Executive Team

David W. Hughes
President & Chief Executive Officer
 
As President & CEO of Pathways, David provides the strategic and operational leadership and oversight to all facets of the national organization. Prior to joining Pathways in 2009, David served for eight years as President & CEO of Habitat for Humanity Canada during which time the national association doubled its annual revenues, and expanded its operations from 55 to over 72 locations across Canada. David was instrumental in increasing Habitat’s role internationally, introducing several new programs and services, strengthening its national brand identity, and becoming an influential voice for affordable homeownership in Canada.
 
Before Habitat, David worked for the international headquarters of the SOS Children’s Villages. In his 10 years with that organization, David served as senior advisor to the International President & Secretary General, as Regional Director for North America, and as Senior Representative while on foreign postings in Europe, Africa, Asia, the United States and at the United Nations. David was also the founder of The Impact Group, a management consulting firm dedicated to bringing a bottom-line results-oriented approach to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of non-profit organizations. He continues to serve on governing boards and advisory groups for several organizations.
 
David holds a degree from the University of Western Ontario in economics and a postgraduate degree from the London School of Economics in social policy, public administration and non-profit management. He was born in Toronto, raised in London, Ontario, and now lives in Mississauga with his wife and two young children.

 

Dianne Bascombe
Vice President, Programs & Research
 
Dianne is a recognized leader in Canada’s voluntary sector, always staying close to her passion for working on behalf of children and youth. As Vice President of Programs and Research for Pathways, Dianne works across the organization to meet the challenge of linking research to practice, and to bring the knowledge of front-line staff into an agenda for excellence and innovation. 
 
Prior to joining Pathways, Dianne was most recently the CEO of JUMP Math, a registered charity dedicated to improving mathematics learning by supporting educational and community networks with resources and research. Over the past twenty years, she has held a number of leadership roles in the national voluntary sector, using her expertise and graduate work in economics and public policy to influence social equity issues. As Executive Director of national organizations including the Canadian Child Care Federation, Family Service Canada and the National Children’s Alliance, Dianne has had the privilege of working with communities towards better outcomes for all of Canada’s children. Dianne is a recipient of the Family Service Canada Leadership Award and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal.

 

Pierre Côté
President & Executive Director, Quebec

As President and Executive Director of Pathways Quebec, Pierre Côté leads the operations and expansion efforts in the province of Quebec. Pierre has served for the past 24 years as the leader of Toujours ensemble, a Montreal based non-profit organization focused on supporting youth success; it is also the host agency of the Pathways to Education program in Montreal. 

Pierre is well positioned to lead the growth of Pathways in the province of Quebec. In addition to raising the profile of Toujours ensemble and establishing it as an essential community service, Pierre has also overseen the development and implementation of numerous youth focused programs in the areas of education and violence prevention. 

In 2008, Pierre was honoured to join Mr. Jaques Ménard as a member of the “Groupe d’action sur la persévérance et la réussite scolaires au Québec”, a team of provincial leaders, experts and advocates promoting the importance of improving high school graduation rates for young people in Quebec.

 

David Garland 
Vice President, Finance & Administration

As the VP Finance and Administration for Pathways Canada, David Garland oversees all matters relating to Pathways’ finances, human resources, IT and administration. After starting his career at KPMG, David turned to the technology sector as a controller having earned his certifications as Management Accountant, Chartered Accountant and Public Accountant. He quickly moved on to more senior positions in the same sector, most recently as CFO for TSX Venture Company Empirical Inc. 

David earned both his Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Accounting at the University of Waterloo where he was also an active member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He has maintained strong ties to Sigma Chi since graduation, serving both as Vice Chair/Treasurer Sigma Chi Canadian Foundation and Secretary Treasurer of Waterloo Sigma Chi Properties. David is also a dedicated volunteer for the Heart and Stroke Foundation having held numerous Board positions since 2003, and actively continues that work today.

 

Christy Moorhead
Director, Strategic Initiatives

As the Director of Strategic Initiatives, Christy leads the planning and implementation of cross-functional projects that support the achievement of Pathways goals. From her 20 year career in product management and product marketing, Christy brings a wealth of experience in managing projects that span different functional areas.  

Christy started her career in market research at Information Resource Inc. From there she moved her focus to product management for technology companies, working in at Hewlett Packard, Fast Forward Networks, Inktomi, and JacobsRimell (now Amdocs).  Christy transitioned to the non-profit sector when she moved to Canada in 2009. Her background in technology has led her to be passionate about the use of technology in education.   With an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Christy’s work and personal life have seen her live in nine cities across the globe. 


Elizabeth Sharp
Director, Marketing & Communications

As the Director of Marketing and Communications, Elizabeth is responsible for engaging Canadians in understanding and supporting Pathways' work. Liz has a career in marketing and communications that spans over 20 years and includes working for several leading international brands.

Having graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor Degree in Psychology and, subsequently, from the Schulich School of Business with a Master of Business Administration, Liz began her marketing career in the private sector at Federal Express Canada as Marketing Analyst., Liz subsequently moved to Labatt Breweries of Canada where she was promoted to marketing and brand management positions of increasing responsibility over a nine-year period. Having volunteered her professional expertise to non-profits in the arts and social service sectors, Liz decided to make a career shift to the not-for-profit sector and, in 2005, began working at Habitat for Humanity Canada as Vice President, Marketing and Development. In 2010, Liz joined the team at Pathways to Education. As a mother of two young children, Liz is passionate about supporting the potential of all youth through education.

 

Cathy Yanosik
Vice President & Chief Development Officer 

As the Vice President and Chief Development Officer, Cathy is responsible for building philanthropic support for Pathways' priorities from individuals, corporations, foundations. Cathy is a very successful resource development professional having worked for over 20 years in the advancement of higher education while at Queen’s University, the University of Toronto and most recently at York University. As Senior Vice-President of the York University Foundation, Cathy played a key leadership role in the successful $207 million “York to the Power of 50 Campaign”. In 2009, in recognition of her career achievements, Cathy was awarded the Manulife Financial Outstanding Achievement Award from the Canadian Council for Advancement of Education.

Prior to this, Cathy was the Associate Director, Strategic Planning and Advancement Services at the University of Toronto, during the university’s $1 billion comprehensive campaign. Before this she served her alma mater at Queen’s University in a variety of positions including leading regional mini-campaigns and a team of development officers as Manager of Capital Projects and Faculty Development.

 
Staff

Selim Berbatovci
Alumni Relations & Youth Engagement Advisor

As a recent graduate of the University of Windsor majoring in criminology and minoring in political science, Selim has experience in a number of areas including landscaping, media and sound production, and administrative support. While in university, Selim sat on several councils and committees as well as played intramural soccer and basketball. Selim is not new to Pathways: he brings with him several years experience as a Pathways volunteer, most recently as a member of the Research Advisory Group. He has also been a mentor at the Youth Mentorship Technology Program and spent a summer working at the Canadian Auto Workers’ Union Family Education program. 

 

Vijay Dua
Scholarship & Payroll Administrator

Vijay earned his Bachelor Degree of Science from Indian University in 1980 and for the next nine years worked in India as a Chartered Accountant and then Public Accountant. In 1999 Vijay became a Managing Partner at AVA Associates where he continued until immigrating to Canada in 2006. Using his accountancy skills, Vijay moved quickly from Accountant at Wi-lan Inc., to Controller at Empirical Inc., then Financial Controller at 80/20 Solutions Inc., and most recently as a consultant for Healthscreen Solutions Inc. Vijay is in his final year of his Certification of General Accountants from the Institute of CGA Ontario having already achieved his designation as Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He is a Life Member of “Child Care India” and volunteers at the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.

 

Laura Gomes
Development Coordinator 

In her capacity of Development Coordinator, Laura is responsible for cultivation and stewardship activities, major gift fundraising support, communications, and liaison between Pathways program sites and the national office. With a Bachelor of Commerce from Ryerson University, Laura started her career as a Marketing Coordinator first at The Toronto Star and then at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. In 2006 Laura moved to Japan where she was the Head English Teacher at Peppy Kids Club. Returning to Toronto two years later, Laura completed her Post Graduate Certificate in Fundraising and Volunteer Management at Humber College in 2010. She first applied her skills at non-profit consulting firm The Offord Group and then joined Pathways to pursue her passion in social justice issues, education and advocacy. 

 

Rolf Gube
Director, Information Technology

Rolf is a proven information technology expert with over ten years of experience in systems implementation, networks, project management, corporate training and change management in the technology sector. His career started in the freight forwarding industry as Network Administrator at Ranger Group of Companies in 1999. He was promoted six years later to IT Manager, a post that he held for nine years. In 2008, Rolf made the move from the corporate to the not-for-profit world, joining Habitat for Humanity as Director of Information Technology. 

Afsheen Jiwani
Corporate Development Coordinator
As a Corporate Development Coordinator, Afsheen is responsible for corporate cultivation, solicitation and stewardship plans. She is actively involved in communicating and servicing corporate accounts, employee groups and corporate foundations. She has an expensive experience of working in not-for-profit sector. She is Masters in Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing from Institute of Business Management, Pakistan. Currently, she is also undertaking a Certification in Fundraising Management at Ryerson University.

Afsheen moved to Canada in April 2012 and joined the Resource Development team of United Way Greater Toronto during the successful $116.1 million “Imagine a city” 2012 fundraising campaign. Before this, she worked for over 4 years as a Senior Resource Development Officer at Aga Khan University where she played a leading role in major strategic initiatives including project management, stewardship and cultivation activities. She is also a Young Professional Member of Association of Fundraising Professional, Greater Toronto Chapter.

Martha Krzic
Director, Organizational Learning
Martha is the Director of Organizational Learning where she facilitates continuous knowledge exchange and enhances learning processes across the Pathways network in support of its organizational goal. Martha has over 15 years change management experience in the financial and document management services industries. Starting at Xerox in1985 as a Telesales Manager, she quickly moved up to become Project Manager in Business Services where she managed cross-disciplinary teams in the U.S. and Canada. In 2003 Martha took her skills to the financial sector joining BMO Financial Group in 2003, first as Senior Manager of Products and Services, and most recently as Senior Manager, Business Process Development & Learning of Procurement and Strategic Sourcing where she introduced and embedded three leading industry methodologies to drive sustainability and repeatability. Martha is an Arts under-graduate of Trent University and has her Master’s Certificate in Project Management from McMaster University/George Washington University, as well as several certifications from various professional training and development courses. In addition to English, Martha speaks French, Spanish and Slovenian.

 

Diane Marrow
Associate Director, Personal Giving & Foundations
Diane has had a long career in fundraising and resource development starting at The Learning Partnership in Toronto as Director of Development and Communications, and then at Ryerson University where she supported the Campaign Cabinet to raise funds for the Faculty of Community Services. Prior to joining Pathways, Diane spent five years at the University of Toronto Libraries raising funds for the Central Library System. Before entering the field of resource development, Diane worked in residential real estate for ten years and prior to that at the former City of York Board of Education, bringing her work at Pathways full circle to the educational sector. Outside of work, Diane is a member of the Longboat Roadrunners, a Toronto running club that has Pathways as its chosen charity.

 

Irene Parvin
Researcher
As a Researcher, Irene is responsible for liaising with school boards as well as host agencies to receive school board data. Irene cleans, organizes, and analyzes data from the school board as well as historical data to assist with the preparation of each year’s final report. She also provides research support for literacy initiatives as well as the YOUCAN program. Irene brings over 15 years of experience of conducting both qualitative and quantitative research in the field of Teacher Education, Open and Distance Learning, Youth Empowerment, and Community Development. She has had 15 research articles published in peer-reviewed journals and has contributed book chapters for 5 books. Prior to joinin Pathways to Education, Irene was a researcher at Brock University, the University of Manitoba, and the Center for Community Learning and Development. She has also taught at George Brown College and was a Program Coordinator for the Youth Empowering Parents Program in Toronto. Irene has also worked as an Instructor and Assessment Counsellor in the Literacy Program for the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Before moving to Canada as an immigrant in 2010, Irene was an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Bangladesh Open University and also taught in different public universities including the Institute of Education and Research of Dhaka University. Irene also worked in the Ministry of Education of Bangladesh as a Consultant to introduce the National Teacher Education Curriculum. Irene has worked as a consultant in different national and international projects.

Irene has earned her Masters in Educational Research and Evaluation from Dhaka University, an MEd in Inclusive Education from Griffith University of Australia, Bachelor of Arts and Masters in English Literature and Language from Jahangirnagar University, Bachelor of Education (BEd), PGC on Distance Education Design and Development from University of New South Wales of Australia, Teacher Education Curriculum Development from Christchurch College of Education of New Zealand and Teaching English as a Second Language degree from George Brown College of Canada. She was a Commonwealth scholar and achieved Golden Key Society award for achieving outstanding result in her Masters at Griffith University. She is a member of TESL Ontario and volunteers at the Coalition of Universities for Responsible Investing (CURI) as a Director Research and Policy. In addition to English, Irene is fluent in Bengali.

Nisha Pitroda
Financial Coordinator
After earning her Bachelor Degree in Commerce from Bombay University in 1989, Nisha started a career in accounting at the Tandon Group of Companies in Mumbai as Senior Accounts Assistant. With the skills gained over seven years at Tandon, Nisha moved on to be the Group Accounts Manager at Haider Store LLC, one of the leading trading, distributing, manufacturing, real estate, and travel and tour companies in the Middle East. In 2008 Nisha immigrated to Toronto, Canada where she continues to pursue her career in accounting both with her job at Pathways and with the completion of Level III of the Certified General Accountant course.

 

Lana Rozitis
Manager, Program Support 
As Manager of Program Support, Lana is responsible for providing day-to-day support for all Pathways programs across Canada and for developing national partnerships. Lana brings over 30 years experience of working with youth in various community and educational settings. For the past eight years, she was a Student Parent Support Worker (SPSW) Coordinator at the Pathways Regent Park program. Prior to this, Lana worked for the Toronto District School Board for 17 years as a Youth Counsellor in an alternative, inner-city high school designed for students who had dropped out or were at risk of dropping out of school. Lana graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) in 1976 and here started her interest in working with youth and studying art therapy. Lana’s skills and knowledge where honed as a Teacher-Therapist and then Supervisor at Youthdale Schools and Central Toronto Youth Services. In 2007, Lana earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts also from OCAD. Lana also has training in conflict mediation and is interested in Effective Supervision and Coaching. Lana is pleased to have this opportunity to share the experience, skills and knowledge she learned at Regent Park with all the Pathways programs.  


Brigitte St-Germain
Director of Fundraising (Quebec) 

As Director of Fundraising (Quebec), Brigitte actively manages existing philanthropic partnerships and works to secure new support across Quebec. Brigitte is an accomplished fundraising professional with extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector.
 
Prior to Pathways, Brigitte was the Director of Fundraising at the Canadian Red Cross, Quebec. There, she developed and managed a corporate relations program that successfully identified and secured new sources of revenue while maintaining relationships with existing partners. During that time, she designed and implemented a stewardship framework to engage and renew funders. Before entering fundraising, Brigitte practiced law for 20 years as a criminal defense attorney after graduating from Montreal University. Her law career gave her a first-hand look at the importance of education. More importantly, how having an education can enable youth to take care of themselves financially, and gain a sense of pride and responsibility to break out of the community-services cycle


Tai Telesco
Development Coordinator

After earning a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours from McGill University in 2004, Tai moved to Nicaragua where, using her fluency in Spanish, she worked as a Library Administrator. In 2007 Tai became the Human Resources Support Administrator for Bryan & Company LLP in Edmonton, Alberta, during which time she also worked as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Edmonton and Area 2008 Corporate Challenge Event. In 2009 Tai landed in Toronto where she joined Skills for Change as a Researcher/Proposal Writer, and so began the formalization of her career in fundraising. She has since become an active member of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement. In addition to English and Spanish, Tai is fluent in French and Portuguese.

 

 

Craig MontfordDevelopment Officer
Cynthia LegaultDevelopment Coordinator
Elena GurovskyCommunications Officer
Irene ParvinResearcher
Ivy ChuDatabase Coordinator
Jason ShimDigital Media Manager
Jennifer PladzykNational Coordinator of Mentoring Initiatives
John BeebeManager, Tutoring Initiatives
Judee RigorosoExecutive Assistant
June ZhuResearch Analyst
Karl WielerOffice Manager / Senior Executive Assistant
Margaret DouglinData Analyst
Melanie RamosAssociate, Marketing & Communications 
Michelle GreenspoonStewardship Manager
Midé Akerewusi Director, Leadership Philanthropy
Nosheen KhanAdministrative Assistant, Resource Development 
O'neil EdwardsDirector, Post-Secondary Mentoring & Alumni Relations
Petrona EcclestonResearch Manager
Rebecca BlaikieOutreach Development Officer (Winnipeg)
Rose ChanResearch and Database Manager
Shannon MoonDirector of Development Programs and Services
  

 

 

 

 Learn About Us

  • Founded in 2001, Pathways now operates in 12 communities across Canada
  • The Pathways program provides a comprehensive set of academic, financial and social supports to youth
  • By 2016, Pathways will serve over 10,000 students and alumni each year