Nucleus Independent Living

Jaspreet Hansra-Kulasingam is a seasoned finance executive with extensive experience serving both private and public companies ranging in size and complexity. Jaspreet has 15 years of real estate experience four of which have been spent working in the seniors housing industry.

Jaspreet is a passionate leader and takes a keen interest in developing & mentoring individuals. Currently as CFO of CreateTO, she is responsible for the overall financial & IT management of the company, including finance, accounting, treasury, insurance, procurement, risk management and financial planning.

She has held several senior positions throughout her career and has overseen complex projects, while effectively managing cross functional teams to deliver finance and operational efficiencies. During her time at Deloitte Jaspreet advised and assisted clients to identify and execute initiatives around corporate strategy & vision, designing & optimizing organizational structures, process improvements, controls and technology needs.

Jaspreet is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Chartered Accountant (CA) and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Masters of Accounting degree from the University of Waterloo.

Melanie’s career has spanned strategic and operational roles across several pharmaceutical companies. She has more than 25 years of experience in Canada’s research-based pharmaceutical industry, with key areas of focus including strategic planning, stakeholder relations, and commercializing unique assets. Throughout her career, Melanie has remained committed to enhancing health care and developing people in all aspects of their careers.

Her passion for quality healthcare has led her to serve on various healthcare boards, including Oak Valley Health, where she currently serves as a Board Director and a member of both the Finance & Audit Committee and the Quality & Safety Committee.

Melanie is currently the CEO & Founder of Arctava Canada Inc, where she leads the company’s mission to bring innovative solutions to the biopharmaceutical sector.Iveta is presently employed as the Director Corporate Finance and Reporting at William Osler Health System. Prior to that Iveta was the Director of Finance at St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto, and a Manager of Integrated Analytics, Decision Support at Hamilton Health Sciences. Giving back to the community holds a special purpose for Iveta, especially during these dynamic times of change in the health and social services sectors.

A collaborative senior executive with extensive public and private sectors experience, strategically leading corporate functions including finance, risk management, communications, human resources, information systems, legal, government relations, privacy and facilities management.

Currently, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, a federal regulator that serves to protect the public interest by overseeing licensed immigration and citizenship consultants and international student advisors. Responsible for the day-to-day operational leadership of the Council’s operations of the organization, and leading finance and all corporate services.

Previously, the COO at the College of Early Childhood Educators a provincial regulator of more than 57,000 registrants. In this role, he was responsible for the redesign and implementation of corporate services, including strategic communications and stakeholder relations, IT transformation and financial sustainability. Additionally, the founding CFO & COO of HealthForceOntario, a provincial government agency mandated to provide health workforce solutions. This role involved leading an interprofessional care/education (IPC/E) initiative to support the provincial IPC/E Steering Committee and providing full corporate services for the establishment of five separate and independent new health regulatory colleges by leveraging the agency’s infrastructure to support them to proclamation.

Private sector experience includes executive level responsibilities at several for profit companies, and an active role on the Executive Committee of the Canadian Gift and Tableware Association, including Vice-Chair and Chair-Elect of the Board of Directors, and Chair of the Trade Show Committee.

Currently, Russ also is on the Board of the Rekai Centres, a NFP charitable corporation owning and operating two Long-Term Care Homes in downtown Toronto. He is a member of the Outreach and Partnership Committee.

Vivek is a seasoned leader and brings to the board over seventeen years of diversified work experience in finance, strategy development and operations management. Vivek currently works at Newmont, a leading gold mining company, as their Director of Investments & Value Management. Vivek’s career spans multiple mining companies and various management consulting firms, where he has excelled in managing and executing strategic and key projects for various stakeholders and clients.

Prior to rejoining the Nucleus Independent Living board, Vivek served as a Board Member for several Vancouver-based nonprofits for five years. Vivek previously served on the Nucleus Independent Living board from 2011 to 2019. 

Vivek’s educational background includes a BASc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and a MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University. He is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario.

Aleem Bhanji is a senior executive at AlayaCare, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Toronto, and a National Health Fellow. With over 20 years of experience spanning life sciences and the healthcare continuum, with a focus on management, strategy, technology and project execution, Aleem currently serves as the Market Leader for Canada and emerging segments at AlayaCare. In this role, Aleem turns health system insights into strategy and execution, keeping AlayaCare’s teams focused on what customers need, today and in the future.

Throughout his career, Aleem has been driven by a clear objective: to help advance and modernize the health system by designing sustainable models of care that use digital innovation to tightly integrate primary, home and community, and acute care, so they function as a truly cohesive continuum rather than disconnected parts. Aleem’s focus throughout this work has been to transform how healthcare recipients and their families experience care and to ensure they achieve better health outcomes.

In a voluntary capacity, Aleem has been involved with non-profit organizations, serving as a director on various boards in health and social care as well as in youth development. Aleem also gives back by volunteering to teach future health system leaders at the University of Toronto’s Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation.

Aleem holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, Bioinformatics from the University of Waterloo, a Master’s in Health Sciences from the University of Toronto and is recognized as a National Health Fellow from McMaster University. Aleem is also a member of the Canadian College of Health Executives.

Brooke is an employment lawyer at a Toronto based employment law firm, where she advises organizations on workplace compliance, policy development, and risk management. Her expertise is grounded in experience within government, having served as a policy advisor and legislative assistant to Ontario’s Minister of Labour and previously working at the Ministry of Health. This background provides Brooke with a unique perspective on regulatory frameworks and government decision-making, enabling her to offer strategic guidance on employment law and governance issues. She is committed to helping organizations navigate complex workplace challenges and implement best practices that align with legislative requirements and organizational goals.

Garvin is an accomplished change leader with broad experience managing organizational transformation in retail, higher education, and various levels of government.

He believes building trust is essential to supporting individuals, teams and organizations through change. “We are all stewards of change, from leadership, right through to front line employees, vendors and ultimately the customer (or consumer) – everyone is linked by the change.”

Garvin goes all-out to make the connection between an organization – its people – its product or service – and their customer a part of his DNA. Through that process the foundation of trust is established and an open transfer of knowledge and information launches us down the path of change … together.

Much like his beliefs to supporting change, Nucleus’s Mission, Vison and Values are constant and enduring. These small set of guiding principles are their connection and speak to who they are as stewards of change.

Yves Bélanger rejoined the Board of Nucleus in 2019 after previously serving for over a decade. Throughout his tenure, he has contributed to multiple strategic planning initiatives and helped establish the organization’s current governance structure. Yves is passionate about Nucleus’s mission and the meaningful difference it makes in the lives of the people it serves.

Professionally, Yves is a senior executive at Sobeys Inc., leading national supply chain operations, including warehousing, transportation, replenishment, wholesale, and pharmacy. He brings nearly 30 years of leadership experience in retail, wholesale, and manufacturing, and has held senior roles at Wolseley Canada, Weston Foods, SERCA Foodservice, and Loblaw Companies.

Yves holds engineering degrees from École Polytechnique de Montréal and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Ontario. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers.