The team

Julie McDowell

Julie believes in the power of entrepreneurship as a means of tackling the world’s most difficult challenges.  She has been working in, with and for small and medium sized enterprises for the past 25 years.  As CEO of ClearlySo Canada, she heads up a small team responsible for celebrating, supporting and connecting Canada’s rapidly growing network of social entrepreneurs with the tools, resources, contacts and capital they need to maximize the outcome of their work and build effective, sustainable businesses.

She has held leadership positions with both social purpose organizations and in private industry. Most recently she served as Board Chair of the Canadian Abilities Foundation and was Regional Director for ORBIS Canada, based in Toronto.

She worked for 17 years in the apparel and textile industry, and has held sales and management positions in retailing, manufacturing, and small business consulting.  She was founder and CEO of Millenitex Inc., a creative merchandising company that she sold in 1999. 

Julie holds a Master of Science from Cornell University where her research focused on the effects of international trade policy on small and medium sized businesses in the textile and apparel sector.

E-mail Julie at julie.mcdowell@clearlyso.ca

Rod Schwartz

Rod Schwartz is CEO of ClearlySo Ltd. in the United Kingdom, and leads the strategy and growth of the company.

Rod worked for 17 years (from 1980) as a research analyst and senior manager with investments banks PaineWebber, Lehman and Paribas.  He founded Catalyst Fund Management & Research in 1997, a traditional venture capital firm, which, in 1999 began to diversify into “social” investment.

Rod is a past chair of Shelter (the homeless charity) and JustGiving.com as well as serving on the boards of several online businesses including Avanza, Scandinavia’s largest online stockbroker.  He is also a non-executive director of the Ethical Property Company and AXA Investment Managers, and chair of The Green Thing. 

Rod teaches social finance at the Said Business School (Oxford) and regularly writes about and speaks up for the social business & investment sector.

Angela Loknath

Angela Loknath is the Customer Service Specialist at ClearlySo Canada. She joins the organisation with the purpose of managing client relations and helping to build the network of social businesses and enterprises.

After graduating from the University of Waterloo with an HB.Sc. in Earth Sciences and Business, she went on to York University to complete a Master's degree in Environmental Studies with Joint Diploma in Business and the Environment at the Schulich School of Business. During her time at York, she worked as a Research Analyst Intern at Jantzi Sustainalytics and as a Consultant for the York Sustainable Enterprise Consultants.

With interests in business development and new ways of doing business, Angela brings a fresh perspective to this new social venture.

Email Angela at angela.loknath@clearlyso.ca

The Advisors

Alexis Mantell, Senior Communications Officer – Ontario Trillium Foundation

Alexis Mantell is an accomplished public relations practitioner who has worked with high-profile corporate, not-for-profit and government organizations. She has provided communications counsel and written for senior leaders at Royal Bank, the Canadian Diabetes Association and served as press secretary to an Ontario cabinet minister. She has agency experience in health care and public affairs. Winner of two communications awards and a news-writing award, Alexis has a depth of experience in media relations, strategic planning and issues management. She is currently a senior communicator with the Ontario Trillium Foundation. A former journalist, she brings a reporter’s critical eye to a wide range of new media applications.

Andy Horsnell, Program Associate - Community Services Council

Andy helps nonprofits achieve their financial and community goals through sound planning and management.  His work is informed by twenty years experience as a nonprofit manager, volunteer, and consultant.  As assistant director of the Acadia Centre for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Andy played a key role in helping this nonprofit become a national leader in entrepreneurial development. Since leaving Acadia, he has worked directly with hundreds of nonprofits throughout Canada, the USA and abroad as an independent consultant and trainer.  As a volunteer, Andy has served on several nonprofits boards as a board and committee chair, co-founded the npEnterprise Forum, and is an active member of the Social Enterprise Council of Canada and the Atlantic Council for Community and Social Enterprise.

Andy holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Adult Training Certificate from Acadia University and has studied environmental sustainability at the graduate level at York University. As a program associate at the Community Sector Council Newfoundland and Labrador, Andy provides training and facilitation in the areas of social enterprise, strategic planning and nonprofit management.

Bachir Rabbat, P.Eng., Managing Partner - Quest Partners, Ltd.

An engineer by training who started his career managing the European and Near East operations of one of the largest Canadian developers. In 1996, Bachir started his career in entrepreneurship and has since built significant experience creating, financing, launching, monetizing and restructuring businesses. During the past 20 years, he has been involved in numerous industries in North America and Europe including construction technology, hospitality, software development and telecom consumer services. In 2005, Bachir co-founded Quest Partners Ltd., a firm providing M&A, Corporate Finance and Financial and Business Advisory services to small and medium companies in North America and Europe. Bachir also co-founded Quest Partners S.A. in Geneva in 2000. Bachir has a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Donna Parr, Chief Executive Officer – CellAegis Devices
Donna Parr has 25 years of experience in merchant banking, venture capital, private debt and corporate banking.  Donna is currently an Executive Director of CellAegis Devices, an early stage company producing a device to significantly decrease the impact of heart attacks. She is also President of Crimson Capital, a venture capital and private equity consultant.  She has served on 23 boards of private companies.   From 2006-2009, Donna was an SVP, Venture Investments for JovInvestment Management Inc., then manager of the Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund.  Previously, Donna provided consulting to clients such as the Canada Pension Plan, Paul Capital, Northwater Capital, and TD Capital.   Between 1990 and 2002, Donna was with the Merchant Banking group of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Board (OMERS) where she was head of the direct equity group since 1998.  Donna started her career with Continental Illinois Bank in Chicago and Toronto, and then moved on to work in mergers and acquisitions for Trivest Insurance Network (Trilon) and for Canadian Corporate Funding Limited, a Canadian merchant bank, before eventually joining OMERS.   She holds an MBA from York University and Masters and Honours degrees in International Relations from the University of Toronto.  Currently she is a Board Director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, is Chair of the Fund Raising and Marketing Committee, and on its Board Development Committee. 

Geoff Brown, Lawyer - Minden Gross, LLP

Geoff is a corporate commercial lawyer with over 30 years experience, who practices with the law firm of Minden Gross LLP. Geoff acts as counsel for a wide range of clients, the vast majority of which are owner operated enterprises, ranging from startups to well established mid-market businesses. Geoff’s pro-bono legal work has included assisting charities as a roster member of the Volunteer Lawyers Service of Pro Bono Law Canada and providing legal assistance to Home + Style Studio Tour, a community based event which raises funds in support of HIV/AIDS research. Geoff received his LLB degree from Queen’s University.

Helen McLean, Executive Director – Donner Canadian Foundation

Helen McLean has been with the Donner Canadian Foundation, one of Canada’s oldest and largest private foundations, for twelve years. She has served as executive director since 2003. Prior to joining the Donner Canadian Foundation, she spent several years at the Toronto Community Foundation. She has also worked for Arts & Communications and Ketchum Canada where she was largely involved in development for arts and cultural projects. At the Donner Canadian Foundation, Helen is involved in all aspects of Foundation grantmaking as well as in the Foundation’s own programs which include the annual Donner Prize for the best book on Canadian public policy, the Donner Lecture Series, and the William H. Donner Awards for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services. Helen holds a B.A. (Hons.) from Queen’s University and an M.B.A. from York University.

Ian G. Mason, Principal – Hugessen Consulting

Ian Mason is a principal at Hugessen Consulting, where he advises the boards of public and private companies on executive compensation, performance measurement, and related governance issues. He was previously a manager at SECOR Consulting, Canada’s largest independent strategy consulting firm, where he helped clients develop multi-year value-creation strategies and business plans; in prior roles Ian has also worked as an independent strategy and business transformation consultant, a freelance journalist, a technology architect and project manager at Accenture, and as the founding publisher of a Canadian general interest magazine. He speaks regularly on compensation and governance matters at industry conferences and panels, and in addition to his consulting work has written on topics in business and economics for leading publications in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K.. Ian is a mentor in Rotman’s MBA mentoring program, an entrepreneur-in-residence with Ivey’s New Venture Project for business students, and serves on the advisory board of a planning-stage NGO focused on sustainable development in aboriginal communities. Ian holds a degree in Economics from Queen’s University and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Kelvin Cantafio, Director, Ontario Chapter – CIO Association of Canada

Kelvin Cantafio has over 20 years of senior-level national and international experience in IT, including 13 years as CIO and Director of IT for a multinational NGO. Kelvin currently provides IT management consultation, and is a Visiting Scholar for the University of Waterloo.

As CIO for Plan International, an international children’s development agency, Kelvin successfully implemented a secure IT infrastructure and operating model to connect over 8,000 staff in 300 offices in 66 countries, and developed an integrated IT strategy to ensure alignment of IT with business goals and objectives. 

As CIO for Foster Parents Plan of Canada, Kelvin led the overall strategic and operational management of information systems.

Prior to his non-profit work, Kelvin developed and directed the Management of Information Processes and Systems (MIPS) initiative at Canadian Tire, which revolutionized how Canadian Tire sold many of its products.

Kelvin has received the Global IT Excellence Award from the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), and his case study in the category of Visionary Use of IT was included in the Permanent Research Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

Kelvin is President of the CIO Association of Canada, a founding member of NetHope, a member of the IT advisory board for Oxfam Canada and a member of the IT Advisory committee for Clearly So Canada.

Pramilla Ramdahani, President - Social Enterprise and Fundraising Group

Pramilla Ramdahini is President of The Social Enterprise and Fundraising Group, a socially progressive consulting firm, specializing in strategic planning, prospect research, innovative youth initiatives, major gifts fundraising and social enterprise development. Ms. Ramdahani has broad experience working with local not-for-profit agencies in the social service, arts and cultural areas as well as adademic institutions, such as the University of Toronto and more recently, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

Ms. Ramdahani is also actively engaged with many community initiatives. She is a Board member of the Durham Local Training Board and a past Board Member with the Toronto Workforce Innovations Group. Currently she is a Provincially appointed Grant Review Chair with the Ontario Trillium Foundation's Durham Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge catchment area. Ms. Ramdahani has been a volunteer with the OTF since 2006, where she also served as Review Team Member on the Future Fund.

Ms. Ramdahani's ultimate passion lies in the space of Social Entrepreneurship and Technology. She is an alumni of the University of Toronto and has recently completed the Executive Program in Social Entrepreneurship at Stanford University.

Ross McKegney, Business Technologist

Ross McKegney is a business technologist and serial entrepreneur with a decade of experience in enterprise architecture, product management, technical pre-sales, strategic partner management, and software R&D. He has filed 10 patents in areas ranging from digital media to SOA to business-to-business e-Commerce. Ross holds a BA/BCS from UNB, an MSc in Computing from Queen’s University, and an MBA from the Rotman School. In parallel to his progressive career in technology management, he is a professor of technology strategy at the UOIT business school, and advisor to several technology-oriented startups