Meet Our Members
The BPW North Toronto Directory is your ultimate resource for connecting with professional women in North Toronto and beyond. As part of the Business and Professional Women international organization, we are committed to empowering women and promoting gender equality in the workplace. Our directory offers a comprehensive platform to discover talented individuals, businesses, and organizations within the vibrant BPW community. Whether you’re seeking career opportunities, professional services, mentorship, or expanding your network, our directory connects you with like-minded women who share your goals.
Explore our extensive range of industries and professions, from entrepreneurs to educators, and gain access to their background, skills, and contact information for meaningful connections. By leveraging this directory, you can tap into a wealth of resources, knowledge, and opportunities to fuel your professional growth, whether you’re just starting your career or a seasoned professional. Join our community of strong, accomplished women driving change, leading businesses, and making an impact in their fields. Together, we can uplift and support each other on the path to success and a more equitable world.
"A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture, and transform." - Diane Mariechild
Pauline Platt
President
Hi there, thank you for visiting our website. We are a group of like-minded professional women that are members of a non-sectarian, non-profit, non-partisan feminist organization which promotes the interests of working women.
We operate within the Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW Canada) and work towards the improvement of the status of women in all phases of society, especially in business, the professions and industry.
Members have a wide range of work and educational experience. I personally have 32 years of Civil Engineering experience working for a municipality where I banged my head on the glass ceiling and watched less capable juniors get promotions ahead of me. It is still very much a ‘boy’s club’ in 2022 and there is still much work to do.
Every year our club writes Resolutions to the Government concerning issues that effect women.
For example, this year North Toronto submitted an Ontario Resolution on adding some penalties to the Long Term Care Act and a Federal Resolution raising the Age of Child Marriage up to 18.
We also do Fundraising to support women’s charities, for the past two years we have been supporting Thunder Women’s Healing Lodge with our fundraising efforts.
If this type of important work is of interest to you, please reach out and contact us, we’d love to meet you.
Shahina Suleman
Employability Expert | Workplace Skills Trainer | Workforce Development Manager
Making sustainable employment a reality for job seekers by equipping them with long-term workplace essential and social-emotional skills
I work directly with job seekers to develop and teach curriculum highlighting essential workplace skills that make them successful long-term employees. I provide job coaching and strategies to help them become self-reflective and self-aware, focusing on problem solving, critical thinking, and adaptability.
As vice president of the North Toronto chapter of Business Professional Women (BPW), I pursue another passion of mine: Women’s Empowerment. I am Co-lead of Women Strengthening Women, a mentoring program that will make it easier for women to connect with and learn from female experts on a one-to-one basis.
Savi Seenauth
Senior Financial Analyst @ Rogers Communications
Audit Execution and Finance Professional with more than 30 years experience in all facets of compliance auditing and budget management. Work experience with Royal Bank, OLG, CIBC and currently with Rogers Communications.
A goal to retire in no more than 6 years time. At which point I plan to get more involved in volunteerism, do more travelling and embark extensively in sharing my experiences to help develop and assist others.
I can read a medicine bottle directions and I can read a spreadsheet. 1 part professional, 1 part mother, 2 parts perfectionist, 3 parts benevolent. Too many parts!
Maide Yazar
Occupation: xxx
Details: xxx
Hatice Yazar
Occupation: xxx
Details: xxx
Ethel Clarke
Occupation: xxx
Details: xxx
Doris Chan
Senior Portfolio Manager @ TD Wealth
As Senior Portfolio Manager at TD Wealth, Doris provides discretionary investment management to high net worth individuals, families, corporations, trusts, and charitable foundations. She has over 25 years of investment management experience, initially beginning her career on Wall St. in New York.
Doris provides comprehensive wealth management solutions to TD’s most high-value clients. She develops customized and actively managed investment strategies to help each client meet their needs and progress towards their goals.
Doris is a CFA charter holder and a member of the CFA Institute and the Toronto CFA Society. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the YWCA Toronto.
She served on the Board of Directors of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection Foundation from 2011 to 2020.
Dr. Dormer Ellis
First woman to receive a gold medal from University of Toronto engineering alumni for career achievement, 1991.
First woman to win the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario Citizenship Award, 1984.
First woman to be made Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, 1987.
First Canadian woman to be made a life member of the Institute of
Electrical & Electronic Engineers, 1991.
Sharon Nicholls
Occupation: xxx
Details: xxx
Rekha Kandel
Multilingual professional with a diverse background in architecture, disaster management, and social services.
Holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Architecture from Kyiv, Ukraine, and a master’s degree from Rajib Gandhi University in Delhi.
Recognized as the best architect in Nepal and authored a book on earthquake-resistant residential buildings.
Dedicated to community service, having worked with UNW as a volunteer for international refugees and currently serving as a Ukrainian-speaking counselor and yoga instructor at Rexdale Women Centre in Canada.
Alana Alleyne
CFEI, Sales & Marketing Professional & Founder of Evolve 360
Rochelle Sukhram
Assistant Store Manager @ Reitmans Canada
Aarzoo Singh
Digital Marketing Expert @ BPW North Toronto
Harlene Abenio
Executive Assistant and Marketing Specialist
Valerie Dunn
Accomplished communications consultant, editor, and publisher.
Co-authored a book of songs and wrote poems/lyrics for an innovative church worship group.
Founded Toronto’s only newspaper for apartment and townhouse residents, Hi-Rise.
Active member of BPW Toronto East, promoting women’s empowerment and fostering local writers.