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Far too many Toronto residents are experiencing homelessness or extreme housing precarity, due mainly to a chronic shortage of affordable housing options, as well as ineffectual social supports to meet complex needs. Worse still, the high needs of homeless adults are being further compounded by age-related illnesses and health conditions.
Homes First is working towards closing these gaps and helping residents maintain their housing by providing a program that delivers high supports and that would also allow individuals to age in place. Our agency has developed a support model that includes medical/psychiatric services, medication monitoring, assistance with maintaining personal hygiene and clean-living spaces, financial management, navigating the criminal justice system, and a host of additional age-specific supports.
Get to know the Homes First Governance Board. Click here to meet our Management team.
Are you interested in joining our Board of Directors? Click below to access the application!
Chair
Mike previously spent eight years on the board of St. Michael’s Homes, a residential addiction treatment centre in Toronto, serving as the co-chair for the last three years. Professionally, Mike works with an e-commerce software integrator supporting client business requirements as they migrate to new technology.
Over Mike’s 20-plus years in business, he has developed expertise in marketing, strategy, and business development with some of Canada’s largest corporations as well as start-ups in Canada, the UK and Europe. Mike joined Homes First’s Board of Directors in January 2020 and also serves on the Communications Committee.
Treasurer
Megan Mitchell is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Director, Technology and Capital Controller with Rogers Communications Inc. She obtained her CPA designation at Deloitte, where she provided her services to many not‐for‐profit organizations. Since moving to Toronto 15 years ago, she has seen how increased housing costs have made homelessness and access to housing one of the most pressing issues in our city. Megan believes having a home is crucial to providing a sense of safety and stability and helping our residents thrive.
Secretary
Jordan brings a background in corporate restructuring, financial advisory, interim management and business strategy. He has worked with clients across a broad range of industries including financial institutions, real estate and technology, among others.
Jordan also advises on financial matters in complex litigation and settlement efforts. Jordan is a Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional (CIRP), Licensed Insolvency Trustee (LIT) and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA). Jordan is an avid tennis fan and enjoys traveling to tennis tournaments around the world.
Vice Chair
Jamie has over 10 years of experience in private practice law as well as in-house counsel, and is Senior Counsel with Deloitte Canada. Prior to working at Deloitte, Jamie was in-house counsel to a provincial Crown agency and spent several years in private practice on Bay Street.
In his spare time, Jamie can often be found running the trails of west Toronto and lamenting the state of the Toronto Maple Leafs. As a lifelong resident of the city, he has joined Homes First with the goal of prioritizing sustainable community development among public and private stakeholders.
Director
Christie has over 30 years’ experience in healthcare and the not-for-profit sector with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. As an occupational therapist and Executive Director of the Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists, Christie has worked both frontline as well as advocacy and policy development roles targeted to meet Ontarians’ needs for physical health, rehabilitation, and mental health services across the lifespan. She has also volunteered with the Out of the Cold program, which provides shelter and meals to the homeless during the winter months.
As a longstanding and proud Torontonian, Christie recognizes the need to address the increasing numbers of people experiencing or at risk of being homeless in our city. She strongly believes that persons living with different abilities should not be disadvantaged by a lack of accessibility to their community, to needed services and supports, and to having a place they can call home.
Director
Sarah is an international public health nutritionist. She did her training at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and has spent over 18 years working for UN agencies (UNICEF), NGOs (World Vision International, Plan International Canada, MQSUN+), as well as international governments on operations for the treatment and prevention of all forms of undernutrition, in low- and middle-income countries. Her experience includes working with stakeholders, developing key strategy and policy documents, and working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
As an avid community volunteer, Sarah is passionate about what is going on both in her community as well as the city of Toronto. She wants to transfer her global knowledge and experience to her hometown by assisting with meeting the complex needs of many people in need in this great city.
Director
Dror is the Chief Operator Officer of Almadev, a Toronto-based real estate development firm for both commercial and residential properties. He has more than a decade of experience in a variety of areas including asset management, property operations, and new development. Prior to moving to Canada, he was a lawyer in Israel and member of the Israel Bar Association.
Dror has joined Homes First to increase his involvement with community work, and to improve awareness of the issues of homelessness in the city of Toronto.
Director
Faisel is an actuary and executive with 13 years of experience in financial reporting, product development, risk management and strategy. Faisel has an undergraduate degree from Western University in Actuarial Science, and has volunteered for the Society of Actuaries, Canadian Institute of Actuaries and was a trustee of the Toronto Awesome Foundation.
Faisel joined the Homes First Board in 2021 and serves on the Finance Committee. Faisel strongly believes in the potential of others, when they have the right help.
Director
Greg has over 20 years of experience working for a major Canadian Bank in investment banking and capital markets. He has an expertise in finance and raising capital for capital intensive businesses such as real estate and infrastructure. Currently, Greg works for a TSX listed renewable power company as the Senior Director of Capital Markets and Project Finance.
Greg is passionate about cities, urban design, and the built environment. In his spare time, he is an avid cyclist. He has an MSc in Real Estate Development from the Graduate School of Architecture at Columbia University and a Hons. BA in Urban Development from the University of Western Ontario.
Director
Shane Saltzman was the Co-Founder and CEO of Trafalgar Addiction Treatment Centres, where for 9-plus years, he developed programming and operated residential facilities supporting those struggling with addiction and mental health. Upon successfully pivoting the organization to develop a national virtual intensive outpatient program during the COVID-19 pandemic, the co-founders sold the organization to Canadian Addiction Treatment Centers in 2022 where Shane remains as a Strategic Advisor.
Shane is a Chartered Professional Accountant, holds a Master of Management & Professional Accounting from The Rotman School of Management, at the University of Toronto. Shane has more than 20 years of professional, operations, and management experience where he held positions with Deloitte, in the Assurance & Advisory group, and Pitney Bowes Canada, leading the financial operations teams. Shane is a father of three, an avid skier, cyclist, and guitar enthusiast.
Director
Shanker Sivanathan is a Detective Constable with nine years of experience working with the marginalized community experiencing mental health ailments and substance addictions. Having worked in 14 Division of the Toronto Police Service, Shanker has worked with numerous Home First shelters and staff on the ground level.
Shanker has an honours degree in Criminology from York University and has previously volunteered with the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture (CCVT). Shanker is joining Homes First to identify additional opportunities to serve the community, contribute to policy/procedure creation, and provide the necessary support to reduce homelessness.
Director
Cynthia Stacey is a registered nurse and experienced Clinical Instructor working in the hospital and health care industry. After spending several years on the frontline, Cynthia transitioned to a management role at St. Joseph’s Health Centre, launching her career in management and education roles at health facilities across Toronto. Currently, she is the Senior Manager of Acute Respite Care at Sherbourne Health. Cynthia is passionate about helping her community and providing adequate health services to hard-to-reach populations like our clients.
Director
Rhema is a Professional Engineer (P.Eng) and Design & Construction Manager with Canadian National Railway. He has over 10 years of experience in managing and directing both small and large-scale infrastructure projects for municipal, provincial, and federal levels of government.
Throughout the years, he has volunteered for numerous non-profit organizations in the city with a heavy focus on low income, marginalized, and homeless communities. Rhema, alongside his family, also started an annual homeless outreach distributing warm meals, winter clothing, and hygiene products to the homeless in the City’s downtown core.
Rhema has always felt called to give back to the city he calls home. He has joined Homes First to contribute to Homes First’s mission of breaking the cycle of homelessness in Toronto.
Director
Magdalena (Maggie) Tulecka has over 14 years of experience working in the media industry with a background in Journalism and Marketing. She currently works at Corus in the radio division managing the marketing and promotions for three Ontario AM Radio stations. Maggie previously worked on the TV side with Global News in marketing as well as in the newsroom. She has worked with several not-for-profit and charitable organizations over the years. She has also organized local fundraising events and companywide initiatives serving on the Corus Cares committee. Maggie currently sits on the board for 900 CHML’s Children’s Fund. Magdalena is passionate about helping her local community and wants to help eliminate homelessness in Toronto. She joined Homes First as a Communications Committee member in 2021.
Please find below our most recent Annual Reports, Audited Financial Statements and Strategic Plan