Meet our teAM

Roxanne Felix-Mah has twenty five years of experience working in equity and inclusion in the fields of health promotion, community-based research and evaluation, and social services. She has also worked across many sectors - working for government, research organizations and various non-profits focused on newcomer integration, mental health and anti-racism. These diverse experiences give her comprehensive insight into both the theory and practice of equity work, currently applied in her role in a shared leadership position as Managing Partner with the Edmonton Social Planning Council. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor with the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta.

Ashima Sumaru-Jurf has been working in community-based organizations for the last 20 years, in every role – from frontline to Executive Director and board member. She has also been working on various components of community based research and evaluation during this time and brings a lens (and experience) of a practitioner-researcher to her work. Ashima has extensive experience in the theory and practice of equity, anti-racism, and intersectional policy and approaches. Over the last decade, she has worked in shared leadership with Roxanne Felix-Mah to build the capacity of CBOs to integrate equity into their structure, processes, policy, and governance.

OUR BOARD

2025-2026 Board Profiles

Ramona Blacklock is a Certified Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) and a Senior Certified Professional (SCP), with over 14 years of HR experience. Ramona has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta and a Human Resources degree from MacEwan University. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Human Resources and Labour Relations at Athabasca University.

Ramona’s volunteer activities include Board Member for Canadian Parks and Wilderness Northern Alberta, Mentor with Edmonton Region Immigrant Employment Council, facilitator with John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights, Mentor with the University of Alberta Resource Management Association.

Ramona currently works as the Human Resources and Administration Manager at Edmonton Immigrant Services association (EISA).

Bill is passionate about issues of citizenship, belonging and social justice. After a year in Nicaragua and seeing the relationship between youth and change, he left a career in engineering to become an English teacher to engage with youth in service to learning and community. Throughout his career he has been involved as a supervisor for numerous student-led social action groups and has worked on the boards of several organizations. In his spare time he is pursuing a doctorate in Education. After 27 years in the classroom, though he still teaches English periodically, he currently works in

consulting, splitting his time working for the Edmonton Public School Board between Research for Student Learning and Comprehensive School Health and Diversity. In both roles, he has been involved in numerous projects researching and supporting engaged citizenship, marginalized student populations and belonging, striving as much as possible to support education of, by and for compassion, relationships, and appreciation of difference. Outside of work and volunteering, Bill is a strong advocate for and patron of all the arts available in our community.

With a background in project management and planning, Archana Chaudhary possesses extensive expertise in project management within the healthcare sector and beyond. Engaged on multiple boards, committees and community leagues, she harbors a deep-seated dedication to initiatives aimed at building stronger, more resilient communities. She enjoys hiking and traveling.

Brooks Hanewich has 17 years of experience in organizational management, business development, and strategic leadership, with a strong emphasis on community economic development. His expertise lies in scaling initiatives, applying social innovation, developing social enterprises, and navigating the complexities of cross-sectoral systems change.

Most recently, he served as the Interim Executive Director of the Edmonton Community Development Company. Prior to that, he was the Head of Acceleration at Edmonton Unlimited, where he led programs aimed at growing and scaling tech companies. As Director of Inclusive Economy at End Poverty Edmonton, he integrated social innovation and economic strategies to address deeply rooted social issues. He currently serves as

the Director of Social and Environmental Sustainability at Explore Edmonton.

Charlotte began her postsecondary education at the University of Alberta, with a major in Sociology and a minor in psychology. There, Charlotte volunteered as President of the Sociology Undergraduate Association and facilitated students for reading for the hearing impaired program. Charlotte continued her studies at the University of Athabasca and obtained a Bachelor of General Studies. Charlotte obtained an LLB at the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Charlotte’s volunteer activities in the community have included being a Youth Justice Committee Panel Member where she met with youth diverted from the court system. As part of this, Charlotte developed contracts for these youth to make amends for their actions, which included repair/replacement cost of property, or in personal or written apologies. Charlotte also volunteered with Arbutus, where she mentored a child once a week for a year and created a “life book” for a child that had been involved with various foster families. Through her employer, Charlotte has volunteered at the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Meals on Wheels, the Hope Mission and the Edmonton Food Bank.

Charlotte now works in the access and privacy field which involves weighing access and privacy issues while facilitating information requests, and handling access and privacy complaints regarding an individual’s personal information. Charlotte holds an IAAP designation through the University of Alberta faculty of Extension.



Charlotte is a member of the Cosmopolitan Music Society and enjoys Edmonton’s

outdoor festivals and our hockey team!

Christopher Batdorf is an Affordable Housing professional, who for over the past decade has worked with organizations such as the YMCA of Northern Alberta, Homeward Trust, E4C, and the Right at Home Housing Society. Christopher has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geography, from the University of Lethbridge, where the majority of his studies focused on the Human Interaction with their Environments. Christopher is passionate

about affordable, sustainable, housing and identifies as a “Distributionist”; believing in the power of Co-operatives and Public Corporations (with accessible shares/memberships), to be catalysts in creating social benefits.

Currently, he sits as the First Vice-President, of the Alberta Residential Landlords Association (ARLA) Board of Directors, and works to improve communities by bridging housing providers with support services providers, to improve the housing outcomes of Edmontonians who rent. Christopher is excited to join the Edmonton Social Planning Council, supporting the important research and initiatives that have resulted in such responses to needs as the Edmonton Food Bank and the Alberta Living Wage Network.

With a background in academia, social services, and project management, Nife Ajayi

brings a wealth of experience. Nife has successfully led and completed two significant

research projects, one resulting in a publication and improved mental health service

access for Black youth. Her commitment to community work and accountability has

driven her to work with non-profit organizations such as the Africa Center and Boys and

Girls Clubs Big Brothers Big Sisters. Her passion lies in merging her research and

community work expertise with a strong desire for a more equitable society. Currently,

she works as an anti-racism coordinator for AIWCC, creating workshops and building

networks with the goal of education and policy influence for anti-racism work.

Rosslynn (Roz) Zulla is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Social Work, and a faculty

member of the Institutes for Transdisciplinary Scholarship at the University of Calgary. In

her 10+ years of doing community-based research, she continues to work alongside

diverse communities (e.g., migrant communities, LGBTQ2S+ communities, individuals

with different abilities/disabilities) in using research and community development to

address their needs, participate, grow and attain the quality of life they wish for. She

believes in creating sustainability via infrastructures that help develop the next

generation of community leaders/researchers/activists.

Roxanne Yip brings over 15 years of experience in direct service, program development, leadership, and board work in the newcomer-serving sector. She works extensively on issues of justice, equity, and access for newcomers and racialized populations, which she values personally and professionally. As a child of immigrants, her lived experience watching her mother navigate unfamiliar systems here in Edmonton fuels her commitment to supporting newcomers and advancing equitable policies that drive positive social change. Roxanne currently serves as Manager of Settlement Services at the Edmonton Newcomer Centre and has held various frontline and leadership roles at the Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative, and the Multicultural Family Resource Society.

Winnie Chow-Horn has over 2 decades of experience in the social service and the

not-for-profit sector as an educator, director, co-researcher, community builder, and

evaluator. She is committed to making visible the invisible realities of marginalized and vulnerable populations to influence social change. Winnie was the co-founder and Executive Director of two charitable organizations: the Multicultural Family Resource Society 2007-2018 (Edmonton, AB) and Anti-Dote: A Network for Racialized and Indigenous Girls and Women 2002-2007 (Victoria, BC). Winnie currently sits on two boards: the Muttart Foundation and Neutral Ground and offers her insights into creating inclusive and equitable spaces in the charitable sector.

She is currently working at the Government of Alberta (GoA) in the Community

Development Unit on the Ecosystem and Public Participation team. Prior to joining the GoA, Winnie worked at the University of Alberta as a Stakeholder Engagement Specialist and Research Associate on community-based research projects with Alberta Metis Settlements and First Nations to improve children, youth, and family wellness. She brings a wealth of experience related to community engagement, strategic planning, not-for-profit governance, and trauma informed practice to the Edmonton Social Planning Council Board. In her spare time, Winnie loves to hike up steep mountains, travel to unpopulated places, and search for the best tasting ice cream with her family and her home office four- legged co-worker, Aspen.