GenNext

Find us on Facebook

Tell us why you Give a damn

Connect with us onLinkedIn

Follow us on
Follow us on Twitter

GenNext: the next generation of community builders

GenNext

The next generation of community builders

GenNext’s mandate is to encourage Torontonians in their 20s and 30s to become involved with United Way Toronto through giving and volunteering. The group is committed to raising awareness and supporting the work of United Way and its partners by developing and participating in volunteer and fundraising events.

Led by a Cabinet of volunteers, GenNext creates fun opportunities for individuals to support United Way Toronto and its partner agencies. The GenNext Cabinet organizes fundraising events, promotes volunteer activities, encourages people to contribute to our city, and provides a forum for people to connect and get involved.

In addition to the Cabinet, GenNext has several volunteer committees that work with the Cabinet members to put the plans into action.

For more information e-mail gennext@uwgt.org.

GenNext Cabinet


Ashley Curran, Cabinet Co-Chair, Community Engagement

Ashley Curran

Ashley Curran is a senior consultant at GCI Canada in the Consumer Lifestyle practice. She is responsible for day-to-day management, strategic counsel, integrated marketing campaigns, product launches and event planning for a number of accounts in the retail, financial, consumer packaged goods and government sectors. She also has extensive experience assisting clients to develop cause marketing and corporate social responsibility initiatives in various markets around Canada.

Over her career, she has successfully planned and executed numerous campaigns and events designed to influence public behaviour including the 3M Command Campus Tour in 2008 that won a CPRS Award of Excellence in the marketing communications category. Prior to joining GCI, she worked at a boutique public affairs firm specializing in public affairs and research.

Ashley has been volunteering with United Way Toronto's GenNext since 2007 where she started as a committee volunteer for the UW Great Neighbourhood Race. She is now co-chairing the 2010 GenNext cabinet and is responsible for managing the cabinet's communications, promotions and public events.

Ashley holds an Honours B.A. from the University of Toronto and a post-graduate certificate in communications from Centennial College.

Melanie Archambault, Cabinet Co-Chair, Partnership & Development/Alumni

Melanie Archambault

Melanie Archambault works in Refinery Optimization at Suncor Energy Inc. She joined legacy Petro-Canada in the new graduate program, where she previously worked in marketing communications, strategy and business planning.

Melanie's involvement with United Way Toronto's GenNext committee began in 2007, where she started as a committee volunteer for the Great Neighbourhood Race – an Amazing Race inspired event put on by GenNext. She is now co-chairing the 2010 GenNext cabinet and is responsible for managing the cabinet's leadership, ambassador network and liaison with GenNext committees across the country.

Melanie enjoys travelling and is currently training for a half marathon, and has Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen's University.

Tim Poon, Community & Agency Engagement Officers

Tim Poon

Tim Poon is on the technology planning team at TELUS Communications. In this role, he coordinates TELUS's national program for new wireless installations.

Tim's career has led him to opportunities on national and international projects. Within Canada, he has performed design and engineering activities in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Hamilton, and Toronto. Overseas, he has worked on projects in Australia, France, and the United Kingdom. Tim has also completed studies at the University of Alberta and the University of Cambridge.

Tim first joined United Way Toronto's GenNext in 2008, volunteering with the organizing committee for the UW Great Neighbourhood Race. He joined the GenNext Cabinet in 2010, focusing on community and agency engagement, and linking our energetic GenNext cohort with the vast array of UW agencies.

As a self-declared foodie, Tim's ultimate ambition is to make a mean risotto.

Chrishyami Sivaraj, Community & Agency Engagement Officers

Chrishyami Sivaraj

Chrishyami Sivaraj is a bilingual Technical Consultant working for a Federal government organization. Her role consists of providing expert technical advice and direction to staffing advisors and internal clients in a competency-based human resources management environment, responding to a variety of regional staffing issues, and providing input on national policies and regional strategies.

Chrishyami's passion for volunteering began in high school and she has been contributing her time to various causes ever since. She has been involved as a committee member with various workplace charitable campaigns throughout her professional career, and in 2009, she was a finalist for the Ontario Region Assistant Commissioner's Award of Excellence in the Community Service category. She became actively involved with GenNext in 2007 as a Rouge volunteer, and was a planning committee member with United Way's Great Neighbourhood Race in 2008. She is looking forward to helping engage young professionals in community activities through her role as Community Engagement co-chair on the 2010 GenNext cabinet.

Chrishyami holds an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and is currently working towards her Certified Human Resources Professional Designation.

Kwame Daaku, Community & Agency Engagement Officers

Kwame Daaku

Kwame currently works at Scotia Capital in Foreign Exchange, where he is an Associate Director. Kwame has experience in various areas of banking and credit, including government and municipal finance, non bank financial institutions and foreign exchange. He also worked in corporate and commercial banking in West Africa.

He has volunteered with various charities including the Stephen Lewis Foundation and Sick Kids Foundation, and has been part of GenNext since 2007, and volunteered as a cabinet member for the Scotiabank GenNext team until 2009.

Kwame is the 2010 GenNext cabinet member responsible for community engagement. He is an alumni of the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Janessa Bishop, Information Advisor

Janessa Bishop

Janessa Bishop is a public relations consultant at Fleishman-Hillard Toronto and works primarily in the Consumer practice. In this role, she specializes in media relations and leads public relations campaigns for various consumer clients. Janessa recently transferred to Fleishman Hillard Toronto after working for a year in Fleishman Hillard's Ottawa office.

Before joining Fleishman-Hillard, Janessa worked in the federal government as a communications officer for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency in Ottawa. Janessa has a combined honours degree in Journalism and English from Carleton University and is fluently bilingual.

Before joining Toronto's GenNext cabinet, Janessa was a member of United Way Ottawa's NextGen cabinet and also helped organize the first Ottawa Timeraiser. Janessa has worked with several non-profit organizations in the past, such as Citizen Advocacy Ottawa and the Canadian Cancer Society.

In her spare time, Janessa plays a variety of sports, such as spinning, water polo, soccer, and dragon boat racing, and has a keen interest in photography.

Shanna Briseboise, Strategic Planning Officer

Shanna Briseboise

Shanna Brisebois is an Associate Vice-President at Fleishman-Hillard's Toronto office as part of the Public Affairs team. Shanna brings to Fleishman-Hillard an extensive background in various senior roles at Queen's Park and in Ottawa in the areas of communications, strategic planning, stakeholder relations, public policy and political strategy.

Before joining Fleishman-Hillard, Shanna served as a Senior Advisor to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Minister of Health Promotion and MPP Liaison to the Minister of Consumer and Business Services. She also worked federally at the Liberal National Caucus Research Bureau as a Policy Advisor on the Prime Minister's Taskforce on the Four Western Provinces and as a Field Organizer at the Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario).

Shanna has worked on numerous conventions and successful election campaigns including traveling Ontario during the 2003 and 2007 provincial elections as an advance tour team member.

Shanna holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Communication Studies from Wilfrid Laurier University. In the past, Shanna has volunteered for Serve Canada and the Reena Foundation. In her spare time, Shanna enjoys spinning, yoga, hiking, cultural activities and traveling.

Sarah Stallan, Ambassador Network Officer

Sarah Stallan

Sarah Stallan is a Commercial Project Specialist at Chubb Insurance Company of Canada. Her career at Chubb began in 2004 as a Summer Intern and progressed to full time after graduation in 2005. Her position at Chubb has evolved through several different roles, including an international placement in Bangalore, India for several months in 2007. Sarah's career is now focused on project management, and she is working towards her Project Management Professional (PMP) designation.

Sarah's involvement with the United Way began in 2006, when she first joined the Rouge planning committee. She continued working on Rouge for three years, culminating as the event's Co-Chair in 2009. This is her second year on the GenNext Cabinet and she is looking forward to working on a new set of challenges.

Sarah graduated from Bishop's University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Business Administration, with a concentration in Human Resources and a Minor in Economics. In her spare time, Sarah likes to spend her time on the move – whether that be taking in events in the city, travelling abroad or soaking in the country life in the Thousand Islands.

Paul Kranendonk, Ambassador Network Officer

Paul Kranendonk

Paul Kranendonk is a Senior Fund Accountant at CIBC Mellon in Toronto, and is responsible for accounting related activities of mutual funds. Prior to his present position, Paul held other accounting positions and also dabbled in the entrepreneurial world. Throughout his academic career at Wilfrid Laurier, Paul was an active member of the volunteer community, as well as student life. Paul graduated from Wilfrid Laurier with a Bachelor Degree in Economics.

Paul has a passion for travel, and has been fortunate enough to live in China, visit various countries in Europe, Asia, the Carribean and has recently travelled to Egypt. Paul was introduced to the United Way through his interest and election as Ambassador Network Officer for the Toronto GenNext cabinet in 2010.

In his spare time Paul runs, completing three half marathons, bikes, plays tennis and is involved with continuing education studies in pursuit of further education opportunities.

Gave Lindo, Leadership Program Officer

Gave Lindo

Gave Lindo is a legal and business rights manager at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In this, he provides support for CBC's television, interactive and feature film projects within the arts and entertainment division.

Prior to joining CBC, Gave worked as an associate at the international business law firm Fasken Martineau LLP where he practiced dispute resolution with a focus on defamation and libel law. Gave has also previously worked at CanWest Global as a strategy advisor and CHUM/City TV as a project manager.

Gave has an honours degree in Political Science and is a graduate of the University of Toronto's combined JD/MBA program.

Sophia Javed, Leadership Program Officer

Sophia Javed

Sophia Javed is currently working as an in-house lawyer at an IT distribution company. She is responsible for addressing day-to-day legal issues faced by various business departments. Her role focuses on advising the company on general compliance and policy matters, as well as preparing and negotiating contracts with key players in the IT market.

Prior to her role as in-house lawyer, Sophia practiced corporate and securities law at one of Canada's largest law firms. Her practice involved advising clients on a range of business law issues, including mergers and acquisitions, securities laws, financing, corporate compliance matters and commercial transactions.

Sophia obtained her J.D. at the University of Toronto. Before attending law school, she obtained a bachelor of commerce from the University of Toronto where she graduated with high distinction.

Before joining Toronto's GenNext cabinet, Sophia helped organize events for her previous firm's United Way campaign. Sophia was also volunteer mentor to marginalized high school students in the Laws in Action Within Schools (LAWS) program, and most recently volunteered as Pro Bono Duty counsel at Pro Bono Law Ontario's Small Claims Project.

In her spare time, Sophia enjoys taking improvisation classes.

Danielle Arnold, National Liaison Officer

Danielle Arnold

Danielle Arnold is a Planning Manager at Indigo Books & Music in Toronto, working primarily with kids and adult trade books. In this role, she works with the category teams in order to maximize their sales and profits, and provides accurate weekly budgets.

Danielle graduated from the University of Manitoba's Asper School of Business in 2006 with a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) degree in Finance and Human Resources. Danielle spent several years involved in student politics, and was elected President of the Commerce Students' Association at the Asper School in her graduating year.

Before joining Toronto's GenNext cabinet, Danielle was involved with several programs at the United Way of Winnipeg, included the Youth Connections Council, Community Investment Committee and was a founding member of several youth initiatives. Danielle is currently a Panel Allocation Volunteer with United Way of Toronto.

In her spare time, Danielle enjoys travelling, reading and running.

Elaine Magil, Member Agency Representative

Elaine Magil

Elaine Magil is the Manager of Outreach & Development in the Homeward Bound Program at WoodGreen Community Services. She serves as the primary contact person for agencies and individuals seeking to apply to this unique and innovative program for single mothers. In addition to managing program referrals, Elaine also designed and delivers all financial literacy content in the program, including financial education courses and one-on-one financial counselling.

Prior to joining WoodGreen in 2008, Elaine was the Homeownership Program Manager at a community-based housing advocacy organization in Seattle, Washington. There, she led a staff of multi-lingual housing counsellors and financial educators to support low-income and immigrant homebuyers.

Elaine earned BS and MS degrees from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. She is proficient in French, and has provided social services to clients in English, Mandarin, and Spanish. Having spent over 6 years in social services, Elaine is a strong supporter of the United Way, and brings this enthusiasm to her role on the GenNext cabinet.

 

Add this: bookmark sharing tool