OFFICERS:
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”.
Board Member since 2020
Vice Chair of Strategic Planning Committee
Heather Kane is the 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 18-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 is Chair of the Mentorship Committee, a Mentor, and serves on the Community Outreach Committee. 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.
DIRECTORS:
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
Treasurer, Chair of Audit & Finance Committee
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.
Keddone Dias
Board Member since 2024
Secretary, Chair of Governance Committee
Keddone Dias is the Executive Director at LAMP, she brings a wealth of experience, including in non-profit management, including financial, human resource, reporting, fund development, strategic planning, risk management, and community engagement which prepared her to be an asset in the area of non-profit governance. Furthermore, she brings with her experience in advancing health equity, with a focus on addressing health disparities impacting vulnerable populations, as well as understanding of how the social determinants of health impact whether people survive or thrive. Keddone has served on several boards, gaining experience in governance.
Board Member since 2024
Chair of Strategic Planning Committee
Marissa Kokkoros is the Founder and Executive Director of Aura Freedom International, a Canadian feminist organization working to eradicate gender-based violence and human trafficking in Canada and internationally. Marissa started her journey in women’s rights doing field work with different VAW organizations around the world. From her time spent in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, Nepal, Italy, The Balkans and more, she has studied and researched the social position of women and girls in different places, as well as the greater community impact of gender-based violence and human trafficking. Through her community research and field work, Marissa has fostered deep relationships with fellow feminists and women’s rights defenders around the world. After a long time away from home, Marissa returned to Canada in 2013 and founded Aura Freedom International, plunging head-first into projects addressing violence against women and sexual exploitation. Her grassroots research on different forms of gender-based violence has been recognized by different human rights organizations. After the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, under Marissa’s leadership, Aura Freedom led the creation of 10 Female Friendly Spaces in humanitarian displacement camps in Nepal, as well as the rebuilding of a school for 250 marginalized children. Marissa is also an active community builder in Toronto, lending her experience to different VAW/HT projects around the city. In 2020, Marissa authored the Beijing +25 Parallel Report, Relentless Resilience, which went on to become an award-winning campaign in Canada. In 2023, Marissa initiated the Urgent Call to Action which resulted in the City of Toronto declaring Intimate Partner Violence an epidemic.
Board Member since 2024
Vice Chair of Audit & Finance Committee
Kathleen Li is a partner at KPMG LLP, specializing in US corporate taxation. She holds a Bachelor of Mathematics and a Master of Accounting from the University of Waterloo. A designated Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) in Ontario and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York, Kathleen is also actively engaged in KPMG’s national and regional Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (ID&E) councils. She looks forward to making a positive impact in her Etobicoke community through her involvement with Women’s Habitat of Etobicoke.
Board Member since 2024
Vice Chair of Governance Committee
Melanie is a healthcare executive with more than 17 years of experience working in a variety of progressive leadership roles at the provincial and federal levels. Throughout her career, she has led transformation initiatives in correctional healthcare, HIV/AIDS, women’s health, cancer control, health quality improvement, and mental health. A passionate and driven leader, Melanie is focused on improving the health outcomes of vulnerable and marginalized individuals. Melanie holds a BSc degree from Western University, and an MPhil in HIV/AIDS and Society from the University of Cape Town. She also holds a Certified Health Executive (CHE) designation from the Canadian College of Health Leaders. In her spare time, Melanie enjoys participating in sports and supporting her children in youth hockey. She is currently a Trainer with the Etobicoke Dolphins girls hockey club.
Board Member since 2024
Vice Chair of Fundraising Committee
Milena Nazaruk is currently a Director of Strategic Planning & Risk at Cadillac Fairview and has been in Corporate Real Estate for a number of years delivering strategic industry insights and facilitating corporate decision making around strategy and risk. Her previous experience includes corporate, small business, and consulting environments holding roles in financial services and consulting (retail, logistics, media, manufacturing). Milena has an MBA from McMaster University and a BSc. in Math & Statistics from the University of Toronto. Milena has also contributed to Boards and councils across real estate, retail, and has always been passionate around women’s issues. Most recently she has been part of committees and board with Toronto CREW advocating for the advancement of women in corporate real estate.
Board Member since 2024
Chair of Fundraising Committee
Chris Salloum is the Vice President of Strategy and Operations at Therme Canada, where he is leading the market entry and expansion efforts. With extensive experience in strategy and operations, Chris has a proven track record in scaling operations and service delivery models. Before joining Therme, Chris held key positions at Monitor Deloitte, StrategyCorp, and KPMG, where he led strategic policy projects across multiple industries. He holds an MBA from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University and a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the University of Ottawa.