Governance

Nancy became a volunteer at Fred Victor to play a role in the fight against homelessness.  Fred Victor is a leader in Toronto’s homelessness fight and most importantly, offers a broad range of programs and services that are critical in this fight. Hearing success stories of the people  Fred Victor serves is what inspires Nancy to continue her work with the board.

Nancy spent much of her career in a worldwide human resources leadership role.  Staffing, cross-group collaboration, strategic thinking, focus on diversity and inclusion, managing and developing people, succession planning, and workforce planning are all skills that provide a well-rounded background allowing Nancy to bring a balanced and informed perspective to the board.

As a downtown Toronto resident for over two decades, Tzen witnesses our city’s homeless and mental health crisis on a daily basis. He is thankful for the opportunity to support Fred Victor’s mission, originally through providing pro bono legal work years ago, subsequently through his participation on the Affordable Housing Committee, and now as a member of the Board. Tzen is a partner in the Real Property & Planning Group of McCarthy Tétrault, where he has practiced since 2002, and is honoured to have been recognized by the Chambers Canada Legal Guide as a “Band 1” lawyer, the Lexpert Legal Directory as a leading lawyer, and Best Lawyers in Canada as their Ontario “Lawyer of the Year” in real estate law in 2019 and 2023. Tzen is also a member of the Board of Partners of McCarthy Tétrault and Chair of the firm’s Abilities Action Group, which group is dedicated to addressing a spectrum of disability issues, including those related to physical disabilities, addiction, chronic conditions, neurodiversity, and mental health. Tzen is acutely aware of the fact that a significant portion of Fred Victor’s community struggles with mental health issues and other disabilities. The comprehensive support that Fred Victor provides in these areas is a driving force behind his involvement with the organization. An active member of the community, Tzen previously served 10 years on the Board and Chair of the Governance Committee for Ascend Canada, a not-for-profit organization serving the pan-Asian business community.

Richard is an experienced public company executive and entrepreneur who currently leads Treasury Strategy, Capital Planning and Analysis at Equitable Bank.  Prior to this, Richard was the Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations at Equitable, where he drove the execution of the largest acquisition in the Bank’s history.  In this role, he also established the Bank’s investor relations and environmental, social, and corporate governance functions.

A first generation Canadian, Richard moved to Canada from India at 14 and brings his action-oriented commitment to alleviating poverty and homelessness.  An active member of his community, Richard sits on the Board of George Brown College Foundation, a registered charity dedicated to providing opportunities for George Brown College students by raising funds for scholarships and bursaries, capital projects and programming.

Richard received a Master of Finance and MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, where he was a Bregman Scholar, and a BCom from the University of British Columbia.  He holds a Chartered Professional Accountant designation (CPA, CA).

Grant is a government, stakeholder, and community relations professional and currently serves as Director of Corporate Affairs at SmartCentres REIT. He is committed to leveraging his background to help build broad support for Fred Victor’s incredible leadership in providing housing, shelter, and services to people experiencing homelessness. A seasoned board director, he has focused his leadership on strengthening the governance of organizations that serve the most vulnerable in our communities. His board experience includes service with Blue Door, Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Centre, Pride Toronto, Unison Health & Community Services, and the University of Toronto. He is a 2021 CivicAction DiverseCity Fellow and a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal.

Lindsay Colley has a background in sustainability, philanthropy and social impact and is currently the Associate Vice President, ESG Strategy at Canadian Tire.  She is a CPA, CA and previously held sustainability roles at the Canadian Public Accountability Board, Tim Hortons, and Ernst & Young LLP, as well as taught ESG at both the University of Toronto and York University. Outside of her professional endeavours, Lindsay is active in her community and is committed to leveraging her background to build better systems and cities for people, especially in Toronto.  She has previously served on the boards of Fairtrade Canada, the Toronto Public Library Board, and the Canadian Environmental Association, among other volunteer activities and is honoured to be working alongside the team at Fred Victor to support those experiencing homelessness and poverty.

Monica is the Vice President of Government Affairs for Scotiabank, leading a team responsible for government relations and public policy. Prior to joining the bank, she was an effective senior consultant at a government relations firm, excelling in client service with private and not-for-profit organizations. Monica provided support and advice on government communications and strategies for engagement.

Monica’s professional career started in the public sector, including both in the office of the Prime Minister of Canada and the office of the Premier of Ontario. She was able to consistently achieve results in high-pressure and complex situations, using proven problem-solving and issues management skills.

Ken McKinnon is a Senior Managing Director and Equity Partner. Ken, as part of IMC’s senior management team, is responsible for managing IMC’s relationships and capital raising activities for its growing debt and equity businesses. Ken is a member of IMC’s investment committee and works alongside the co-heads of IMC’s origination and portfolio management platform. Ken was formerly at TD Bank where he was the Head of Real Estate Corporate Banking at TD Securities from 2014-2023. In total, Ken was with TD Bank Group for over 23 years.  At TD Securities he was responsible for a team of over 20 professionals covering all sectors of the real estate space across Canada and the US.  Ken is on the Board of Directors and chairs the Affordable Housing Committee for Fred Victor, a leading Toronto based homelessness charity.  Ken is a CFA Charterholder and is an Honours Bachelor of Administration and Economics graduate from the University of Windsor.

Maria lives in mid-town Toronto and daily recognizes the expanding housing crisis in Toronto. She is a physiotherapist by training and worked in that capacity in the Netherlands, Ghana and Canada. As she became more aware of the significant impact of both physical and mental illness and disability on quality of life, she focused her work in this area. She was Director of Evaluation and of Quality at Baycrest Centre and at Family Service Toronto. In this capacity she developed a strong understanding of quality in services, challenges in examining this, identifying ongoing needs and seeking out resources for enhanced and ongoing funding. She is keen to bring this expertise to Fred Victor Services.

Erik Yves J Landriault (he/him) is a senior health innovation and strategy leader at Deloitte where he works with organizations to design better and new health services that work for patients and their caregivers and providers. Having worked at all levels of the health system – from his global work at the World Health Organization to leading innovation in homecare, Erik is passionate about advancing the future of health, where empowered people and communities play an active role in their health and wellbeing. He is particularly interested in how we work across health and social services, particularly housing, to address the needs of underserved populations. Erik has served on a number of boards previously, including Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services and Sherbourne Health. He has an MSc in International Health Management from Imperial College London.

Erik was drawn to the work of Fred Victor because of the unique opportunity the organization has to link some of the key determinants of health; including housing, food security, and employment. Erik believes our health system needs more organizations like Fred Victor, who address the root causes of ill health and support people where they are at.

Ryan is a licensed lawyer and real estate developer, currently serving as Director of Development at Tricon Living. With over ten years of experience delivering complex mixed-use projects, Ryan brings a practical, end-to-end understanding of how housing is planned, financed, and built. More recently, his work has focused on redeveloping city- and provincially-owned sites with significant affordable housing mandates, giving him firsthand insight into the opportunities and constraints involved in delivering affordable housing at scale. As a board member of Fred Victor, Ryan is committed to leveraging his experience to help advance the organization’s mission of ending homelessness in Toronto.

Jeremy Roach brings over 15 years of diverse leadership experience spanning the arts, entertainment, private, public, and charitable sectors. His career includes senior management roles at Air Canada, Harbourfront Centre, and CTV News, BNN & CP24, where he has consistently leveraged innovative approaches and technology to address community and customer needs.

Jeremy holds advanced education in Corporate Governance (University of Toronto), Strategic Management (York University), Disruptive Strategy (Harvard Business School), and Commerce (Ryerson University). He is deeply committed to advancing health and housing equity, demonstrated through his extensive volunteer leadership as former Chair of Homes First Society, Treasurer of Yonge and Dundas Square, and board member for Wellesley Institute and Skylark Children, Youth and Families.

As a new member of Fred Victor’s Board of Directors, Jeremy contributes his strategic insight and governance expertise to support the organization’s mission to end homelessness and rebuild lives in Toronto through integrated housing, health, and income solutions.

Laura is a passionate advocate for building innovative, community-led solutions to address challenges in our city. As the Corporate Responsibility Leader at EY Canada, Laura has mobilized over 13,000 volunteers and collaborated with more than 300 non-profits across Canada. Her journey with Fred Victor began in high school as a volunteer with the CRC (now amalgamated with Fred Victor). With a Masters degree in Sustainability and experience serving on non-profit boards such as the New Beginnings Support Program, she is committed to advancing Fred Victor’s mission to end homelessness.

A Public Affairs Executive with over a decade of experience leading communications for senior elected officials at every level of government, Blue Knox has worked with the Mayor of Toronto and several provincial and federal cabinet ministers. Outside of her extensive work in government, Blue has led advocacy and communications campaigns with large organizations across Canada. She looks forward to contributing to Fred Victor’s important work building community and serving residents in neighborhoods across Toronto.

Rob Fowlie is a Chartered Professional Accountant with over 30 years of business experience in audit, accounting, risk advisory and specialized services.

Recently, Rob retired as a Partner from the accounting firm MNP LLP.  Prior to joining MNP in 2020, Rob was a Partner at Deloitte Canada serving the firm’s client in North and South America for 25 years.

Rob brings expertise in financial oversight, enterprise risk management, and governance to the Board of Fred Victor. He has advised boards and management in the private, public and not for profit sectors on matters impacting their financial stewardship, enterprise risk, internal controls, and regulatory accountability.

Rob is active on a number of Boards engaged in community and charitable initiatives, with a focus on organizations that support vulnerable people experiencing homelessness, poverty and food insecurity.

Rob is a graduate of the University of Waterloo and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics.

Rob is married with three adult children.  In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, golf, international travel and spending time with family and friends.