Speaker Bios

Sharon Avery

Sharon Avery has been in the not-for-profit sector for 14 years, working with the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation, Save the Children Canada, and now SickKids Foundation. A degree in Radio & Television Arts from Ryerson University would seem to be an unlikely path to fundraising – but the communications & marketing skills she gained in that program have been priceless. Through her 9 years at SickKids, Sharon has managed media relationships, community events, and corporate partnerships and is now the Senior Director, Innovation. She spends her days helping colleagues unleash purposeful creativity against strategic business opportunities. She is responsible for creating structure and process to support both how the organization comes up with bold new ideas and how to create a culture of innovation.

Deborah Bauder, CFRE

Deborah Bauder is a veteran fundraiser, having applied her skills in the social service sector, international development and hospitals. She is currently at North York General Hospital as an Advancement Officer specializing in Planned Giving.

Deborah's expertise takes her on any given day from speaking with donors to the administration of a complex gift. Deborah has developed planned giving programs and the processes that ensure a smoothly transacted experience for the donor, executors, the charity…and most importantly her sanity! Deborah has a thorough, calm, and sincere approach to donors, and colleagues alike. She has been a longtime member of CAGP and is currently serving as the Chair of the Toronto GTA RoundTable.

Malcolm Burrows, CFRE

Malcolm Burrows is a well-known charitable gift planner. He leads Philanthropic Advisory Services at Scotia Private Client Group, Canada’s largest national service provider to private foundations and the operator of Aqueduct Foundation, a public planning foundation. Prior to 2004, Malcolm spent 13 years working in the charitable sector. He is a frequent writer and speaker on charitable planning and has contributed to new tax incentives for giving.

Jean Crawford, FAHP

As president of crawfordconnect, Jean Crawford connects non profit organizations with the executives, managers and fundraisers that make them successful. An active volunteer in the philanthropic/voluntary sector, Jean has more than 25 years of experience in executive management, strategic planning, board governance and fundraising. This hands-on expertise enables her to understand and act on the special challenges and requirements of non profits. With a personal commitment to building the strength of the voluntary sector, Jean is a popular speaker at national and international conferences, author of many articles and a volunteer leader for numerous non profits.

Tim Draimin

Tim Draimin is the Founding Executive Director of Tides Canada Foundation and Sage Centre and has 35 years experience in the charitable and non profit sector in Canada and abroad, including: the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, CUSO, and the Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice. Tim has also consulted on topics such as non profit management, resource diversification, and non profit—private sector partnerships for domestic and international clients including the Canadian Public Health Association, Ford Foundation, Synergos Institute, International Development Research Centre, and Steelworkers Humanity Fund.

Suzanne Duncan, CFRE

Suzanne Duncan, MA, CFRE, has been helping small fundraising shops in Toronto achieve success for the last 6 years. Suzanne has worked at Eva’s Initiatives for Homeless Youth, YWCA Toronto and, most recently, Frontier College where she was the Manager of Corporate and Foundation Giving. Suzanne serves on the board of the Redwood Shelter, is a faculty member of the 2008 AFP Essentials of Fundraising Program, volunteers with AFP and co-founded the Women Fundraisers for Social Justice Network.

Jon Duschinsky

Jon Dushinsky was a founding member of the fundraising group Cascaid in the UK, before becoming an established fundraiser in France. A leading actor on the European fundraising stage, Jon has been a board member of the European Fundraising Association and both the Chair and Director of the French Institute of Fundraising. After launching the Resources Non profit agency with the TBWA Group in 2006, Jon started bethechange this year to further his commitment to help NPO’s develop and implement strategies for tomorrow’s fundraising challenges. Jon works with a variety of organizations around the world - creating and delivering made to measure training and capacity building programmes.

Maria Dyck, CFRE

Maria Dyck is the Vice President Development of St. Michael's Hospital Foundation. Maria has also worked as Associate Principal and Executive Director of Advancement at the University of Toronto at Scarborough, the University of Toronto’s eastern campus, Development Director at the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Director of Communications for the Government Caucus at Queen’s Park, as a special assistant to the Minister of Energy and as a fundraising consultant in Canada and Australia. Maria has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from the Schulich School at York University. She earned her CFRE designation in 1999.

Sherri Freedman

Sherri Freedman has been in the fundraising field for the past 20 years. She began her career at United Way of Greater Toronto, working in various capacities within the Fundraising Department, ultimately specializing in analysis and strategic planning as well as volunteer and staff training and development. Sherri subsequently spent four years at Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation heading up fundraising and donor relations, and is currently the Vice President, Development for The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation where she oversees Major Gifts and Planned Giving – an area that raised close to $28 million this past year.

Yves Gadler, CFRE

Yves Gadler is Vice President Major and Planned Gifts of St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation. He has been in the development field for over 14 years starting with McGill University in Montreal. His most recent positions include Vice-President of Development of The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation and Vice President of Advancement and Chief Development Officer of WWF Canada. He holds a B. Ed and M.A. degrees from McGill University. Yves has been a faculty member of the Fund Raising Management Program at Ryerson University since 1999. He has served as a volunteer with AFP since 2001 working as Plenary Chair for Congress 2001, Vice Chair 2002 and Chair in 2003. He has been on the AFP Greater Toronto Chapter Board since 2002 and is currently Immediate Past President.

Roger Garland

Roger Garland is Chair of the Board of Soulpepper Theatre Company and a Director of a number of public and private corporations. As a Chartered Accountant, Roger’s early career spanned treasury, finance and accounting roles. At Citibank, he was Vice President, Corporate Banking in both Canada and Switzerland, Vice President, Mortgage Lending and Chief of Staff. Roger joined Four Seasons Hotels Inc. as Senior Vice President, Finance in 1981 and was appointed to the Board of Directors three years later. He was named Executive Vice President and assumed responsibilities for corporate development, legal and administrative functions, retaining the role of Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed to Vice Chairman and managed the planning and direction of the development, acquisition and asset management activities of the company.

Kathie Gayda and Martina Whittick

Kathie Gayda, Executive Director and Martina Whittick, Event Manager oversee all aspects of the fundraising, planning and execution of the Brazilian Carnival Ball. This premier gala raises over $2 million net for a designated charity each year and in 2008 celebrates it 42nd anniversary.

Alyson Geary

Alyson Geary is the Associate Director, Stewardship and Donor Relations at the University of Toronto. She joined U of T's Division of University Advancement in 1998 and has been working in donor relations and stewardship since 2002. Prior to her role in stewardship, Alyson managed the prospect clearance process for Uof T during their one-billion dollar campaign. Alyson is very passionate about stewardship and recognizes that proper stewardship administration is the foundation of any successful campaign.

Anthony Holl, CFRE

Anthony Holl, CFRE has been nominated as one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40, and has 12 years of fundraising experience in 35 countries. He has served his alma matter at The University of Toronto, Sunnybrook and Women’s College Hospital Foundation, Free the Children International, and was the Campaign Director, Individual Giving for the Toronto International Film Festival Group $196 million capital campaign. Anthony is currently building a culture of philanthropy and volunteerism in major gifts and gift planning across the Province at the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario. He is a part-time Professor at both Humber College and George Brown College, a frequent AFP speaker and major gifts consultant. As a volunteer, he is a political strategist and canvasser for Toronto Mayoralty and Provincial elections.

Trish Krause

A highly regarded marketing, brand communications and fundraising professional, Trish Krause combines practicality with innovation to produce fresh thinking about the age-old issues of how to raise profile, build brands and engage stakeholders in a cause. Over the course of her career, Trish has counseled and led successful initiatives for such notable organizations as Bridgepoint Health Foundation, Hbc, Kraft Canada, SC Johnson, the Canadian Cancer Society, Unilever, Frontier College, and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation where she directed the marketing efforts for the annual CIBC Run for the Cure, delivering record high results. Trish is a frequent speaker at industry events and in post secondary classrooms and has been recognized through multiple awards.

Greg Lichti

Greg Lichti, is Director, Major Gifts at The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation. Greg and his colleagues are responsible for raising over $25M annually in major gifts to support world-leading cancer research. The PMHF team places a particular emphasis on discussing the full range of giving options with major donors, including planned gifts. Greg has an Honours B.A. in History and Applied Studies from the University of Waterloo and Master of Divinity and Master of Social Work degrees from the University of Toronto. Greg graduated from the Canadian Association of Gift Planners’s planned giving course, was Co-Chair of the 2004 CAGP national conference and is Vice Chair of CAGP’s national board.

Cathy Mann, CFRE

Cathy Mann is Principal of Cathy Mann & Associates, offering custom fund development solutions to a variety of organizations. During Cathy’s tenure as Executive Director at Frontier College Foundation, the organization was awarded the 2007 Campbell & Company Award for Excellence in Fundraising from among the 28,000 members of the International Association of Fundraising Professionals. Cathy has been a faculty member of Ryerson University’s Fundraising Management program since 2003 teaching both on-site and distance learning courses. Cathy has been an AFP member since 1994. She serves on the board of directors of the Greater Toronto Chapter, is a mentor and is currently involved in AFP’s diversity initiatives. Cathy also served as a member of the board of directors of the Ottawa Chapter.

Jill Nelson, CFRE

Jill Nelson is the Director of Planned Giving for The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation. She has over 15 years of fundraising experience in health and social services, including ten years as Director of Development for the Canadian Paraplegic Association Ontario Division, and three years heading up planned giving at the Canadian Cancer Society’s Ontario Division. Jill is currently the Past Chair of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners’ Greater Toronto Area RoundTable.

Nicholas Offord

Nicholas Offord is one of Canada’s most experienced and respected leaders in institutional development and leads The Offord Group, a Toronto based consulting agency specializing in capacity building for charities and public sector clients. A 20-year veteran of the industry, his career history includes: President of the Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation and Vice President, Resource Development of Mount Sinai Hospital (1995-2004), Executive Director of Development at McGill University (1989-1995) and Campaign Director at Ketchum Canada (1984-1989). Nicholas has received numerous awards for his contribution to the philanthropic sector, including the ROB’s “Canada’s Top 40 Leaders Under 40” (2000), AFP’s “Outstanding Executive of the Year” (1999) and gold medal for “Best Development Program” from CCAE (1994).

Erik Rubadeau

Erik Rubadeau is a senior technology and fundraising consultant with Hewitt and Johnston Consultants (HJC) in Toronto. Erik came to HJC from Journalists for Human Rights, a small African media development organization where he rotated between working as an event planner, a database manager, a website manager and worked to create, launch and manage the organizations first fundraising programs. In his time with HJC Erik has consulted on and managed projects and programs for Greenpeace International, UNICEF Canada, IFAW International, Canadian Cancer Society BC, Inter Pares and The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, among many others. Erik specializes in the use and integration of technology for fundraising and marketing in the non profit sector.

Sandra Scian

Currently at Sunnybrook Foundation, Sandra Scian’s portfolio includes the administration of all estate and planned gifts, and growth of the Planned Giving Program. Her technical knowledge in this area has come from immersion and formal training by legal advisors, law clerks, trust officers, and CAGP. Sandra is widely respected and often consulted by peer charities on estate issues, and is invited to speak at learning sessions across the province. Prior to joining Sunnybrook Foundation, Sandra had been with the Ontario Division of the Canadian Cancer Society, the Trillium Health Centre Foundation and Big Brothers of Metro Toronto. Sandra is an active member of CAGP, serving on both the Education and Membership committees.

Carol Seidman, M.S.W., CFRE

Carol has extensive experience in non-profit management. In 2000, Carol became the first Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Immediately prior to leading the C.B.C. Foundation, she was Vice President and COO of Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation. A frequent guest lecturer across Canada, Carol has been featured in many Canadian publications including Citywoman Magazine, National Post Business, and The Toronto Star. She has volunteered throughout her professional career, serving such organizations as the Canadian Association of Gift Planners “Roundtable Executive” and the Executive of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Today, Carol’s major client is UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s Tomorrow Campaign. Her role is to help guide it towards its ambitious goal of raising over $350 million for Capital Projects on three campuses in the GTA.

Terry Smith

Terry Smith is President, Philanthropic Partnerships Inc., providing support to donors with their philanthropic giving. She helps donors find their passions, matches donor’s needs with the right charity, undertakes assessments of charitable organizations, establishes and conducts grant making, and monitors results on behalf of donors. As a former Ontario Deputy Minister and civil servant, Terry’s expertise includes over 30 years government experience in grant making, program evaluation and working with a variety of charitable organizations.

Georgina Steinsky-Schwartz

Georgina Steinsky Schwartz is President and CEO of Imagine Canada. A graduate of the University of Toronto, she is a bilingual executive with experience in the federal public, corporate and non profit sector. During her time in government, she served as Associate Deputy Minister in the federal Department of Regional and Industrial Expansion and as Deputy Minister of Supply and Services. In the corporate sector, she held senior positions with Bell Canada, Manulife Financial, and the Bata Shoe Company. She recently completed a five-year tenure as volunteer vice-chair of Altruvest, a charity focused on capacity building and performance improvement of voluntary Boards of Directors in the charitable sector. Georgina is currently active in a variety of volunteer capacities as well as her tireless work on behalf of Imagine Canada.

Julia Summers

Julia Summers is the Advancement Officer for the University of Toronto Mississauga where she is actively engaged in fundraising, alumni development and marketing and communications. She has been with Uof T Mississauga for the past four and a half years and also manages donor recognition and stewardship aspects for UofT's second largest division. Prior to this, Julia started her career in the not for profit sector at the Canadian Red Cross.

Ashley E. Walkley

As the entrepreneur who pioneered Australian wine in Canada and played a pivotal role in opening up Canada’s imported beer industry Ashley Walkley knows all about overcoming adversity and what it takes to rise to the top in your chosen profession. Now, as the driving force behind AEW & Associates Inc, Ashley uses down-to-earth self-discovery and experiential training techniques to help people take their careers to the next level. Having designed and delivered training & coaching programs for a wide range of FORTUNE 500 companies, Ashley is renowned for delivering results well in excess of plan and expectation.

Denny Young, MA, CFRE

Denny Young is Director, Community Relations at Sherbourne Health Centre. As a member of the senior management team, Denny is responsible for Sherbourne’s communications and fundraising programs and serves as an advisor to the CEO and Board of Directors. Denny has held senior communications and fundraising roles in a number of sectors including health, social service, religion, and the arts. Currently enrolled in the Ivey School of Business Executive Program, Denny also has a Masters degree in Philanthropy and Development from St. Mary’s University and holds a CFRE designation. He volunteers as a mentor for MBA students at the Rotman School of Management and has been on the faculty of the fundraising program at Humber College. He serves on the Boards of ProArteDanza and the Maquila Solidarity Network.