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Get to know our board

Meet Food Allergy Canada’s board of directors.

People gathered around a table for a board meeting,
Bob Ellis

Board Chair and Treasurer

Bob Ellis is Board Chair and Treasurer of Food Allergy Canada. Bob is currently VP Finance and Corporate Development at Recipe Unlimited. Prior to joining Recipe Unlimited, he held senior positions with Deloitte, Davis + Henderson, Scotiabank and Morgan Stanley. Bob has an MBA from The University of Western Ontario and is a registered CPA. Bob lives in Toronto with his wife and two children, a son who is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts and sesame, and a daughter who is allergic to eggs.

Jonathan Barry

Director

Jonathan Barry is a director of Food Allergy Canada. Jonathan is a Partner and the National Client Services Leader for MNP’s Technology Solutions. Prior to joining MNP, he held senior positions with T4G Limited, Bell Canada and Fujitsu Consulting. Jonathan is currently Chair of the Sweet Caroline Foundation. He has spearheaded the Foundation’s School Allergy Awareness partnership with Food Allergy Canada and the Foundation’s strategy to make Anglophone South School District and Greater Saint John a global role model for allergy awareness. He lives in Rothesay, NB with his wife and four children.  

Director

Pamela di Cenzo is a director of Food Allergy Canada.  Pam brings over 30 years of leadership and knowledge in market development, treatment access, advocacy and policy influence in the health arena.  She has worked in the public, not-for-profit and pharmaceutical / bio-technology sectors in both the US and Canada. The past several years, she was responsible for establishing small bio tech start up affiliates in Canada.  Having recently retired, her focus is on volunteer activities in policy and program developments that can make an impact. She is also a member of the Georgian Bay Biosphere Social Enterprise Advisory Committee.  Pam and her husband split their time between living on Vancouver Island, BC and cottage country in ON. 

Phillip Haid

Director

Phillip Haid is a director of Food Allergy Canada. Phillip is Co-founder and CEO of Public Inc., a social purpose business that creates fundraising, advocacy and volunteer engagement campaigns for social causes. Phillip has two sons with food allergies (peanuts, nuts and fish).

Naseem Jamal

Director

Naseem Jamal is a director of Food Allergy Canada. Naseem is currently Senior Manager, Donor Engagement at Parkinson Canada working with a variety of stakeholder to deliver revenue through donor centred engagement, and data driven decisions. Prior to joining Parkinson Canada, she worked for different profit organization including Procter & Gamble and Telus Mobility. Naseem has a Bachelor of Commerce from The University of Calgary. She has two kids with tree nuts and sesame allergies.

Kevin Powers

Director

Kevin Powers is a director of Food Allergy Canada. He is the managing partner of Campbell Strategies’ real estate and infrastructure lobbying practice. He has spent almost two decades working with all levels of government on both sides of the border. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two daughters.

Roxana Tavana

Director

Roxana Tavana is an Executive, General Counsel and not-for-profit Director. She spent more than a decade at Scotiabank in various executive leadership roles, including as Head of Specialty Business Banking, President & CEO of Scotiatrust, and Head of Legal for Global Asset Management. Prior to joining Scotiabank, Roxana was Head of Legal at DundeeWealth Inc. and Dynamic Funds for several years. She originally began her career as a Corporate and Securities Associate at the law firm Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. As an active community volunteer, Roxana is a Director at the Soul Pepper Theatre Company in Toronto and a Director at METRAC, an organization working to end violence against women and youth. She is also on the advisory board of Yara Leadership Society, an organization focused on the contributions of Iranian Canadian women. Roxana immigrated to Canada from Iran as a young girl and is a proud Iranian-Canadian living in Toronto with her husband and three young children, who have all struggled with various food allergies and intolerances.