MEET THE BOARD MEMBERS
Voting Board
Connie Cooper
Human Resources Advisor
Connie is a brand new member on our board! She joined us early 2021!
Connie has extensive experience in HR that includes recruiting, compensation, training and development, performance management and health and safety for offices across the country. She also has a deep understanding of financial, educational services, marketing and communications.
Connie is currently working as head of T.E. Wealth’s Executive Financial Counsel and Education Services along with being a part of Aangen's Advisory Board as a Human Resource Advisor.
Sairupa Krishnamurti
Secretary
Sairupa Krishnamurti has been a supporter of Aangen and its community initiatives for many years. She is honoured to be a part of the Board of Directors. Sairupa is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor (ND), Ayurveda Practitioner, speaker and seeker. Her clinical focuses include: reproductive health, pregnancy, postnatal-care and psycho-spiritual health. From a heart-centred space, Sairupa guides people to re-discover their inner wisdom through herbal medicine, nutrition, lifestyle transformation, and counselling. As a clinician and teacher, she aims to provide non-judgmental care, rooted in a compassionate and trauma-informed framework.
Sarah Benteau
Growth Advisor
Sarah finds fulfilment in working with companies aimed at making a social impact. She is a leader in innovative growth and marketing who is focused on helping businesses and individuals achieve success.
She has over 16 years of digital media and leadership experience with online publishers like The Yellow Pages Group and Toronto Star, is the co-founder of a management and marketing consulting agency called Method & Motion and is the Executive Director for the Performance Arts organization Le Cirque De La Nuit. Sarah takes on an action-oriented approach to providing counsel to clients, creating growth strategies, and scaling businesses. She loves to help others realize their dreams and believes that impacting the world in this way will lead to a life well-lived.
Dora Miceli
Board Founder
Dora has been a long time educator and founding advisor for Aangen over decades. She is a mother of two, a healer, a teacher and a successful entrepreneur. She has been practicing healing modalities for over 30 years. She started as an esthetician and came into her spiritual and healing journey through an inspirational vision that has guided her ever since. Dora offers healing teachings and sessions to others with the central and heart-felt prayer of growth and wisdom for the individual and collective. She offers her teachings to all at affordable rates as she believes that in every home there is a healer and through practicing spiritual teachings we uplift ourselves, families and communities.
Julie West
Alana Jones Mes
Events Advisor
Julie West is an industry-leading conference and events producer. She specializes in reinventing and revitalizing experiences, from conception to completion on a wide variety of events including: fundraisers, high profile events, public stunts, conferences and galas. Her innovative strategies help organizations attract more attendees, more sponsors, more media and more vendors.
Alana Jones is a collaborative Professional, Director and Author with over 22 years of experience in talent acquisition, change management, community outreach, and recruitment. She has a background in risk management, client relations, succession planning, and leadership and is currently an Instructor at the University of Toronto, where she facilitates the Community Engagement and Housing and Homelessness course with excerpts based on her published book, Behind the Frontline.
Alana is the founder of Border Place INC., where she leads the transformation of a personal care rooming house to supportive housing for vulnerable populations in Toronto.
Alexa Gilmour
Alexa Gilmour is an activist, social entrepreneur and United Church minister, who is currently completing her doctoral studies in grassroots organising for change at the Pacific School of Religion. Alexa was first introduced to Aangen as the National Director of the Stone Soup Network. Sharing common passions and goals, Alexa was delighted to be invited to deepen her relationship with Aangen. She has been acknowledged with public service awards for her ministry, writing and public speaking, which share the common theme of building just, equitable, sustainable and inclusive communities.
To relax, she loves hiking in wild places accompanied by the Spirit and giggling with her family of six over evening board games and bad jokes.
Carla Leon
Carla Leon is President and CEO of Just Like Family Home Care and spearheaded the first social acquisition by charities in Canada. With her vision, JLF has been transformed into a Social Enterprise, with the majority of profits going to charities. She strives to make a social impact, transforming home care across Canada for franchise owners and the families they support. She holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from University of British Columbia.
Carla is a natural innovator who believes success comes from collaboration. Her greatest sense of satisfaction comes from using her skills to make a positive impact on those whose lives she touches.
Advisory Board
Oksana Kandiller
Financial Advisor
Dr. Shira Taylor
Communtiy Advisor
Oksana has previously worked at Aangen supporting finance functions throughout 2020-2022 and feels very passionately about Aangen’s mission. She’s very pleased to be a member of Aangen’s Advisory board and offer financial skills to Aangen’s vision.
Besides her love for accounting and finance, she finds great joy in travelling and exploring the world, spending time with her family, and bonding with nature.
Dr. Shira Taylor is a family physician who specializes in mind/body/spirit approaches to healing and wellness. In 2014 she shifted her practice to be entirely psychotherapy-based and serves individuals struggling with a wide variety of life difficulties including depression, anxiety, trauma, chronic pain, grief, questions around sexuality, migration and pre-migration trauma as well as others. She also runs mindfulness and compassion-focused groups and workshops. Shira has been participating in and co-sponsoring the Canada Camino the past couple of years and co-organizing several events with Aangen.