Judges

Featuring Our 2022 Award Judges

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

Trevor Buttrum

Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE)

Trevor Buttrum is an award-winning leader who, over the last 20+ years, has honed his craft in campus recruitment strategy, career education and experiential learning, fostering inclusive talent pipelines, and building relationships to attract, engage, and retain, early career talent. In the Spring of 2022, Trevor was named the Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE). CACEE provides a national voice, leadership, events, resources, and a niche community of practice to empower members to excel in their meaningful and critical work supporting students in their post-secondary to career transition.

Prior to joining CACEE, Trevor was the Director of Operations at TalentEgg and led a best-in-class national career education program at the Insurance Institute of Canada. Trevor is a nationally recognized advocate for Indigenization, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA), along with lending his own lived experience and professional expertise to a number of initiatives and speaking engagements focused on IDEA at work, in career development, and in education. His passion is anchored by post-graduate studies in both Adult Education and Career Development.

Rachel Mansell

Vice President Programs & Operations at the Mosaic Institute

Rachel Mansell is the Vice President Programs & Operations at the Mosaic Institute. An equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) practitioner with over 10 years of progressive experience increasing values of equity and inclusion in both Canada and the UK, Rachel combines subject-matter expertise in human rights and EDI with skills in strategic planning, human resources, operations, facilitation, and program development. A dynamic, community-focused strategist with a passion for breaking down barriers between people, Rachel is also a Senior Associate at N. Jalal Global Consulting and a Professor at Fanshawe College.

Reilly Vamplew

President | Board of Directors of The Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity

Reilly (he/him) is originally from the West Coast living between Vancouver and Victoria, but now calls Toronto his home. Reilly has been dedicated to building a world that is free from discrimination and one that recognizes the intersectional struggles many within the 2SLGBTQ+ community experience every day. Having started in activism within student politics while attending Carleton University studying for his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He caught the attention of The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, eventually being recruited to the Board of Directors. He has been with the CCGSD for a little over 4 years, having moved from Director, to Vice-President, and now is the Interim-President for the Board.

Outside of his work with the Centre, he is also committed to leading change within the private sector with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Specifically applying his knowledge and expertise in establishing employee resource groups (ERG’s), within his own organization in the Insurance industry. He is a respected young leader inside and outside of his organization, known for his passion, selflessness, and candor.

YOUTH ENGAGEMENT

Rachel Evans

Director of Partnerships and Operations at TalentEgg

Rachel Evans has spent more than 6 years in campus recruitment strategy, including leading campus talent attraction for Shell Canada, a leader in diversity, equity and inclusion. With an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Tennessee, and an MBA from the University of Calgary, Rachel and developing technology solutions focused on talent acquisition and DE&I.

Lydia Phillip

Communications Manager – Impact Organizations of Nova Scotia

Lydia (she/ her) has been purposeful about building her communications career around the Community Impact Sector where she believes storytelling, advocacy, and education meets social impact. A published writer, storyteller, and communicator, Lydia is also recognized for her anti-racism initiatives and her work towards gender equality. With most of her experience spent working and volunteering in impact organizations, she believes in the sector and the people as catalyst for social, environmental, and economic change.

Anjum Sultana

Director of Youth Leadership & Policy Advocacy at Plan International Canada

Anjum Sultana (She/Her) is an award-winning public affairs strategist, sought-after media commentator, accomplished public speaker, and published health equity researcher. Anjum has over a decade of experience in leadership, governance, research, strategic communications, public policy, and program management. Anjum is the Director of Youth Leadership & Policy Advocacy at Plan International Canada, one of Canada’s leading international charities with a strong focus on advancing children’s rights and gender equality globally.

Previously, Anjum served as the National Director of Public Policy, Advocacy, & Strategic Communications at YWCA Canada, the country’s largest and oldest gender equity organization. In her role, Anjum has authored several policy reports including ‘A Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for Canada’ and ‘Preventing a Lockdown Generation in Canada’. Anjum holds a Masters of Public Health from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and a Certificate in Sustainable Business Strategy from Harvard Business School.

Vanessa Speranza

Account Manager – TalentEgg

Vanessa is a creative and dynamic individual who loves working on new content and management projects. She brings over 9 years of experience in the media industry, previously working for companies such as Evanov Communications, Now Magazine and Bell Media’s “The Social”. In her most recent role as an Account Manager at TalentEgg, she is able to help brands gain exposure to Canadian audiences through her Content Development and Management expertise.

FUNDRAISING

Daryl Hutton

Founder and CEO of FundRazr

Daryl leads FundRazr, an innovative, award-winning global enterprise crowdfunding platform. He is a serial entrepreneur who loves the challenge of building companies from scratch, has founded multiple start-ups and helped bring one, Optio Software, to a successful NASDAQ IPO in 1999. Daryl is frequently called upon for expert commentary on nonprofit fundraising and crowdfunding topics for media sites including CBC, CTV, Global News, TVO, PostMedia, BBC, Forbes and Bloomberg.

He currently serves as board member or advisor to multiple start-ups including Canadian securities crowdfunding site FrontFundr, is a Director of the PayPal Giving Fund (Canada) and Past Director of the National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada.

Rochelle Greaves

Co-Founder of Story Point Consulting

Rochelle has worked for over a decade as an analytics professional. She spent the majority of her career working for major financial institutions in Toronto where she used her knowledge to measure key metrics and trends. With a B.A. in Mathematics from York University in Ontario, she has excellent knowledge of statistical packages and analytics tools.

Currently, as the co-founder of Story Point Consulting, Rochelle continues to use her skills to provide coaching and training for nonprofit staff and volunteers. She also consults with organizations helping them use their data to improve efficiency, reporting, and strategic decision making.

Lucy Isham-Turner

Director of Development of Family Services of the North Shore

Lucy is the Director of Development for Family Services of the North Shore and has been working in the social-profit sector since 2010. She is currently VP Community Engagement on the AFP Greater Vancouver Board. In this role she oversees the National Philanthropy Day Giving Hearts Awards and is a champion of the non-profit profession and the collective achievements of all those that work to make a positive impact in our communities every day. She is excited to celebrate this year’s Charity Village Conference and Awards nominees and recognize their commitment and dedication to our profession that helps create stronger communities, together.

WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH

Steve Lurie

Former Executive Director at CMHA

Steve Lurie recently retired as the Executive Director of the Canadian Mental Health Association Toronto Branch, a post he held since 1979. Steve has written and lectured extensively on mental health policy issues. He was a principal author of the Graham Report, Building Community Support for People. He recently co-chaired the HQO Quality Standard on Schizophrenia Care in the Community and currently is the co-chair of the Toronto Police Service Mental Health and Addictions Advisory Panel.

In August 2007 he was appointed to chair the Service Systems Advisory Committee for the newly established Mental Health Commission of Canada. He was awarded the Canadian Mental Health Association’s CM Hincks Award and the President’s Award, by Addictions and Mental Health Ontario. He was also recently named to the Order of Canada for his contributions as leader, scholar and advocate in 2016. In November 2017 he was honored by CAMH as one of Canada’s Difference Makers in mental health and addiction. Steve has a Masters in Management from the McGill McConnell, Voluntary Sector Leadership program and has a BA and MSW from the University of Toronto Faculty of Social Work where he is now an adjunct professor.

Rensia Melles

Founder of Integral Workplace Health

Rensia Melles is a certified Psychological Health and Safety advisor with over 20 years of experience managing and designing international employee support programs for fortune500 employers. She is a passionate advocate for creating a difference in the workplace for both employers and employees on the topic of mental health and psychological safety.

She has published and presented internationally on a wide range of employee support topics, including leveraging the workplace for health, global trauma support, mental health and employer liability. In 2019 she founded Integral Workplace Health, providing organizations psychological health and safety consultancy from a systems perspective.

Jordan Friesen

Founder and Principal at Mindset Mental Health Strategy

He is a former leader in Canada’s non-profit sector, where he guided national initiatives focused on corporate mental health. Since leaving the non-profit world, Jordan uses his skills as a consultant to assist organizations that want to take progressive action to support the mental health of their workforce as a competitive advantage and business imperative for the future of work. In addition to consulting, Jordan has experience in training, education, mentorship, and public speaking. He prides himself on being able to distill complex ideas into actionable insights for a wide range of audiences, from executives to students. He is a sought-after subject matter expert on workplace mental health. Jordan is a registered occupational therapist and holds a Master of Occupational Therapy from the University of Manitoba.

MOST OUTSTANDING IMPACT – STAFF / VOLUNTEER

Heather Johnson

President at PAVRO

Heather has been working within the not-for-profit sector since 2003, moving into the sector after 12 years working Enbridge Gas (Toronto). Her current role as Director, Volunteer Halton affords her the opportunity to share her knowledge and expertise in support of the nonprofit sector in Halton Region. Previous roles include: Volunteer Toronto (Engagement Assistant), Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario (Senior Coordinator, Volunteer Engagement); Dixon Hall Neighbourhood Services (Manager, Volunteer Program and Human Resources), Hope Air (Business Development and Volunteer Manager), FOOTPRINTS 4 Autism (Marketing, Fundraising, and Administration Consultant), and Habitat for Humanity York Region (Volunteer Coordinator. Volunteer engagement is in her blood; the opportunity to tell the story of an organization or cause with the purpose of exciting others to help make a difference is a passion for her.

An active member of PAVRO, VMPC, and TAVA she currently serves as PAVRO’s President; she is also a former President of TAVA. With a recent move to Cambridge, she is looking forward to volunteering with local organizations in and around Waterloo Region. Heather completed her BA (Honours) in Communication and Digital Media Studies with the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) in 2019. She had the honour of presenting a paper on the ethics of communication at The National Communication Association Convention in Washington, D.C, and, recently, she delivered a presentation at Volunteer Toronto’s VECTor conference drawn from her Honours Thesis “Don’t Believe Everything You Read: Volunteering in the Media”. Heather successfully challenged the CCVA examination in October 2020 and has been awarded the designation of CVA for her knowledge and understanding of volunteer engagement best practices.

Raksha Bhayana

CEO of Bhayana Family Foundation

Raksha M. Bhayana is currently CEO of the Bhayana Family Foundation and Principal, Bhayana Management focused on managing investment portfolios. Her career spans both the nonprofit and private sectors in senior managerial and consultative capacities. Prior to her move to the business world, she was active in directing a range of not-for profit organizations including Family Service Association of Toronto and Dellcrest Children’s Centre. (Now Hincks- Dellcrest). Raksha and her husband were recently named among the 2021 Indiaspora Global 100 Philanthropy Leaders List.

Ms. Bhayana has over 25 years of Board Governance experience with a wide range of health care, nonprofit and private sector organizations. These include: Telus Community Advisory Board (GTA) Central Local Health Integration Network, United Way of Greater Toronto, Canadian Mental Health Association (Toronto Branch), Right to Play, Ontario Early Years Champion Steering Committee, UNICEF Canada, Surrey Place Centre, Family Service Association, and Ontario Association of Professional Social Workers. She is currently on the Board of Rise and the Government Relations Committee of Reena.

Shannon Craig

Chief Marketing Office of CanadaHelps

A seasoned marketer with nearly 25+ years of experience, Shannon led the marketing team at CanadaHelps for over six years and brings experience from working at leading brands and technology innovators including eSight Eyewear, Kobo, WIND Mobile, FedEx, and LEGO.

Deb Wach

Director of Advocacy at PAVRO

Deb Wach has been an engager of volunteers for many years and, most recently, is the Manager, of Volunteer Services at Community Living Mississauga. Deb recently took on the role of Director of Advocacy at PAVRO and has held executive positions in her local AVA. Deb has been a judge for Volunteer Mississauga Brampton Caledon (VMBC) annual volunteer awards for the past five years and is looking forward to bringing her knowledge of judging to this role.

Dave Baran

CEO of CharityVillage

Dave leads the operations and solutions-oriented business development strategy and execution for CharityVillage. With more than 12 years of experience in the online talent acquisition space, Dave has been at the helm of significant changes within the Canadian recruitment industry, and he is now passionately applying his expertise to support the nonprofit and charitable sectors.

Before joining CharityVillage in 2018, Dave was a member of the leadership team at Workopolis.com, and held the position of Vice President with CNC Global (now Randstad), and other senior business development management positions at Gartner, Siebel Systems (now Oracle), Compaq (now Hewlett Packard) and GE Capital IT Solutions.

Dave is known for his high energy and passion for building trust-based, value-added relationships with partners and clients, as well as working with his team to do the same.

Crystal Smalldon

President & CEO of The Smalldon Group

Crystal is the President & CEO of The Smalldon Group where she manages the day-to-day operations of the corporation and its clients. Crystal is an experienced Executive with extensive decades of experience and a track record of success. She attended Niagara College, Brock University, Carleton University, The University of British Columbia, and Mount Royal University, where she studied Social Service Work, Political Science, Law, and Addiction Medicine, before launching her career.

Crystal was most recently the President and Acting Executive Director of the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium. Previous to these appointments, Crystal spent 10 years with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Government in roles ranging from Executive Coordinator to Funding creator to Campaign Manager. She also spent 13 months on the Draft Joe Biden Campaign as the Director of State Outreach. Crystal is the current, long-time Executive Director of the Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation. Crystal runs a private practice addiction counselling office and conducts personal, confidential, crisis and addiction counselling weekly. Crystal is the mother of 2 teenage daughters Cassidy and Alyssa, but she can rarely be found sitting still and not initiating some creative campaign to help someone find a solution.

Lorelynn Hart

Program Director, Volunteer BC

Lorelynn Hart has been the Program Director for 12 years at Volunteer BC – a non-profit responsible for building the profile of volunteerism in BC. She is responsible for communications planning, stakeholder relations, fund development, public relations & training development. Lorelynn has over 25 years of program development and marketing communications experience in a variety of sectors including tourism, technology and health care. She enjoys working in the non-profit sector knowing that her work promoting the value of volunteerism is making a difference and an impact in communities across the province.

BEST CHARITYVILLAGE CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN

Daryl Hutton

Founder and CEO of FundRazr