Our People
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Sarah Lesniewski
Communications Manager, Opportunity For All Youth
Always pushing boundaries, Sarah is a leader in strategic and digital communications. A lawyer turned communications strategist, she enjoys practicing the art of persuasion using multiple platforms. She has worked internationally across the public, private, and non-profit sectors, including stints at the British Prime Minister’s Office, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, City & Guilds, RSA Canada, and the Women’s Budget Group.
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Josée Thibault
Project Manager, Opportunity For All Youth
With a background in both the corporate and non-profit sectors, Josée turns big ideas into action. Whether connecting employers to NEET youth eager for the opportunity, leading a childhood literacy charity, bringing donors closer to causes they care about, or helping corporations improve their customer experience, Josee builds high performing teams and creates communities that are propelled by a passion for meaningful change.
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Idil Burale
Community Strategy Lead, MCYS
Idil Burale is a community advocate and change agent. In her day job with the Ontario Public Service, she works to support community-driven transformation to address barriers that impact outcomes for disadvantaged youth across Ontario. Bridging policy, program and service changes across sectors, she brings a user-centered lens to public service and the policy-making process.
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Michael Conway
Executive Vice President and President, Starbucks Canada
Michael Conway is executive vice president and president, Starbucks Canada, with leadership for the Starbucks business and operations in country, including company-owned retail stores, licensed stores, and the foodservice channel. Michael is known for his strategic planning and operational excellence and as a leader who lives our Company Mission and Values.
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Marie Davis
Executive Director, 100K Opportunities Initiative
Marie Davis is the Executive Director of the 100K Opportunities Initiative. Launched in 2015, the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative is the largest employer-led coalition focused on hiring opportunity youth. This initiative is a unique alliance of private, public and philanthropic organizations working together to better the lives of out of-school/out-of-work youth by providing economic opportunities.
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Ilse Treurnicht
Innovation Community Leader
Ilse Treurnicht is an active leader in Canada’s innovation community. From 2005 to 2017, Ilse served as CEO of MaRS Discovery District, one of the world’s leading urban innovation hubs. She was also CEO of Primaxis Technology Ventures, and has been an entrepreneur and executive in a number of emerging technology companies.
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Bill Young
President, Social Capital Partners
Bill Young is the founder of Social Capital Partners (SCP), an innovative non-profit, social finance company started in 2001. Throughout its history SCP has facilitated thousands of jobs for people who face employment barriers through social enterprise and the private sector by linking community hiring to attractive financing.
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Richard Derham
Lead Executive, Opportunity For All Youth
Richard is the Lead Executive for Opportunity For All Youth.
Prior to joining MaRS, Richard was Founder and President of TurnAround Couriers, a bicycle courier business that hires NEET youth and is now one of the largest bike courier firms by size in Toronto. It is a unique and successful social purpose business that only hires a target population (NEET youth in the city) and encourages ongoing higher education for its staff. -
Jerry Koh
Director of Systems Innovation & MaRS Solutions Lab
Jerry is a public and social innovator addicted to future possibilities and uncertainties. He is a strategist, designer and foresight specialist with a background in public policy and healthcare administration. He supports systems convergent projects at MaRS, including business-led youth employment, urban mobility innovation, procurement by co-design for healthcare providers, and design for change in the public sector.