Community Changemaker Awards: Igniting change, Inspiring action

Mikhail started out on a solo mission to support, train, and mentor Ukrainian refugees with software QA experience to acclimatize to life in Canada and help them find their first IT job. His dedication has inspired others – he now works with 160+ members/volunteers on a project they call “QA UA in Canada”, which has 77 active project participants – of which 30+ have landed their first QA job. Along with 1:1 resume and LinkedIn profile consultations and mock interviews, guests are invited to bi-weekly webinars. They’ve created and recorded 30+ webinars on their YouTube channel which is made available as a resource to their project members.

Alyssa has been leading the Raising Spirits fundraiser in support of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, raising over $250,000 to date. Funds raised support mental health initiatives and programs at the hospital, including construction of a Child & Adolescent mental health center in Calgary, and programs such as Acute at Home and Emerging Adults. In addition to her tireless work for the hospital, Alyssa has been a regional lead for the firm’s Workplace Giving Campaign over the past 3 years, does significant volunteer work for Calgary’s Food shelters, and has helped to organize “adopt a family” programs over the holidays.

Noor has been involved as a Treasurer at Foundation W for the past two years – a non-profit organization that seeks to enable equal educational opportunities for vulnerable populations through their School of the Greats program. As Treasurer, Noor provides insights into how to best leverage funding to support the organization’s mission, leveraging his professional skills to provide financial projections to plan fundraising initiatives and engage prospective donors. Noor has also developed many fundraising and donation initiatives not only for Foundation W, but in response to natural disasters and the refugee crises in Syria. He is continuously involved in raising funds and providing basic care items to people in need.

Tatyana has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to galvanize support for Ukrainian refugees, leading Project Ukraine to help refugee newcomers settle in Canada, finding them hosts, and organizing a Holiday Toy drive. She rallied dozens of Canadian businesses to consider hiring Ukrainian refugees, organizing a webinar attended by over 112 leading Canadian companies that resulted in hundreds of Ukrainian newcomers gaining meaningful employment with Deloitte, TD Bank, Mary Brown’s, EllisDon and many others as a result of her tireless advocacy. Tatyana is also known in the community for helping women, especially newcomers, access networks and growth pathways.

Ritika is the founder of ReDefined, a non-profit that empowers underprivileged students in Canada, India, Ghana, and Nigeria with resources and educational workshops in areas of menstrual and sexual education, climate and sustainability, entrepreneurship and more. They aim to create awareness about important issues and enable students to feel confident about their bodies and their skillsets to pursue their dreams. Ritika also co-leads the Encouragement Corps team, with the aim to create a sense of support and belonging for those in the Atlantic Region. She has also led several regional Impact projects at the firm, and outside of work has mentored many international students and immigrants.