Save the Children Canada Board of Directors

Board Chair

Kirby Chown was the Ontario Regional Managing Partner of McCarthy Tétrault and has now retired. Ms. Chown is a patron of Starfish Greathearts Foundation, a South African AIDS charity. She is a member of the United Way Cabinet and was Co-Leadership Chair for the 2007 campaign. She sits on the Major Individual Giving Cabinet. She is the founder and Co-Chair of Women Gaining Ground, an innovative women's initiative at United Way. Among her many community activities she is a founder and Co-Chair of smART Women, a group of women who support educational programming at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Vice-Chair of the Board

Robert Rafos is the President of the Northwater Foundation. He has a PhD from Michigan State University and spent 10 years as a research fellow, before joining ICA international, a private NGO. He worked in various financial and administrative roles while serving in Kenya, Nigeria, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Chicago and Toronto. He helped to found Northwater Capital Management Inc. in 1989 and retired as a Managing Director in 2003.

Myrna Alexander, a native of Québec is currently a consultant to the World Bank, studying development prospects, internal reviews of quality, and assisting in the implementation of auditing controls for the World Bank's portfolio in Latin America. Prior to acting as a consultant, Myrna worked for over 20 years in a number of capacities within the World Bank including, Manager of the Public Enterprise and Public Sector Technical Unit in the World Bank's West Africa Region and Africa Region, Director of the World Bank's Operational Policy Department, Director of the World Bank's Program for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Orysia Andryo is currently in her third year at the University of Calgary, and her second as President of the University of Calgary Save The Children Canada Volunteer Club. Her passion for volunteering is never ending.  Orysia became involved with Save the Children in high school, and has been an active volunteer for many organizations for several years. She recently travelled to Mexico through Project Amigo to assist in building a house for a family in need, sponsored a child, and during the next school year will act as a global mentor to an international student. At the moment she is working towards a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce, which she intends to follow with a Pastry Arts degree in the hopes of one day opening her own bakery.  

Dennis Cook is President and Owner of Inflect Inc., a consulting firm delivering business solutions in organization design, workplace culture development, leadership assessment and coaching, conflict resolution and team-building. Currently, he is Managing Partner at Leaders & Co. in Toronto specializing in governance, leadership and executive recruitment. Previous volunteer roles include Toronto Fundraising Committee Chair for the Kidney Foundation of Canada and Treasurer for The Merit Award Bursary Program. In addition to certification from the Canadian Association of Management Consultants and the Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario, Dennis holds a Bachelor Degree in Sociology from York University and completed Social Work studies at the University of Toronto.

Jeff Donahue, Senior Principal, Private Investments, CPPIB Equity Investments Inc.  Jeff is responsible for developing and leading CPPIB’s principal investing activities in extractive industries and focuses on the oil and gas industry and mining industry. Prior to joining CPPIB, Jeff was Vice President, Strategy and Business Development at BHP Billiton PLC in London.  Previously, he had a range of senior corporate development roles at Enron Corp and spent several years as both an investment banker and management consultant. Jeff holds an undergraduate degree in applied mathematics from Harvard University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. 

Heather Ferguson combines senior leadership and educational depth based in the areas of communications, marketing and stakeholder relations. As President, The Hearing Foundation of Canada, she refined and refocused the organization’s mission, vision and business model. As a consultant, and an instructor in communications and fundraising at Humber College in Toronto she further developed her skills as a leader, facilitator and organizational strategist. Heather holds degrees from the University of Toronto, Ryerson University’s School of Journalism and the McMaster University/ Syracuse University, Master of Communications Management program. Professionally, she holds the designation CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive) as well as the designation ABC, (Accredited Business Communicator).

Tracey Jennings is a Corporate Tax Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, specializing in the Canadian entertainment and media industry. Since 1997, Tracey has worked extensively in the broadcasting, film production and distribution, and newspaper sectors. Her career with PricewaterhouseCoopers began in Halifax in 1987. She has provided tax planning, compliance, and international tax advice for a wide variety of clients from smaller independent firms to large multinational corporations. Tracey is a graduate of the University of New Brunswick and a licensed Chartered Accountant. She has spoken at numerous industry events, tutored for the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (“CICA”) In-depth tax course, and is currently PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Tax Learning and Education Leader for Canada.

Feroz Kassam PhD, MBA has been an independent business consultant in Montreal for over three years. Prior to that he was a business leader in the corporate sector for over thirty years: most recently, as the Global Vice-President for Smith & Nephew, a U.K.-based global company in the advanced medical devices industry. Feroz has been actively involved as a volunteer in the Ismaili Muslim Community as well as the Aga Khan Development Network for several years at a local as well as at a national level. From March 1994 to July 2006, after serving as a member for three years, he was appointed as Chairman of the National Committee of Aga Khan Foundation Canada, a non-profit, Canadian agency that supports international social development programs in Asia and Africa.

Denise LeBlanc has been practicing law for over 25 years and is a partner and a former Regional Manager for New Brunswick in the law firm of McInnes Cooper, focusing on the areas of asset recovery, insolvency, and corporate and business law. She is a member of the Law Society of New Brunswick and the Canadian Bar Association. Denise is a supplementary member of the New Brunswick Securities Commission and an accredited arbitrator/adjudicator in the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators. Denise is an adjudicator pursuant to the Mental Health Act and was an adjudicator in the New Brunswick Small Claims Court throughout its existence. Denise is a past-president of the Canadian Bar Association, New Brunswick Division, and is an active member of several committees of the New Brunswick Law Society. She is a board member of the Canadian Lawyers Insurance Association and also sits on the boards of several community organizations.

Kish Modha M.Sc., is General Manager of Mondetta Clothing Company, established in 1986. Kish was born in Uganda to Indian parents. He was forced to leave that country in 1972 when the Uganda Government under Idi Amin expelled people of Indian origin from the country. As Kish and his partners/nephews come from Kenya and Uganda, they decided to give back to those countries through the creation of the Mondetta Charity Foundation in 2006. He lives in Winnipeg with his wife, Divya. An active community member, Kish has worked with the Rotary Club and other prominent service organizations.

Kenn Richard’s family comes from one of Manitoba's oldest Metis settlements, St Francis Xavier. Moving to Toronto in 1978, he became one of the original founders of Native Child and Family Services of Toronto. In 1988 he became the agency's first Executive Director and remains in that position today. Kenn is also a sessional lecturer at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, teaching Intercultural practices to MSW and doctoral candidates. He received both a BSW and a MSW from the University of Manitoba with a specialty in community development. He has held a number of positions in his professional life in such areas as child protection, residential treatment, community development and labor relations as well as contributes to many regional and national initiatives on Native and Children's issues.