasson-Foulem has been a partner at McIntyre Finn since 2006. She has over 22 years of experience in the handling of legal matters in her areas of expertise.

Her current practice focuses primarily on bankruptcy and insolvency law, corporate law, commercial law, tax law, banking and financial services, and commercial litigation. She provides corporate services in
a wide range of areas, including major development projects, mergers and acquisitions, dispute resolution and commercial projects. She also advises local and national clients on a variety of real and personal property recovery issues, as well as insolvency. With a master’s degree in Conflict Resolution, she has an in-depth knowledge of this area of law, making her a well-rounded lawyer.

Honorary Advisory Committee

Deborah Bell

Founder

After 25 years leading the Mothers Matter Centre, Debbie Bell has decided to retire.

“The Mothers Matter Centre and the HIPPY Canada program have made an incredible difference in lives of mothers and families across Canada for so many years. I am so proud of everything that the MMC team and our partners have achieved together over the years,” Debbie said, “and we now ready for new leadership to build on these years of success.”

“The MMC would literally not exist without Debbie,” added Bruce Flexman, Chair of the Board. “Debbie’s leadership, devotion, and passion grew the MMC from a small single-site program 25 years ago, to one serving thousands of mothers every year. Debbie also led us through the Covid pandemic, and we are so grateful for everything she has done. We are saddened to see her leave and are grateful for her tireless efforts in cultivating and growing our impact and reach for so long.”