KIM BERNHARDT – CHAIR
Kim Bernhardt is a lawyer who was in private practice for many years with Grant & Bernhardt, Barristers & Solicitors, a firm that specialized in labour, employment, human rights, administrative, and constitutional law. She now acts as an arbitrator and mediator of labour disputes.
Kim has been involved in community and legal organizations concerned with equity, law, education, and social issues; Thistletown Community Services; Ontario Black History Society; Amnesty International; Halton Board of Education, Equity Committee; Urban Alliance on Race Relations; Canadian Association of Black Lawyers; Delos Davis Law Guild; National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL), and the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund’s (LEAF’s) National Legal Committee (NLC).
Kim has volunteered at the Money Matters clinic for the Wellspring Cancer Support Foundation and has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Nathaniel Dett Chorale; the equality effect; and as a member of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario’s Procedural Advisory Committee. She has also served as the Law Society of Ontario’s representative on the Ontario Judicial Council.
SEANA IRVINE
For over 25 years, Seana Irvine has brought diverse stakeholders together to strategize and create solutions for making stronger, more resilient communities.
As the Chief Operating Officer with the Centre for Social Innovation, Seana oversees finance, HR and facilities, connecting organizational ‘backbone’ with emerging programs and real estate opportunities that help CSI serve and grow its membership base.
Prior to joining CSI, Seana’s strategic leadership and management skills helped Evergreen, a national non-profit charitable organization, scale its impact to grow from a small start-up to one of Canada’s largest urban sustainability and social enterprise organizations.
Seana is a founding team member behind the $55 M transformation of Toronto’s Don Valley Brick Works from an abandoned brick factory into an award-winning global showcase for innovation and urban sustainability that attracts over half a million visitors each year. Her recent portfolios included leading the $18 M redevelopment of the 53,000 sq. ft. former kiln building into the Future Cities Centre, among Canada’s first carbon neutral buildings, and leading the collaborative design and strategy development to create Toronto’s largest urban park, the Don River Valley Park.
From 2010-2016, Seana was Evergreen’s first Chief Operating Officer, leading the organization through a period of over 100% growth, launching several social enterprises and developing plans, processes and policies for ensuring sustained organizational growth.
A skilled facilitator, strategic thinker and communicator, Seana has helped numerous organizations develop strategic plans, work through change processes and create fundraising and program plans. Seana brings experience working in consulting and government sectors. An active volunteer, Seana currently chairs the board of the equality effect and serves on the board of Wanapitei Wilderness Centre. Previous board involvement includes The Stop Community Centre and The Sustainability Network. She holds a Masters in Environmental Studies (Planning) degree, Honours BA in Environmental Studies and has leadership and governance certificates from Harvard Kennedy Executive School and Rotman’s Business School.
PAMELA HUGHES
Pam is senior counsel at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. Pam’s practice focuses on international corporate finance, capital markets regulation, structured finance and derivatives and corporate governance.
Before joining Blakes, Pam was Director of the Capital Markets/International Markets Branch of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and the primary negotiator of the multi-jurisdictional disclosure system between Canada and the U.S. on behalf of the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). She was also the OSC representative on the International Organization of Securities Commissions working groups on secondary markets, international equity offers and collective investment schemes.
Pam has also undertaken capital market regulatory reform work on behalf of the CSA, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the Canadian International Development Agency.
PATRICIA NYAUNDI
Patricia Nyaundi is the Secretary and CEO of the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights. Prior to her current position with the KNCHR, Patricia was the Secretary and CEO of the Kenyan Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission. In 2012 Patricia was the Dame Nita Barrow Fellow at the University of Toronto. She has served as the Executive Director of the Federation of Women Lawyers-Kenya (FIDA-Kenya). Patricia is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and she holds a Master of Laws in Human Rights law from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Before joining FIDA Kenya, Patricia worked as a State Counsel in the Attorney General’s office and was also an advocate in private practice.
MORGAN SIM
Morgan Sim is a civil litigator, workplace lawyer, and human rights advocate currently practicing at Pinto Wray James LLP in Toronto. Morgan works on all aspects of the firm’s practice including civil and commercial litigation, employment and labour, human rights, administrative, and constitutional law.
She has particularly broad experience providing advice and representation on matters involving sex-based discrimination and sexual harassment. Morgan has worked on cases before all levels of court in Ontario as well as the Supreme Court of Canada and numerous administrative tribunals.
Morgan is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s joint Juris Doctor and Master in International Relations program. As a law student, Morgan was a leading member of the International Human Rights Program (IHRP) and many feminist student initiatives. She also worked in chambers at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
As an IHRP clinic student, Morgan worked with the Equality Effect and traveled to Kenya to prepare the successful ‘160 Girls’ test-case litigation. She has also drafted public legal education campaigns on the criminalization of marital rape in Ghana as part of the 3 to be Free project. Morgan has remained involved in the work of the Equality Effect in the five years since her graduation and has cherished the opportunity to grow up as a lawyer alongside the work of this organization.
THERESA WIDDIFIELD
With 20+ years of finance-related business experience in entrepreneurial environments within the financial services and software development industries, Theresa Widdifield started her own business 8 years ago. She manages family offices for high net worth individuals and their families. Prior to that, Theresa was a principal at Coventree Inc. and previously she served as CFO of Leeward Hedge Funds Inc. and CertaPay Inc.. Theresa spent over 8 years at progressive roles in the finance and operations areas of Trimark Financial Corporation. Theresa’s volunteer experience includes having sat on the Board as Treasurer of the KiBO Foundation which aims to alleviate poverty through education, based in Uganda, and the Centennial Infant and Child Centre Foundation. Theresa is a Chartered Professional Accountant and received her MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University.
US Board
SUSAN WRIGHT – CHAIR
Susan has a B.Sc. in Engineering from Queen’s University. Based in Seattle, she is Founder and Managing Director of Compass Partners which provides market research and strategy consulting to leading west coast technology companies including Amazon, Bluetooth, VMware and Microsoft as well as start-up companies in the U.S. and Canada. Susan sits on the Leadership Board of the College of Arts & Sciences at Santa Clara University.
MORGAN SIM
Morgan Sim is a civil litigator, workplace lawyer, and human rights advocate currently practicing at Pinto Wray James LLP in Toronto. Morgan works on all aspects of the firm’s practice including civil and commercial litigation, employment and labour, human rights, administrative, and constitutional law.
She has particularly broad experience providing advice and representation on matters involving sex-based discrimination and sexual harassment. Morgan has worked on cases before all levels of court in Ontario as well as the Supreme Court of Canada and numerous administrative tribunals.
Morgan is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s joint Juris Doctor and Master in International Relations program. As a law student, Morgan was a leading member of the International Human Rights Program (IHRP) and many feminist student initiatives. She also worked in chambers at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
As an IHRP clinic student, Morgan worked with the Equality Effect and traveled to Kenya to prepare the successful ‘160 Girls’ test-case litigation. She has also drafted public legal education campaigns on the criminalization of marital rape in Ghana as part of the 3 to be Free project. Morgan has remained involved in the work of the Equality Effect in the five years since her graduation and has cherished the opportunity to grow up as a lawyer alongside the work of this organization.
SANDRA TREACY
Sandra Treacy has a Master’s in Education from the University of California, Berkeley; she is based in San Francisco, CA. She is an acknowledged leader in the non-profit community having led 3 non-profits which have garnered many awards; she also led a private foundation and developed the strategies for that foundation in the areas of education, youth development and early childhood education.
ALEX KOCHIS
Alex is the President and Founder at FiveBy, a Seattle-area risk intelligence consulting and services firm. Founded in 2010, FiveBy provides risk intelligence, program development, data management, analytics, and other services to leading software and technology companies.
Prior to founding FiveBy Alex was a Director of Product Management at Microsoft.
Alex has previously served as a founder and board member of a private non-profit alternative K-12 school in the Puget Sound area. He is also currently a partner at Social Venture Partners Seattle and is active in funding scientific research to better understand the causes and effects of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) through the Solve ME/CFS Initiative and other related organizations.
