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Board of Directors

Grant Gonzales

President

Grant joined the DPNCHC Board of Directors in March 2019 as a Community Member, served one term as President, and previously served on the Board from 2008 to 2012. He is a government and stakeholder relations professional, with 10 years of experience. He is Senior Manager, Government Relations and Corporate Affairs at a non-profit association, and previously served as a senior advisor at Metrolinx and as a government relations consultant at Counsel Public Affairs. An active community member, Grant is the Board Co-Chair of Pride Toronto and is a 2021 CivicAction DiverseCity Fellow. Grant holds a Master of Political Management from Carleton University and an Honours Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Toronto.

Ada Tsang

Vice-President

Ada is the Director of Diagnostic Products and Services at LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services, where she leads the product portfolio lifecycle of diagnostics tests and services to help diagnose, treat, monitor and prevent disease. She previously worked as a Project and Quality Manager at the Regional Geriatric Program of Toronto, Management Consultant in Deloitte Consulting’s National Health Services practice, and Patient Safety Consultant at the Ontario Hospital Association.

Ada served as a board member at the Four Villages Community Health Center for 6 years, chairing the Quality Committee and serving on the Finance, Strategic Planning, Governance, and Accreditation Committees.

Ada holds an MHSc Health Administration degree and a Bachelor of Applied Science and Engineering (Engineering Science) degree, both from the University of Toronto.

Santhosh Kumar

Treasurer

Santhosh has been on the board since September 2020. He is an experienced executive in the financial services sector. He is a CPA and completed his Master of Management & Professional Accounting from the University of Toronto and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. He also serves as the Treasurer of a condominium corporation and volunteers with the Out of the Cold program.

Judith Thompson

Secretary

Judith is a retired registered nurse with nearly 30 years of experience in Toronto hospitals. She held various roles throughout her career, including staff nurse, team leader in the ER, Infection Prevention and Control, and ultimately, Nursing Director in Behavioral Neurology and Psychiatry. She holds an undergraduate degree in Sociology and a Master's Degree in Health Administration, both from the University of Toronto. Her life experience includes living and working with diverse communities, from Indigenous communities in northern Ontario to Holocaust survivors and Syrian refugees in Toronto. She has lived in the DPNCHC catchment area for almost 20 years.

Nirupa Varatharasan

Director-At-Large

Nirupa is a Research Methods Specialist at The Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Nirupa supports the data platform and governance portfolio through leading and coordinating development and implementation within complex projects, specifically within Integrated Youth Services. Nirupa holds a Bachelor of Science (Hon.), Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Community Health and Epidemiology from Dalhousie University. Nirupa has experience with large-scale projects in both the health and social sectors and is passionate about supporting integrated services and systems. Nirupa lives in the community with her partner and 14-month-old daughter and regularly enjoys porch chats with her neighbours.

Jan Dawson

Director

Jan brings over 16 years of progressive leadership and management experience in public and academic libraries, as well as library consortia. She currently serves as a Senior Manager at the Toronto Public Library, overseeing 18 branches across four city wards, including Davenport. Jan has also managed departments at North York Central Library, Bookmobile and Home Library Services, and Toronto Reference Library, focusing on customer-centered service delivery and strategic leadership. Her leadership style emphasizes collective care, collaboration, and team building, fostering inclusive and innovative environments. She holds a Master of Library & Information Studies from McGill University, a Professional Certificate in Public Library Leadership from the University of Toronto, and is trained in the city’s Change Management methods. Jan's skills include strategic leadership, team management, change management, and service development.

Lourdes (Lumy) Fuentes Castillo

Director

Lumy is a Davenport resident and has been an active member of DPNCHC for many years, facilitating life coaching art, gardening and Diabetes prevention workshops to build up community capacity with Seniors and Youth. Lumy was previously a National Director of Sales and Marketing for children’s products and is a Certified International Master Coach. Lumy’s passion for a sustainable environment stems from her birthplace in Mexico, surrounded by mountains and Monarch butterflies that migrate and pollinate Turtle Island - North America. Lumy also led an extensive community-based ceramic project with The Gardiner Museum and The Royal Ontario Museum, highlighting the migration and challenges of both people and Monarch butterflies.

Ricardo Golec

Director

Ricardo is a criminal defence lawyer in Toronto. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a specialization in criminology and obtained his law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. Throughout law school, Ricardo worked at Osgoode’s community legal clinic, helping clients with immigration and criminal law-related issues; he enjoyed it so much that he returned for a year as a supervising lawyer for the criminal law division in 2020. Ricardo immigrated to Canada from Peru with his parents at a young age. He lived in various parts of Toronto until moving into the Davenport-Perth community in 2015, where he now lives with his wife and two cats.

LaToya Hinds

Director

LaToya is a daughter, mother and community member. She holds a BSc in Global Health from York University and is completing her Masters of Education. Her research takes a transnational approach toward improving Black Health outcomes in Canada and shares those findings through knowledge mobilization and health integration initiatives. Her organization, Kwilt Integrated Health Network, uses the social determinants of health to conduct research that contributes to the upward mobility of equity-deserving populations. Current research includes hypovitaminosis D outcomes, race-based health data and health communication in Canadian media.
LaToya works with organizations that seek to develop better healthcare services in their respective communities that include, CAMH, Caribbean-African Regenerative Medicine Project, Davenport-Perth Health Network Black Health Advisory Committee, University Health Network Black Legacy Committee and, Jean Augustine Chair Community and Diaspora.

Susana Neves-Silva

Director

Susana is a Registered Nurse with over 20 years experience and holds a Master of Health Science (MHSc) in Health Administration from University of Toronto. Susana has experience in both clinical and leadership roles in a variety of healthcare settings, including hospitals, home and community care and currently in academia as an operational leader delivering the experiential programming for nursing students. Susana has been a resident of the Davenport-Perth community since 2004.

Michael Orlando

Director

Michael is an arts and not-for-profit leader with multi-sectoral experience in the public and private sectors. His focus has been driving transformational change through compassion, empathy, and radical kindness. He believes that individuals and organizations have a duty to ‘live their politics’ and is devoted to making systemic changes to the art and social service landscape. As an artist, he has worked extensively with both Canadian and International theatre and performance companies. As a not-for-profit professional he has held senior/executive roles at arts institutions and hospitals at the forefront of progressive change. He is currently the Executive Director of the Palin Foundation at Toronto Metropolitan University. Michael makes his home with his partner just around the corner.

Mercedes Sobers

Director

Mercedes is a passionate advocate for mental health, equity, and community. Currently pursuing her doctorate in epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Mercedes continually expands her knowledge and refines her skills to conduct impactful research aimed at improving the lives of communities facing systemic barriers to health and resources. With her expertise as a Researcher and Program Evaluator at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Mercedes applies her insights to address real-world public health issues. Having lived in the Davenport-Perth community since 2020, Mercedes holds a deep affection for her community and sees serving on the board as an invaluable opportunity to give back to her cherished home.

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