Mike Braga
Chair

Mike Braga (he/him) is a Senior Vice President and Partner with BDO Canada Limited. He helps people and companies in financial distress find solutions to their debt problems alleviating stress and allowing them to thrive. He is an active member in the community holding such roles as the Chair of the Board of Directors for KW Counselling Services and Chair of Waterloo Region Community Foundation. His passion for education has led him to be involved with the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professional’s Core Knowledge Exam Board as well as launching a community based financial literacy television program Money Matters.  Mike lives in the Cambridge area. You wouldn’t know that Mike is afraid of heights as he has crossed off sky diving, hot air ballooning and hang-gliding from his bucket list. Next up the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge!

Melissa Ireland

Melissa Ireland (she/her) is the Director, Indigenous Relations at the University of Waterloo. She is known to be a wholistic social work practitioner, community development advocate and Indigenous community engagement specialist.  She has extensive experience in leadership, strategy, and communications in the post-secondary sector. Guided by having opportunities to be contributed to just as much as she gets to contribute to others, Melissa is known to hold ethical spaces in workshops, trainings, circle facilitation and social justice conversations. Melissa is Mississauga Anishinaabe kwe, a member of Curve Lake First Nation and lives in Waterloo Region with her family.  Melissa has a BA in English Rhetoric and Professional Writing from the University of Waterloo in 2010. She completed her MSW in 2017 in the Indigenous Field of Study at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Tim Jackson

Tim Jackson (he/him) is President and CEO of Shad Canada, a live-in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering Arts and Math) and entrepreneurship program for high school students. Tim has an extensive background as an entrepreneur, business and not-for-profit leader. He co-founded Tech Capital Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm, and served as CFO and CEO at Waterloo based technology firm PixStream (sold to Cisco Systems). Living in Waterloo, Tim has been an active volunteer in his community chairing the boards of organizations such as The Ontario Trillium Foundation, The Waterloo Public Library, The Food Bank of Waterloo Region and the Centre in the Square Theatre. He has cofounded three charitable organizations. In his spare time Tim practices his favorite magic tricks.

Darren Juneau

Darren (he/him) currently serves as the CEO of Aardvark Drilling Inc. a multi-disciplinary drilling company offering complete drilling and well services, focusing on safety, customer service, professionalism and innovation. Previous volunteer experience includes 4-years on the Ecological and Environmental Action Committee RMOW, and 9-years on the Ontario Ground Water Association, 3-years as President. Currently, Darren sits on the Drilling and Blasting Advisory Committee for Sir Sandford Fleming College, along with the Board of Waterloo Region Community Foundation.

Residing in Kitchener with his blended family including 5 wonderful children and partner Jessica (a member of Kitchener Fire). They are a very active family and can be found at a Ranger game or Chicopee. In Darren’s spare time, he enjoys coaching future generations in their favourite sports. He has coached baseball, soccer, lacrosse, and hockey in Cambridge, Waterloo, and Kitchener. His first coaching position was when he was 18 years old coaching U16 baseball in his hometown.

Bilal Khan

Bilal Khan (he/him) is an AR/Revenue Clerk at The Township of North Dumfries. He received his College Diploma from Mohawk College and his Bachelor of Accounting Degree from Brock University.

Bilal is a former student leader who dedicated much time advocating for students and enhancing the campus experience. He served as the President and Vice-President, Finance & Administration of Brock University Students' Union. Bilal was also a member of the Brock University Senate and Board of Trustees.

Bilal received the President's Surgite Award and the Board of Trustees Spirit of Brock Medal for his leadership and community service.

In addition to WRCF, Bilal is also a board member and treasurer at the Business and Education Partnership of Waterloo Region. He is a former member of the Chamber Young Professionals at the Greater KW Chamber of Commerce.

Bilal lives in Wilmot with his family. He enjoys watching and playing basketball and cricket in his spare time.

Mehrunnisa Kharodia

Mehrunnisa (she/her) is currently Director of Partnerships and Operations at Social Venture Partners Waterloo Region. Since joining SVP, she's loved connecting with other non-profit leaders, and learning about social issues impacting the community. Mehrunnisa completed her MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2021, with a specialization in strategic management, which has been important in her work at SVP. In her work prior, she worked in the amateur sports world, managing programs at every level, from youth participation to high performance athletes. Mehrunnisa also sits on the Board of the Hespeler Tennis Club, managing the junior programs for the club. And like many juniors at the club, she’s trying her hand at tennis. She’s proud of her backhand but needs to work on her serve. Originally from Cambridge, she took some time away to explore Ottawa and Toronto, but her heart brought her back home.

Laura Mae Lindo

Dr. Laura Mae Lindo (she/her/elle) is a respected activist and educator who holds both a Masters and PhD in Education. Committed to centering the most vulnerable in all she does, Dr. Lindo's work is enhanced by her acute knowledge of how to put anti-oppression theories into practice. A courageous public speaker, Dr. Lindo is known to take on issues often left unaddressed by the mainstream. From philosophy to politics, and from the academy to the community, Dr. Lindo grounds her practices in gratitude and love.

Manuel Martins

Manuel Martins (he/him) is a partner in Gowling WLG Canada's Waterloo Region Office. He regularly advises owners, investors and lenders with strategic business guidance and in the preparation and negotiation of complex and unique commercial agreements.

Manuel is a past leader and current member of the firm's Canadian Real Estate Practice Group and the founding editor of the firm's Real Estate & Urban Development newsletter. His practice is focused on the real estate sector with an emphasis on purchase, sale, leasing, subdivision, condominium, limited partnership structures, and land development transactions.

Manuel is a member of the firm's Financial Services Industry Group and its executive committee. He acts for lenders and borrowers, with an emphasis on commercial financings and secured transactions.

Manuel's practice extends to the area of corporate commercial law, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, and asset and share transactions. He has assisted clients in cross-border transactions in various jurisdictions including the UK, US, European Union, Mexico and China.

Manuel was born in Portugal, previously resided in Cambridge and now lives in Kitchener. He is a past Board Member of Skills Canada (Ontario) and the United Way of Cambridge and North Dumfries. Manuel is also a past member of Gowling WLG Canada's Board of Trustees. He has been recognized in both The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory and The Best Lawyers™ in Canada.

Darren Rennie

Darren is an assurance and accounting Partner at MNP LLP based out of Waterloo, ON. Darren works one-on-one with medium- to large-sized public and private companies, not for profit organizations and Indigenous communities, helping them gain valuable insights and reach their business goals. Darren earned a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in accounting, audit and information technology from Conestoga College in 2014. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), qualifying as a Chartered Accountant (CA) in 2016. Darren has also previously marked the Common Final Examination for CPA Canada, the final step in the CPA process.

Throughout his career with MNP and previously as a student of Conestoga College, Darren has been involved with many community and volunteer events in the Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge regions and looks forward to continuing to play a role in enhancing the quality of life of the community in the years to come. Darren previously served as a board member of Cambridge North Dumfries Community Foundation since 2018.

Outside of the office, Darren enjoys running, playing tennis and watching basketball and Formula 1 racing.

Pedro Ribeiro

Pedro is the founder and portfolio manager of Marnoa Private Wealth, a boutique wealth advisory firm.

Since 1997, Pedro has always strived to provide clients with a personalized financial road map based on their goals, time frame, and particular tolerance for risk.

Pedro is a Portfolio Manager and holds the Chartered Investment Management (CIM®) and Fellow of Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI®) designations.

In addition, Pedro is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States as a Registered Investment Advisor with Raymond James (USA) Ltd. to offer integrated cross-border wealth management solutions to Americans living in Canada and Canadians living in the United States.

Pedro also serves as a director for a family-owned construction and real estate company founded by his father in the mid 1980's. The company builds, owns and operates residential and multi-family real estate in southern Ontario and the Gulf Coast of Florida.

He is married to his high school sweetheart Suzanne and they have two children, Marissa and Noah (a combination of which is how the name Marnoa was created).

He believes in supporting the community and volunteers with the Waterloo Region Community Foundation as a director and member of the Investment Committee. Pedro was a long time Director and Past President of the Rotary Club of Cambridge Preston-Hespeler.

Outside the office, Pedro enjoys spending his time with family, reading and golfing, but his passions are boating and fishing.