Board of Directors

Maribeth Christensen, Chair.

Elissa Hermolin, Vice Chair. Elissa is looking forward to beginning her term on the Board of Directors for the North York Women’s Centre. She brings 15 years of experience within the non-profit and social service sector both as a volunteer and staff member. In her work, Elissa has been responsible for fundraising, administration, volunteer management and data coordination and has served as a board member for a girl’s hockey league. She has worked with a range of organizations dealing with the advancement of women and girls, community health, culturally based organizations and currently serves as the Office Manager with the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation. Elissa is also a North York resident and single mother of a three year old boy.

Alexandra Finkel, Treasurer.

Patty Anasco, Secretary. A social media enthusiast and design practitioner, Patty’s most recent contribution to the Centre was the logo revamp and the relaunched NYWC website. Currently on the Harlequin.com digital team, she’s also had previous experience in change management, internal communications and intranet user experience as a member of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Knowledge Management group.  Patty’s involvement with the Centre started in 2008 as a group participant and soon evolved into a fulfilling role as a group facilitator. She’s also had extensive volunteer experience with environmental and student groups as a university student in the Philippines.

Agatha Doerffer, Director.

Rubaiyat Karim. Rubaiyat received her B.S. in Marketing and Psychology. Ms. Karim commenced her career at Legal Momentum in Washington D.C. as a policy intern, where she tracked and lobbied Congressional staff on related immigration legislation. In 2004, Ms. Karim conducted research on violence directed towards the South Asian, Muslim and Arab communities in the post 9-11 era and co-authored the book Voices of Pain, Voices of Hope. Rubaiyat’s increasing involvement with the anti-violence movement led to her position as a Program Coordinator for South Asian Network, where she developed skills to prevent and intervene in the areas of Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking. Currently, Ms. Karim coordinates the York Region Violence Against Women Coordinating Committee.

Shannon Persaud Tolnay, Director: A happy communicator with a yen for great food and photography, Shannon Persaud Tolnay has recently joined the Canadian Liver Foundation as the National Director, Fundraising. Not new to the world of fundraising, Shannon has over 11 years of experience in the education, healthcare and social services sectors of fundraising. From annual fund and special events, to capital campaigns and major gifts, Shannon is looking forward to offering support to the North York Women’s Centre and sharing her extensive skills and knowledge. She has previously worked for the University of Toronto, The Scarborough Hospital Foundation and YWCA Toronto.

Paulett Ramsey, Director. Paulett has several years of experience in senior management, administrative and fundraising positions with some major charities in Toronto, raising several million dollars for the organizations. She is currently employed at YWCA Toronto as the Manager of Philanthrophy. Paulett has been involved in volunteer work throughout her career.

 Ewa Szumowski, Director.