Strategic Leadership Partner

John has held various management roles for over 20 years in numerous organizations.  Currently, he is the executive director at Sheena's Place, a community-based organization offering mental health support for those with eating disorders.  John has extensive experience with all aspects of non-profit work, including strategic planning, finance, risk management, human resources, communications, fundraising, and working closely with boards. 

Coaching sessions can cover any of these subject areas, leveraging existing strengths to improve an individual's satisfaction with their work.  Supporting other leaders to grow and maximize their potential has consistently been a favourite part of every role John has ever held.

Executive Director

Gilad Cohen is a Toronto-based artist, photographer, podcaster, public speaker, and advocate for human rights. Since 2008, Gilad has worked as a community mobilizer with a focus on connecting audiences to urgent and compelling stories through multimedia arts.

In 2012, Gilad founded JAYU, an award-winning Toronto-based charity that serves the arts community through the annual Human Rights Film Festival, The Hum, a human rights podcast which he produces and co-hosts, as well as the iAM Program, an initiative that provides arts and social justice mentorship to more than 200 equity-deserving youth from across the GTA each year.

Gilad is deeply passionate about mental health, often speaking about it publicly and advocating for better practices in the arts and non-profit sectors. In 2020, this led him to shifting his organization to a 4-day work-week, extended paid sick and vacation leave, and more.

As a photographer, Gilad specializes in portraits and travel photography.

He is an alumna of the Toronto Arts Council Leaders Lab and the Rothschild Fellowship at Cambridge University in the UK. He has sat on the Board of Directors for several arts and human rights charities including Global Youth Volunteer Network, Scarborough Arts, and RISE Edutainment. He currently sits on the Board of HanVoice, Canada’s largest North Korean human rights advocacy group.

Special Events Coordinator

Megan is a third-year student at Western University with a passion for psychology, culture development and program planning. After volunteering in the nonprofit sector over the last year, she is looking forward to gaining a deeper understanding of what goes into building sustainable organizations. She hopes to use her experience in human resources to help influence the EPIC community in a positive way. 

Strategic Leadership Partner

Rickesh Lakhani believes that we are all responsible for each other’s success. He is the Founder of Radiance Advisory, supporting social impact organizations and leaders to align their actions with their values and build stronger cultures based on truth and trust.

He has over 15 years of experience in the social impact sector, including serving as the Executive Director at a community-based organization serving children and as the Development Director leading an $8M annual fundraising campaign. Rickesh is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), sits on the Global Council for the Community-Centric Fundraising movement, and has volunteered with numerous causes and boards.

 He enjoys spending time with his family including his 3 children, camping, bike riding, cooking, and playing drums. He is a work in progress.

Strategic Leadership Partner

Shelley is a champion for women and girls. Her diverse background, inquisitive spirit, and inclusive nature have helped her successfully lead a wide variety of teams.  She has experience with Grassroots startups and larger established organizations in the Greater Toronto Area.  A Montreal, Quebec native, Shelley is the daughter of immigrants who moved to Canada, from the Caribbean, in the 1960s to make a better life for their family.  Shelley worked for ten years in Detroit’s automotive industry starting as a Project Engineer and was steadily promoted to the role of Technical and Commercial Lead for projects in excess of $100 million.  After taking some time off from the for-profit workforce, she has turned her career focus to the non-profit sector. She is excited to continue advocating for women, girls and diverse equity seeking groups to overcome barriers and reach their full potential.​

Shelley is the Strategic Leadership Partner at EPIC Leadership and the facilitator for EPIC xChange Cohort # 3.

Consultant

Committed to systemic change through collaboration, Biju is focused on developing sustainable solutions by convening businesses, the government and community groups to come together to tackle complex social issues.  Currently, Biju is the Executive Director of POV, a charity where he catalyzes diverse stakeholder partnerships from across the TV & Film production sector through innovative workforce development strategies that support BIPOC and racialized young people who are trying to gain meaningful economic access and launch successful careers into the sector.  Through this work, Biju hopes to contribute to the growth of the public sector, offering insights, ideas and evidence-based practices that can help to shape future policies and programming.  Leveraging his over a decade of practical experience, he shares expertise and insights regarding multi sectoral collaborations, inclusion initiatives and diverse leadership development to organizations, community groups and serves as a subject matter expert on strategy, programming, collaboration, equity & inclusion for initiatives across Canada.   

Founder, Board Chair

Michael Prosserman found his passion for B-Boying (“break dancing”) at a very young age. By the time he was three, Michael was already standing on his head while watching Saturday morning cartoons.

Michael is a professional speaker who specializes in team culture, development, succession and start-ups. He is the Founder of Unity Charity (www.unitycharity.com), an organization using Hip Hop to improve youth mental health. Michael built Unity from the ground up over fifteen years out of his passion for Hip Hop and mental health. By high school, Michael was accepted into Cirque Du Soleil and was featured in the major motion picture “Honey”. Since then, Michael has had the privilege to share his story, perform and facilitate for hundreds of audiences including municipalities, non-profits, corporations, associations, schools and more.

Michael grew Unity from a group of volunteers to employing eighty staff, raising $7 million and having an impact on the lives of over 250,000 youth. Michael has facilitated groups from Asia to Europe to the Canadian Arctic. Michael speaks from lived experience, bringing a practical, innovative approach to coaching, consulting and teaching. Michael’s new book Building Unity shares practical steps to launch, lead and leave a sustainable organization. Michael is an instructor at the University of Toronto for the Non-Profit Leadership for Impact certificate. Michael has travelled the world as a competitive B-Boy, placing first in over twenty-six battles. Michael has been featured in over sixty major media outlets in Canada including Maclean’s, Toronto Star, and CBC.

Michael is the Founder at EPIC Leadership, a firm focused on helping social impact leaders build sustainable organizations. Michael serves on the board of directors of several charities including Acorn Seed Foundation and RISE Arts and Community Services. He has a strong passion for making the world a better place in a responsible way.