Speakers
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Merlin Chatwin
Executive Director, Open North
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Steve Cumming
VP Portfolio at the LEAP | Pecaut Centre for Social Impact
Steve is VP Portfolio at the LEAP | Pecaut Centre for Social Impact. His work focuses on supporting portfolio growth, organizational development, and strategy design. Steve has dedicated his career to non-profit work domestically and internationally, working as a practitioner, donor, and leader with organizations committed to solving dynamic social challenges.
Steve holds an MSW from Carleton University, an MA in Politics from the University of York, and an MBA from the Smith School of Business. -

Cara Eaton
Senior Director, Strategy & Growth, Volunteer Toronto
Cara Eaton is a seasoned communications professional and the Senior Director of Strategy & Growth at Volunteer Toronto, Canada’s largest volunteer centre. She has a decade of experience in public relations, communications, fund development, and leading data-driven projects and campaigns that influence and strengthen volunteerism across Ontario.
An advocate for the power of sector-owned data in the volunteerism space, Cara is currently bringing to life an ambitious shared data framework and vision for volunteer centres as aligned with Canada's upcoming National Volunteer Action Strategy.
Cara holds a B.A. with Honours in Media Communications, a Post-Graduate Certificate in Public Relations, and a Certificate in Data Storytelling from the University of Chicago.
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Wilfreda Edward
Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resilience
Wilfreda is the Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resilience, where she helps nonprofits build the skills and tools they need to thrive in a digital world. With a background in government and years of experience working on data, policy, and technology, she is passionate about making digital access fair and meaningful for all communities.
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John Griffin
Program Manager, Open North
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Alberta Johnson
Manager of Data Strategy and Solutions, Blueprint
Alberta uses her passion for data and technology to help non profit clients across numerous sectors successfully collect, understand, manage, and leverage their data to communicate impact and improve their services.
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Anita Khanna
VP of Government Relations and Public Policy at United Way Centraide Canada
Anita Khanna is Vice-President, Government Relations and Public Policy at United Way Centraide Canada. She is proud to represent Canada’s United Ways and Centraides to the federal government to develop policy and program proposals that further the movement’s goals to build stronger communities where everyone can reach their full potential.
With support from the McConnell Foundation, Anita is currently co-leading a data-driven project to develop a labour force strategy for the community services sector of the care economy. An active volunteer, Anita serves on the boards of the Childcare Resource and Research Unit, Ontario Nonprofit Network and Child Care Now. Anita holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto and is a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal.
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Kosal Ky
Director of Strategic Partnerships at Findhelp Information services
Kosal Ky is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Findhelp Information Services which delivers 211 services , where she builds and sustains relationships with community agencies, funders, and public sector partners across Durham, York, Peel, and Toronto — advancing coordinated access to social services across the Greater Toronto Area.
At the centre of her work is the Data for Change Project, a sector-wide capacity-building initiative she leads that examines how social identity data can be collected and used across the community social services sector to drive more equitable, evidence-informed service delivery. Grounded in a commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Indigenous strategy, her portfolio also includes the Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS) — a community-based, non-police crisis response model providing trauma-informed support for individuals experiencing mental health crises.
Kosal also champions 211 as a foundation for a no-wrong-door approach to community social services to ensure that anyone, anywhere in the region, can find and navigate the support they need, when they need them most. Kosal's work sits at the intersection of data, equity, and systems change - translating community insight into coordinated action.
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Daniel Liadsky
Managing Director, Purpose Analytics
Daniel is an experienced analyst with a broad set of data science skills and subject matter expertise related to urban and social planning, health care, housing affordability, and energy efficiency. His approach to data and working with community is deeply informed by his early career as a program worker in Toronto’s community services sector. Daniel holds a Master of Spatial Analysis from Toronto Metropolitan University.
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Zsuzsa Lindenmaier
Data Scientist, Purpose Analytics
Zsuzsa is a Data Scientist at Purpose Analytics and is passionate about data-driven impact, with skills in data science and project management. She has a diverse educational background including autism research, cardiology, psychology, medical biophysics and neuroscience. A jack-of-all-trades, Zsuzsi is deeply committed to revealing stories from data in a way that connects with everyone. Before joining Purpose Analytics, she was a senior healthcare research and data analyst for Clarivate. Additionally, she holds a PhD in medical biophysics from the University of Toronto and a BSc from the University of Florida in interdisciplinary neurosciences.
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Vanitha Lucas
Co-Founder of Data ChangeMakers
Vanitha Lucas is the Co-Founder of Data ChangeMakers, a global community that mobilizes data professionals and volunteers to support mission-driven organizations. Her extensive experience in the private sector specializing in data and analytics has shaped a practical, results-driven approach to data. She now works at the intersection of data, storytelling, and social impact helping organizations turn data into decisions and meaningful change.
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Sabal Matter
Manager of Data, Impact & Innovation at the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF)
Sabal Matter is the Manager of Data, Impact & Innovation at the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF), where everyone in Canada is invited to join the collective reconciliation journey by taking action through programs, campaigns, and events that encourage people to "Do Something" to move reconciliation forward.
Over the past six years, she has worked to transform reconciliation into measurable, meaningful data that demonstrates the impact of DWF's programs. By translating complex social change into clear, evidence-based insights, her work illustrates how DWF's initiatives contribute to reconciliation as a growing social movement throughout Canada.
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Anne Millar
Manager of Data and Research at the Ottawa Food Bank
Anne oversees client data systems, leads community research projects, and advances data governance within the organization. She has engaged staff across all levels to co-design a data governance maturity model and implementation plan, which is now underway. With a background in research, Anne brings a systems-thinking approach to strengthening data-informed decision-making and is interested in improving organizational data and data governance to better align data with strategic priorities and respond effectively to community needs.
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Karen Myers
President & CEO, Blueprint
Karen Myers is the President and CEO of Blueprint, and a champion for the better use of evidence to achieve outcomes for people in Canada. She leads an interdisciplinary team that works across Canada with government, community and business leaders to develop evidence informed solutions to public policy challenges. Over the past twenty-five years, Karen has built a solid reputation for leading large-scale projects in a range of policy domains including workforce development, income security, community safety and housing affordability. Her experience spans the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Before founding Blueprint, Karen was a research director at the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC), a senior policy advisor with the Government of Ontario and a senior project leader at training and development advisory firm.
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Neil Price
Executive Director & Co-founder, Logical Outcomes
Neil Price is an executive leader, researcher, and writer working at the intersection of community health, evaluation, and social change. As Co-Founder and Executive Director of LogicalOutcomes, he leads multidisciplinary teams that design and evaluate community health and wellness initiatives with measurable impact, drawing on 15+ years of leadership across nonprofit management, higher education, and community health. He holds a PhD in Adult Education and Community Development from OISE, University of Toronto.
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Zeen Qureshi
National Institute on Ageing at Toronto Metropolitan University
Zeen Qureshi is a policy researcher and data analyst who focuses on making sure public policy is backed by real, human insights. At the National Institute on Ageing at Toronto Metropolitan University, she spearheads NIA’s flagship Ageing in Canada Survey program, translating data into policy insights that support Canada's aging population. Over the past five years, Zeen has worked across the non-profit and international development sectors, using data to champion equity for marginalized communities, including youth, women, and people with disabilities. She holds advanced degrees in International Affairs and completed specialized training at the University of Toronto’s Data Science Institute.
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Michelle Yeung
Managing Director, Mass Culture Canada
Michelle Yeung, MBA, CFRE is the current Managing Director at Mass Culture Canada, leading the organization in building capacity and data and research infrastructure for the arts and culture sector. Further, Michelle serves as Lead of the Creative Champions Network at the Toronto Arts Foundation, Program Coordinator and Instructor at Humber Polytechnic’s Art Administration & Cultural Management post-graduate program and is an arts consultant with The Arts Firm.
She is a graduate of Dalhousie University (MBA Leadership), York University (BA) and Toronto Metropolitan University (BFA). She has also successfully completed programs through Boston University (Fundraising) and Ivey Business School (Leadership) and maintains her Certified Fund Raising Executive designation.
Over her career, she has held positions at various arts and cultural organizations. Michelle’s involvement in the community is also extensive including current board membership at Work in Culture.