Cristobal (Chris) Dobrzanski

A seasoned and enthusiastic observer of the North American financial scene and community impact, Chris Dobrzanski, retired November 2015 from his position as Citizens Bank of Canada (CB) CEO and Chief Economist at CB’s parent, Vancity Credit Union. Chris remains active with impact investing and with Global Social Economic Forum.

Chris joined Vancity in 1984 and had built a risk management system that combines local member behaviour with international economic trends. He has adapted innovative financial strategies to improve service, advance employees, maintain capital adequacy and regulatory compliance, and contribute to community prosperity.

In 2009, he served as the interim senior vice president of Vancity’s new Social Finance division (now Community Investment), which aims to create a greater community impact through the credit union’s lending and treasury activities. In addition to setting up the division and its strategy, Chris also ensured a greater fiduciary accountability in these activities.

Prior to joining Vancity, Chris was a founding director of the University Community Credit Union, which became a branch of the B.C. Teachers Credit Union and later merged with Vancity. He also worked for the Credit Union Reserve Board. Chris served on the board of the self-governing Stabilization Central Credit Union in British Columbia for six years ending in 2007. He spent more than four years with the Bank of British Columbia in international lending in the mid 1980s.

Chris’s international work has taken him to Argentina, China, Mexico, Poland, Russia and most recently Korea. In 2002 he completed the co-op studies program at the University of Bologna in Italy.

Chris holds investment management certification, a MA in Economics and a MBA in Finance from the University of British Columbia. He is fluent in four languages.

Elizabeth Duff

For 31 years, Elizabeth Duff built a successful career at Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union (NLCU), culminating in the role of Chief Financial Officer in 2002. Throughout her career, Duff was a featured speaker at national conferences and published articles on finance and volunteerism in national magazines and local publications. She retired from NLCU in 2017 and now works as Senior Financial Officer for The Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland. A Certified Professional Accountant, she has a B.A. from Memorial University and a Diploma in Administration for Non-profit Organizations from Concordia University.

Duff has also been actively involved in the voluntary non-profit sector for more than 20 years, providing leadership and financial expertise to a variety of community groups. As a volunteer, she has served as Chair of the Canadian Lung Association, Treasurer and Chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Lung Association, Treasurer of the NLCU Charitable Foundation, Treasurer of the Peter Barry Duff Memorial Park Commission, Secretary for The Gathering Place finance committee, and Advisor for the Community Forward Fund.

Duff’s voluntary contributions have led to positive changes in Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly in the areas of environmental and personal health. She has advocated against the use of harmful lawn chemicals and lobbied for the implementation of a paid home oxygen program for persons with lung diseases and conditions. For Duff, being a volunteer is not only a gratifying personal experience, but a demonstrative way to give back. Or in her words, to “pay it forward.”

Garth Davis

Garth has spent over 25 years in capital deployment and has leadership experience in impact investing, private equity, and corporate and leveraged finance.  Prior to founding New Market Funds in 2013, Garth led Vancity Credit Union’s non-conventional impact investing efforts. As Vice President, Community Capital, he was responsible for establishing and overseeing its equity, junior debt, and patient capital investing activities to generate risk adjusted financial returns as well as social and environmental impact.

Prior to joining Vancity in 2010, Garth was a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Turtle Creek Private Equity in Toronto. At Turtle Creek he was responsible for executing and managing middle-market private equity investments and he also shared leadership and management responsibilities for strategy, corporate development, team building and operations. Before co-founding Turtle Creek, Garth spent nine years as a Partner at Scotia Merchant Capital, the North American private equity-arm of the Bank of Nova Scotia. Garth started his career by spending five years in corporate and leveraged finance at Scotia Capital, the corporate and investment banking subsidiary of the Bank of Nova Scotia.

Garth has a Master of Arts in International Economics from the Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, a Master of Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Bachelor of Arts from Simon Fraser University.

Ian Bird

Ian Bird is a co-founder of the Chelsea Commons and proprietor of the Henry Burrows Community Tavern (est 1861), two new local projects aimed at putting the community at the centre of Chelsea’s local economy and social fabric. When not engaged in local efforts, Ian volunteers as the chair of Canada’s Child & Nature Alliance, and as a director with the Community Forward Fund and Global Fund for Community Foundations.

He recently concluded a decade of leadership and collaboration with philanthropic networks and community foundations in Canada and around the world, including roles as the President and CEO of Community Foundations of Canada and Executive Director of the Rideau Hall Foundation.

Previously, Ian played a catalytic role at the Sport Matters Group, an “un-organization” which fostered the development of the Canadian sport sector during the run-up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver in 2010.

Ian lives in the Gatineau Hills with his partner, Kristin, and their three children.

Katie Gibson

Katie has held leadership positions in not-for-profits, government, and business and is passionate about collaborating across sectors to strengthen communities. She exercised policy and program leadership as an executive in a national charity and in a provincial government, where she led teams focused on entrepreneurship, social enterprise, and women’s empowerment. At the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing and as founder of a consulting practice focused on not-for-profits and social enterprises, Katie has helped organizations design and execute strategies to increase their impact.

Katie currently serves on the Board of Directors of Options for Homes, Canada’s largest developer working exclusively on making home ownership more affordable.

Katie has practiced and taught law, and clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada and the Ontario Court of Appeal. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and received her joint civil and common law degree and Master of Business Administration from McGill University.

Kent Farrell

Kent holds a Bachelor of Commerce, a MBA and a Chartered Professional Accounting Designation.  In 2013, he was named as a Fellow of the Society of Management Accountants of Canada for his contribution to the accounting profession; more specifically his role in the merger between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Canada, The Society of Management Accountants of Canada, and the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada.

He has always been active in his community and has been President of the Better Business Bureau of Newfoundland and Labrador, President of the Society of Management Accountants of Newfoundland and Labrador, Treasurer of the Arthritis Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, and a Director on both the Newfoundland and Labrador Brain Injury Association and Computer for Schools. Kent has also had the pleasure of serving on the Council of Chairs the the Society of Management Accountants of Canada.

Kent started his banking career 22 years ago as a commercial account manager and currently holds the role of Director Credit for the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union.  Kent has won Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union’s Innovation Award on a number of occasions and has served on several National Credit Union committees.