Perfect Pitch

Who We Are

About SVP

SVP Waterloo Region is a partnership for giving. Our Partners come from many professions, ages and interest areas, but we all share an interest in creating lasting social impact in our community. By pooling annual contributions and social resources, we are making a bigger, more meaningful impact than any of us could make on our own.

Our Mission

SVP connects community builders with nonprofit leaders to foster intentional partnerships that strengthen the community and drive positive impact in the Waterloo Region.

Our Vision

A vibrant Waterloo Region fuelled by the collaboration of community builders and charities, where everyone can thrive and contribute to community well-being.

Our Values

Engagement & learning in a Social Environment

Our Principles

Equity & Partnership Respect & Inclusiveness Leverage & Strengthen Connection & Collaboration

Our Staff

Rose
Greensides

Executive Director

Mehrunnisa
Kharodia

Director, Partnerships and Operations

Solami
Okunlola

Child and Youth Engagement Lead

Board of Directors

Allyson
Kroetsch

Board Chair

Jaime
Jacomen

Vice Chair

Tim
Sothern

Past Chair

Jane
Arnold

Director

Ryan
Burgio

Director

Melissa
Haynes

Director

Daniel
Hussey

Director

Sally
Lee

Director

Ingrid
Pregel

Director

Oluseun
Olayinka

Director & Secretary

Jeffrey
Stacey

Director & Treasurer

Non for Profits We Currently Support

The Children and Youth Planning Table (CYPT) is a community-wide partnership that includes over 800 service providers, researchers, planning bodies, and funders serving children, youth, and families in Waterloo Region.

COMPASS Refugee Centre began in 1987 as a coalition of four Mennonite Churches in Kitchener-Waterloo and MCC Ontario. First Mennonite Church provided comprehensive support for refugees, including Hispanic services, host families, legal aid, housing, jobs, language training, medical support, and education for children.

View Past Investees

SHOW supports long-term homeless individuals, providing 24/7 support to achieve stability and personal goals. They advocate for fair resources and supportive housing and aim to change community perceptions, relying on grants and donations to foster belonging.

Catalyst Commons, 210-137 Glasgow St, Office #5006, Kitchener, ON, N2G 4X8. info@svpwr.org

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Rose Greensides

Executive Director

About

Rose comes to us from Bereaved Families of Ontario-Midwestern Region (BFO-MR) where she served as the Executive Director for nine years. At BFO-MR, Rose had overall responsibility for leading and growing the organization.

Like SVP, BFO-MR relies on a significant volunteer network which grew significantly under Rose’s  leadership. During her tenure, BFO-MR doubled the number of clients served, tripled revenues, launched many new bereavement programs and expanded operations into Wellington County. Rose mentored other leaders located in the Community Hub within The Family Centre in Kitchener.  

Rose lives in Cambridge with her two sons. She spends her spare time playing on local soccer teams and practicing yoga. We are thrilled to have Rose as part of the SVPWR family.

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Mehrunnisa
Kharodia

Director, Partnerships and Operations

About

Mehrunnisa recently completed her MBA, a goal she had set for herself a few years earlier. Prior to her MBA, Mehrunnisa spent time working in the not for profit sector, getting to know the sport and insurance industries. Here she was able to take that hands-on experience and develop a robust understanding of some of the issues and work being done by the sector in Canada. A native of Cambridge, Mehrunnisa is excited to be back and working in the community. She’s always been amazed by the community’s ability to come together during tough times and pull off some amazing projects. Mehrunnisa will find ways to be outside year-round, she’s always looking for new hiking trails and places to run, or outdoor skating rinks and snowshoe trails in the winter.

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Solami Okunlola

Child and Youth Engagement lead

About

Solami combines passion and empathy to drive her engagement with youth, children, and their families. She has in the last eighteen years worked in the not for profit, education, and management consulting sectors. Solami loves to provide a safe space for young people, thereby harnessing their potential in a way that brings about change and community transformation. She is committed to the SVP Teens vision by advocating for and amplifying their voices within the Region of Waterloo and beyond.  Solami lives in Kitchener with her family, with whom she enjoys singing, playing, and watching movies.  

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Allyson
Kroetsch

Board Chair

About

Following a lifelong commitment to volunteering at hospitals, with Girl Guides, as a Big Sister with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, with Carizon, and the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides program, Allyson (and her husband Dave) joined SVP in 2019.  Allyson is the Vice Chairperson of the SVPWR Board of Directors and works closely with investees as a co-lead partner.  2022 saw Allyson actively involved in planning for Perfect Pitch and working on other sub-committees and projects that will help shape the future for SVP in the Waterloo Region! Allyson has a corporate background in global integration management for mergers & acquisitions and a passion for large, messy international projects that focus on people (company and country culture) and technology. Dave and Allyson’s kids are now 8, 6 and 4.  Together they love to travel and stay connected to family and friends, especially while skiing or hiking.  Allyson continues to hold the primary job of chief household officer and looks forward to continuing to expand her work in the not for profit sector in Kitchener-Waterloo.

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Jaime Jacomen

Vice Chair

About

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Tim
Sothern

Past Chair

About

Tim has over 30 years of public accounting experience with BDO in the Waterloo Region and serves on BDO’s National Policy Board. He previously led BDO’s Central Region Not-for-Profit Industry Team.

As the engagement partner, Tim is responsible for the coordination, review, and approval of all services, acting as the primary point of contact to ensure client satisfaction.

In 2011, Tim received the prestigious Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA) designation for his professional and community contributions.

Tim is actively involved in the business and not-for-profit communities, serving on the Board of Directors for Supportive Housing of Waterloo and as Chair of its Board. He has also been a member and Chair of the Audit Committee of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, a mentor for the Leadership Waterloo Region “Youth on Board” program, and past Chair of the Board for BDO Canada LLP.

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Jane Arnold

Director

About

Jane’s passion for politics led her to staff positions in the Senate of Canada and Queen’s Park, along with roles in various election and leadership campaigns in Ontario and New Brunswick. She later joined a government relations firm in Toronto, advising clients on federal and provincial legislative issues.

Since moving to Waterloo, Jane has focused on community building through volunteerism. She has served in public schools, on boards like the Canadian Cancer Society and Waterloo Region Family Network, and is currently the board president of SHORE Centre and an SVP Board member. A strong supporter of local arts, Jane helped create the Art Investment Fund and organized art shows for local artists. Recently, she co-founded The Essentials Fund to provide grants for essential items to non-profits.

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Ryan
Burgio

Director

About

Ryan is the Co-Founder and Managing Director at Stryve Digital Marketing, a firm that has handled digital and social media marketing executions for large enterprise clients such as Intel and Xerox, as well as clients in the Waterloo Region such as Miovision. Ryan is a Wilfrid Laurier graduate and started his career with Daggerwing Group, a marketing consulting firm within Omnicom, where he worked on marketing implementations for Fortune 500 companies such as Best Buy, GE, and GlaxoSmithKline. In 2012, Ryan was named one of Kitchener-Waterloo Record’s Top 40 Under 40 for his business and community building efforts. As an entrepreneur, Ryan is prone to bouts of incredible optimism and setting unrealistic expectations for his team. 

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Daniel
Hussey

Director

About

Daniel is the Owner and Managing Partner at Hussey Philanthropic Consulting (formerly Wayne Hussey Consulting Inc.), a second-generation family firm that is passionately committed to empowering philanthropy. Hussey Philanthropic Consulting specializes in helping charities with strategic planning, fundraising campaigns, and the execution of both to achieve their transformational vision. Daniel is currently the lead consultant on an $80M campaign, which has successfully raised over $55M in less than four years. Daniel is on the development committee for House of Friendship, the community granting committee for the KW Community Foundation, a strategic advisor to Kind Canada, and multiple social entrepreneur start-up companies. Outside of the world of philanthropy, Daniel loves to be outdoors with his partner Juliet and their dog Winnie; hiking, biking, rock climbing, running, and camping are at the top of their list.

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Sally
Lee

Director

About

Sally Lee is a retired attorney and a former genomics scientist. Sally is originally from the US and moved to Kitchener in 2017.  Sally (and her husband, Jay) joined SVP in 2019 so that they could contribute to the community that had welcomed them as new residents. Sally has a long history of volunteering in her community. She has assisted various political campaigns, tutored homeless children, helped domestic violence victims obtain restraining orders, and was a public defender (Legal Aid Lawyer) for indigent clients in California.  Sally is currently concerned with nurturing liberal democracy and combating racial discrimination and gender inequality.

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Ingrid
Pregel

Director

About

Ingrid Pregel is an unabashed cheerleader for Waterloo Region and its not for profit sector. She has spent her career as a consultant, facilitator and coach working with the people of community based organizations to help them do more good for people. The work comes in different guises such as strategic planning, organizational governance, board of directors effectiveness or organizational design and development. She joined SVP in its first year curious to experience a new way of building capacity for community organizations. She continues because it is so clear that we make a difference. Her passion is to make a difference at the system level of our community and is currently on a journey to understanding how to influence equitable access to services and wellness outcomes for all our neighbors. Ingrid spent years with KPMG’s consulting group. She has held a variety of leadership roles including President of Food Bank Waterloo Region, Chair of United Way Kitchener Waterloo and Area and Co-Chair United Way Waterloo Region Communities. She lives in Conestogo with Rob McKay, is the grandmother of Eve and Zoe and mom to four footed “kids” Samantha, Tucker, Diva and Aura.

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Oluseun Olayinka

Director & Secretary 

About

Oluseun is a strategic communicator with over 16 years of experience in administration and capacity development. She designs and implements programs that drive positive change and improve company performance, focusing on strategy, leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion.

With a Bachelor’s in Chemistry and a Master’s in Managerial Psychology, she is completing another Master’s in Leadership. Oluseun has worked as a Business Development Manager for ShiftIN Partners in the UAE and led the Human Capital Development Unit at Paul Esther Consulting in Nigeria. She also trained staff on Health Information Management systems at Grand River and St. Mary’s Hospitals.

Currently, as Executive Director at Adventure4Change in Waterloo, Ontario, Oluseun is using her expertise to grow and sustain the organization post-pandemic.

Jeffrey Stacey

Director

About

Jeffrey Stacey is the founder of Stacey Muirhead Capital Management Ltd. and he has over 35 years of investment industry experience. Jeff has an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. 

Jeff has been involved in many charitable and board activities throughout his career. He has served on several investment committees including for two Canadian universities. In addition, he has served on the advisory boards for two Canadian university student managed investment funds. 

Jeff is married and has two children. Personal interests include hiking, fitness, reading, travelling, and playing drums.