ACT’s Board of Directors

Glen Jonson is a partner with Torys LLP, an international business law firm, based in the Toronto office.  His practice includes securities regulation and corporate finance matters.  He also advises Canadian issuers and securities industry participants on various regulatory compliance matters, including governance and disclosure issues and regulation of market participants in Canada.  He is a co-author of the upcoming 6^th edition of Canadian Securities Regulation, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Law School, teaching the upper year securities regulation course.  He lives in Toronto.

Glen is currently the Chair of the Leadership & Governance Committee.

Andrew is Tier 1 Program Design Manager and LGBTQ Sector Lead at tiptap, a tech for good company that specializes in digital fundraising through tap to give technology.  At tiptap Andrew is responsible for overseeing national and international community based fundraising programs.  He is also responsible for the development of the LGBTQ sector where he connects with organizations to help them digitally transform their in-person fundraising initiatives. Prior to tiptap, Andrew was the Revenue Lead for Girl Guides of Canada where he was responsible for operational corporate partnerships, point of sale giving, and their social enterprise. With over 10 years of experience volunteering and working in the non-profit sector, Andrew has helped charities raise over 44 million dollars. 

Andrew holds a BA in International Business and a Diploma in Marketing from Langara College. He is also a certified PMP through the Project Management Institute. Andrew joined the ACT board in 2019, and became Secretary to the Board in 2021.

Rodney is a Sr. Leader in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics and has spent the majority of his career at Xerox Canada Ltd. During his tenure, he led several business intelligence teams for Xerox’s Customer Service division and was responsible for improving existing and developing new processes through data analysis as well as financial planning for Technical Services. Rodney’s time in Customer Service has made him a passionate advocate for the customer experience and believes that all organizations need to consider client experience when building strategies and programs. While at Xerox, he was President of Toronto Chapter of GalaXe (Gays and Lesbians at Xerox) as well as Xerox Canada’s Liaison to Pride @ Work Canada.

Before joining Xerox Rodney was President of the Alberta Association of CPR Instructors, as well as Chair of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Edmonton which provided a drop-in center and peer counselling services to the gay community of greater Edmonton. He also taught peer counselling during his time at the GLCCE.

Rodney is a graduate of Simon Fraser University where he holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics with a specialty in Statistics and Probability. Rodney and his partner moved from Vancouver to Toronto back in 2003 and call Toronto home.

Sarah is the Principal and Lead, Health Care Philanthropy for Mirams Becker and has over 15 years of experience in executive search.  Sarah has been instrumental in recruiting senior executives across the public sector including not-for-profit organizations, hospitals and community health care organizations.  In addition to her successful track record in executive search, Sarah has experience in career transition/management and governance advisory services. 

Sarah has been a longstanding partner and supporter of ACT, having been involved in key senior leadership recruitments and has subsequently conducted pro bono work for the organization.  She has participated in the AIDS Walk; and has proudly marched with ACT during the Pride Parade.  She also sat on the corporate sponsorship committee for SNAP.  Sarah has volunteered for a Mentorship Plus program providing career advice for upcoming university graduates and has participated in several youth leadership programs as a coach and mentor.

Having worked extensively with Boards of Directors in the recruitment of senior executives and Board Directors, Sarah is keen to build on this experience by serving the board at ACT.  A member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, Sarah would like to make a meaningful contribution to her community to help provide programs, support, education, awareness and to reduce stigma.

In her spare time, you can find Sarah exploring the city with her two children or running or cycling on many of the beautiful trails Toronto has to offer.

Sarah holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master of Arts in Public Administration from Brock University.

Ashlyn was born in India, worked and lived in the US, and then finally chose to settle down in Toronto which he now calls home.  He is an Information Technology professional with twenty years experience in banking, insurance and retail industries. He currently oversees software testing processes to improve efficiency, accuracy, and minimize risk; and, has experience in software development, design and communications.

Ashlyn has a Master of Science (pure and applied Mathematics) from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (Mumbai) India.

Recognizing the importance of balancing his technical pursuits with a healthy mind and body, Ashlyn recently began managing a downtown yoga studio which offers meditation and hot yoga classes.  Wherever he has lived, Ashlyn has consistently been engaged in the community. Prior to moving to Toronto, he volunteered for a local food bank in North Carolina.

Since moving to Toronto, Ashlyn became involved with several community non-profit initiatives. He has been a crew volunteer twice for the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation’s Bike rally. He is actively involved as a volunteer with the 519 Community Centre’s EarlyON child and family centre, and in the past,  he worked with their Sunday drop-in program and Greenspace festivals. Ashlyn also volunteers on the social committee for a large 444-unit condominium complex in downtown Toronto.

At ACT he has volunteered for the fundraiser SNAP and in 2018 he joined the newly formed Quality, Performance and Policy committee of the ACT Board as a community member.

Barry Waite is an, educator, communicator and committed volunteer with more than 30 years of experience with a range of organizations. Currently he is Executive Dean of the Faculty of Media, Arts & Design at Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario.  Previously he was Academic Chair, Communications & Media and faculty at Toronto’s Centennial College. He assumed the chair role in September 2014 after five years as faculty. Prior to joining Centennial College, Barry was a public relations practitioner with a 20-year career in the industry, including several years as Senior Vice President at Strategic Objectives, one of Canada’s leading public relations firms.

Barry’s extensive volunteer experience includes nine years on the board of the Pride and Remembrance Association, including four years as president where he helped double sponsorship and funds raised for the annual Pride & Remembrance Run. He served several years on the Development Committee for Fife House, and two years on the board of Community One Foundation. From 2016-2017 he was Chair of the Communications Work Group for the 2017 Toronto Invictus Games, leading more than 30 volunteers in the communications and public relations area. Barry joined the Board in 2019 and serves on the Philanthropy & Stewardship and Strategic Planning committee.

Nicole Robicheau (she/they) has been engaged in humanitarian work for the past 12 years, responding to countless natural disasters, mass migrations, protracted crises and epidemics. She was in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, and in B.C. during the 2017 wildfires, to name a few. Most recently, Nicole was in Hungary supporting the response to the Ukraine crisis as well as undertaking evaluations of overseas emergency response operations, with a special focus on gender equity. Prior to humanitarian work, Nicole worked as a journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as well as supported journalists in Sierra Leone and Zambia to cover human rights abuses. Nicole’s desire to engage in social reform is what led her run to become a Member of Parliament in the 2021 federal election in the riding of University-Rosedale, to work towards a more just and equitable society. She is also actively engaged with different levels of grassroots community organizing. This includes the creation and facilitation of a community group to support the integration of a new women’s shelter and acting as a federal representative on a 2SLGBTQIA+ committee that focuses on local outreach.

Rebecca Burrows is the General Counsel of KPMG LLP in Canada with overall responsibility for all legal matters impacting the firm.  Previously, Rebecca was a litigation partner with Goodmans LLP, focusing on corporate, commercial and securities litigation.  Rebecca is a life-long community volunteer.  She has been a non-profit director for over fifteen years, most recently with Youth and Philanthropy Initiative and, prior to that, Elizabeth Fry Toronto.  She supplemented her practical experience as a director with the Director Education Program offered by the Rotman School of Management.   Rebecca is originally from Owen Sound, attended Wilfrid Laurier University to obtain her degree in political science, and then moved to Toronto to attend law school at Osgoode Hall.  She currently lives in Toronto with her spouse and two children.

Dr. Sean Hillier is a queer Mi’kmaw scholar from the Qalipu First Nation. He is an assistant professor at the School of Health Policy & Management & Special Advisor to the Dean on Indigenous Resurgence in the Faculty of Health of York University. He is the Co-Chair of the Indigenous Council at York.

Sean has been on the Board of Directors of ACT for the past three years and has served as the organisation's Corporate Secretary and Chair of the Philanthropy and Stewardship Committee.  Sean is a former CIHR doctoral scholar in the area of Indigenous Peoples living with HIV. His research focuses on how policy shapes and impacts access to and utilisation of health care for Indigenous Peoples in Canada. He continues to work in the area of HIV research and is an Investigator with the CIHR Canadian HIV Trails Network.

Yezarni Wynn (he/him) is a resident physician in Toronto, specializing in psychiatry. He is passionate about the intersections between mental health, health equity and social justice. Privileged to be able to formally train in clinical medicine and global health policy, Yezarni has incorporated his academic learning into a number of projects and initiatives across local and global contexts. This includes advocacy and fundraising support for grassroots HIV/AIDS health promotion efforts in Ghana, community health research in Zambia and Sri Lanka, and clinical training in resource-limited remote areas of Canada and Zimbabwe. He has been involved in advocacy for and education about municipal and provincial health issues as a Steering Committee member of Health Providers Against Poverty (HPAP) and as the co-lead of Mental Health on the Margins (MHOTM). He aspires to continue learning from and serving people living with HIV/AIDS throughout his career as a physician and activist.