Meet the Board
Introducing the dedicated volunteers who make up our esteemed board of industry leaders at Ernestine's. With a shared commitment to our mission and values, these passionate individuals contribute their diverse expertise to steer us towards innovation and success.
Gena Argitis
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Gena is Vice President and Chief Administration Officer at Tarion, a non-profit organization providing consumer protection to new home buyers in Ontario. Gena leads the Human Resources, Strategic Communications and Stakeholder Relations departments. Previously, Gena was Assistant Vice President and Associate General Counsel in the Law department, and started her legal career in litigation at McCarthy Tetrault LLP in Toronto.
Gena graduated with a silver medal from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and also holds a Master’s Degree in clinical psychology from the University of Waterloo.
Gena is committed to advocating for women and children. She is proud to be part of Ernestine’s Board of Directors and to support the shelter in delivering its important mission of helping women and children survivors of violence.
Luma Badran
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Luma is a global executive officer with over 25 years’ success in advising and delivering on numerous C-level and mission critical initiatives within the financial services industry. Luma has extensive experience that spans Industry and management consulting with strong focus on Risk management, regulatory compliance, business transformation, and global change management expertise.
Luma brings sincere bias for action, achievement, and inclusivity. She is passionate about Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter’s mission and is committed to make a difference within her ability.
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Annamaria Di Cesare is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Volkswagen Group Canada. As a member of the Canadian Management Board, she leads the development and execution of human resources strategy in support of the overall business plan and strategic direction of the organization. Prior to her role at Volkswagen, Annamaria held HR leadership roles in various industries such as Food Services, Financial Services and Hospitality. Annamaria holds a Specialized Honors BA in Philosophy, as well as a Certificate in Practical Ethics, both from York University. She also attained her Certificate in Human Resource Management from Humber College and received a Certificate in Advanced HR Law for Senior HR Executives from Osgoode Hall Law School. Annamaria has always been passionate about giving back to the community and has made it a priority to support multiple not-for-profit organizations, both within the workplace and on her personal time. She is honored to be a Board Member at Ernestine’s as well as a member of the Governance Committee, to advocate for such an important cause.
Annamaria Di Cesare
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Michelle is a business professional with broad experience in human resources and leadership coaching. She serves as a member of the Human Resources Leadership Council, Global Diversity & Inclusion Council and Sr Global Director, Human Resources with Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. Michelle helps companies build business and people capability by developing integrated strategies in the areas of human resources, leadership development and organizational culture. She is passionate about fostering environments where people feel empowered and free of barriers to living and contributing at their full potential. In her spare time, she coaches women and leaders in navigating and building meaningful careers. Advocating for women and families is of tremendous importance to Michelle, and she is grateful for the opportunity to be a member of Ernestine’s Board of Directors and contribute to the incredible support they provide to the community
Michelle Edwards
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Hero Landry is the Executive Vice President of Walker Emulsions, a division of Walker Industries. Hero holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. Hero has worked in remote Northern and Arctic environments in leadership roles within both corporate and healthcare fields; often alongside First Nations and Inuit populations. Hero is excited to contribute to Ernestine's vital work supporting women and children through participation on the Board of Directors.
Hero Landry
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Lynn Langrock is the Vice President, Human Relations and Corporate Affairs at Bimbo Canada/Canada Bread Company, Limited, a division of Grupo Bimbo. Lynn has held a number of progressive positions in General Management and Human Relation functions in a variety of public and private industries and companies including: Maple Leaf Foods, The Economical Insurance Group and the Government of the Northwest Territories. Lynn has functional expertise in employee and labour relations, strategic workforce planning, leadership and organization development, communications, talent management, training and development and mergers and acquisitions.
Lynn Langrock
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Cindy Luong is a seasoned marketing professional with experience in brand management, strategic planning, and non-profit partnerships. She currently works in Brand & Corporate Social Responsibility at Manulife, leading high-impact brand and cause marketing programs. Over her career, she has developed several personal care and food category brands at respected organizations including Edgewell Personal Care, Maple Leaf Foods & Lactalis Canada. Through her previous volunteer and personal experience, Cindy has spent her time outside her marketing profession in youth development, coaching & working specifically with girls to develop leadership and confidence through sport and the performing arts. She is honoured to support the women & children at Ernestine’s, and looks forward to contributing her expertise to this life-changing organization.
Cindy Luong
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Laurie Lupton is Senior Vice President, Strategy, Marketing & Communications at the Canadian Bankers Association. Laurie leads the team responsible for strategic planning and driving the development and execution of the CBA’s integrated marketing and communications campaigns to advance the CBA’s strategic priorities. She is also responsible for the Association’s brand reputation and corporate image and leads the CBA’s financial literacy initiatives.
Laurie is recognized for building, transforming and promoting leading financial services brands, including Manulife, HSBC and Merrill Lynch. Her deep financial, capital and regulatory expertise has helped to drive informed marketing strategies, strong execution and measurable results. She is thrilled to chair the Fund-Raising Committee at Ernestine’s.
Laurie Lupton
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Kathy is Director, Legal - Canada for FIFA World Cup 2026. As head of legal for Canada for the upcoming World Cup, Kathy oversees all legal and compliance matters relating to the tournament within Canada while working closely with FIFA colleagues in the co-host countries of Mexico and the United States and FIFA headquarters in Switzerland. Prior to joining FIFA in 2024, Kathy was Vice-President and Canadian Legal Director at Aramark Canada Ltd. Kathy was responsible for all legal matters relating to the Canadian Aramark business and was a member of the Aramark Canada Executive Management Team. Before commencing her in-house practice, Kathy practiced commercial litigation and corporate restructuring at Stikeman Elliott LLP in Toronto. However, Kathy’s first career was in social work. As a social worker, Kathy worked in adolescent addictions providing harm-reduction focused addictions counselling, education and professional development in Vancouver, BC. An interest in public policy led to applying to law school but Kathy’s heart has always remained in social work and the needs of women and children in the community. Kathy is proud to be a Board member of such a strong women-led organization. Kathy has a BSW from the University of British Columbia and a LL.B cum laude from the University of Ottawa.
Kathy Mah
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Tara McLenaghen is a consultant with Risk Business Services, offering her expertise on operational risk management to the financial services industry globally since 2004. She also brings business and executive leadership experience earned in a long career with RBC and holds an MBA from Queen’s University specializing in Finance. Tara has been involved with Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter since 2009, both on the Board and through personal fundraising campaigns, and is delighted to return to the Board in 2018 after a few years absence. Tara is currently chair of the HR Committee.
Tara McLenaghen
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Julia currently works in the mergers & acquisitions tax practice of one of the Big4 firms in Toronto. Over the last decade she held various positions in other tax and assurance-focused practices in the professional services sector. Julia's expertise spans tax compliance, tax advisory, accounting, and financial reporting, and she has been exposed to working with both domestic and international clients of various sizes across a plethora of industries.
Julia holds a CPA, CA designation, a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto, and has successfully completed the CPA In-Depth Tax Program. In her personal life, Julia enjoys spending time with family and friends, getting out of town with her husband, being a good dog mom, and staying true to her foodie self by trying out new recipes at home, as well as discovering new restaurants.
Julia is honoured to sit on the Board of a purpose-lead organization such as Ernestine's. She is passionate about promoting women's rights and helping provide women and children affected by violence with support needed to rebuild their lives. Julia is honoured to contribute her skills to the Finance Committee and help further Ernestine's mission.
Julia Nicoara
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Julia is a diversity & inclusion leader passionate and effective in how companies mobilize inclusion with proven results in 15+ years of experience. She is an internationally published author on Diversity with extensive experience in Diversity & Inclusion, Adult Learning & Transformative Initiatives, Culture Building, Executive & Leadership Development, Employee Engagement and Organizational Excellence. My career, in both the private and public sector, start up, scale up and M&A, spans the industries of academia, legal, finance and tech. A national award winner for Outstanding Achievement in Organizational Development, a finalist for Ally of the Year 2020 Women Tech Network and most recently CIO Views Top 10 DEI Inspiring Leaders to Follow in 2023. She taught business executives at the University of the West Indies, have guest lectured at Schulich & York U and keynotes nationally and internationally in various forums. She sits on the Board of Directors for Ernestine's Women Shelter, is Co-Chair & Strategic Advisor to UNITAR CIFAL York, EDI Committee, and is currently the Global Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Litera.
Julia has a degree in Philosophy, a Masters of Education, a Law Clerk Diploma, and Certificates in: Professional Ethics (2012), Data-Driven Decision Making (2018) and a Certificate in Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (2023)
Julia Satov
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Pam Sharma is a seasoned HR professional with over 20 years of experience in the field. She has held a variety of positions across several industries allowing her to develop deep expertise in areas such as Talent Management, Performance Management, Coaching, Career Planning, Learning and Development and Strategic Workforce Planning. Most recently, as Senior Advisor at BMO Financial Group, Pam’s responsibilities focused on the development and movement of top talent and to ensure business lines effectively engaged in succession planning for key/ critical roles across the organization. Pam is humbled to sit on the Human Resources Committee of Ernestine’s Board of Directors to contribute to the incredible work of the shelter in advocating for, supporting, and providing resources to women and children who seek refuge from forms of violence and inequality.
Pam Sharma
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I am currently working as an Audit manager at KPMG Canada and have been working in the field of Audit and finance for 10+ years. I am a qualified CPA (Canada), ACCA (UK), B.Sc. (UK) and B.Com. (Pakistan). My 10+ years of career involves working as an Auditor and finance professional within Pakistan, Canada and Australia.
While professionally pursuing my goals within Audit and Finance, I am simultaneously working with organizations like ACCES Employment (in the capacity of career coach), ACCA (acting as an Accountant Panel member), TRIEC Mentoring partnership (working as a mentor) and Ernestine’s Women’s shelter (As a Board Member- finance committee). I have had an honor to be invited as guest speaker by ACCES Employment to address concerns faced by new immigrants.
I am grateful to be a small part of these big organizations that help us shape our society in a positive and better way.
Nimra Syeda
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Sharlene Tygesen's 32 years at Ernestine's has been fueled by her passion to help women and children create new lives free from violence and abuse. She became a Co-Lead in 2008 and eventually was appointed Ernestine's first Executive Director in 2014. Sharlene sits on the Board of the Woman Abuse Council of Toronto and in 2013 received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her significant contributions.
Sharlene Tygesen
Jennifer Xu
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Jennifer is the head of segment marketing at Reckitt Canada, a consumer packaged goods company with powerhouse brands across hygiene, home and health. Jennifer has spent her career leading and building beloved mega brands across an array of categories at Johnson & Johnson and Mars. Jennifer is a strategic marketer, a passionate people leader, and an avid participant in giving back to her community. Prior to joining Ernestine’s, Jennifer sat on the board for another well-respected organization based in York Region supporting youth in crisis.
Interested in joining the board?
Join Ernestine's transformative journey by becoming a vital part of our dedicated board, where your passion, expertise, and commitment can make a profound difference in saving and empowering lives
