OUR TEAM
Coming together from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, our skilled team of professionals is the backbone of Mothers to Daughters. Their ideas help shape the direction and mission of our organization as it continues to develop. Read on to learn more about some of our incredible team members.
M2D Team Gathering
Meet The Board of Directors
Francine Mbvoumbo
Chair and President
Francine is a Finance Professional who wears empathy as a crown, which fuels her genuine interest to connect with others and authentic urge to propel them further. To others, she embodies - Open-mindedness, patience, creativity, and critical thinking. She believes in the growth mindset and applies it by being comfortable to get uncomfortable.
Her exposure to the financial sector built a foundation to understand corporate and life cogs. Her confidence to embark fearlessly into the entrepreneurial path stems from her upbringing, where being a follower was never an option. Through M2D, she strives to connect women from all backgrounds and encourage them to give back and shape future generations of women that will lead unapologetically.
She works tirelessly at becoming a better connector, strategist, opportunity giver, creator, and fierce advocate for women.
Ilaria Varoli
Director, Business Strategy
& Execution
Ilaria Varoli is the Executive Vice President of Myant Inc., where she leads company operations
and is instrumental in the strategic development of the Textile Computing™ company. Varoli is a proven and dedicated leader with a long history of management, HR, restructuring and strategic development.
She has spent over 20 years in executive roles in the retail sector, and he last 15 in the Technology and Textile sectors. Varoli has been featured in numerous national media outlets, has presented at many international tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas and Techtextile in Frankfurt.
She has volunteered as a speaker at employment centres, homeshelters and job fairs with the intention of providing support to people who are in need of employment.
Shaira Ahmed
Director, Brand Awareness
& Community Engagement
Shaira is an accomplished marketing professional with hands-on experience directing end-to-end campaigns and creating strategies to achieve growth. Equipped with over 10 years of extensive experience in Retail, Healthcare, IT, and Financial industries, Shaira additionally has an MBA in Strategic Management and Business & Sustainability from the Schulich School of Business.
She is a proud mother of a baby girl and is passionate about purpose-driven missions which provide opportunities to create positive environmental and social impacts. Apart from creating meaningful change, she loves spending time with loved ones, travel, food, literature, and art.
Mel Romolo
Consultant
Mel is the founder of Stand Out LOUD, a transformational leadership and empowerment company that offers skills training and coaching opportunities to business professionals.
After 20 years of working as a professional accountant and management consultant, Mel hit a bump in the road as she struggled with severe burnout. She is now committed to helping women professionals avoid the same fate, by revealing their strength and take focused action that is aligned with their passions and purpose.
Cara-Lee Lewis,
Vice President
From Gatineau, Quebec, Cara is a single mother of three, and a strong, positive role model. A recovering perfectionist and yes-woman, Cara learned to overcome depression and anxiety.
Making homeownership dreams come true as a mortgage specialist, she loves to read to feed her mind and consumes music religiously to feed her soul.
As a VP for Mothers to Daughters, she hopes to share her experiences and inspire Daughters through vulnerability and candor.
Kim Singh
Director, Program Outreach & Implementation
Kim is a relentless, resilient, focused global executive and independent mom, with the ability to balance big-picture thinking and an unwavering commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, with a heavy focus on Belonging.
Kim is an executive at CGI and heads the DE&I and Mental Health for the NRC region and endeavors to develop world-class power-house women through inspiring, mentoring, coaching, and empowering them to be fearless in exploring their limits.
She is a proud owner of 2 MBAs and several global leadership and Business degrees, and a recent graduate of the A Effect Program of women empowerment. Kim’s ultimate goal is to enable women to find their voice and lean in with it.
Loretta Levinson
Head of Strategic Partnerships
Throughout a research-based career in Marketing and Business Development, Loretta has continued to wield a rare talent for identifying opportunities to build brands and organizations via persuasive storytelling and innovative program creation.
Bringing a laser focus on exceeding the objectives set out, Loretta has a strong track record of delivering exceptional results for such leading organizations as Procter & Gamble and Molson Coors Beverages. Flexible and with a commitment to ongoing marketing excellence, Loretta has adapted her skills over the past 6 years to the professional development and networking arena, currently focusing on curated content for Toronto-based Strategy Institute’s pivot of 20 annual B2B conferences from in-person to virtual execution.
Zaynah Marar
Chief Legal Officer
Zaynah is an entrepreneur, an immigration lawyer and a proud mother of her two-year-old son.
Zaynah founded her law firm, Marani Law LLP, with her sister nearly 10 years ago, and now acts as the Managing Partner and Immigration Practice Lead.
She routinely advises multinational companies on their global mobility needs by assisting them to bring their employees in to Canada. When she is not working, Zaynah loves to read, paint, travel, run, and spend time with her family.
Shefa Rezbana
Secretary, Board of Directors
Shefa has been a social sciences researcher with over seven years of experience in socio-economic and governance aspects. She has a demonstrated knowledge of managing and coordinating research projects and programs in the area of governance, local government, and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development goals.
She is currently working for the Federal Government of Canada as a collections officer. She possesses excellent administration, business communications, and necessary IT skills to negotiate and deal tactfully with an array of people to perform debt recovery actions for Government Programs. She holds a Master of Social Sciences from the University of Dhaka in Public Administration.
Shefa feels women's empowerment is critical to increasing the sense of self-worth for all women, no matter how developed a country is. While Shefa enjoys working towards this cause that provides her with mental rewards, she also loves to spend quality time with her family, read books, watch movies, and travel.
Meet The leadership Team
Hayley Miller, Community Engagement & Social Media Leader
Hayley is a driven and compassionate individual who is dedicated to making a positive impact in the world. She pursued her passion for helping others through completing a Bachelor of Social Work at Toronto Metropolitan University.
In the fall, she will continue her academic journey by pursuing a Master’s in Social Work at the University of Toronto. She plans to specialize in children and their families, hoping to make a meaningful impact on their lives. In her spare time she volunteers with various other organizations, including a dog rescue and a mental health hotline.
Maitsi Dellacasa, Communication Consultant
Maitsi Dellacasa arrived in Canada last year after making a significant leap from Venezuela to Barbados, where she lived for the previous six years. This Venezuelan is an intuitive and proactive communication specialist with more than ten years of relevant experience and extensive background in social change.
She gains expertise in a non-profit television channel for eight years and in the non-profit cultural and educational focus organization for three years. She has also led communications and strategic corporate branding in growing companies.
Maitsi loves meaningful and live-impactful relationships; she enjoys genuinely communicating other's positive actions and is passionate about making organizations a life project.
Cigdem Djamgouz, Community Coach
Cigdem has over 8 years of experience in HR. She specializes in professional coaching, organizational development, recruitment, and employee relationships. Having worked with start-ups and well established companies, Cigdem provides her individual and corporate clients with a customized approach to meet their unique needs.
Cigdem is a certified Cognitive Behavioral Coach accredited by the ICF. She also holds degrees in human resources management, and economics, as well as a Master of European Business.
Oumou Samake, Community Outreach Leader
Oumou Samake is a Bilingual Realtor (REALTOR®) who operates in the Greater Toronto Area. She combines her passion for real estate, education, project management, and customer services to help buyers, sellers, and investors in Ontario make the most informed real estate decisions.
Oumou holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and worked in various service-oriented sectors before starting her career as a real estate agent. Her approach is more focused on education and customer service.
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In her spare time, Oumou enjoys sharing her knowledge with younger people, connecting with new people, and exploring the outdoors with her loved ones.
We would love to hear from you.