Board of Directors

Dwayne Morgan is a writer, performer, and author of twelve books. A Scarborough Walk of Fame Inductee, Morgan uses art to unleash human potential and possibilities.

Nish is a passionate marketer who has spent his career working at the intersection of consumer behaviour, marketing strategy and design.

In his current role, Nish is the Vice President of Strategy at Initiative, a global communications agency, where he works with a wide range of clients including RBC, Amazon, LEGO, Carlsberg, CBC and Destination Canada.

Prior to joining Initiative, Nish held the role of Vice President/Creative Strategy Director at Match Marketing Group where he developed and led the agency’s strategic approach of experience design. He has also held roles at the National Hockey League and Armstrong Partnership along with running his own agency.

Senior Manager at EY in the Assurance Practice. In his professional role, he conducts financial statement audits on a wide array of clients from NFPs to publicly traded companies. He holds a CPA, CA designation with a deep knowledge of accounting and is well versed in the financial services industry. He is passionate about being involved in his community and has recently served as Treasurer of Operation Come Home, a youth-focused NFP based in Ottawa.

Eleanor Buxton is a program and project management specialist. Having trained in contemporary dance, her commitment to social and economic justice continues to be shaped by the arts. Eleanor began her career in the UK, working frontline in social housing and in educational outreach. Since relocating to Toronto in 2019, she has driven impact and led teams across a portfolio of non-profit programming and fundraising, research, and community engagement.

Fatima is a serial entrepreneur and strategy consultant who is committed to empowering people through business development and financial independence. She currently serves as Head of Kamenge Ventures Inc, an outfit investing capacity and capital in the sustainable impactful business, Executive Director of Mazava, a not for profit that strives to connect brilliant minds in order to solve local problems. Finally as co-founder of Healthcare for all, an initiative that builds low-cost clinics in the Great Lakes region starting in Burundi and DRC. Other projects include a newly minted partnership working on algae harvesting and growing out of New Brunswick.

An avid volunteer, she currently sits on the board of Youth of East Africa as well as Haguruka and can also be found participating in various civic actions in Toronto. Although she calls Toronto home, she was born in Burundi and has lived and worked in the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Zimbabwe and a few other places. She is passionate about community engagement, art and social entrepreneurship.

Jaime Shulman is a senior business development and marketing professional who brings a wealth of creativity and experience to every campaign or initiative, having worked in a wide variety of sectors, including: retail, CPG, hospitality, finance, fashion and arts, automotive, alcohol, cannabis, technology and not-for-profits. She has led the successful strategy development and implementation of national campaigns and programs for North America’s largest and most respected brands, garnering top awards from Canadian Public Relations Society, International Association of Business Communicators, the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada, Strategy Magazine and the Canadian Marketing Association. Presently, Jaime is the Director of Corporate Partnerships and Special Events at the Art Gallery of Ontario. In addition, she volunteers as a Board Member for both Street Haven, Toronto’s oldest women’s shelter and VIBE Arts.

Steven is an apparel industry veteran from the United States with over 20 years experience. He relocated to Toronto in 2019 to take on the role of COO for Knix, where he leads the global product and supply chain lifecycle and execution – from initial development through customer experience. Before Knix, Steven lead Sourcing and Supply Chain for US eCommerce brand ModCloth, and he spent 8 years at Urban Outfitters Inc prior. Outside the office, Steven has a passion for music and the arts as well as travelling with his husband and their three adopted kids.

Tessa Balaz (Gooden) is multi-disciplinary artist and a fundraising guru with Toronto Artspace Foundation who works from Sudbury. After graduating from MMA an accomplished cellist and attending Laurentian University for Music, she moved onto acting and performing in musicals with YES Theatre (HAIR, Rent, Spring Awakening, Jesus Christ Superstar), Thornloe Theatre (As You Like It) and the Sudbury Theatre Centre (The Drowsy Chaperone). She has now spent almost a decade writing and producing original music for herself and on production teams for major artists including Daniel Caesar, Drake, the Weeknd, Migos, Mariah Carey and more. She has been nominated for 3 Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards and the Sudbury Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. She has had her original music licensed to film and television, most recently to “Kim’s Convenience” season 4. She is currently trying to close the gap and raise the percentage of female identifying producers on the billboard charts.