Officers:
Gita Anand, President Board Member since 2020
Gita Anand is a lawyer at Miller Thomson LLP. For over thirty years, she has specialized in labour relations and employment law, as a partner, counsel, adjudicator and workplace investigator. She holds degrees from Mount Allison University, Dalhousie University, and the London School of Economics. She has been elected as a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers (U.S.). Gita has previously served on boards of non-profit organizations, and as a volunteer for charitable and political organizations.
Catharine de Leeuw, Vice President Board Member since 2021
Catherine has a Masters of Social Work (MSW) from Wilfred Laurier University and has had a career in the child and youth mental health and child protection sectors doing strategic and operational planning, project management, continuous quality improvement, research and change management. At present, she is Manager, Systems Strategy and Performance Management at Strides Toronto (formerly East Metro Youth Services) with a previous position at the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, Child Development Institute, Family Service Toronto and United Way of Greater Toronto. Through her work, she has become deeply aware of how (early) trauma, including from family violence / intimate partner violence, has an enduring impact. Joining the Board of Women’s Habitat would allow her to use her skills and experience to support an organization that helps women and children live safer, healthier lives. As an Etobicoke resident, this opportunity also allows her to support her local community. Catherine also brings governance experience having served on the Board of the Canadian Evaluation Society, Ontario Chapter.
Directors:
Heather Kane, Board Member since 2020
Heather Kane is the Executive Vice President of Asset Management, for Starlight Investments. She is responsible for managing a portfolio of Canadian multi-family real estate assets owned by joint venture partnerships. Her 20 plus year career in real estate has been dedicated to multi-family property operations and asset management. She is passionate about women’s issues and is a member of Toronto CREW where she has served on the Mentorship Committee and as a Mentor. Heather has B.B.A. from Bishop’s University. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga as well as walking, biking and running through the trails of South Etobicoke. She is grateful for this opportunity to serve Women’s Habitat.
Talia Bronstein, Board Member since 2022
Talia Bronstein is a social policy researcher with a passion for social change. Talia is an outspoken advocate for income security and affordable housing to alleviate poverty and food insecurity. Having worked in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors, Talia brings a unique perspective to building collaborative relationships with community members, partner organizations, and government to tackle complex systems-level policy issues.
Rose Lipton, Board Member since 2022
Rose Lipton is a non-profit executive, educator and social impact leader with 15 years of experience working with nonprofit agencies, all levels of government, educational institutions, and corporations to achieve social change. She is driven by a deep dedication to social justice, equity and reconciliation. In her previous role as the Director of Canadian Programs for Right To Play International, she built trusting multi-year relationships with communities across Canada while partnering with corporations, private foundations and governments to achieve transformative outcomes for children and youth. In her current role as the Executive Director at the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, Rose works to promote equity and enhance literacy outcomes for Canadian students while enhancing the social impact of one of Canada’s most significant brands.
Deepa Mattoo, Board Member since 2022
Deepa Mattoo is the executive director of the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic. Previously, she was the Clinic’s director of legal services. Before joining the Schlifer Clinic, Deepa was the project co-ordinator, staff lawyer and executive director at the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario. As the executive director, Deepa oversees the Clinic’s strategic direction and provides leadership to the legal, counselling and interpretation departments. Deepa is directly involved in critical projects related to the criminalization of women, sexual violence and the precarious status of women, the risk assessment of gender-based violence, and inter- disciplinary case management. Deepa also provides leadership for the Clinic’s intervention and advocacy work and has appeared before parliamentary committees and UN civil society meetings on a wide range of social justice and human rights issues. She has also represented hundreds of clients at multiple tribunals and courts in numerous jurisdictions, including the Supreme Court of Canada. Deepa is an Adjunct Professor and Visiting Faculty at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she is the co- director of the Feminist Advocacy Program, hosted at the Schlifer Clinic. Deepa was the Law Foundation of Ontario’s 2017 Community Leadership in Justice Fellow at Factor- Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. She has trained thousands of service providers for best practices and legal education to work with forced marriage survivors, racialized non-status women, and immigration law clients in the context of gender-based violence. Deepa is the recipient of the YWCA Toronto Women of Distinction 2022 in the category of “Advocacy and Women’s Rights”.
Kelly Wiltshire, Board Member since 2022
Kelly Wiltshire is a finance professional. She has worked in a variety of industries including: public accounting, retail, not-for-profit, start up ventures and most recently at a rapidly growing Canadian healthcare company. Kelly is a strategic leader, guiding senior executives and finance teams through all aspects of financial management including: budgeting, multi-year planning, process improvement, internal control assessment, financial analysis/reporting, audit and risk management. Kelly is a CPA, CA, a Project Management Professional (PMP) and holds an HBA from the Ivey School of Business. Kelly is excited to make a positive impact on her local community of Etobicoke and contribute to Women’s Habitat.
Victoria Wong, Board Member since 2022
Victoria Wong is a finance professional having worked in Toronto and Bermuda in various roles including Tax, Audit, Finance and Corporate Banking for a large public accounting firm, global asset manager and leading investment bank. Victoria has a Bachelor of Accounting and Financial Management and a Master of Accounting degree from the University of Waterloo. Victoria is a designated Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA). She is personally committed to advancing gender equality, empowerment of women and children, as well as promotion and protection of human rights.