Eric Agyemang joined the Board of Directors in October 2017. He’s an international trade professional, and presently works at Export Development Canada (EDC) as a Strategic Alliances Manager, where he leads EDC’s strategy and partnerships with Canada’s leading high-tech innovation hubs and startup networks.
Eric has been an active Career Mentor with OCISO since 2014, and as a first-generation newcomer who now calls Ottawa home, he also has a unique understanding of some of the challenges faced by immigrants in our community.
Eric holds an MBA with a Certificate in Social Impact from Queen’s University and had previously served on Algonquin College’s Board of Governors.
Billeh Hamud joined the Board of Directors in October 2020. Billeh is a lawyer and currently works with a federal public sector tribunal. For eight years, he practiced labour, employment, and human rights law in Toronto, before moving to Ottawa. He is dedicated to removing systemic barriers for refugees and immigrants in society. Billeh is also a strong advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion in Canada.
Gordon is a recently retired management consultant with broad experience as a certified human resources management professional. Over the past 20 years, his senior change management practice has focused primarily on supporting public sector organizations. As an active community volunteer, Gordon has been a career mentor with OCISO since 2010 .
Tim is the current principal at Sawmill Creek Elementary School. He knows of OCISO’s work over the past four years through his experiences in working with OCISO’s remarkable Multicultural Liaison Officers and a variety of families from the Middle East, Africa and Asia who regularly benefit from OCISO services and whose children attend Sawmill Creek School. Tim has also served as an International and Indigenous Languages Program Site Principal on Saturdays (and for three weeks in the summer) with OCDSB where he helped to run language programs for students learning Arabic, Turkish and Urdu. Helping families who are new to Canada has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences in his long career as an elementary school principal.
Tim has a Master of Education from Nipissing University of North Bay, a Bachelor of Education from York University, and a Bachelor of Arts from University of Western Ontario.
Tim’s volunteering experience involves coaching school sports such as soccer, x-country, volleyball, track & field, baseball, and curling, and coaching Math Club and Chess Club and organizing Chess Tournaments. His hobbies are scuba diving and competitive distance running – his racing highlights include competing in World Masters Championships (half-marathon), and ten full marathons.
Michelle is a Director with the Federal Government at Treasury Board Secretariat in the Social and Cultural Sector.
She has a diverse background and skill set from working in multiple departments on various files. In addition, she has a background in economics, experience in financial sector policy and securities regulations. Michelle chaired a departmental committee called the Corporate Planning Network that was a key forum for building collaborative relationships across the department and was responsible for the secretariat function of the Deputy Minister level Performance Measurement, Evaluation and Experimentation Committee of the Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).
Michelle was awarded Shared Services Canada Department Award for Leadership and two ADM Sector Merit Awards for Exceptional Achievement.
Michelle’s volunteering experience includes co-leading the organization of Black History Month Events at NRCan, co-establishing the Black Employee Advisory Council (BEACON), leading the Shared Services Canada Managers Network, and mentoring with the Federal Internship for Newcomers (FIN) Program at OCISO for over seven years.
She is passionate about the work that OCISO does and would like to make a greater contribution to the organization beyond being a mentor, by applying leadership, experience and ability to engage and collaborate with a wide range of partners and stakeholders to further OCISO’ mandate.
Robyn Aaron is currently a member of the OCISO Board of Directors. Robyn joined the Board in October 2017. She is currently on leave from the Government of Canada, where she works as a specialist in the area of human rights, child rights, and governance. Robyn has also worked for UNICEF Canada and as a consultant to various organizations in the area of international development. Robyn has worked on issues related to child protection, human trafficking, and public health throughout her career, and is passionate about newcomer integration, mental health, and youth engagement.
Rahul Chandran was elected to the Board of Directors in October 2019. He is currently a Principal at SOIF, and has previously been the Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Humanitarian Innovation and senior official at the United Nations. Rahul is a recent immigrant to Canada, who serves on the Board of his local community council and is deeply committed to the vision of a welcoming Canada that has embraced his family and him.
Katya is a communications professional with over twenty years of experience leading strategic communications, issues management, stakeholder engagement, marketing campaigns and public affairs initiatives.
Katya joined the public service in 2019 and has held several roles, including her most recent with Employment and Social Development Canada as Communications Manager.
Saruul Ayurzana, CPA, CMA, has over 20 years of corporate finance and accounting experience. Her passion lies in bridging financial data with forward-thinking strategies that help a company achieve its corporate goals, and drive success. She is a seasoned people manager who is well-equipped to face challenging and complex projects head-on. She also enjoys being a mentor—especially to the younger generation.
Saruul worked in finance/accounting in a wide cross-section of industries and sectors. These include telecommunications, high-tech, call center, defence, waste services, hospitality, and retail/wholesale. Throughout these experiences, she contributed to boosting profitability and streamlined processes to improve efficiency.
Fatymah Dido is a Manager at Environment and Climate Change Canada. She was a successful participant of the first cohort of the Mosaic Leadership Development Program, launched by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, to increase diversity in the executive group in the federal government.
She is a seasoned internal audit practitioner, dedicated to making things better by improving risk management, internal controls, processes, and governance. She has adapted successfully to different mandates, cultures, and challenges from working in private sector and multiple departments. She is also a big fan of continuous improvement and learning.
She served on the Board of Directors of the Ottawa Distress Centre, where she used her financial and strategic planning expertise to support the Treasurer and develop the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan. She also volunteered with the Quebec Health Department through “Je contribue” campaign during the COVID pandemic.
She is bringing her living experience of first-generation immigrant.
Victoria is a senior international development and humanitarian professional. She is originally from Ottawa, however, has spent ten of her last eighteen working years overseas supporting programs in Mali, Guinea, South Sudan, Kenya, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and the wider Asia Pacific Region. She has travelled extensively in countries affected by natural disasters and conflict. Her experience includes working with refugees and internally displaced populations abroad.
Child and women’s rights have remained central in her career, including while serving in roles with Save the Children International and Oxfam Canada. She has also worked with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Victoria specializes in strategy development, program management and learning. She previously served as a volunteer career mentor with OCISO.
