National Board of Directors
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada gratefully acknowledges the leadership and contribution of its volunteer National Board of Directors who are an essential part of our federation’s governance structure.
James Sliter, Chair
In addition to a Vice-President role at RBC as a leader within their Automotive Finance business, James Sliter is the current Board President for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ontario (BBBSO) and spent a full-term of six years as a board member in Ottawa, including a full-term as Chair. James joined BBBS through the 1:1 match mentoring program in university where he connected with his first little brother for the duration of his schooling and moved into the in-school mentoring program as he moved for his career. BBBSO supports the 39 local agencies across Ontario mainly through its endowment fund and with a focus on building capacity. In 2017 James was recognized for his community involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa, in addition to a number of other causes through the Canada 150 Senate Medal. This was a once-in-a-lifetime recognition opportunity across Canada through the Senate of Canada.
James’ current role at RBC sees him supporting a team who in turn supports Automotive Finance clients both in Commercial and Retail scope. Having worked in larger size commercial portfolios, James has the ability to interpret financials and quickly determine key questions to understand operational effectiveness. He is additionally known for building strong engagement and culture within teams and through past leadership coaching roles as well as a strong supporter of Diversity, Equitability & Inclusion through champion roles at RBC.
Jordan Thompson, Vice-Chair
Jordan Thompson began his involvement with BBBS of Guelph as a community partner while serving as Director of Student Volunteer Connections. More recently, he spent four years on the Board of BBBS of Lanark County, including as Vice-Chair, Chair, and Past-Chair. Nationally, Jordan contributed as Vice-Chair of BBBS’ National Insurance Task Force and supported various risk management and insurance initiatives.
Professionally, he is a Partner and Account Executive with Navacord, advising Canadian businesses and managing tailored risk management and insurance programs. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Guelph, a Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) designation, and a Professional Certificate in Risk Management from Carleton University. His work has been recognized through CBN’s Commercial Underwriter of the Year, Guelph’s Top 40 Under 40, Ontario’s June Callwood Award for Voluntarism, and United Way Guelph-Wellington’s Dr. Winegard Exemplary Volunteer Award.
Drawing on his lived experience as a 2SLGBTQI+ person from small-town Canada, he advocates for inclusive and collaborative approaches that best help young people achieve their goals, foster belonging, and live authentically.
Ian Cascagnette, Treasurer
Ian Cascagnette is the CFO at Pythian, an IT consultancy, and is currently a board member and Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee at BBBS Ottawa. He has significant experience in finance, legal and insurance matters throughout his career. Most significantly Ian is a CPA with audit experience at Deloitte for approximately 7 years. His current CFO position includes oversight of finance, legal, HR, among other responsibilities.
In addition to being Chair of Finance and Audit Committee at BBBS Ottawa, Ian previously sat as Treasurer on local a local non-profit board (South Ottawa Community Legal Services), a provincially funded legal services organization, until the local amalgamation of several clinics.
Daria Hobeika, Secretary
Daria Hobeika is an executive and entrepreneur dedicated to addressing complex societal issues and steering organizations towards efficient decision-making and sustainable models. Trained as a lawyer and strategic advisor, she is known for her sound judgment, rigour, and capacity to simplify and communicate information effectively.
She is a founding partner at Clearsum, a strategy advisory firm specializing in climate risk and opportunities, where she leads transition risk, climate law, and governance work. To do so, she leverages her experience as a former Chief of Staff to a minister of the Government of Quebec, including her intimate knowledge of pan-Canadian dynamics and legislative and regulatory processes.
Daria holds bachelor’s degrees in law from McGill University and an executive MBA from HEC Montréal – McGill. She is an Action Canada Fellow and a former board member of BBBS du Grand Montréal.
Breanne Oliver, Past Chair
Breanne Oliver has volunteered with Big Brothers and Big Sisters for over 10 years; first as a mentor, then joining the Board for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary in 2016, where she served as its Chair from 2019 to 2023, before joining the National Board that same year. Breanne was most recently AVP Communications and Public Affairs for CN, one of North America’s largest freight railroad companies. Her two decades of expertise spans strategic media and stakeholder relations, internal communications, corporate communications, community investment, crisis management, and human resources management. She has held previous senior leadership roles at both Inter Pipeline and Canadian Pacific Railway. She is accredited as a Certified Professional in Human Resources (CPHR), holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Calgary, AB, and is bilingual (English and French). In addition, she has years of fundraising experience and is active in fostering inclusion initiatives, particularly around mental health.
Danisha Bhaloo-Shivji, Director at Large
With over 20 years of experience in the social impact sector, Danisha Bhaloo-Shivji has led initiatives in service delivery, public relations, communications, volunteer recruitment, and fund development. She is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) and currently serves as Manager of Engagement and Affinity Groups at United Way of Calgary and Area. Danisha holds leadership roles as a board member for Imagine Canada and Vice-President of the Friends of the University of Alberta Botanic Garden.
Her past community involvement includes serving as Chair of the City of Calgary’s Social Wellbeing Advisory Committee, Senator of the University of Alberta, Co-Chair of Women United for United Way of Alberta Capital Region, and board member for United Way Centraide Canada.
Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the George Letki Outstanding Volunteer Award, Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, Stars of Alberta Award, University of Alberta Alumni Award, and a Top 40 Under 40 honour from Edify Edmonton.
Outside of her professional and volunteer roles, Danisha embraces her favourite title—Chief Mom Officer to her two children, Aisha and Seva.
Danisha credits many of her accomplishments to the movement, having been a Little Sister growing up and still keeping in touch with her Big Sister today (30 years later), a Big Sister to a wonderful little girl, and a former staff person for the Edmonton local agency for 12 years.
Laetitia Gill, Director at Large
With over 25 years of international experience in philanthropy and social innovation, Laetitia Gill brings deep expertise in strategy, governance, and inclusive leadership. Currently based in Montreal, she supports foundations and philanthropists in designing impactful, forward-looking initiatives through her consultancy, Philanforme. She is also co-director of the Master in Philanthropy at the University of Geneva, a program she co-created to strengthen leadership and build capacity across the philanthropic sector.
A recognized voice in the field, Laetitia has advised a wide range of philanthropic actors — from public and corporate foundations to individual donors — on how to align purpose with practice, deepen community engagement, and foster equity-driven approaches. She is passionate about making philanthropy more accessible, transparent, and effective, and has authored several works on inclusive governance and diversity in foundation leadership.
Laetitia is deeply committed to youth empowerment and building bridges across sectors to drive systemic change. She is honoured to join the Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada, where she will help shape the organization’s philanthropic strategy and contribute to its mission of igniting the potential of young people from coast to coast.
Jay Green, Director at Large
Jay Green’s involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters began when he was just 9 years old, starting as a Little in the Burlington agency. Since then, he has remained actively engaged with the organization, in a variety of capacities, ranging from being a dedicated volunteer and committee member for the Halton and Hamilton agency to holding influential roles as a board member, and serving as President/Chair for both Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ontario and its Endowment Fund. He remains friends with his last Big Brother to this day.
Professionally, Jay is currently the Chief Financial Officer of CBI Health, a national healthcare services company. Notably, from late 2020 through 2021, he lent his expertise as an advisor to the Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunization (GAVI) in support of COVAX, the international initiative aimed at ensuring equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. This commitment followed a distinguished career at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in finance and transformation roles that spanned several countries, including Canada, Ireland, the UK, and Belgium, culminating in his most recent position as CFO for GSK’s global vaccines business headquartered in Belgium.
Jay is a CPA/CA and holds a Master of Accounting from the University of Waterloo.
Shaun Jeffrey, Director at Large
Shaun Jeffrey is a lifelong support advocate for youth empowerment. Involved in youth sports and youth development as a multi-sport coach and mentor, his direct involvement in youth mentorship started at a young age as a peer mentor in high school.
Shaun is a non-profit specialist as the CEO and Executive Director of the Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association. His involvement in board and charity development extends over 15 years in three different industries. Shaun is also the proud owner of the Carpe Diem group, a thriving real estate and property management company.
Shaun holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Winnipeg and a management development certificate from Red River College. Shaun has a strong focus on continuing education with over 700 hours in personal development accreditation compiled over his career. As a past chair of the post management association and the policy chair of Football Manitoba, Shaun’s investment in the community continues to shape his ability to bring his youth contributions to the lives of youth in Manitoba.
Along with his wife Stephanie, Shaun is the proud father of 5 amazing children.
Gunvir Kalra, Director at Large
Gunvir Kalra is a first-generation immigrant to Canada with 18 years of experience in corporate finance, marketing and IT, having previously worked on digital transformation. Gunvir currently holds a leadership position in the operations and management of an accounting firm in Toronto.
Additionally, Gunvir has a certificate in Law from Queen’s University. He has been active with several charitable organizations such as JUMP Math, Furniture Bank, and the Community Music Schools of Toronto applying his financial literacy and planning strengths to support youth in pursuit of success. Gunvir is an active business and personal networker. Having been supported by numerous associations and individuals during his 30 years in Canada, he is passionate about the work BBBSC does and how he can help.
Raheela Khan, Director at Large
Raheela Khan is an independent Business Advisory Consultant currently based in Vancouver leading community awareness programs on the importance of cultural confidence, integration, diversity, and avoidance of self-exclusion. Raheela is an alumnus of Oxford and Yale University, and a Yale World Fellow. She currently sits on the boards of The Power of Play, Birth Mark and Room Magazine.
Her current work focuses on ensuring equity practices are well-framed, diversity and inclusiveness, empowering women, and youth development to unlock growth potential and social sustainability across Canada, Pakistan, and the Middle East. She currently serves as a Big at BBBS Vancouver’s in-school mentoring program. Raheela is passionate about using her experiences to mentor and provide opportunities to young people for a better future as part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada’s National board.
Before moving to Canada, Raheela managed a $600M+ portfolio for Doha Bank, one of Qatar’s largest banks in Dubai. Previously, she was instrumental in transforming the investment culture at the Pakistan Mercantile Exchange by introducing new financial products to the economy and conducting investment awareness seminars nationwide for financial inclusion and literacy. Her initiatives have inspired her to work on publishing children’s books on empowering cultural confidence and financial literacy for children.
Peter MacKay, Director at Large
The Honourable Peter MacKay served in the Parliament of Canada for over 18 years as a Member of Parliament, including as a Cabinet Minister in the Harper Government for 10 years. In that time, he served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Minister of National Defense, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. Mr. MacKay chaired the Government National Security Committee for almost 10 years and served on numerous other inter-parliamentary committees. Prior to politics, he served as a Crown Attorney in the Central Region of Nova Scotia. He worked in private practice and prior to joining Deloitte was a Partner with the global law firm Baker McKenzie in their Toronto office. He is now working as a Strategic Advisor with Deloitte Canada and Counsel with McInnes Cooper, an Atlantic Canadian law firm. He works nationally and internationally in areas such as aerospace and defense, procurement, infrastructure, and justice reform, financial crimes, anti-corruption & compliance.
Peter serves as a board member for Cielo Waste Solutions Corp. and on numerous volunteer boards including Wounded Warriors Canada, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, Integrity Initiatives International, the Canada United States Law Institute and the Stanfield Conversations, Dalhousie University. He has been active in Special Olympics, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Children’s Aid Foundation, the Ship Hector Foundation, and the Campaign for Acadia.
He and his wife Nazanin, who is a human rights activist and author, have three children and live in Pictou County, Nova Scotia.
Michael Rosen, Director at Large
Michael Rosen is a partner at Fogler, Rubinoff LLP in Toronto, where he specializes in estates, trusts, incapacity, tax, and not-for-profit and charity law. He advises a wide range of clients—including organizations in education, health, community services, and Indigenous sectors—on governance, incorporation, compliance, and strategic planning. He is recognized as a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), a member of the Estate Planning Council of Toronto, and is a member of the Ontario Bar Association’s Trusts and Estates Law, Charity and Not-for-Profit Law, and Elder Law sections. Michael has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada guide for his work in trusts and estates law. Prior to joining Fogler, Rubinoff LLP, Michael held positions at a national law firm, a major bank, and a litigation firm. He earned his law degree from Western University and a BA (Hons.) in psychology from York University.
Nancy Zhao, Director at Large
Currently based in Vancouver, Nancy Zhao brings over a decade of experience in the youth mental health sector in Canada. Driven by her lived/living experience and commitment to youth capacity-building, Nancy has played a pivotal role in shaping Integrated Youth Services (IYS) across the country, leading efforts in pan-Canadian governance, communities of practice development, youth programming, and youth engagement. As Program Manager for IYS Practice, Partnerships, and Engagement, Nancy centres community collaboration, lived/living experience and equitable access to knowledge and resources in her work. She holds a Master of Public Health from Simon Fraser University, with a focus on population mental health and knowledge mobilization. Nancy was formerly a Big Sister with BGC Big Brothers Big Sisters Edmonton and Area, and it was through this experience that she was inspired and motivated to join the National Board, wanting to continue making a positive impact. She and her Little Sister remain in touch to this day.