Board of Directors

Joanne Fletcher is the CEO of the Mint Green Group, a leading Canadian sports and lifestyle distributor that partners with global brands to propel their businesses in Canada.

With an extensive background in brand marketing and business leadership, Joanne has spent 20+ years working with some of North America’s most prominent brands including Kraft Foods, Merrill Lynch, PUMA, Nike, and Barnes & Noble, in roles that took her from Toronto to Portland to NYC and ultimately, back to Toronto. She joined the Mint Green Group in the fall of 2014, assuming the role of CEO in January 2018.

As a visionary and culture-driven leader, Joanne brings a strategic, collaborative, and passionate approach to her work. Beyond her role at Mint Green, she has served as a member of the advisory board of LIGHTS, a Toronto-based organization dedicated to providing housing solutions for adults with intellectual disabilities. She also spent 3 years coaching soccer with Ontario Special Olympics and continues to be involved with OSO as a parent. She is the proud Mom of two teenage girls, one of whom has benefitted from a meaningful friendship formed through Best Buddies.

Joanne is an honours graduate of Queen’s University and continues to provide mentorship to young women transitioning from Business School to the workplace.

Martine is the Vice President of Finance at Fiera Infrastructure Inc., an infrastructure fund investing in infrastructure assets around the world.

Prior to joining Fiera Infrastructure, Martine was in the finance group at a mid-tier publicly traded mining company and at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, focusing primarily on international publicly-traded mining clients. Martine is a Chartered Professional Accountant. She holds a Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Management and Professional Accounting from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

Martine has been involved in several charity events over the years including as a committee member of an intergenerational Prom for Holocaust Survivors for over 400 Survivors and Young Professionals.

Ms. Ben-Haim is Vice-President of Client Wealth Management, for Gluskin Sheff.

Prior to joining Gluskin Sheff in 2016, Ms. Ben-Haim was a member of J.P. Morgan’s Wealth Management team in New York and thereafter part of their Investment Bank covering Institutional Sales in London, England. Prior thereto, Ms. Ben-Haim worked for Morgan Stanley’s Risk Management team. Ms. Ben-Haim holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Ms. Ben-Haim has been a board member of Best Buddies, a global charitable organization, since 2018.

Her other charitable endeavours include serving as a committee member for Art Toronto’s fundraiser for the AGO since 2016.

Chris is the President of Blockchain Foundry Inc., a software development firm focused on the blockchain space.

Prior to Blockchain Foundry, Chris worked for GMP Securities and Richardson GMP in corporate development and investment banking. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University, a Masters in Finance from London Business School, and is a CFA charterholder.

Chris lives in Toronto with his wife and three daughters.

Matthew Deforest is an associate investment counsellor at Mawer Investment Management Ltd., which he joined in 2023.

Prior to joining Mawer, Mr. Deforest was an associate investment counsellor at Guardian Partners where he worked with a variety of clients including individuals, institutions, and not-for-profits across Canada.

Matthew was happily involved with Best Buddies throughout his time at university. He is a member of the CFA Institute, the Toronto CFA Society, and earned his Bachelor of Management and Organizational Studies from Western University.

As Chief Executive Officer of the Creative Class Group, Rana Florida manages new business development, speaking events, marketing, consulting, and research serving such diverse clients as Facebook, BMW, Converse, IBM, Cirque du Soleil, Audi, Zappos, and Starwood Hotels. In this role, she helped found and launch CityLab, a new digital platform for The Atlantic where she also worked on events and programming for The Aspen Ideas Institute and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

As former Vice President of Marketing for HMSHost, the world’s largest airport developer, she brings to this leadership role more than two decades of experience in corporate strategy, communications, and marketing.

Well known as a writer on business and leadership – for Fast Company, Inc.com, the Huffington Post, and the Miami Herald – Rana has also served as a guest business analyst on The Today Show and MSNBC’s The Cycle. Her one-on-one high profile business interviews have covered notables from President Bill Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama to Andre Agassi, Nelly Furtado,Tory Burch, and many more.

Rana serves as a Board Member for the New York based Silver Art Projects, a non-profit organization that provides artists with free studio space and career development. She is also an Ambassador for GEM, the Toronto based girls’ mentorship program, and on the Board of the New York based nonprofit, LetGrow.

Rana has served as a chair on committees for The United Nations Global Network on Digital Technologies and Sustainable Urbanization for UN Habitat, The Olympics Committee, Canadian Freestyle Ski Association, Silver Art Projects, The National Ballet of Canada, St. Mike’s Hospital Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit, Luminato Festival, Travel & Leisure Rebel Awards, Le Miami, The Design–Exchange, Isabella Blow Foundation, Girls E Mentorship, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Airports Council International, Council for International Visitors, and The Founders Junior Council of the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Rana holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and an MBA in Marketing and Management. Her book, Upgrade—Taking Your Work and Life From Ordinary to Extraordinary, was a ‘Business Best Seller’ by Tattered Cover, the largest independent bookstore retailer in the U.S. and The Globe and Mail, Editor’s Pick.

Maha Masood is a Partner at Bay Street HR, a boutique outsourced HR consulting firm which she joined in 2013.

Maha has supported numerous organizations on all topics related to Human Resources and Governance. Her expertise lies in employee relations, compensation, team building, performance measurement and strategic HR planning. Maha has worked with large organizations, boutique firms and start-ups to grow their internal HR infrastructure and overall business presence. She provides strategic planning and solutions to senior executives, as well as hands on support to management teams to ensure her clients take a wholesome approach to their HR function.

Beyond her role at Bay Street HR, Maha has served as the Chair of the Governance Committee at Volunteer Connect York Region. A non-for-profit organization connecting volunteers to meaningful opportunities in their community.

Maha holds a Bachelor of Administrative Studies degree with Honours in Human Resources Management from York University. She is a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) through the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA). Maha is also a certified practitioner of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI), which helps her clients understand the importance of diverse teams, encourages cohesion and fosters healthy conflict.

Jacob is a Senior Associate at Tory’s and is a corporate lawyer with a specialization in commercial banking and debt financing.

Jacob represents both lenders and borrowers in complex domestic, cross-border and international transactions, syndicated loans, private equity, and acquisition financings.  In 2024, he was recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in Canada to watch in banking and finance law.

Originally from Montreal, Michael has been a resident of Burlington for over 40 years.

Michael is a graduate of McMaster University and has been a full-time, award winning real estate professional for over 30 years. He has extensive knowledge in all aspects of the residential market including resale, waterfront, new homes, and condominiums and has been in the top 1% in Canada for Royal LePage® for over 25 years.

Chris Waterston is a Partner in PwC’s Front Office Transformation Consulting practice based Ottawa.

He specializes in large-scale business led, technology enabled transformations, focused on enabling his public sector clients to drive real and sustained business value from their front office. His expertise is in platform-enabled implementations of emerging cloud technologies, including Salesforce and their adoption within organizations to maximize his client’s return on investment.

In his role, Chris has worked globally as a trusted advisor to both public and private sector organizations. He leads large scale digital transformation programs which drive sustained outcomes for his clients.

In addition to his responsibilities with PwC, Chris is a mentor with the JUMP Bishop’s University Mentorship Program and with the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business MentorPoint Program.

Prior to joining PwC in 2013, Chris was a Public Servant in the Canadian Federal Government with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. He is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC), a Prosci Chan Management Professional (CMP), a Certified Scrum Master (CSM) and holds a Master of Politic Management from Carleton University as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration from Bishop’s University.

Robert is the CEO of RUA GOLD, a gold exploration company focused on finding high grade gold in New Zealand.

Robert’s background is in finance, specially in the mining sector and has worked across Australia, Africa, South America and North America. Robert is a Chartered Accountant, holds a Masters in Science and a Bachelor of Commerce. He has over five years of board experience with various public corporations and this is his first not for profit board. He has a son with special needs and brings lived experience as well as corporate board experience to Best buddies.