The Mosaic Institute is a registered Canadian charity incorporated under the laws of Ontario. Mosaic is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, and receives advice and counsel from an Advisory Council of eminent Canadians.
CHAIRMAN
Vahan Kololian is a Toronto-based financier and entrepreneur, and the founder and managing partner of TerraNova Partners, an investment partnership. Vahan's business career of over 25 years includes investment banking and turnaround management in both Canada and the U.S. He and his wife Susie are active supporters of community projects centred on health and education.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
John Monahan has been the Executive Director of the Mosaic Institute since 2008. Prior to joining the Institute, John was the Director of the Province of Ontario’s global network of trade and representation offices. Earlier in his career, he served as Ontario’s representative in New York City, practised labour and employment law with the Toronto office of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, and was a policy advisor on economic immigration to the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship. John’s community work has included serving on the Steering Committee for the 2010 World Religions Summit, the Board of Directors of the Project People Foundation in New York, and the Executive Committee of the Toronto Chinese Community Service Association (TCCSA).
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Mohammad Al Zaibak is a Syrian-born Canadian entrepreneur, a telecommunications and electrical engineer, a graduate of Harvard Business School and a co-founder of several successful companies in Canada and abroad. Mr. Al Zaibak has served on the board of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. He was a Member of the Executive Committee of the Harvard Business School Club of Toronto and a Chairman of its Life-Long Learning Committee. He is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews (CCCJ), Waterfront Toronto Corporation, and a Cabinet Member of Trinity College’s Endowment Campaign. He is a founding patron of Luminato, the first Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity.
Debra Grobstein Campbell is a consultant providing philanthropic advisory services to private foundations. Most recently, she held the position of Director of National Grants at SickKids Foundation, and previously she led innovative national grants programs as Director of Collaborative Funds at Canadian Women’s Foundation (CWF). She has extensive experience as a community volunteer, having served as a member of the Board of Trustees of United Way Toronto, the Board of Governors of Upper Canada College, and the Boards of Directors of the New Israel Fund of Canada, Kids Help Foundation and the Barbara Schlifer Commemorative Clinic. Debra is currently a member of the Community Impact Committee at United Way Toronto and the Leadership Committee of Social Venture Partners Toronto. She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College (Bronxville, New York) and holds degrees in Civil and Common Law from McGill University.
Baljit S. Chadha sits on the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC), an agency which provides external review and oversight of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). Mr. Chadha is the President of Balcorp Limited, a trading house with offices in Montreal, Quebec and Mumbai and New Delhi, India. Born in Mumbai, Mr. Chadha came to Canada in 1973. He sits on the Board of Governors of Concordia University, and has advised the Office of the Mayor of Montreal on Indo-Canadian affairs. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and was nominated as President for the Central Canada region of the International Punjabi Society. He received the Commemorative Medal for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee in recognition of his significant contributions to Canada.
Charles S. Coffey, O.C., worked with RBC for 44 years. He is currently Board Chair for the Canadian Centre for Diversity; vice-chair of The Ontario Trillium Foundation; champion of the Aboriginal Human Resource Council; member of the National Committee of Aga Khan Foundation Canada; and director of the Council for Early Child Development, Toronto City Summit Alliance Steering Committee, Sustainable Development Technology Canada, Arctic Children and Youth Foundation and the Empire Club of Canada. Coffey received the Canadian Women’s International Business Initiative Award from the Canadian Embassy in the United States, the Award of Distinction from the Public Affairs Association of Canada, the Humanitarian Award for Community Service, and the Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development Medal. Former Grand Chief Phil Fontaine and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs named Coffey an Honourary Chief for his support of First Nations. Charlie Coffey was appointed an Officer to the Order of Canada in 2004.
Blake C. Goldring is the Chairman and CEO of AGF Management Limited. He received the Person of Influence Award at the 2007 Canadian Investment Awards. He serves on the Lawrence Centre Advisory Council at the Richard Ivey School of Business and The President’s International Alumni Council at the University of Toronto. He is a Director of the Canadian Film Centre and the World Wildlife Fund of Canada, Trustee of the Bishop Strachan School, and Past President of the National Club. Blake is an Honorary Colonel of The Royal Regiment of Canada and the founder of Canada Company, which supports the Canadian Forces. He holds an honorary Doctor of Laws from the Royal Military College. In February 2009, the Governor General presented Blake with the Meritorious Service Medal (Military Division). He is also a member of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives.
Margaret O. MacMillan, Ph.D. is a leading Canadian historian and professor who currently heads St. Antony’s College at the University of Oxford. She was previously the provost of Trinity College at the University of Toronto and a professor of history at Ryerson University. From 1995 to 2003, she was co-editor of the International Journal, which is published by the Canadian Institute of International Affairs. Professor MacMillan is the author of the New York Times bestseller Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World, and Nixon in China: The Week That Changed the World. She has written prolifically on Canada’s international relations. Professor MacMillan serves on the board of the Atlantic Council of Canada, and is a member of Massey College. In 2006, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Don Morrison is Chief Operating Officer, BlackBerry at Research In Motion. Don oversees all domestic and international operations focusing on the development and execution of a world-class, customer-driven organization to support the BlackBerry wireless solution. Before joining RIM in 2000, Don undertook a number of senior leadership positions in Canada, the United States, Europe and the Middle East with AT&T and Bell Canada. Don holds an MBA and BA from the University of Toronto, and also participated in the Executive Program at the University of Virginia, Darden Business School.
Gordon Nixon is President and Chief Executive Officer of RBC Canada. He is also a director of Royal Bank of Canada and chairman of RBC's Group Executive. Mr. Nixon is Chairman of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, and is on the Board of Directors of The Hospital for Sick Children and the International Monetary Conference, and became Chairman of the MaRS Discovery District in 2009. He is also on the Canadian Advisory Boards of Daimler/Chrysler, Catalyst and Queen’s University School of Business. In 2007 Mr. Nixon was inducted into the Order of Ontario and was the recipient of Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year Award. He has an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Queen’s University, and is a recipient of many awards, including the CIJA/UJA Words and Deeds Leadership Award, and the Rotary Foundation's Paul Harris Fellowship. He was honoured by the Learning Partnership as a “Champion of Public Education”.
Raheel Raza is an award winning writer, professional speaker, diversity consultant and interfaith advocate. She has appeared in print, on television and radio to discuss diversity, harmony and interfaith issues. She has made presentations on diversity to Members of Parliament and international diplomats at the House of Commons. She is frequently invited to debate Canadian issues related to media, diversity, gender and immigrants. Raza has received many awards for her work to build bridges of understanding, including the City of Toronto’s prestigious Constance Hamilton Award. Raza is the first Muslim woman in Canada to lead mixed gender prayers.
Edward Safarian, Ph.D. is an internationally renowned economist, teacher and researcher. He was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2005. He is currently based at the university’s Rotman School of Management. He has served as editor of the Hong Kong Bank of Canada’s Papers on Asia, a member of the Canadian National Committee on Pacific Economic Co-operation, a consultant to the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, a member of the Ontario Economic Council, and a consultant to the Constitutional Review Secretariat of the Privy Council Office in Ottawa. He has also served as President of the Canadian Economics Association and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He has published many seminal books, including: The Canadian Economy in the Great Depression, 1959; Foreign Ownership of Canadian Industry, 1966; Canadian Federalism and Economic Integration, 1974; and Multinational Enterprise and Public Policy, 1993.
Yuen Pau Woo is President and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. He is Canada's representative on the Standing Committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), Director of the APEC Study Centre in Canada, and Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia's Institute of Asian Research. He sits on the management boards of the National Centres of Excellence in Immigration (UBC and Simon Fraser University) and Emerging Markets (U of Ottawa). He is an advisor to the Centre for Asia Pacific Initiatives at the University of Victoria, the Shanghai WTO Affairs Consultation Centre, and the Asian Development Bank. He is also on the editorial board of Pacific Affairs.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Charles Coffey
Vahan Kololian, Chairman
Edward Safarian
Dundee Staunton is President and majority owner of Taylor & Grant Specialties Limited, a Waterloo-based confectionary manufacturer whose products are popular across North America in the promotional and foodservice industries. He has managed and had ownership positions in several manufacturing companies serving a variety of industries. Dundee has been a director of a number of public and private firms, and he is currently on the boards of not-for-profit entities The Mosaic Institute and Innovators Alliance. Dundee is a graduate of the University of Toronto (BSc.) and York University (MBA).
Randy VanDerStarren is an expert in brand development and marketing. After running brands like Mercedes, Labatt, Campbell’s and Nestle on the agency side of the brand equation, Randy spent six years as a client building the AGF story as Senior Vice-President of Marketing at AGF Funds Inc. Today, he is President and CEOH of Oh!, a brand strategy consultancy focused on enhancing both the brand experience and the bottom line. Clients of Oh! have included MasterCard(NY), Telus, VenGrowth, AGF and Solowave. His four kids, Austin, Spencer, Bo and Evan, keep him sane while his wife, Eva keeps him in line.
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