America
Four Indo-Canadians in top civic firm's fellowship
Toronto, Oct 6
A Toronto-based firm that hires
civic leaders to tackle issues in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area
has selected four Indian-origin people among 27 fellows for its 2015-16
DiverseCity programme.
The four Indians are Anita Abraham, Ritesh Kotak, Mrinalini Menon and Pam Sethi.
"These
passionate leaders were selected who try to shape their community and
provide it with the toolkit and network," a statement on the official
website of CivicAction read.
Abraham is executive director of
Meal Exchange (MX), a non-profit organisation that works in more than 40
communities to use university campuses as a leverage point to build
sustainable food systems and fight poverty.
She is the lead
architect for studio impact since 2011 and works with vulnerable youth
to teach them about systems thinking and community impact.
Kotak is a cyber whiz for the Toronto Police and he wants to use the fellowship time to help people like his parents.
"I
see them. I hear their stories. If I can actually do something to help
them by eliminating some of these employment barriers to entry, I feel
that will have a systemic, positive impact in society," the 27-year-old
was quoted as saying.
Menon, 34, works as a talent sourcing
manager at the Royal Bank of Canada and volunteers with the Royal
Ontario Museum and Canadian Stage Company.
She has worked and studied in seven cities around the world, from Washington to Mumbai.
"Toronto, in a funny but very cool way, brings together the best of all these cities, and that's why I live here," she said.
Sethi
has over 10 years of experiences in healthcare and works in health
policy, system planning and strategic development with the Ontario
government.
In 2013, she co-founded Lean In Canada, a non-profit
organisation geared towards creating a community for women to improve
gender equality in the workplace.