Leadership
Samantha Cooke is a forward-thinking, driven fundraising executive with over 15 years' experience building donor, volunteer, and partnership support for physical and mental health causes. An inspiring leader and doer, Samantha brings a positive presence to organizations and promotes an inclusive and collaborative culture. At work Sam is known for building strong teams, inspiring people to bring their whole selves to work and achieve results they can be proud of. Samantha cares deeply about her community and neighbours and will apply her fundraising leadership capabilities and robust fundraising expertise to address food insecurity and issues of poverty here in the GTA and make a meaningful impact here in our community. Sam will work to enhance the Daily Bread Food Bank’s current strengths and introduce new programs to lift philanthropic achievements and reach new heights to end hunger in our city.
Gretchen Daniels is a finance professional with over 15 years of progressive experience in the accounting field. Gretchen started her career in the assurance and advisory group of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where she worked with clients in the technology, not-for-profit, manufacturing, and distribution industries. After leaving PricewaterhouseCoopers, Gretchen spent a number of years working as a Controller, VP Finance and consultant, focusing on controls improvement, regulatory compliance, board, management and investor reporting. For the past three years, Gretchen has served as the CFO of Dixon Hall Neighbourhood Services. Gretchen is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in the state of New Jersey, and holds an MBA in Professional Accounting from Rutgers University.
Neil Hetherington joined Daily Bread Food Bank as CEO in January 2018. Neil began his career in project management at Tridel Construction, Canada’s largest condominium developer. In September 2000, he made a career change by joining Habitat for Humanity Toronto, at the time as the youngest CEO of a Habitat affiliate in the world. Neil’s non-profit experience includes 16 years as CEO of Habitat for Humanity in Toronto, and then New York City, and two years as CEO of Dixon Hall, a multi-service agency with 240 staff serving thousands of people in Toronto through its social programs, shelters, seniors’ programs, youth initiatives and community revitalization efforts. Neil holds degrees and certificates from the University of Western Ontario – Huron College, Seneca College, Harvard Business School, and the University of Virginia – Darden Business School. He obtained his MBA from the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School in 2013. He is an active pilot and sailor. He enjoys furniture making and in his spare time plays tennis terribly, snowboards poorly, and bikes slowly.
Charles Jergl is the Vice President of Programs and Services at Daily Bread Food Bank. Charles became involved in food security issues in 2005, when as a food bank client, he participated in a Community Based Research Project on poverty organized by Daily Bread. This led to him volunteering in the Advocacy Program at Daily Bread in 2006, where he provided information and referral, informal counselling and other supports to food bank clients. In 2008, Charles was hired by Daily Bread to manage several food bank locations across the GTA. Subsequently he has served as the Manager of the Agency Relations department, and in his current role oversees training, program support, and development of around 170 food programs including meal programs and food banks. Charles also oversees Daily Bread’s commercial kitchen which produces prepared meals. Charles’ focus has been to increase the quality and nutrition of foods distributed by Daily Bread, as well as developing a rights-based, anti-oppressive approach to programs and services.
Eva Molina has been in the communications and marketing field for over 15 years, contributing to prominent media outlets such as The Toronto Star. Deeply committed to food security and equity, Eva is now contributing her skills to eradicating hunger and impacting long-term change in the city. Since joining Daily Bread Food Bank in 2018, she has led key initiatives to increase brand awareness and strengthen communications with the organization’s supporters through media relations, digital and social media marketing and content creation. Eva led the organization to the process of an impactful brand refresh in 2023.
Sahar Raza is the Vice President of Research and Advocacy at Daily Bread Food Bank and a board member of Oxfam Canada. As a lifelong social justice advocate, she is dedicated to building bridges and movements, making marginality visible, and advancing systemic change alongside equity-deserving communities. She has over a decade of experience leading research, policy, and communications initiatives on issues ranging from bias in artificial intelligence to poverty, discrimination, and homelessness—and has seen advocacy wins at local, national, and international levels. She previously served as Director of Policy and Communications for a national organization, where she worked to advance the fundamental human right to housing and an adequate standard of living in Canada.
Sahar holds a Master of Arts in Communication and Culture from York University and Toronto Metropolitan University (jointly), a Graduate Diploma in Communication Studies from Concordia University, and an Honours Bachelor of Arts and Science (Mathematics minor) from McMaster University. She enjoys travelling, reading, plants, interior design, and quality time with her large family.
Heather Valentino joined Daily Bread Food Bank in February 2022 as VP, Operations. Her career spans 28 years of supply chain leadership roles in CPG with great Canadian companies such as P&G, Kraft, Maple Leaf Foods, Indigo, and Spin Master. Heather’s extensive experience in local and global supply chains, make her an impactful leader for our Operations, Production, and Supply Chain teams as we deliver best-in-class services to our member agencies and clients.
Jeff Wong is the Vice President, People and Culture at Daily Bread Food Bank. Many years ago, Jeff graduated from Ryerson with a B. Comm specializing in Hospitality & Tourism Management and Human Resources. As a professional, he spent several years working in market research before deciding to switch careers and follow a lifelong passion for food and food issues. The switch resulted in Jeff volunteering at several non-profits across Toronto and finding his community at Daily Bread. Jeff volunteered in the kitchen and on-site food bank before being hired as a Kitchen Assistant coordinating volunteers and preparing food. From there, he became the Volunteer Coordinator, then Volunteer Manager and most recently in September 2018 took on his current role. Jeff is a lifelong Torontonian, avid disc golfer, and a strong believer in that strong community involvement educates the young and helps strengthen us all.
Board
Executive
Gaylen Duncan is Managing Director and Country Operating Officer for Bank of America’s platform in Canada. Gaylen has over 20 years of experience in capital markets working for both Canadian and US banking institutions with areas of focus including finance, risk management, operations and governance. He has a Bachelor of Commerce from Ryerson University, a CFA Charterholder and most recently a graduate of the University of Toronto’s Directors Education Program and is a holder of the Institute of Corporate Directors designation (ICD.D).
Gaylen is actively involved with the firm’s philanthropic efforts and chairs the country’s charitable committee while leading the firm’s initiatives with local charitable organizations. He has actively volunteered at Daily Bread for over 10 years and is excited to be part of the extended Daily Bread team to help fight hunger in the City of Toronto.
Jamille Clarke-Darshanand is a public policy professional focused on social policy and income insecurity issues who has worked in both the public and not-for-profit sectors.
Currently, Jamille works for Infrastructure Ontario, assessing how to develop provincial lands for social purposes, like housing and long-term care. In this role, Jamille leverages her experience with the non-profit development company, Artscape, where she worked to support the creation and protection of below-market spaces for artists in Toronto. Through the use of community co-design and innovative social enterprise, this work aimed to address growing urban unaffordability. Previously, Jamille also worked on the development of policy to enhance income security at the Ontario Public Service and as an independent policy consultant for Toronto-based non-profits. Her work in the public sector allowed Jamille to contribute to the expansion of the Canada Pension Plan, the implementation of the provincial basic income pilot, and other social policy and finance initiatives.
Jamille is passionate about community development and believes strongly in the importance of volunteerism. Outside of work, she helped start a non-profit advocacy organization in her hometown of Scarborough, and established a program to empower local high school students with greater knowledge of potential career paths and options.
JT Badiani is the President of Focused Improvement Consulting. JT has consulted to the public sector, and non-profit organizations and has advised executives on a range of issues from operational improvement, supply chain/logistics optimization, information technology implementation and management, to business strategy. JT holds a Bachelor of Engineering Science (Chemical) from Western University, Master of Business Administration from Ivey School of Business and is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. Prior to Focused Improvement, JT has held leadership positions at PwC, Dunkin Brands, Bombardier Aerospace, and GE. JT is involved with the Daily Bread to contribute to the fight against poverty and hunger in the City of Toronto.
Nicole is the Vice President, Finance and Facilities / Chief Financial Officer at Kensington Health. She has worked in senior leadership roles within finance and operations for more than two decades.
Nicole holds the following designations: Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP), and Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D). She completed a Master of Business Administration from Laurentian University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
Nicole has long been a passionate community volunteer and serves on the Daily Bread Board of Directors to contribute to reducing food insecurity in Toronto.
Board Members
Prior to retiring in 2021 as Principal and Practice Leader, Research (Canada) for Avison Young, Bill enjoyed a long and successful career in commercial real estate that spanned 33 years. While his professional career speaks volumes, his philanthropy, and his unwavering efforts to help others less fortunate than him give him the greatest gratification.
Food insecurity is Bill’s greatest cause — a problem he sees growing before his very eyes as a regular volunteer at Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank. Other volunteer endeavors include the Canadian Red Cross, GlobalMedic, Princess Margaret Hospital and the Canadian Cancer Society. His tireless efforts and dedication earned him the Community Service Award at the 2023 NAIOP Greater Toronto Chapter’s Real Estate Excellence Awards Gala. The award recognizes service rendered unselfishly within the community but outside of the real estate industry.
Andrew Davis is Vice President of Marketing at Lactalis Canada, the largest branded dairy company in the country. He’s responsible for leading the brand, product and communication strategies for the Foodservice & Ingredients division.
Andrew has over 25 years of progressive R&D, marketing and general management experience leading iconic brands in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry, including at General Mills and Campbell’s. A lifelong foodie, he’s passionate about the critical role food plays in people’s lives.
Andrew holds a BSc in Food Science from the University of Guelph and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business.
Margaret Gunawan, Managing Director, General Counsel, Americas (ex-US) is responsible for overseeing legal and regulatory matters for BlackRock’s Canadian and Latin American businesses. She leads a team of legal and compliance professionals who provide day-to-day advice and support on a wide variety of legal and regulatory issues and strategic projects across Canada and Latin America. Margaret also works closely with industry associations and regulators on regulatory development and advocacy issues for BlackRock and the investment management industry.
Margaret is a member of the Global Steering Committee for BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative & Allies Network to bring DEI to life for women at the firm and promote allyship. She is also the executive sponsor for other employee networks at BlackRock. In addition to being a board member of Daily Bread Food Bank, Margaret has extensive experience from her involvement on other non-profit boards such as The Learning Partnership, the Portfolio Management Association of Canada and Humber Valley Hockey Association.
Margaret earned a BA degree from the University of Western Ontario and her law degree from the Osgoode Hall Law School. She’s the proud mom of two boys (who play a lot of hockey) and enjoys travel, reading and the occasional Netflix binge.
Emmy Kelly is Chief Operating Officer at Blue Door, where she has led the rapid expansion of services for individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty. With over 20 years of experience in poverty alleviation and nonprofit leadership, both internationally and within Canada, Emmy drives growth by ensuring visionary ideas are executed with thoughtful, sustainable strategies.
She holds an MBA from the University of Liverpool and applied her expertise to launch Construct, a trades-based employment social enterprise now active in the regions of York, Durham, and Peel. Emmy holds a CIHCM Housing designation, mentors at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, and volunteers on the boards of the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association and Daily Bread Food Bank, advocating for justice and an end to poverty.
Gale M. Kelly, FCPA, CA, is a 20+ year partner with KPMG LLP, practicing in its Department of Professional Practice and specializing in the accounting for complex transactions. She is also an SEC Filing Reviewing Partner and Canadian Securities Engagement Partner. As a partner, Gale has been involved with KPMG’s largest and most complex clients for over 30 years. She is a member of the Canadian Securities Administrators’ Financial Reporting Advisory Committee and a past member of the OSC’s Disclosure Advisor Committee, The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions’ Deposit-taking Institutions Auditors Advisory Committee, as well as a CPA Canada’s Accounting Standards Board and IFRS Discussion Group.
Gale holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto. Gale also volunteers for Casey House Hospital and Foundation (Chair of the Finance Committee) and the AGO Foundation Board (Chair) and was previously a member of the Habitat for Humanity Toronto board. She is a strong proponent in the philosophy that to whom much is given, much is expected.
Boafoa Kwamena is a seasoned executive in the Ontario Public Service with over 14 years of public policy experience. She is currently Director of the Project Implementation at the Ministry of Infrastructure. Previously, Boafoa was Director of Child Care Quality Assurance and Licensing Branch at the Ministry of Education and Director and Executive Assistant to the Secretary of the Cabinet and Head of the Ontario Public Service.
She has held progressively more senior roles in several ministries including Treasury Board Secretariat, Ministry of Infrastructure, Cabinet Office.
Boafoa is also on the Board of Directors of Rise, which is a national organization dedicated to empowering people with mental health and addiction challenges to achieve greater social and economic inclusion through entrepreneurship. Boafoa is the Secretary of the Board as well as Chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee.
Boafoa is the volunteer coordinator at Grace Pascoe Food Bank, a Daily Bread member agency in the upper beaches area of Toronto.
Boafoa holds bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Waterloo and master’s Public Administration from Dalhousie University. 2019 marked 10 years in the Ontario Public Service. She loves travelling, her Peloton bike and sewing!
Maheen Merchant is a lawyer with close to 10 years of wide-ranging experience in several areas of law. Currently, she is a lawyer with the in-house legal department of LIUNA, Local 183 practising labour and civil litigation. Maheen also holds a Masters of Law from Osgoode Hall Law School. Maheen strongly believes in the protection of socio-economic rights and is excited about bringing her skills and experience to the Daily Bread Food Bank in its fight against food insecurity and poverty.
Amos Sarwan is currently the Lead Pastor of Grace Place Church and Director of Grace Place Food Bank, He holds a PHD in Philosophy in International Mission/Counseling and a Doctorate Of Divinity. Before devoting himself full time to ministry, Amos was an IT and Engineering specialist for a large pharmaceutical company. While he had a broad area of responsibility, his main focus was the technical operational efficiency within the company.
He is a ‘builder’ who understands what it takes to build from ground zero and believes in doing so with excellence as well as innovative and ‘outside of the box’ thinking. His philosophy in life is to do whatever it takes to build bridges.
Amos believes in creating structure through physical organization, planning, and teamwork. He has demonstrated this throughout his career and more recently through the re-organization of the layout of Grace Place building to meet the needs of operating one of the largest foodbank in Toronto. This foodbank supports the community as well as over 20 agencies and organizations across Ontario.
He is also heavily involved in humanitarian causes overseas and is continuously expanding partnerships across various organizations to meet a wide range of needs in the community here in Canada and abroad.
Rajiv Sujan is the Vice President of Network Optimization and Real Estate at United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), a leading grocery wholesaler with a vast distribution network across North America. Prior to joining UNFI, he spent more than 10 years in consulting, helping clients mostly in the Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods sectors (heavily concentrated in food) with supply chain strategy and transformation initiatives. Rajiv has a deep empathy for those experiencing food insecurity and is passionately committed to supporting Daily Bread Food Bank in its mission.
Ben Wise is the Head of Programmatic Media at Google, where he manages online advertising and develops new programs to expand Google product delivery. He has spent 10 years in progressive roles in consulting, marketing, and sales. Ben has co-founded and acted as President for SpringTern, a website connecting students and small business for volunteer work projects, and founded and acted as Executive Director of Step By Step Africa, a grassroots organization that plans and implements HIV/AIDS testing and treatment programs in Ghana and Uganda. He has an MBA from the Ivey School of Business.
