Renascent is comprised of two strategically aligned organizations, each governed by its own Board of Directors. Renascent Fellowship is governed by the Renascent Fellowship Board of Directors and is an accredited leader in the provision of addiction treatment services in Ontario. Renascent Foundation is governed by the Renascent Foundation Board, and is dedicated to supporting the work of the Renascent Fellowship through revenue generation and asset management. Together, the two Boards of Directors work in a joint manner to provide strategic governance and direction to the organizations.
All Board members have a passion to help people recover from substance addictions so that they can reach their full potential — with compassion, respect, empathy, and understanding.
The Boards meet jointly at least quarterly to share information. We have a committee structure to guide our work. Our Annual General Meeting is held in September.
Karen Martin
President and Chair, Renascent Fellowship and Renascent Foundation Boards
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Chief Practice Information Officer (CPIO) and Senior Director Health Professions & Practice Transformation for University Health Network (UHN). Through both of these roles, Karen is responsible for creating and implementing clinical practice and digital transformation mandates for UHN. With overall accountability for Health Professions Practice across the 4 hospitals of UHN, Karen provides corporation-wide leadership for directors, managers, clinical leaders and point-of-care staff. Karen additionally holds operational accountability for Spiritual Care and Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) clinical services for UHN.
Karen has held a number of progressive clinical & leadership positions in healthcare and the social services sector; most recently, prior to UHN, as Executive Director for Clinical Information Transformation at the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health (CAMH), where she was the organizational lead for the procurement, design, build and implementation of CAMH’s clinical information system.
Karen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology (Dalhousie University) and a Master of Social Work Degree (with Distinction) & Graduate Diploma in Social Administration (both, Wilfrid Laurier University). She also notably holds Health Information Technology Leadership Certification from Harvard University School of Public Health (Boston) and is Adjunct Professor at the Factor-Inwentash School of Social Work and a Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry, both at the University of Toronto.
Ron Brooks
Treasurer, Renascent Fellowship and Renascent Foundation Boards
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I am a finance professional with extensive experience as Chief Financial Officer of both private and public companies in North America, a Bank executive, Board Member, and Financial Consultant. I am presently, CFO of a major Credit Union in Hamilton and am a Board Member and Chair of the Audit Committee of the Global Financial Group of Companies with Assets Under Administration of $1 billion. I am a CPA, CA, and I hold the designation ICD.D after completing the Directors Education Program at Rotman School of Management in 2016.
Board of Directors: Renascent Fellowship
James Clarkson
Renascent Fellowship
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Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), who is the Managing Director and Treasurer of the Toronto Transit Commission Pension Fund Society (TTCPFS). With almost approximately 20 years of experience in the financial industry, my background includes progressively senior roles at Ernst & Young LLP on the Assurance Advisory Business Solutions team, Financial Services at London Capital Management (Investment Management division at London Life Insurance Company), and at Kraft Foods. As the Managing Director and Head of Finance at the TTCPFS, he oversees a number of functions including the annual external audit of approximately $8 billion of invested capital (head of Audit Committee), employee benefits, payroll for retirees and staff, expense budgets and is a regular presenter at all Board and Annual General Meetings.
Involved in the high level strategic planning for the TTCPFS alongside the CEO, Managing Director of Investments and Director of Administration. He attended the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and obtained an Honors Business Administration degree. Lastly, he has been actively engaged in a number of volunteer roles, which included
Ambassador for the RBC Run for the Kids, to support access for mental health services for youth, and currently also volunteers as a Director for the United Church Pension Plan Advisory Committee. In his spare time, he enjoys running and skiing.
Akwatu Khenti
Renascent Fellowship
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Assistant Deputy Minister for Ontario’s Anti-Racism Directorate, Cabinet Office, Akwatu was formerly Director of Transformative Global Health at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and Assistant Professor with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. Akwatu has a Specialist Degree in Economics and a Masters in Political Science, both from the University of Toronto. He also has a PhD in Health Policy and Equity from York University. Akwatu was involved in a wide variety of international efforts to strengthen mental health and addiction for marginalized communities; and previously led CAMH’s specialized drug treatment and prevention programs for Black youth in Toronto, the Substance Abuse Program for African and Caribbean Youth (SAPACCY). He has been a principal investigator (PI) on several important research initiatives; including a CIHR funded randomized control trial (RCT) to test an anti-stigma intervention in primary health care in Ontario as well as a Grand Challenge in Global Health funded project to improve mental health conditions in Gujarat, India using human rights based approaches. Akwatu also led a hemispheric drug research capacity building collaboration for 10 years with the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission of the Organization of American States (CICAD, OAS. This involves 30 universities and National Drug Commissions across Latin America and the Caribbean. He also led the development of easy-to-follow, culturally adapted cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions for immigrants of Latin American as well as African Caribbean origin (both English and French speaking).
Susan Raphael
Renascent Fellowship
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Susan Raphael joined the Client, Program and Quality Committee of the Renascent Board in Sept. 2014 and was elected to the Renascent Board of Directors in Dec. 2015. Susan is a mental health and addiction clinician, founder and principal of Sustainable Recovery Counselling in Toronto. A Canadian and Internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Counsellor and Co-occuring Disorders Professional, Susan has a degree from Glendon College, York University, a graduate education in applied psychology from the University of Toronto and has specialized in addiction and recovery since 1999.
Manu Sud
Renascent Fellowship
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Manu Sud joined the Renascent Board in 2019. He is a seasoned executive leader in the field of Business Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence and focuses on using analytics and innovation to improve policies and programs. He has a strong academic background in Engineering, Law, Sciences and Business. With more than 15 years of progressively senior management positions, Manu has broad experience across multiple sectors and organizations including federal and state Governments, IT, Finance, Automotive, Crown corporation, hospitals, and academia. Manu is a published author and has received numerous awards including Ontario Government’s Amethyst Award.
Fardous Hosseiny
Renascent Fellowship
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Fardous Hosseiny is the President and CEO at the Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families (formerly, the Centre of Excellence on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Related
Mental Health Conditions), located at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre in Ottawa.
Before coming to the Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families, Fardous was most recently the interim National Chief Executive Officer and the National Director of Research and Public Policy, at the Canadian Mental Health Association.
His research focuses on strategic policy issues related to mental health system transformation, parity legislation, Veteran and their Families mental health, substance use and addiction and mental health for newcomers and underrepresented groups. Fardous is also a frequent commentator on these issues for Global News, CBC, CTV News, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, among others.
Fardous was a part of the Canadian delegation to the 73rd Session of the United Nations General
Assembly and played a role in the development of the first ever United Nations event dedicated
to mental health.
Fardous also serves on many national and international committees, including as an executive advisor on the Global Alliance for Mental Health Advocates (GAMHA) and past co-chair for the Canadian Alliance for Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) and Canadians forEquitable Access to Depression Medication (CEADM).
Nicholas Banfield
Renascent Fellowship
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Nick has been a member of the Recovery Shot Golf Tournament committee and was elected to the Renascent Fellowship Board of Directors in September 2022. He is a graduate of McMaster University and a decade-long veteran of the financial industry; most recently at RBC Dominion Securities where he advised on wealth creation and preservation strategies for high net worth individuals and business owners. Today Nick volunteers his time to non-profit organizations and start-up companies, while focusing on his passion for investing. In his spare time he enjoys snowboarding, travelling, and learning new skills. He has recently completed private investigator training and is currently working on obtaining his Transport Canada Private Pilot licensing.
Tim Russ
Renascent Fellowship
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Managing Director at RUSSULTS, a private healthcare consultancy. Tim has over twenty-five years of experience in the healthcare industry in a variety of roles. He provides support to clients in terms of go-to-market strategies for new products, mentoring healthcare start-ups in the FemTech space and consultation on the creation of new private medical clinics. Tim has owned and operated his own fertility and acne clinics and has been involved in the creation of new clinics across Canada.
Tim has held several positions over the years in sales, marketing and business development of pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device products. He has also directly launched multiple products to the Canadian market as well as helping clients launch products nationally and internationally. Currently, he is a mentor and Advisory Board Member for several innovation and accelerator programs that are affiliated with Canadian Universities and FemTech organizations.
Tim is currently enrolled in the Healthcare Management certificate program at Cornell University. He received his MBA from the Schulich School of Business in finance and marketing and his B.Sc. from the University of Western Ontario in neuropsychology and biology.
Board of Directors: Renascent Foundation
Money Khoromi
Renascent Foundation
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Money Khoromi is an associate at Goodmans LLP, a full service corporate law firm. His practice focuses in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, securities and general corporate law. Money acts for issuers and agents on public offerings, private placements, continuous disclosure obligations, general securities compliance, corporate governance matters and more. Money holds a B.A.Sc. (Industrial Engineering) from the University of Toronto, a JD from Osgoode Hall Law School and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business. Over the course of his legal studies, Money was the recipient of numerous awards for academic standing including the Hennick Gold Medal for Academic Excellence awarded each year to the top student graduating from the Osgoode Hall Law School and Schulich School of Business Joint JD/MBA Program with the highest cumulative GPA. Prior to joining Goodmans, Money worked as an associate in the Business Law & Capital Markets group McMillan LLP, an international business law firm.
Melanie Ormston
Renascent Foundation
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Melanie Ormston is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) with 15 years of progressive experience in fundraising, including eight years in management at national non-profits developing best-in-class donor relations programs and leading fundraising teams to success.
Melanie is the Senior Manager of Donor Relations at Kids Help Phone and part of their National Advancement team. Here, she has built a high-performing donor relations program from the ground up, improving donor and revenue retention. Previously, she led corporate and community fundraising teams at the Canadian Cancer Society to exceed revenue goals and expertly managed many of the charity’s largest partners.
Ensuring people can access quality health care – and that cost in never a barrier – is at the heart of Melanie’s career and lifetime commitment to giving, which began by volunteering alongside her mother as a young child and continues with her role on the Renascent Board of Directors.
Stephen Waymire
Renascent Foundation
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I was born in 1938 in Indianapolis, Indiana. After earning a BA from Wabash College and an MBA from Indiana University, I joined Eli Lilly, and eventually becoming Director of Pricing Development. I have consulting experience with Peat Marwick and Partners, Boardroom Consultants, Equity Experiences, Boardroom Travel, and Yield Management.
I am married to Arlene and between us we have 7 children, 8 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild.
My vocational interests include travel, reading, gardening, and volunteering with Renascent and other organizations who help people to live in the solution rather than the problem.
Michael Younder
Renascent Foundation
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Michael Younder is a Toronto based 25-plus year business veteran who’s worked across a variety of industries – the common purpose being product and partner development within technology services and platforms. These roles have taken him around the world and back and also saw him start his own data analytics company. In addition to serving on Renascent’s Board, Michael also volunteers his time with his local neighbourhood residents association, The Art Gallery of Ontario and WoodGreen, where he mentors new Canadians looking to enter the Canadian business world. When not doing that, he’s out on his bike, skis or windsurfer.
Leah Bryce
Renascent Foundation
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Seasoned executive leader and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), with over 15 years’ experience in audit and over 8 years’ experience in risk and controls oversight.
Currently, Associate Vice-President at TD Bank Group, responsible for risk programs, incident management, issues management, conduct risk and culture oversight, and controls testing for TD Wealth Canada.
Prior to joining TD, Leah spent 10 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in progressively senior roles, specializing in financial statement audits in the financial services industry.
Leah obtained an Honours in Bachelor of Commerce at University of Toronto.
Margery Konan
Renascent Foundation
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Margery Konan joined the Renascent Board in 2023. She is currently a Manager for Integrated Care within the East Toronto Health Partners Ontario Health Team. Ontario Health Teams are a key initiative of the Ontario government to organize and deliver health & social care that is more connected to patients in their local communities. Through her career Margery has held leadership roles in local health system planning and has bee involved in research and publications in the field of home care. She is committed to work toward equity-advancing, client- centred and evidence-based systems of care.
Margery has volunteered for over 10 years supporting teenaged relatives affected by a parent’s alcoholism or addiction. She holds a Master of Public Administration from Queen's University and Bachelor of Science degree from University of Toronto as well as a Certificate in Integrated Care from the International Foundation for Integrated Care.
David Struthers
Renascent Foundation
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David Struthers has served on the Board of Directors since September 2022. He is a member of the Property Committee and brings nearly twenty years of commercial real estate experience to Renascent. In his professional career David is Vice President, Real Estate Investment at TD Asset Management. In this role, David manages a commercial real estate investment fund valued at approximately $18 billion (CND) on behalf on institutional investors. Prior to his current position at TD, David held senior real estate asset management positions at leasing Canadian and global real estate firms.
David has two teenaged children and wonderful spouse who is in the field of front-line emergency medicine. Though his wife's work David became aware of impact of addiction and he is now privileged to use is professional experience to serve the Renascent organization. When he’s not spending time with his family or working, David enjoys surfing, mountain biking and swimming.
Leadership
Leadership committed to helping people affected by addictions.