Who We Are

THE YOUTH WE SERVE ARE OUR FUTURE. THEY HAVE GIFTS AND TALENTS TO BE RECOGNIZED!
Beth is passionate about helping youth see their potential through work. She’s a career strategist … and an advisor in the industry’s leading professional services firm. Beth’s experience includes … Human Resources … Employment … Business Development and Starting and Running Small Businesses. Beth has volunteered at not for profit organizations for children and youth in both Canada and the US … she’s done fundraising, management and program development. Beth wants to help YES with policy issues … strategic Human Resources …and she’s enthusiastic about volunteering in our youth programs. Her knowledge of the employment market and her experience as an entrepreneur is a great help to our youth.

You’ll enjoy meeting our YES Board Members. Their special talents… their caring and giving skills… their professional experience and their own goals in life combine to make them a unique group… Read about a) why they are serving on the YES Board… b) what they want to give back…

I LOVE TO TEACH YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT FINANCIAL LITERACY.
David teaches youth about financial literacy and MBA students on investments at York University and previously at Sheridan College. With his CFA designation and a distinguished career with Financial Investment firms, David is ideally suited to bring this expertise to the board of YES … but David is clear that his passion is to help youth succeed. He’s looking forward to teaching financial planning in starting a business in the Youth Business Centre at YES.

I BEGAN WORKING AS A TEENAGER AND UNDERSTAND FIRST HAND THE INDEPENDENCE, SELF-CONFIDENCE AND SELF-ESTEEM THAT IS FOUND THROUGH EMPLOYMENT. I WANT TO HELP THE CLIENTS OF YES ACHIEVE THEIR POTENTIAL. 
Deb is a chartered accountant and in her career has held senior financial officer positions in public and private companies. Deb wants to help YES deliver critical employment skills to youth and to ensure that YES has the necessary financial and other resources to achieve its mission. Deb is focused on building the profile and support of YES within the business community.

OTHER THAN THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH YES CLIENTS, I AM AN ADVOCATE OF PROVIDING PEOPLE WITH THE TOOLS TO HELP THEMSELVES. 
Dedicated to corporate philanthropy, Alon also encourages community giving from his own Management Team and Employees. He’s wholehearted on mentoring and providing business skills development to the clients of YES. Being a young entrepreneur himself he values his time guiding budding young entrepreneurs at YES to their own success.

I WANT YES TO BE BETTER KNOWN IN THE COMMUNITY. YES IS A SUCCESSFUL  ORGANIZATION THAT POTENTIAL CLIENTS AND SUPPORTERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT 
Joan is a lawyer and problem solver. She has worked in large organizations and also led a small entrepreneurial business subsidiary. She is committed to life long learning and is proud of the success that YES clients achieve. Telling people about YES, finding more supporters for YES and working on event planning are Joan’s passions. Working with the committed YES board is a worthwhile experience.

I WANT THE YOUNG PEOPLE AT YES TO HAVE THE RESOURCES AND SUPPORTS WHICH I HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE TO PROVIDE TO MY CHILDREN THROUGH THE DIFFICULT AND CONFUSING CHANGE FROM DEPENDENCY TO INDEPENDENCE. 
An is an enthusiastic and determined volunteer … and loves teenagers. She has 3 girls of her own and enjoys being able to give back to the community of youth. An’s a great networker and fundraiser. She brings a background of social work with at risk youth.

GIVING SOMEONE AN OPPORTUNITY CAN CHANGE THEIR FUTURE.
Nick is part of the senior management team of a rapidly growing public software company. His previous experiences include working as a merchant banker and as a business strategy consultant to Fortune 500 companies.
“I’m very excited about the way YES helps youth discover their potential so that they can begin achieving their dreams.”

I’VE BEEN GIVEN MANY OPPORTUNITIES ALONG MY CAREER PATH, BUT IT ALL STARTS WITH A FIRST JOB.
Wendy has over 25 years experience at senior management jobs in the charitable sector. Specializing in fund raising, she wants to put this experience to good use, helping YES achieve its financial objectives so the Board and staff can help more clients achieve their goals.

I HAVE AN UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO HELP CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES IN NEED.
“He who opens a school door, closes a prison” (Victor Hugo).
I have worked with high-risk schools throughout the GTA to develop and promote leadership, literacy, and arts based programs that have been successful in creating opportunities and opening doors for our youth. My inspiration comes from watching these students complete their high school requirements and graduate high school despite overwhelming obstacles and challenges in their lives that are beyond their control. I have spent 25 years fundraising for not for profit organizations. My passion for YES and Youth is my motivation to continue to work tirelessly on YES’s behalf to raise money for established programs and use my experience and expertise to help develop new programs at YES.

WORK CAN BE LIBERATING AND EMPOWERING. BY SUPPORTING YES I BELIEVE WE CAN HELP OUR YOUTH ACHIEVE THEIR POTENTIAL.
John’s a talent developer. In his succession planning practice he works with C level executives to help organizations prepare them for advancement. I want YES clients to have the same opportunities to learn new skills and market themselves. I am committed to seeing YES get the funding it needs to deliver on its important mission.

I BELIEVE THAT HELPING YOUTH TO HELP THEMSELVES IS THE MOST IMPACTFUL, SUSTAINABLE WAY TO CREATE A PLATFORM FOR FUTURE INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETAL SUCCESS.
Jason is a coach. His career has spanned diverse sectors including international development, management consulting and business leadership. Whether in Bangladesh working to enhance the education of youth, guiding executives to implement change initiatives or developing the potential of management teams, a constant theme in Jason’s work and life has been the belief that the ‘answers’ to individual or organizational challenges reside within. Jason hopes to contribute his experience to the collective talent at YES to change lives forever.

YES IS MY OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE SOMETHING BACK.
When I was a young job-seeker without many qualifications, it was not hard to find a job. Today in Canada, things are not so easy for young people. Employers are more demanding; the barriers to job entry seem to be ever higher.
Youth Employment Services YES is trying to do something about this. I would like to play my part - lots of people helped me along the way. YES is my opportunity to give something back.

I WANT A STRONG CANADA.
For this we need our youth engaged, productive and fulfilling their dreams. That starts with getting them in challenging jobs. YES helps them get there.