Our Team

Nupi Zubair is the Senior Vice President and Region Head for TD Bank’s Retail Branch footprint in Southwestern Ontario. She has professional experience in Business Strategy, Change Management, Profit & Loss Management, Leadership and Inclusion & Diversity. Nupi has also engaged in social programing through volunteerism and board involvement which has offered her the opportunity to give back to the community where she lives and works. She joined the WoodGreen Community Services board in 2021 and has been the board chair since 2023.

Nupi feels WoodGreen is a unique organization because it offers a broad spectrum of programing and services which it brings together to serve the most vulnerable segments of our community. As the child of Indian immigrants that built a new life in Canada, she connects deeply with WoodGreen’s purpose to enhance self-sufficiency, promote well-being and reduce poverty through innovative solutions to critical social needs. Nupi holds a Bachelor of Arts, Honours Degree in Psychology and a Master of Business Administration Degree.

Karl Pelowich is an accomplished Human Resources executive with deep experience in strategic change, talent management, compensation, performance management, human capital planning, recruitment, learning & development, employee value proposition, and employee engagement. Currently, he is Associate Vice President, Human Resources at TD Bank where he is accountable for the People and Culture strategies for significant business transformations underway across the bank. Karl’s past roles have included leading global HR strategies as well as serving as the Head of HR for business groups including North American contact centres.

Karl is the former board chair of JobStart, a Toronto-based employment services non-profit that became part of WoodGreen Community Services. He also volunteers as a mentor at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Karl holds an MBA from Dalhousie University and a BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University. He enjoys traveling and engaging in community service in his personal time.

Eric is co-leader of Egon Zehnder’s Digital practice in Canada and a core member of our Technology and Financial Services practices. Based in Toronto, he leverages his experience as an operator and advisor to help organizations tackle executive talent acquisition, leadership development, and diversity & inclusion challenges.

Prior to joining Egon Zehnder, Eric was with Dext, a global SAAS leader in cloud accounting, serving as General Manager for North America. Previously, he was a Vice President at Scotiabank, where he led strategic sales and customer experience programs for the Bank’s Latin American consumer business and launched its global digital transformation. Earlier in his career, Eric was an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Co and held multiple marketing roles at eBay.

Eric earned a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in industrial engineering from the University of Toronto, a Master’s degree in public administration in international development from Harvard Kennedy School, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. In addition to the board of WoodGreen Community Services, Eric serves on the mentorship board of One League, a global institution that helps the world’s top potential talent receive a world-class education irrespective of their financial means.

Jenn Lee is the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Corus Entertainment, leading a team of legal, regulatory and governance professionals. Before joining Corus, Jenn practiced law with a leading, national law firm and then moved to TD Bank Group where she held a number of executive roles in Legal, Risk, Marketing, and Innovation and Technology.

Jenn has worked on digital, cloud migration and data and analytics projects, and through her extensive corporate governance experience, has gained a high degree of financial literacy and understanding of budgeting and financial planning.

Jenn graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours with High Distinction) and a Juris Doctor degree. Jenn speaks several languages including French and Mandarin. She is an active supporter of diversity, equity and inclusion both professionally and in her personal commitments.

Ian Tait has over 30 years of business leadership experience in the IT sector, and the last 15 years in the Public Sector and Healthcare. He was a Partner at Deloitte in Canada for 18 years before joining Deloitte Australia in 2016. In January 2022 he returned to Canada to join Thoughtware Corp., an emerging technology firm operating in the Healthcare and Smart Building sectors.

Ian has a strong background in growing and leading services’ businesses, including development, systems delivery and IT strategy. He led a pro-bono development by Deloitte of a digital solution to support the settlement of Syrian refugees in Toronto for WoodGreen Community Services.

Ian has an M.Math from the University of Waterloo in Statistics and a BSc. from McMaster University in Mathematics.

Roanne Argyle is senior vice president for Argyle Public Relationships, one of Canada’s largest independent public relations firms. She is an award-winning communications strategist who offers significant experience managing large-scale public information and advocacy programs that include stakeholder and public engagement, thought leadership, issues management and crisis communications. She is a trained and experienced facilitator.

As a passionate purpose-driven leader, Roanne is deeply committed to supporting and building capacity in organizations that serve the public interest, such as WoodGreen Community Services.

She recently volunteered as a Founding Board Member and Chair of the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame, partnered with Social Venture Partners Toronto, and served as the branding and marketing team lead with Eva’s Phoenix Print Shop and as a member of the Public Profile Committee at Eva’s Initiatives. She also spent 10 years as a volunteer and board member of the Leaside Girls Hockey Association.

Shabnum Durrani is the Head of Corporate Communications at the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) where she oversees all internal and external communications for the transit agency. Prior to joining the TTC, Shabnum worked in a variety of public affairs and communications roles, including as a senior advisor at Queen’s Park where she advised several Cabinet Ministers on a variety of initiatives including spearheading over ten pieces of legislation. Shabnum began her career as a lawyer, working at one of Canada’s largest law firms.

Shabnum has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta, a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, a Masters in Public Policy, Administration and Law from York University, and Masters in Public Health from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2022 she won the TTC’s inaugural Diversity Award and was named Employee of Year for the organization.

Vernita is General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Fengate Asset Management. She is a trusted advisor to Fengate’s executive and business lines providing legal advice, solutions and leadership to the company. She has expertise and experience in project-financed transactions, investment funds, investor closings and asset management. She also spearheads various strategic initiatives at Fengate to position the business to scale and grow including in the areas of corporate service innovation, governance, risk and compliance. Vernita provides leadership to Fengate’s Environmental Social Governance Committee and sits on the Equity Belonging Inclusion and Diversity Think Tank.

Prior to joining Fengate, Vernita was at Infrastructure Ontario advising authority clients on all aspects of major civil, social and transit infrastructure projects delivered through public-private partnership models. Vernita began her legal career in the real estate group at McCarthy Tetrault LLP. Vernita earned her Hon. B.Sc. from the University of Toronto, her J.D. from the University of Ottawa and was called to the Ontario bar in 2005.

Vernita is respected by her peers and colleagues as a leader. She has served as a mentor and role model to many professionals. Her leadership was recognized when she was named to the inaugural Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) Championship Team, representing outstanding female leaders in real estate and development. She is a member of the Women’s Infrastructure Network forum and serves as a mentor in the WeWIN Mentorship Program. Vernita is also a member of the National GC Network whose primary mission is to help diverse general counsel advance EBID values in their organization and larger community.

Rossitsa leads IMCO’s investment team as the Chief Investment Officer and oversees all global investment activities, including portfolio construction, asset allocation and strategic partnerships.

Prior to IMCO, Rossitsa was Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Design & Construction at CPP Investments where she led the portfolio design and construction team and oversaw the fund’s risk appetite and allocation. Previous to CPP Investments, she was at GE Energy Financial Services where she was responsible for due diligence and structuring acquisitions in the power sector. She also worked in Assurance and Advisory Services at Deloitte & Touche in Chicago.

Rossitsa holds a BBA from Saint Mary’s College in Indiana and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Illinois.​

Sandeep Tatla is on sabbatical from her previous position with a global law firm. She has demonstrated experience leading diversity, equity and inclusion change and sustainability strategies across different and complex industries. Sandeep has held senior roles in the field, including Chief Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Fasken, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at a global financial services firm, Manulife/John Hancock, and Vice-President, and Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability at a leading healthcare technology company.

In 2021, she was recognized by the National Diversity Council as Top 100 Diversity Officer. Sandeep’s work and views on diversity and inclusion have been published in the Harvard Business Review and HR Professional as well as through interviews with journalists from several major news outlets.

Before specializing in diversity and inclusion, Sandeep practiced labour and employment law focusing on employment, human rights law and equity legislation.

John is currently an Executive at Hakluyt and Company, a global consulting firm that advises decision-makers on the opportunities and risks facing their businesses. Prior to Hakluyt, John was Director of Policy and Senior Advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. John also played other senior roles in the Canadian government, including Chief of Staff to the Minister of Infrastructure and the Minister of Indigenous Services. John also worked in the Ontario provincial government including as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Premier and Vice President of Metrolinx. He also worked in the private sector for Alphabet as part of its Sidewalk Labs project. He lives in Toronto with his partner and three children.

Beth is an audit professional by training and a senior strategic business leader with many years of comprehensive C-Suite experience in professional services firms. She is currently an active board director in the private and not-for-profit sector.

Beth was the chief executive officer at Dentons Canada (a large global law firm) and a member of the law firm’s global leadership team, serving on both the global board and management committee from 2017-2022. Prior to that, Beth held several leadership roles at KPMG Canada, including managing partner in the Greater Toronto area, where she led the largest business unit in the country. In 2003, Beth was appointed a Fellow by the CPA profession in Ontario.

Today, Beth is the Chair of CPA Canada and also serves on the boards of IGM Financial, Power Corporation, Thomson Reuters, Traferox, Toronto’s Hospital for SickKids, and WoodGreen Community Services. Beth has been previously selected among the Top 25 Canadian Women of Influence, recognized by YWCA as a Woman of Distinction, and was named to Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame by WXN.

Josh is a Managing Consultant in Strategic Consulting Services with Mandiant (A Google Cloud Company).

Josh works closely with organizations of many sizes and in different industries to help identify gaps within their security posture or ability to respond to incidents in a highly efficient and effective manner. Using a combination of experience and Mandiant’s in-depth resources, Josh consistently delivers high-quality, detail-oriented consulting services security strategy development, and security assessment engagements across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.

Dr. Mark Lachmann is the Vice President, Medical Affairs, at Sinai Health. He is a geriatric psychiatrist working with patients in acute, rehabilitation, long-term care, and community settings.

He is the Geriatric Psychiatry Director for the Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Office in Ontario and sits on the Geriatric and Long-Term Care Death Review Committee of the Coroner’s Office. Prior to geriatric psychiatry, Dr. Lachmann worked as a family physician for ten years on James Bay and Baffin Island. Primary clinical and research interests are in cross-cultural community-based senior mental care in urban and rural settings and trauma-informed care.