Candidates We Are Proud To Have Placed – September 2017

I hope you are enjoying this wonderful fall weather and are energized to accomplish great things. We have some placed candidates we would like to recognize for the great things they do in the sector both in their past roles and now with the organizations we have placed them in. They all make the NFP sector proud and we are honoured to have been a part of their career progression.

Tracy Abergel, Director of Events, Sinai Health Foundation

Tracy joined Sinai from the Canadian Opera Company where she built her event and leadership experience. Although very young in her career she became the chosen candidate because of her maturity and poise and her deep event fundraising experience. When at the COC Tracy movedinto the top event role quickly, showing her ability to manage complex events, bring new creative events on board and manage high profile event volunteers. At Sinai, she was entrusted with a large complex portfolio of events worth millions of dollars of revenue for the organization. Tracy stepped up to the plate in a way people twice her age might not have been able to do. She takes on challenges in a very positive way, never complaining about why things are the way they are but instead focusing on how to make things work. As an innovative and creative person, Tracy will be focused on how to increase efficiencies of the current Sinai event portfolio. And what makes us believe she will be successful is her authentic love of event fundraising. Click here to view Tracy’s LinkedIn profile.

Mary Ellen Armstrong, Director of Marketing and Communications, Immigrant Access Fund Canada

Mary Ellen came to IAF after helping to increase the number of organ donors in Ontario by 40% while in the role of Director of Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs at the Trillium Gift of Life, part of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Over eight years she built a highly effective communications program campaign to increase awareness of the benefits of organ donation and persuade Ontarians to register as donors. With a background in journalism, marketing and communications, Mary Ellen will help IAF significantly increase the number of immigrants who receive loans to help them become certified in the field of work they did before they came to Canada. She will support the organization as they move from a regional to national scope. Click here to view Mary Ellen’s LinkedIn profile.

Jon Lam, Director of Finance and Risk, Immigrant Access Fund Canada

Jon has a long history developing small high-tech companies. He was a great person for the finance role at IAF because of his combination of creative and analytical skills. Prior to joining IAF, Jon had moved from the Board of Boys and Girls Clubs Calgary to a two-year contract as their top finance leader. He was known at BGC Calgary because of his diligent work improving the finance and technical functions. BGC is a large organization that has benefited hugely from the work of Jon and his team. Now Jon joins IAF to bring the same innovation and process improvement to their finance and loan portfolio. With a goal to grow the organization by 10-fold in the next few years, IAF is excited to have someone with Jon’s skills on board to help the organization manage the financial risks of a large and growing loans portfolio. Click here to see Jon’s LinkedIn profile.

Megan McDonald, Manager, Expedition Fundraising, True Patriot Love Foundation

Megan joined the TPL team to help manage the expedition donors and encourage increased participation. Each participant of an expedition has a significant revenue target and Megan’s job is to support and assist them every step of the way. Megan came from the MS Society as a Senior Coordinator, Corporate & Cultivation Events where she executed signature events and supported volunteer leaders. When we first met Megan, we were immediately impressed with her maturity and business polish. She is smart, articulate and very impressive for someone so early in her career. We knew she would be a great fit for TPL’s high profile donor/participant portfolio and would represent the organization with a high degree of professionalism. Click here to see Megan’s LinkedIn profile.

Clare Olmstead, Advancement Director, Sinai Health Foundation

Clare joined Sinai as an Advancement Director with a mandate to build a robust major gift donor program within her assigned portfolios. Clare came with a wealth of experience and an understanding of best practices from Sunnybrook Foundation and the University of Guelph. What stood out about Clare was the amazing relationships she had built with medical department heads. She not only grew revenue that hadn’t been in the pipeline but also created relationships founded on trust and respect. It was clear Clare not only loves major gifts fundraising and is good at it but that she truly cared about the programs she helped support. Sinai gets a staff person who is humble in her approach but driven to achieve results for her stakeholders. Click here to see Clare’s LinkedIn profile.

Erika Rueter, Manager, Senior Manager, Major Gifts, Upper Canada College

Erika came to UCC after building her career at the University of Toronto in both the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering and the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. Erika built a strong leadership giving program and was gaining experience in major gift fundraising when she joined UCC. Erika was known for her ability to build strong relationships with a wide range of alumni. She brought a stability and calm determination to the faculty. It was clear that alumni sensed Erika’s deep commitment and willingness to go the extra mile. Erika joins UCC to help them build strong relationships with parents and alumni and a foundation for future campaigns. Erika was selected for the role because she was such a good fit with the advancement team and everyone appreciated her professional demeanor and her smart and articulate approach to managing a dynamic donor pipeline. Click here to view Erika’s LinkedIn profile.

Agata Witkiewicz, Manager of Foundation Relation, JDRF Canada

Agata joined JDRF as their Manager of Foundation Relations with the mandate to manage and grow the national foundation portfolio. She came from the Walrus Foundation where she operated as a generalist fundraiser overseeing a variety of roles. Agata was an excellent fit for the foundation role because of her combined relationship and project management skills. She came with very innate abilities managing relationships in a calm and respectful manager. The role at JDRF required someone who could work really well with staff across the country and inspire them to work together as a team and Agata was that person. Click here to view Agata’s LinkedIn profile.

Did you know that after 15 years of placing candidates in the NFP sector, our retention rates, which include both junior and senior roles, is 4 years and 7 months. In an industry with an average 18 month turnover rate we are pretty darn proud of our ability to find a great fit for our clients each and every time.