Leadership

Saira is an accomplished education professional with over two decades of diverse experience. Throughout her career, she has held numerous roles within three prominent school districts: Toronto District School Board, Peel District School Board, and most recently, the York Region. Saira’s extensive background includes positions as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, Vice Principal, and Principal, spanning both individual schools and broader system-level leadership. Driven by a passion for fostering inclusive learning environments, Saira is deeply committed to ensuring that every child feels a sense of belonging and has their voice heard. Her dedication to excellence in education extends beyond her immediate roles; she actively promotes the public school system and collaborates with educators across the province to enhance student well-being and empower teachers to champion inclusivity.

Saira joined the Board of Directors of the York Region Children’s Aid Society in February 2024 and is the Chair of the Board of Directors.

Feria is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 25 years of experience working with not-for-profit, community, hospital, government and private sector companies across North America, and brings a diverse perspective to the YRCAS Board of Directors.

As an outcomes-focused leader, Feria has a proven track record of providing strategic planning, operational proficiency, executive level negotiations and fiscal sales leadership in uniquely challenging situations. In her current role of Managing Director, Health Standards Organization, Feria has the opportunity to co-produce with stakeholders and lead project teams in innovating, designing, testing and implementing new products.  Feria holds a Master of Health Science from the University of Toronto, Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Guelph, and has completed the Executive Leadership Program at Harvard Business School.

Feria joined the Board of Directors of the York Region Children’s Aid Society in March 2024 and is the Vice Chair as well as a member of the Risk Oversight Committee.

Rod recently retired from Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI), a not-for-profit healthcare research entity owned by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Rod was the Executive Director of Research Operations and Finance for the past twelve years. In this role he oversaw all financial and operational aspects of the Research Institute. Prior to working at SRI he held various financial management positions in the for-profit sector for almost thirty years. These financial management positions included oversight of various administrative departments such as purchasing, information technology and payroll.

On a part time basis Rod continues to be the Chief Financial Officer of a startup company that uses intellectual property developed at SRI.

Rod has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Professional Accountant/C.G.A.

Rod has been involved with boards and finance committees throughout the later part of his career.

Rod joined the Board of Directors of the York Region Children’s Aid Society in June 2024 and is the Chair of the Finance Committee.

Jill is a nurse with 28 years of experience in healthcare, with the last 11 years spent in Labour Relations. She is currently a Labour Relations Officer with the Ontario Nurses’ Association.

As past Board Chair of both the York Region Children’s Aid Society (YRCAS) and the York Region Children’s Fund, Jill brings extensive governance experience and leadership to the YRCAS Board of Directors.

A staunch advocate, Jill has also sat on the Board at 360Kids and Marquee Theatrical Productions and is currently an Advisory Board Member at STEMMinds.

Jill holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Ryerson University and has completed course work in the Master of Science program at McMaster University.

Jill rejoined the Board of Directors of the York Region Children’s Aid Society in February 2024, serves as Board Secretary and is the Chair of the Risk Oversight Committee.

Francesca is a Peer Mentor for Blue Door Support Services’ INNclusion Program – a program providing supportive housing for up to 4 2SLGBTQ+ youth at risk of or experiencing homelessness in York Region. Francesca has 5years’ experience working with homeless children, youth and families at Blue Door. They moved to Canada from Italy in 2015 to study Child and Youth Care at Georgian College, specializing on human rights issues pertaining to the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Francesca is now attending York University to attain their Bachelor’s degree in Social Work. In 2017, Francesca co-created GenderLens, the first and only Italian association aimed at supporting families to better support their gender variant and nonbinary children from a positive, person-centered approach.  Francesca continues to support this project, advocating and educating about gender diversity and fluidity.

Francesca joined the Board of Directors of the York Region Children’s Aid Society in October 2022 and is the co-chair of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-racism and Accessibility (IDEAA) Committee.

Justin is a lawyer with over a decade experience in the energy sector starting with being a Senior Policy Advisor for the Ontario Minister of Energy and then as the Ontario Policy Lead for the Canadian Wind Energy Association and then Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs at the Electricity Distributors Association. Since 2019, he is the Executive Director of Energy Storage Canada, a not-for-profit organization and the only national trade association in Canada dedicated solely to the growth and market development of the country’s energy storage sector as a means of accelerating the realization of Canada’s ongoing energy transition and Net Zero goals through advocacy, education, collaboration, and research.

Justin holds an Honours BA in Economics & Political Science from the University of Toronto as well as a Law Degree from the University of Western. He was called to the bar in 2004.

Justin joined the Board of Directors of the York Region Children’s Aid Society in February 2019, is a member of the Governance Committee and is the immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors.

Chanice is a first voice advocate with lived experience in the Child Welfare system. She is currently the Executive Director of Ontario for Youth in Care Canada, Founder and CEO of Project Outsiders (a youth-led registered not for profit organization for youth in care), and she sits on numerous committees including the Youth for Change Committee for OACAS, Child Welfare Political Action Committee and more. In her work, Chanice continues to engage with youth throughout York Region. Among many other things, she has experience in consulting, event coordinating, project management, public speaking, and team building.

As a board member for York Region Children’s Aid Society, she hopes to assist in governing the organization in a new direction that ensures better outcomes for youth ageing out of care by amplifying youth voices within the board.

Chanice joined the Board of Directors of the York Region Children’s Aid Society in November 2020 and is a member of the Risk Oversight Committee and the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-racism and Accessibility (IDEAA) Committee.

Jenany is a seasoned Finance Director renowned for driving operational efficiencies and leading strategic transformations. With over a decade of experience, Jenany has consistently delivered results across diverse sectors, from her current role as Sr. Director of Finance & Operations at Inmar Intelligence to previous positions at Enghouse Systems, CGI, and Decision Resources Group (now Clarivate). Throughout her career, Jenany has demonstrated a keen ability to translate data into actionable insights, enabling informed decision-making and fostering organizational growth. Her expertise lies in process improvement, financial management, and strategic planning, supported by her academic background which includes certifications in Change Leadership and Strategic Analytics. Based in Markham, Ontario, Jenany is passionate about driving innovation and creating internal efficiencies to meet evolving customer needs.

Jenany joined the Board of Directors of the York Region Children’s Aid Society in June 2024 and is a member of the Finance Committee.

Lauren is a non-profit strategic operations director and a high conflict family mediator primarily supporting families involved with child welfare. Child protection is dear to her heart as she is a former crown ward of the Toronto Children’s Aid Society. She is a resilient, passionate individual with a strong background in understanding child, youth/ family complexities with the ability to pair current best practices to better guide desired individual, community & organizational outcomes. Lauren is a co-founder for Generation Seven Community Support Services, a not-for-profit organization that focuses on providing long term educational & transitional supports to youth exiting the child welfare system, as well youth that have been sexually exploited or exposed to human trafficking. Lauren formally served as a director at the Ontario Association of Child & Youth Care fighting for provincial legislation changes for children & youth. She continues to amplify the voices of children and youth within the Canadian child welfare system to ensure that they have better outcomes. At the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies Lauren sits on the provincial roundtable for 2slgbtq youth involved with the child welfare system. She also serves on the youth action committee with One Vision One Voice which addresses the overrepresentation and experiences of disparities faced by African Canadians that encounter the child welfare system. Lauren attended Queens University Smiths school of business, York University & the University of Toronto she studied Family mediation, project management, Risk management and Strategic planning. She is a highly certified individual in non-profit operations, mental health, human trafficking, lean six sigma, Crisis resolution, agile, change management and policy development and evaluation. Lauren is a continuous learner who is currently enrolled at the University of Calgary taking a part-time 2-year certificate in professional management specializing in strategic management.

Lauren joined the Board of Directors of the York Region Children’s Aid Society in June 2023 and is a member of the Governance Committee, and the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-racism and Accessibility (IDEAA) Committee.

Michael is a Lawyer with a municipality and conducts prosecutions of offences pursuant to the Provincial Offences Act in both French and English. He also conducts appeals and represents the municipality before various courts and administrative tribunals. In addition, he provides legal advice to various groups within the municipality and offers training to students, prosecutors, lawyers and enforcement groups.

Michael is a mentor with the AJEFO (Association of Francophone Lawyers of Ontario) and mentors articling students within the municipality.

Over the years, Michael has served on several non-profit boards as a director, committee member and chair.

Michael joined the Board of Directors of the York Region Children’s Aid Society in January 2024 and is the Chair of the Governance Committee.

Riyaz is a finance leader with over 25 years of experience working in the non-profit and for-profit sectors. Riyaz is a Chartered Professional Accountant/C.M.A. and currently holds the position of V.P. Finance & Technology at Canadian Mental Health Association York and South Simcoe. Other most recent positions were held at Southlake Regional Health Centre and Mackenzie Health. Riyaz previously held a position in the Board of Directors at Southlake Academic Family Health Team. His executive interests include strategic planning, performance improvement, corporate governance, fiscal accountability, change management, and the impact of social determinants of health.

Riyaz joined the Board of Directors of the York Region Children’s Aid Society in September 2022 and is a member of the Finance Committee.

Shannon is the Executive Director of the John Howard Society of York Region. She has dedicated her career to supporting those in the criminal justice system and advocating for justice reform. Shannon has created and implemented community programming related to areas of homelessness, poverty, justice, and reintegration supports.

Shannon joined the Board of Directors of the York Region Children’s Aid Society in June 2024 and is a member of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-racism and Accessibility (IDEAA) Committee.

Tim is a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones Investments. He is also the President of Flemming & Associates Ltd, specializing in consulting in the areas of process improvement and solution implementation. Tim held various senior positions with Sears Canada since 1998, including Senior Vice President of Procurement, National Financial Manager and Director, Internal Audit.  Tim is a graduate of economics from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Chartered Professional Accountant.  Tim volunteered with a number of youth and sport initiatives within York Region for over 30 years.

Mr. Flemming joined the Board of Directors of the York Region Children’s Aid Society in December 2015. He is the co-chair of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-racism and Accessibility (IDEAA) Committee and a member of the Finance Committee.

Tim also serves as the Secretary on the York Region’s Children’s Fund Board of Directors.