Oikocredit Canada

From left to right top row: Karen Tsang and Julie Scott
From left to right middle row: Omar Allam, Brigid McQuaid and Jack Bolland,
From left to right last row: Vaishali Dassani, Ellen Pekilis, and Lindsay Wallace

Formed in 2016 from local support associations in Ontario and western Canada, Oikocredit Canada is one of about 30 support associations around the world. Our mandate is to educate Canadians about the value of investment and development, and the work of Oikocredit. As a Support Association of Oikocredit, we are a proud member of the Oikocredit international co-operative. We participate in the international Annual General Meeting and have contributed to international working groups and committees. We receive our funding from Oikocredit International and from fees from our members.

We are a non-profit association incorporated under the Canada Corporations Act and have been operating in this capacity for more than a decade. But our volunteers have been active in Oikocredit for much longer. In the past 30 years, several of our volunteers have served with distinction as Directors of the International Board.

Oikocredit Canada Board of Directors

Julie Scott, Director/Chair, Toronto ON

Julie has worked for 20 years in environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and policy. Her work has focused on incorporating ESG data in investment decision-making, including engaging with stakeholders on ESG risks. Julie has worked in Europe as an environmental policy consultant and in the Far East as a forest products analyst. Julie has a long-standing interest in governance and has obtained the Institute of Corporate Directors ICD.D designation. Julie currently serves as a director on the boards of social enterprises, including Career Edge and the Centre for Immigrant and Community Services. Other passions include hiking on and preserving the Niagara Escarpment through re-forestation programs and supporting newcomers to Canada and refugee sponsorship programs.

Jack Bolland, Director, Toronto ON

Jack has worked at the intersection of humanitarianism and sustainable development.In the Asia-Pacific, he developed risk management strategies and climate change resilience at the national level and international UNFCCC negotiations. He evaluated FDI & Overseas Development Strategies for the World Bank and the Department for International Development (DFID) with the British Government. During the days, Jack works at the City of Toronto on urban planning, design and new development. His passion for OikoCredit Canada lies in remodelling the stigma surrounding impact investing and ESG standards In Canada to maximize our triple-bottom line impact. Jack holds a BA (Honours) in Economics from Queen’s University and an MSc in International Development & Management from the London School of Economics (LSE).

Ellen Pekilis, Director, Toronto ON

Ellen Pekilis is an independent board director with expertise in governance, risk management, and strategic planning. She was formerly General Counsel with CSA, a major not-for-profit with 22 subsidiaries in 14 countries.  She was accountable for global enterprise risk management, compliance and privacy in addition to legal services.  She has global M & A and post-acquisition integration experience and writes about organizational governance and women in leadership. Her board experience includes CADTH; Endeavour Consulting for Non-profits; and the College of Optometrists. For the College, Ellen Chairs the Quality Assurance Review committee, is past Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee, and Chairs discipline tribunals as required.  

Lindsay Wallace, Director, Toronto ON

Lindsay Wallace is a senior economist and impact measurement specialist with over 20 years of experience in economic development and financial inclusion. She is currently an independent consultant and Senior Associate with Limestone Analytics where she supports clients in strategy, impact measurement and evaluation. Previously she was Head of Impact for the Mastercard Foundation where she oversaw strategy, impact measurement and evaluation for the Foundation’s over $3B of committed investments. She was previously Deputy Director of the Financial Inclusion program where she managed $500m of blended finance investments. Lindsay previously led economic growth programming for the UK Department for International Development in Rwanda, including programming in trade, climate change, agriculture, land tenure reform and financial inclusion. She also has public finance experience working with Ministries of Finance in Ontario, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Guyana in budget reform, expenditure forecasting and fiscal transparency. She lives in Toronto with her husband, son and daughter.

Karen Tsang, Director, Toronto

Karen Tsang is a risk, governance, and operations professional with experience spanning the financial services, healthcare, government, and not-for-profit sectors. She is currently Director, Global Enterprise and Operational Risk at Manulife Financial Corporation where she oversees Manulife’s global risk management framework and risk operations such external financial reporting and advanced risk analytics development. Previously, Karen has worked with organizations such as Bank of Montreal, Great-West-Life, and the Scarborough Hospital to develop and mature their risk management and governance programs.

In addition to volunteering on the OikoCredit Canada board, Karen is also a managing consultant for the Zambian Tennis Association, supporting the linkage of Tennis and youth development in the country, and has previously served as Disaster Management Team Lead with the Canadian Red Cross and Board Director at Asian Community AIDS Services in Toronto, Canada. Karen holds an M.Sc. in International Management from the University of Liverpool, U.K., and a B.A. Honours in International Development from York University in Canada.

Omar Allam, Director, Toronto

Omar Allam leads Deloitte’s new Global Trade & Investment (GTI) group in Canada, with a focus on international trade, foreign direct investment, export development, and social impact services. He is also a core member of the Economic Advisory and Financial Services Advisory practices based in Ottawa. 

Omar advises CEOs and leadership teams of North American organizations on their global expansion, and to leading multinationals on their growth in North America, EMEA, and APAC – while factoring in political risks, ESG, and CSR obligations. Prior to joining Deloitte, Omar founded a Canadian-based global business strategy consulting firm, where he served as CEO and global trade practice leader. He has previously worked on a wide range of projects in more than 25 countries around the world as a senior consultant with the World Bank, as a senior advisor with several MBB firms, and as a Canadian trade diplomat at Global Affairs Canada.

Omar is a regular guest on BNN Bloomberg and CBC News and has been quoted in a number of publications, including Forbes Magazine, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Omar holds degrees in business, geography, and environmental studies from Bishop's University and an executive certificate in international negotiations and mediation from the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs. He speaks English, French and Arabic.

Vaishali Dassani, Director, Toronto
Vaishali Dassani has over 15 years of experience in communications in the non-profit sector. She started her career in policy communication with International Food Policy Research Institute in South Asia and later with International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture in the Middle East. She is currently working with Oceana Canada.  Vaishali is a creative communication professional with knowledge of developing impactful and effective communications outputs that connect with multiple audiences/clients globally.  

Oikocredit Canada Staff

Brigid McQuaid, Administrative Assistant and Bookkeeper

Brigid began her career as a cartographer mapping her region of Canada. Her concerns moved global, and after assisting the Social Investment Organization (now the Responsible Investment Association). She helps Oikocredit Canada as an administrative assistant, in support of Oikocredit International's objectives.

Please contact us if you would like one of our volunteers to come and speak to your group. We love to share our Oikocredit story!

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