Steve Beauchesne

Established in 2006, Beau’s has won more than 125 national and international awards for beer-making, marketing and packaging design, sustainability and business practices, and has raised more than $2 million for charity, community, and the independent arts. Steve certified Beau’s as Canada’s first-ever B-Corp brewery, helped found the first craft brewery in Rwanda, and was a founding member of the Canadian Craft Brewers Association. Steve was awarded the social entrepreneurship award by the Best of Ottawa Awards, named Design Thinker of the year by the Association of Registered Designers and Community Builder of the year by the United Way.

Katy McIntyre

Katy is dedicated to fostering sustainable and inclusive rural communities across Canada through her work with place-based funds and initiatives. As a fund manager at the Bloom Local
Food Fund, she specializes in providing patient and flexible capital to local enterprises and projects in Eastern Ontario through equity and debt funds. Katy brings extensive experience in
working with asset owners throughout the entire transaction lifecycle. She is also passionate about supporting entrepreneurs and companies in launching, catalyzing, and building capacity
within the local food ecosystem in Prince Edward County and throughout Ontario.

Susan Henry

Susan has over 25 years’ experience working with underserved, underrepresented individuals and communities. Her passion and dedication focus on the foundation of “Financial Inclusion for all”. Susan was instrumental in leading the launch of Alterna Savings’ award-winning Community Microfinance Program and the Community Loan Funds Partnership Programs. Since its inception in 2000, almost $10M in loans have been disbursed through these programs, directly improving the economic participation of underserved communities and groups such as BIPOC, new and racialized Canadians, Women, and others who face barriers to financing.

Susan’s leadership in the field of Community Economic Development in Canada has advised policy makers and practitioners in Microfinance and social finance tools. She continues to consult and lend her expertise to organizations starting Community Loans Funds with a focus on small business, social enterprise, and nonprofit development.

Susan is a current advisory council member of the Financial Resilience Institute, an advisory member on the Canadian Women’s Foundation Economic Development Committee and a committee investment member of Boann (Social Finance Fund Wholesaler).

Jamie Kwong

With over 12+ years of experience, Jamie is a respected community builder and led the following non-profit organizations as the Executive Director: The Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, The Vanier Business Improvement Area, and the Orléans Chamber of Commerce prior to joining the Ottawa Safety Council(OSC). Since joining the OSC in 2022, Jamie led the expansion of the organization adding an office in Toronto and now employs over 550 staff, up from 350. She has a strong track-record for results, forging innovative collaborations, and is known for her advocacy efforts. She currently serves as the President of the Ottawa Arts Council’s Board of Directors. She holds a Master’s of Arts degree in criminology from the University of Ottawa and believes in the importance of creating the conditions that build healthy communities.

Julia Elvidge

Julia Elvidge (BSc, BASc, ICD.D) brings 30 years of high technology business experience to her work as an adviser, board member and investor. She is the co-founder of SheBoot, a bootcamp for women entrepreneurs of scalable tech and tech-enabled businesses preparing for their first external investment, a critical period for any founder’s journey but especially difficult for women. In addition, Julia works as an advisor at Invest Ottawa and serves on the Capital Angel Network (CAN) and Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks (CENGN) boards of directors and the Hardware Catalyst Initiative (HCI) VentureLab advisory board.

Mari-Lynn Taylor

Mari-Lynn Taylor (or ML) is a small business professional, social entrepreneur and creative problem solver. With a passion for economic development, she proudly holds the title of senior manager of Education, Employment & Social Enterprise at Choices for Youth while remaining President & CEO within her private company. Mari-Lynn sits on the executive for Downtown St. John’s, and has been a mentor for many entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, makers and other social sector leaders. She splits her time between her home in cabin country with her 3 pups and her home in St. John’s, and is dedicated to making a positive community impact through all of her work.

Jaswinder Kaur

Jaswinder is a Professor in the Business, Management & Entrepreneurship program in the School of Business, Algonquin College. She has been involved in the Ottawa startup ecosystem for over 20 years – both as an investor and in an operational capacity. Jaswinder is a passionate advocate for social enterprises and impact investing, advancing the SDGs, and international development.

Liz Connell

Liz is Co-founder and Communications Director of the African Bronze Honey Company. Liz is a dynamic project manager, graphic designer, communicator, painter and photographer with more than 30 years creating images that tell stories and engage viewers. She has worked for government and not-for-profits, as well as for private business and as an entrepreneur. During her 8 years in Zimbabwe she started and ran a computer training school offering training and certifications to more than 1000 students wanting to improve their skills and better their lives.

Rebecca Sherbino

After 4 years of living in New Guinea and Africa in her early career, Rebecca developed an acute awareness of the issues facing vulnerable and marginalized communities which led to a passion for closing the gap on inequality and poverty.

After her return to Canada, she became increasingly frustrated by the lack of sustainable solutions to poverty for people living with mental health challenges and disabilities in her church congregation in rural Ontario. A late-night coffee with friend and co-founder Colleen in 2014 led to the idea of creating meaningful, supported work for people with barriers to traditional employment and, a few months later, The Raw Carrot Soup Enterprise launched.

After 10 years of lessons learned, The Raw Carrot has now expanded into a “social franchise” with 4 locations (a 5th on the way in 2024) and a headquarters in Southwestern Ontario. More than ever, Rebecca remains convinced that ‘social purpose employment’ can lead to systemic change for people who deserve more than just a handout, but a hand UP in life.

Rebecca has an undergraduate degree in Global Development, Peace and Justice, and an MA in International Development. She lives with her husband and 4 teenagers in Paris, ON.

Sureen Gosal

Sureen Gosal joined Dovercourt Recreation Association as their Executive Director in July 2022. He has extensive experience at a senior level working in the not-for-profit sector and has demonstrated to be a community builder for numerous years. Sureen has a degree in business and entrepreneurship from Mount Royal University in Alberta. He was previously the Executive Director of the Ottawa Gymnastics Centre (OGC), Canada’s oldest operating not-for-profit gymnastics organization. Passionate about volunteering, he has also occupied many roles with swimming organizations in Alberta and BC.

Dovercourt Recreation Association (DRA) is a not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in our community through recreation programs and services. A Community working for the Community. Staff, volunteers, clients, local community groups and businesses working together…that’s Dovercourt.

Nikolas MacLean

Nikolas is Water Ranger’s Sustainability and Social Enterprise Manager. He brings together a strong passion for natural wild spaces and a wealth of experience in sustainable and green commerce. For a decade, he played a variety of roles at MEC leading large sales teams and leading the staff Environmental Committee. In the nonprofit world, Nikolas has served as Executive Director of The Mighty Pen and of the Mother Nature Partnership. As Sustainability and Social Enterprise Manager, he is excited to help everyone access the tools they need to take care of their local water bodies. Nikolas is an avid paddler, outdoorsman, cyclist, marathon cross-country skier, woodworker, and amateur homesteader. He is the proud dad to three budding environmental community scientists.

Manjit Basi

Manjit facilitates and enables individuals, teams, organizations and communities to move forward together with a shared and sustainable vision. Her foundation comes from experiences in entrepreneurship, leadership and team coaching, mentoring and consulting in the business, voluntary, and government sectors – often working across organizational and sectoral boundaries. Manjit’s facility is in creating trust, fostering generative thinking, and supporting others in finding clarity and strategic coherency. She brings a systemic lens approach that builds relational intelligence.

She has a deep commitment to community that has resulted in many board experiences ranging from The Ottawa Community Foundation to Immigrant Women Services Ottawa, along with mentorship roles in various organizations. Currently, she chairs the TELUS Ottawa Community Board, the Harry P. Ward Foundation, and is an advisor to Synapcity.

Michael Murr

Michael is a versatile and client-focused leader with broad experience in governance, strategy, operations in not-for-profit and municipal government settings. As part of his role, Michael regularly coaches and consults with social enterprise practitioners to help them navigate complex business problems, solve strategic challenges and build capacity within their organization. He is collaborative and thoughtful by nature and is inspired by the power of social enterprising activities as a force for good.

Prior to joining CSED, Michael was the executive director of an Ottawa-based environmental non-profit were he led the organization through a time of significant change and renewal. He has also spearheaded economic development programs and partnerships with industry stakeholders, chambers of commerce, business improvement areas and other levels of government to improve business conditions and support business success.