ALLIES – Coaches

Coaching builds new skills by sharing ideas, strategies and working to reach a common goal. ALLIES Coaches are seasoned professionals that have successfully implemented programs and developed effective interventions to employ skilled immigrants.

Peer-to-peer coaching is available in:

Mentoring
Internships
Connector program
Loan program
Inter-governmental roundtable
Public awareness campaign
Building a multi-stakeholder secretariat
Building employer capacity to hire skilled immigrants
Summit organization
Bridging programs

ALLIES coaches bring a broad range of perspectives, expertise and a history of success to assist you in your work in integrating skill immigrants into the labour market. They are recruited from multi-stakeholder initiatives, the business community and government. This roster of coaches will continue to expand to meet the needs of our partners.

Coaches are available to ALLIES-funded communities. Since our resources are limited, we will work with you to find a way to share the expenses incurred.

If you require the services of these coaches, please contact Peter Paul.

Alboim, Naomi

Expertise: Inter-governmental Relations Coordination, Policy Development

Alboim, Naomi Maytree Associate and Fellow and Adjunct Professor, School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University

Naomi is a fellow, adjunct professor, and vice-chair of the Policy Forum at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University. She is also an active public policy consultant, advising governments and NGO’s across Canada and abroad. As a Maytree Fellow, Naomi works on issues pertaining to the integration of skilled immigrants into the Canadian labour market including writing policy papers on the issue. She is on the board of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council and is the chair of its Intergovernmental Relations Committee. Naomi worked at senior levels in the federal and Ontario provincial governments for 25 years, including eight years as deputy minister in three different portfolios, including the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship. She is a member of the Order of Ontario and a recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Gold Medal for public service.

Burke, Laura

Expertise: Using Online Resources for Employers (available for French speaking communities)

Burke, Laura Learning Coordinator, ALLIES, Maytree

Laura is currently the Learning Coordinator for ALLIES where she is responsible for managing and expanding the national scope of hireimmigrants.ca. She joined Maytree upon completion of a MA in Immigration and Settlement Studies focusing on immigrant labour market integration. Previously Laura worked in the financial sector and coordinated employee feedback groups to solicit direct communication with the aim of improving employee engagement. Laura is fluently bilingual in French and she holds an honours degree in French and International Studies from the University of Toronto. Her studies have taken her to France for a year and to India for two years, where she attended the Mahindra United World College.

Calahan, Susan

Expertise: Mentoring to Build Talent

Calahan, Susan Manager, Talent Acquisition, TD Bank Financial Group (TDBFG)

Susan has managed The Mentoring Partnership for TDBFG since June 2007 and has implemented a number of enhancements to the program. To date, TDBFG has completed over 450 mentoring relationships. Prior to joining Talent Management, Susan worked in Learning and Development and Retail Support for TD.

Coolican, Murray

Expertise: Employer Relations, governance, Internships

Coolican, Murray Former VP Manulife Financial Canada

Murray retired from Manulife in 2007 as Vice-President, Corporate Affairs. While at Manulife he promoted the hiring of skilled immigrants and was a founding board member of TRIEC.Murray’s career has spanned the public and private sectors including: Vice-President, Public Affairs, Nova Scotia Power Inc., Deputy Minister, Ontario Government, Native Affairs Secretariat and Senior Vice-President of Corporate Resources at Maritime Life. An active and dedicated volunteer, Murray has shared his leadership with the community in a number of ways including: Vice-Chair, Board of Governors, Dalhousie University, Halifax; Chair, Halifax Metro United Way; Chair, Halifax Chamber of Commerce and Director, World Wildlife Fund Canada. Murray’s work with the United Way was recognized by United Way Centraide Canada with the Chair’s Award of Distinction which recognizes superior achievement and sustained dedication.

Hewson, Katherine

Expertise: Internships for Public Employers, Provincial Government Programs for Skilled Immigrants

Hewson, Katherine Assistant Deputy Minister, Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration

Katherine is Assistant Deputy Minister in the Citizenship and Immigration Division of the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. Katherine holds a B.A (English) from Glendon College, York University and a LL.B. from the University of Toronto. She began her career with the Ontario Public Service in 1988 as a policy advisor at the Ministry of Labour where she worked on a variety of legislative and other policy initiatives in the area of employment standards, labour relations and pay equity. She has also worked as counsel to the Ontario Labour Relations Board and at the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services. Katherine has held a number of positions at the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, including Manager of the Employment Equity Legislation Project; Director of the Equal Opportunity and Disability Access Branch, and Director of the Citizenship Development Branch. As Assistant Deputy Minister, she has led the development of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, the Fair Access to Regulated Professions Act and other initiatives aimed at improving outcomes for newcomers to Ontario.

Lamont, Anne

Expertise: Internships

Lamont, Anne CEO & President, Career Edge Organization

Anne has been President and CEO of Career Edge Organization since May, 2007. Her involvement in Career Edge spans thirteen years, including seven years as a member of the board of directors and four years as Chair of the Board. Anne’s broad experience includes areas of public and financial sector policy, including advocacy and community engagement with the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, and interaction with all three levels of government. Her areas of interest have included promoting a vibrant and competitive Canadian financial services sector, financial literacy, corporate citizenship and social responsibility, diversity, employability, economic integration of skilled immigrants and consumer protection and education. Her professional career in the financial sector includes over 25 years experience with RBC Financial Group in Canada and internationally and seven years in policy development with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. At the time of her retirement from RBC in 2005 she was Vice President, Policy & Regulatory Affairs. Anne holds Bachelor of Arts (Mathematics & Psychology) and Bachelor of Education degrees from Queen’s University, and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario. She has been an active volunteer in the non-profit sector both in Montreal and Toronto.

Link, Karen

Expertise: Council-Employer Relations, Starting an Immigrant Employment Council

Link, Karen Director, Critical LINK Management Group

Karen is the director of the Edmonton-based consulting firm Critical LINK Management Group. Critical LINK offers innovative and effective solutions to regional labour and skill challenges by strengthening corporate and community capacity. Karen has a diverse career spanning 28 years as a project manager and facilitator in the fields of formal and informal education, economic development, culture and tourism. Five years ago, Karen launched the Edmonton Workforce Connection, the labour solution arm of Edmonton Economic Development Corporation, bringing together more than 120 stakeholders to work in collaboration on innovate solutions to labour market issues. Through ALLIES Karen has supported Western Canadian cities to develop their respective Immigrant Employment Councils.

Karen Link on establishing an immigrant employment council

McIsaac, Elizabeth

Expertise: Employer Relations, Program and Partnership Development, Starting an Immigrant Employment Council

McIsaac, Elizabeth Executive Director, Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC)

Elizabeth McIsaac is the Executive Director of TRIEC, a multi-stakeholder collaboration that identifies and implements local and practical solutions that lead to meaningful employment for skilled immigrants. Elizabeth has worked with TRIEC since it was launched in 2003 as a project of Maytree. She has also held various positions at Maytree, most recently as the Director of Policy. Previously, Elizabeth was the Executive Director of the Association of International Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and also worked in direct service with immigrant and refugee communities, as well as holding various roles in research and teaching.

McLellan, Kevin

Expertise: Building and Managing Employer Relationships

McLellan, Kevin Program Manager, Employer Initiatives, Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC)

Kevin oversees TRIEC’s employer initiatives including the How-To HR Workshops and the hireimmigrants.ca Roadmap. Kevin managed the 2008 hireimmigrants.ca awareness campaign and oversees TRIEC’s partnership with the Consortium of Agencies Serving Internationally-trained Persons (CASIP) and the resulting network of job developers. Kevin joined TRIEC in 2005 after launching an award winning labour market initiative in Durham Region, in collaboration with educators, employers and NGOs. He spent fifteen years in the advertising industry working with clients such as General Motors and the Canadian Tourism Commission. He has a BA from the University of Windsor, a certificate in Business Administration from Seneca College and is a provincially licensed ESL instructor. His community work has included serving as a board director for the Durham Region Unemployed Help Centre. He is currently serving as a member of the National Steering Committee for the Information and Communications Technology Council’s project Building an IT Framework for Internationally Educated Professionals.

Mills, Emily

Expertise: Marketing, Media Relations, Public Awareness

Mills, Emily Media Relations and Communications Specialist, Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC)

Emily is currently the media relations and communications specialist for TRIEC. Previously, her responsibilities included organizing TRIEC’s annual Immigrant Success (IS) Awards and coordinating the 20 Journeys exhibit. From 2005 to 2007, Emily was the assistant diversity producer at CTV News where she successfully pitched stories to local and national programs, expanded a speakers’ bureau of diverse experts, and helped to coordinate editorial board meetings. She has also worked at Canadian Heritage, Corus Entertainment and as a freelance music writer. Emily founded an annual youth scholarship and has volunteered extensively with ethnic communities and in the arts. She was profiled in Luminato’s Mille Femmes, a photo tribute to 1,000 artistic, creative and inspiring women in Toronto. Emily holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree from Ryerson University and an Honours BA from York University.

Morley, Fred

Expertise: Connector Program

Morley, Fred Executive Vice President & Chief Economist, Greater Halifax Partnership

Fred is Executive Vice President and Chief Economist of the Greater Halifax Partnership. The Greater Halifax Partnership is an investor-funded organization focused on retaining and expanding existing business, and bringing new investment to Greater Halifax. In this role, Fred leads the team that developed Halifax’s award winning approach to business retention and expansion, managed and wrote Halifax’s first economic strategy, initiated the community’s first immigration program, and worked to attract many high profile new investors. Prior to this, Fred was Senior Manager, Business Retention and Expansion and Research at Nova Scotia Business Inc. Fred was previously the Director of the Marketing and Research for Nova Scotia Economic Development, where he was responsible for the overall strategic direction for investment and trade activities. He joined the Government of Nova Scotia as a Senior Economic Advisor in mid-1995 and also taught part-time for nine years in the Economics Department of Saint Mary’s University. Fred did his graduate work in economics and economic development issues at Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s University. He was appointed to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in 2008. and also serves on the Boards of the International Economic Development Council in Washington DC, the Acadia Centre for Small Business & Entrepreneurship, abd the Saint Mary’s Business Development Centre. Fred also Chairs Halifax’s Regional Planning Advisory Committee.

Fred Morley describes the Halifax Connector Program

Pavri, Yezdi

Expertise: Employer Engagement, Mentoring to Build Talent

Pavri, Yezdi Managing Partner, Toronto, Deloitte

Yezdi is the Managing Partner for Deloitte in the GTA, with overall responsibility for delivering on the Strategic Priorities of the firm in the Region. He is a member of the Firm’s Management Committee and the Client Council. Prior to this appointment in June 2004, Yezdi was the National Leader of the Enterprise Risk Services (ERS) Practice, where he guided the highly profitable growth of that business in Canada from revenues of $10 million to $80 million, over an eight year period. Yezdi serves some of the largest Financial Services clients, specializing in Operational and IT Risk Management & Governance.He has been with the firm in Canada for over 25 years and, prior to that, with a predecessor firm in the UK for five years. Yezdi obtained a B. Tech. (Aeronautical Engineering) degree from IIT (Bombay) in 1972 and a M.Sc. (Thermal Power Engineering) degree from Imperial College (London, U.K.) in 1973. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. Yezdi serves as a Director on the board of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC).

Saunders, Stephanie

Expertise: Loan Program

Saunders, Stephanie Loan Program Manager and Project Coordinator, ALLIES, Maytree

Stephanie is the Loan Program at Maytree which provides short-term training loans to immigrants and refugees who are seeking employment. She has worked at Maytree for ten years on various initiatives using her research and communications skills. Prior to joining Maytree, Stephanie worked as a research associate at the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy where she authored several reports about the National Survey of Giving and Volunteering. She also worked as a esearcher for The Taking Toronto’s Vital Signs initiative, a community indicator project supported by a group of private and voluntary sector organizations. Stephanie holds a M.A. in Geography from the University of Toronto and a B.A.A. from Ryerson University in Applied Geography.

Subramanian, Sangeeta

Subramanian, Sangeeta Project Leader, ALLIES National Mentoring Initiative, Maytree

Sangeeta has over 12 years of community and organizational development, project management and research experience in the not-for-profit sector. She has consulted internationally with agencies such as the Ford Foundation, Population Council, United Nations Population Fund and the International Council for Management of Population Programs. Sangeeta has held Project Manager and Coordinator roles with Maytree, South Asian Women’s Centre and Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI). She is currently Project Leader, ALLIES National Mentoring Initiative. Prior to this she was the Manager, DiverseCity onBoard at Maytree and Project Manager, The Mentoring Partnership (a TRIEC program). Sangeeta holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Madras, India and a Post Graduate Degree/Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management. Additionally, she has a Certificate in Non-profit Management and Leadership from the Schulich School of Business.

Integration Programs