17 outstanding Canadians in Corporate Social Impact

We recognize these 17 changemakers working hard in corporate social impact to improve their companies and their communities. (Illustration by Elisha Dacey/Future of Good.)

The Top Canadians in Corporate Social Impact are a distinguished group nominated by their peers for their exceptional contributions to social purpose within the business sector. 

These leaders have integrated social, economic, and environmental impact into their leadership, work, and corporate strategies, driving meaningful impact both within their organizations and the broader community. Their work spans diverse initiatives, from sustainability and community engagement to diversity and inclusion, showcasing the transformative power of corporate social impact.

Despite their significant contributions, individuals working in social impact within businesses and corporate sectors often go under-recognized. These professionals champion positive change, leveraging their expertise and resources to address pressing social and environmental challenges. 

By highlighting the achievements of these top Canadians in corporate social impact, we aim to highlight their invaluable efforts and inspire others in the corporate world to follow their example in creating a more equitable and sustainable future.

Ryan Adams, Head, Strategic Partnerships, Benevity

Location: Toronto

As a member of the Strategy and Growth team at Benevity, Ryan drives cross-sector collaboration, innovative partnership strategies, and sustainable, social, and business impact. Prior to this role, Ryan sat on the Benevity Impact Labs team, a social innovation hub that brings cutting-edge data, research, insights, and best practices to help companies accelerate and maximize their impact and inclusion.

Ryan’s job is to help connect Benevity to the broader ecosystem of companies and organizations that care about social change and making a difference. It’s about driving added value for the more than 2.2 million global nonprofits Benevity works with, the companies they support and enable to drive their own corporate purpose programs, and the end user—that employee who cares about a specific social issue and wants to take action.

Before Benevity, Ryan spent over three years at Royal Bank of Canada as the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Citizenship, where he oversaw best-in-class community programs that engaged 86,000 RBC employees and retirees globally. Ryan sits on the Canadian Board of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and is an unapologetically passionate vegan.

Website: Benevity

Maya Colombani, Head of Sustainable Development and Human Rights, L’Oréal

Location: Montreal

Maya Colombani has been the Head of Sustainable Development and Human Rights at L’Oréal Canada since 2022, following a 20-year career at L’Oréal.

She held various positions in the International Marketing Department for Kérastase and L’Oréal Professionnel, with assignments in India and Europe. In 2010, she became the Director of Sustainable Development, and by the end of 2016, she had revolutionized L’Oréal Brazil’s approach to sustainability and human rights.

Her award-winning initiatives (Guia Exame 2017/2018/2019, WEP Gold Award 2021) have set L’Oréal Brazil as an example in climate change, biodiversity, and women’s empowerment. In 2022, GLOBO recognized it for its inclusive programs with Indigenous communities.

At L’Oréal Canada, Maya reinforces the positive impact in sustainable development and human rights for “L’Oréal For the Future,” with eco-design and decarbonization programs such as 100 per cent renewable energy on all sites, as well as the promotion of circular economy and inclusive partnerships with indigenous populations.

Recently, she received Canada’s Clean 50 award, which “recognizes the 50 individual LEADERS who have the greatest impact in the fight against climate change,” and the Top 25 ESG Leadership 2024 award in Calgary for her ESG practices.

Website: Loreal.com 

Jerilynn Daniels, Regional Director, Community Marketing and Citizenship, RBC

Location: Calgary

An (almost) native Calgarian, with a career that started in the charitable sector more than 35 years ago, Jerilynn Daniels is the Regional Director, Community Marketing and Citizenship for RBC in Alberta and Territories. Now in her 14th year with RBC, she leads the regional sponsorship, marketing and donations portfolio, and embraces creating value for the business through investment in community.

 “One of the most rewarding experiences is thinking beyond the money to bring value to the organizations we partner with.” 

For Jerilynn, the magic happens by combining business priorities and meaningful engagement with the many not-for-profit organizations in her community.  

“Whether it’s skills based volunteering, thought leadership or collaborative ideation, we can always find mutually beneficial ways of working together to achieve our business goals, and help organizations achieve their mandate in support of the community and all those within it.”

Website: RBC.com

Susan Henry, Director, Community Impact and Financial Inclusion, Alterna Savings

Location: Toronto

Susan Henry has been a dedicated advocate for underserved and underrepresented communities across Canada for more than 25 years. Her tireless commitment to promoting financial Inclusion led to the launch of Alterna Savings’ award-winning Community Microfinance Program, which has disbursed more than $10 million in loans since its establishment in 2000. 

The program provides individuals, entrepreneurs, and organizations access to capital and a wide range of affordable financial products to address socioeconomic inequity and create opportunities for economic independence by reducing barriers to banking for those often excluded from financing.

Susan also played a crucial role in the formation of Canada’s first Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund, which aims to address the specific systemic barriers Black business owners too often face when seeking financing.

In addition to her work at Alterna Savings, Susan advises organizations across North America on policy, social finance initiatives, and community development. She is a member of the Financial Resilience Institute’s Advisory Council and serves on the Economic Development Committee for the Canadian Women’s Foundation. 

Susan’s tremendous contributions have influenced impactful change for a wide range of underserved communities and groups, helping to promote equity, financial stability, and hope to those most in need.

Website: Alterna Savings

Gina Jordan, Manager, Sustainability and ESG Policy, Enbridge

Location: Calgary

As Manager, Sustainability and ESG Policy at Enbridge, Gina leads the development of sustainability strategies and reporting in support of the company’s transition to a more sustainable, reliable and affordable energy future. Since joining Enbridge’s Public Affairs team in 2006, Gina has held leadership roles in Sustainability, Corporate Citizenship, Stakeholder and Indigenous Engagement, Community Relations and Communications.

Gina’s dedication to social impact is deeply rooted in her belief that volunteering is fundamental to building a stronger, more connected society. Her passion for volunteerism is not just about the act itself, but about the profound impact it has on individuals and communities. Gina understands that volunteering provides a sense of purpose and fulfillment, both for the volunteers and those they help.

At Volunteer Canada, Gina serves as Chair of the Governance Committee and is also a member of the Strategic Planning Committee, where she works tirelessly to drive forward the organization’s mission to advance volunteerism. Her efforts are focused on creating inclusive opportunities that allow everyone to engage, regardless of their background or experience.

Gina’s life-long commitment to volunteering and social impact is a reflection of her desire to foster a sense of connection, community, and belonging. She believes that when people come together through volunteerism, they build bridges across differences, strengthen communal bonds, and promote a culture of learning, mutual support and collaboration.

Website: Volunteer Canada

Nimmi Kanji, Executive Director, Telus Friendly Future Foundation

Location: Calgary

As the Executive Director for TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, Nimmi Kanji is responsible for advancing TELUS’ social capitalism thesis through both the Foundation and TELUS’ world-class Social Purpose programs. Through the Foundation, Nimmi helps youth reach their full potential via the TELUS Student Bursary and grants to youth-serving charities.

In 2023, with support from donors and partners, and in collaboration with TELUS’ community boards, the Foundation provided more than $9 million in grants, supporting 550 charities working to drive better outcomes for youth. The TELUS Student Bursary awarded nearly $2 million in over 400 bursaries to help empower change-making students facing financial barriers. This year, they are on track to grant more than 500 bursaries nationwide, helping students realize their dreams of post-secondary education.

Furthermore, as an advocate for positive change and with a commitment to breaking down barriers and bridging technology and health divides, Nimmi also oversees TELUS’ social purpose programs, including Internet for Good, Mobility for Good, Tech for Good, Health for Good, and TELUS Wise. At their core, these programs aim to remove barriers to access for marginalized Canadians while fostering strong digital citizenship. With a relentless focus on driving impact, these programs have seen exponential growth, positively impacting more than 1.2 million individuals since inception.

Website: TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, TELUS’ social purpose programs

Ian McCann, Manager, Social Impact and Partnerships at Meridian Credit Union

Location: Toronto

Transformative social impact is not just about providing capital to changemakers—though that is essential. It is about building capacity for the people and organizations that touch people’s lives directly. That’s why Ian McCann’s work, and the work done at Meridian Credit Union, is about bringing together cross-sector stakeholders to provide the knowledge, tools, and expertise that community partners need—in addition to strategically disbursing capital where it’s needed most. In Ian’s work at Meridian, this means leveraging organizational core competencies—such as financial expertise—to magnify impact.

Granting is important, but it’s not enough. As corporate social impact professionals, it is incumbent upon them to seek out creative and impactful ways to magnify the impact of their organizations. This means working in partnership with community organizations to understand their needs and gaps, and collaborating to find novel ways to take their impact beyond just dollars. 

Corporate granting is important, but collaborative problem-solving—whether it be tools and resources, skills-based volunteers, or anything else driven by on-the-ground community changemakers—is transformative corporate social impact. That is what drives Ian, and what he hopes to achieve when he shows up to work every day.

Website: Ian McCann on LinkedIn

Chantelle Moore, Manager Social Impact, Gore Mutual Insurance

Location: Kitchener-Waterloo

Chantelle’s ambition to build capacity within the charitable sector stands out with her audacious thought-leadership piece on corporate funder’s expectations of charitable partners to monitor and evaluate the impact of their giving, versus the impact itself, without proper resource allocation.

With 12-years experience as a major gift corporate fundraiser, she recognizes that charitable partners have a better understanding of the challenges they face and the intended outcomes from charitable investments. Under Chantelle’s leadership, Gore Mutual Foundation implemented a pilot program in 2023 that enables their charitable beneficiaries to define their own metrics of success and also provides monitoring and evaluation capacity-building grants, in addition to our community grants.

This pilot has the opportunity to build a better model in Canadian corporate social impact, by advocating for the investment in the people, programs, and time spent by our charitable partners in monitoring and evaluating the impact of corporate funder’s giving and driving greater social outcomes by advocating for charitable partner autonomy to define their own impact metrics.

In addition, Chantelle plays a key role in Gore Mutual Foundation’s involvement as the Founding Partner for the Climate and Equity Lab and aligned their Foundation’s strategic charitable partnerships granting to fund collaborations within the charitable sector, as partnerships are a fundamental driver of accelerated social impact.

Website: Chantelle Moore on LinkedIn

Joanne Photiades, Manager, Social Impact, Business Development Bank of Canada

Location: Montreal

Joanne has helped drive sustainability efforts, social entrepreneurship and impact for 20 years and is fueled by the passion for the possible. She was the visionary behind BDC becoming the first Canadian bank to achieve BCorp certification and has been part of many firsts as the financial sector embraces social impact. 

She has previously served as the Past President/Chairperson of the West Island of Montreal Chamber of Commerce, Executive of the Hellenic Board of Trade of Greater Montreal, and a Mentor for numerous companies featured on Canada’s Top 100 Fastest-Growing Companies and social entrepreneurs at MaRS, Canada’s Centre for Innovation and Impact.

In Joanne’s world, there are no problems, only solutions yet to be found. With a background in finance, sustainability, and community work, she enjoys connecting unlikely allies to create positive change. Her career mission is to enable business to be a force for good – good for the communities we live in, good for our environment and good for the economy. Earlier this year, Joanne was appointed to the newly created position at BDC to lead social impact, including Canada’s first mental health strategy for entrepreneurs.

Motivated by her personal experience as an ovarian cancer survivor, Joanne is the Co-Chair of the MUHC Foundation’s $7 million DOvEE Capital campaign to bring the world’s first early diagnosis of ovarian cancer test to market.

Closest to her heart, motivated by the systemic challenges faced in raising a child with a disability, Joanne is passionate about driving systemic and social changes for children with disabilities. She is committed to improving access, awareness, and inclusion in all aspects of life, medical care, and education to ensure children with disabilities can have a life of choice and independence. Joanne is currently the Vice-President of the Canadian Association of Williams Syndrome.

Website: BDC Sustainability Report, BDC resources to support entrepreneurs’ mental health

Sydney Piggott, Senior Social Impact Manager, Shopify

Location: Toronto

As a Senior Social Impact Manager at Shopify, Sydney leads collaborations with mission-driven partners that deliver entrepreneurship and technology education to underrepresented communities globally. She also mobilizes Shopify’s employees to lend their expertise to these social-purpose organizations through volunteer programs.

Sydney is part of a dynamic team working alongside international nonprofit partners and hundreds of dedicated volunteers. Together, they work to dismantle barriers and cultivate a thriving ecosystem for underrepresented youth and entrepreneurs. 

Their initiatives create inclusive pathways for young people and diverse merchants to succeed as business owners and tech leaders by equipping them with an entrepreneurial mindset, digital skills, and expert mentorship. 

Through their global volunteer program, Shopify employees give back to their communities by offering their time to social impact partners around the world. They also donate retired hardware to provide essential technology to those who need it most, diverting thousands of devices from landfills and further reducing barriers to entry for aspiring merchants. 

This work is an important part of democratizing entrepreneurship and advancing Shopify’s mission to make commerce better for everyone!

Website: Sydney Piggott on LinkedIn

Brendan Reimer, Strategic Partner, Values-Based Banking, Assiniboine Credit Union

Location: Winnipeg

Brendan Reimer is an experienced leader in collaborative community building through non-profit, business, and government partnerships. Brendan is purpose-driven with an inspirational vision for social, economic, and environmental justice, and for building the communities we aspire to live in together. 

Currently, Brendan focuses this energy at Assiniboine Credit Union, where his work as an engaging communicator, strategic thought leader, effective collaborator and relationship builder, and creative solutions-oriented innovator is moving the organization toward its vision of a sustainable future for all. This involves integrating this vision into all aspects of business operations, using finance as a force for good, and leveraging all corporate activities to build an inspired and engaged workplace that brings well-being and resilience to members, employees, communities, and the environment.

Brendan and his team are redefining the role of business in society and demonstrating the effectiveness of a purpose-driven company. With thousands of companies joining this journey, as demonstrated by the B Corp movement globally, they are changing the sustainability of our planet and building more equitable and resilient societies and local economies.

Website: Assiniboine Credit Union

Alicia Rose, Associate Vice President, Social Impact, TD

Location: Toronto

Alicia Rose believes real change requires more than just good intentions – it demands challenging conventional approaches and a willingness to do things differently. Throughout her career, whether in nonprofit or corporate spaces, Alicia has focused on expanding access and opportunities for all, recognizing that shifting systems means stepping outside comfort zones. 

In her current role at TD, Alicia has the privilege of supporting community leaders and organizations across Canada who aspire to make a positive impact in the communities they serve. They tackle complex challenges – from elevating diverse voices in arts and culture, to helping people access housing, to working on innovative research, solutions, and technology to support access to care for vulnerable communities, to growing and enhancing green spaces, and addressing financial insecurity that impacts many Canadians.

Alicia is particularly passionate about the arts and helping historically unheard communities with opportunities to tell their own stories and own their narratives. The work at TD supports programs that provide tools and resources and help mentor new leaders in this sector, which is not just impactful but can be transformative on a personal level.

For Alicia, this journey isn’t about ticking boxes; it’s about embracing the long, sometimes messy path of working together to support change, nurture progress, and invest in local communities.

Website: How volunteering changed my life 

Courtney Rowsell, Social Compliance and Reporting Lead, Calibre-Valentine Gold Mine

Location: St. John’s

Courtney Rowsell is a proud graduate of the Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) and MBA in Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship programs. Currently, Courtney serves as the Social Compliance and Reporting Lead for Calibre-Valentine Gold Mine, where she plays a role in ensuring sustainability commitments are met and collaborates with colleagues globally on sustainability matters.

In addition to her professional role, Courtney volunteers and engages at the governance level for organizations like the Cal LeGrow Foundation and Home Again Furniture Bank, which tackle significant social issues and align with her personal values. She also mentors at the Social Ventures Incubator within the Memorial Centre for Social Enterprise. Previously, her work focused on positive social change in areas such as immigration and entrepreneurship.

These roles allow Courtney to connect with other passionate change-makers and contribute meaningfully to initiatives that promote social impact and sustainability in communities and beyond.

Website: Courtney Rowsell on LinkedIn

Ayon Shahed, President of Branch Innovations & VP Innovation and Business Development, Seafair Capital

Location: St. John’s, NL

As President of Branch Innovations and VP of Innovation & Business Development at Seafair Capital, Ayon Shahed focuses on reimagining and building innovative processes within healthcare. Specifically, Ayon strives to connect acute care, primary care, and community-based care, ensuring a more seamless integration across the continuum of services. Ayon is passionate about creating new operating models and products that bring greater value not only to healthcare but to local communities as a whole.

As a leader, Ayon guides teams in fostering collaboration and innovation, ensuring that their solutions are practical, sustainable, and beneficial to both healthcare professionals and patients alike.

This work is crucial as the healthcare system faces unprecedented strain. Ayon believes it is essential to challenge traditional methods and find ways to enhance access, quality, and efficiency. By helping clinicians focus on their core work and addressing the administrative inefficiencies that hamper the system, Ayon aims to reduce stress and burnout, improve retention, and elevate the patient experience and health outcomes. It’s about enabling individuals to receive high-quality care across diverse settings, ultimately contributing to a healthier future for all.

Website: BranchInnovations

Brooke Tucker-Reid, Global Head, Sustainability Strategy and Reporting, Manulife 

Location: Toronto 

Brooke Tucker-Reid has made meaningful contributions as a corporate sustainability leader, with oversight for sustainability strategy, ESG reporting and disclosure, employee engagement, governance, social impact, and human rights at Manulife.

But what gets Brooke out of bed in the morning? The ability to educate and inspire Manulife’s 40,000 global colleagues around environmental and social impact and the ripple effect that can have to create change. And she started doing that many years ago. Prior to her current role, Brooke spent seven years on Manulife’s communications team, often promoting the company’s social impact progress, like its leading mental health and fertility benefits for employees.

That experience led her to join the sustainability team nearly four years ago to lead ESG reporting and disclosure. Since then, Brooke has overhauled the sustainability-related employee engagement strategy, bringing on innovative vendors and experiences to support all colleagues on their purpose journeys. Notably, in 2022, she helped establish Manulife’s Impact Agenda, which focuses the company’s sustainability decisions on the areas where it has the greatest ability to affect change through a shared value approach and now sits at the center of her day-to-day work.

Beyond her internal contributions, Brooke proudly represents Manulife by participating in industry working groups like International Sustainability Standards Board’s Technical Reference Group as the IFRS Foundation established their much-anticipated sustainability reporting standards.

Website: Brooke Tucker-Reid on LinkedIn

Raylene Whitford, Director, Canative Energy

Location: Calgary

Raylene Whitford is a proud Cree-Métis leader who has made her mark on the global stage through an impressive career in energy and finance, is dedicated to advancing Indigenous rights and inclusion within corporate spaces. 

As a member of the Canadian Standards Strategy Board (CSSB), Raylene focuses on integrating Indigenous perspectives into corporate sustainability reporting matters. Her work is driven by a deep commitment to ensuring that Indigenous voices are central to the decision-making processes that impact both communities and the nation.

A member of the Métis Nation of Alberta, Raylene’s approach to leadership is deeply rooted in her heritage as well as her extensive international experience. Recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader, she is a passionate advocate for inclusion, sustainability, and social responsibility. 

Her ability to bridge Indigenous Knowledge with modern corporate practices has made her an influential voice in the ongoing dialogue around equity and inclusion. Raylene’s appointment to the CSSB marks a significant step in her mission to inspire positive change, solidifying her role as a catalyst for a more inclusive and equitable future, both in corporate spaces and beyond.

Website: Canadian Sustainability Standards Board

Maureen Young, VP, Social Purpose, Coast Capital

Location: Victoria

At the helm of Coast Capital’s social purpose office, Maureen is one of Canada’s most passionate purpose champions. With decades of experience driving community impact, her most recent work has focused on transforming the federal financial cooperative’s approach to community impact from philanthropic-centered to a formal social purpose business model.

This transformation, guided by Coast Capital’s purpose to build better futures together by unlocking financial opportunities that impact people and communities, involves a complex body of work that is supporting her organization to drive impact across every aspect of its operations.

Maureen’s strong and proven track record, not only as a community advocate but as a true change maker, is a testament to her unwavering drive to bring people and businesses together to BE the change that the world needs.

Expanding her impact beyond her own organization, Maureen is also a founding member of The Canadian Purpose Economy Project, a consortium of Canadian businesses dedicated to accelerating the transition to the purpose economy. Fueled by an unwavering passion to address societies most pressing issues,

Maureen’s work is changing the way that people and businesses in Canada think about the role of the private sector as a community of like-minded leaders committed to driving real, tangible change and contributing to the health and wellbeing of our society.

Website: Maureen Young on LinkedIn, Coast Capital

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