Connecting top talent to the job market.

Daniel Ohaegbu
Executive Director

Daniel Ohaegbu is a leader in EDI transformations with experience developing EDI within academia, industry and community organizations. Daniel’s perspective on EDI is shaped by an established academic background, with published work on inclusivity in higher education and his experience as a business leader working in the program development, entertainment and finance sectors. His EDI work has come out of his advocacy and establishing an NFP to serve international students in Atlantic Canada and the community that has become their new home.

He is a dynamic emcee and has volunteered to host various community events and collaborate and support community partners. Daniel is active in the Black Cultural Society of PEI, Film PEI, and the newly formed BIPOC USHR. He is consistently enthusiastic, a joy to work with, and committed to anti-racism efforts, including his work on Black Lives Matter and Indigenous Lives Matter.

Amin Amou
Program Manager

Amin is a fourth-year international student at UPEI. He moved to Prince Edward Island in August 2019 to pursue a degree in Actuarial Science. Amin aims to finish his undergraduate and pass all the Society of Actuaries (SOA) exams to become a fellow actuary. He is passionate about learning new skills and applying his knowledge to improve systems and support people. In his spare time, Amin is tuned in with events and news from across the globe. He also enjoys playing board games (currently the best chess player on the team), reading books, playing volleyball and futsal.

Amanda Sim
Operations Manager

 

Khadija Usman
Director of Programs

Khadija Usman is a native of Nigeria. She graduated with a distinction in Economics and Business from the University of Prince Edward Island with professional experience in sales and client services. As a team leader in her previous roles, Khadija is passionate about helping young adults and international students thrive in Canada. With projects like 23andhuman, a non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring and supporting youth in their teenage years and twenties, navigate and address challenges and uncertainties. Khadija volunteers her time to organizations such as the PEI Business Women’s Association and the PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada, supporting newcomers during the weekly Friday Friendship Hour. Khadija is an excellent writer and poet and received The MacLauchlan Prizes for Effective writing.

 

Emma Drake
Secretary

Emma Drake is from Morell, Prince Edward Island. Following graduating high-school, Emma was selected to participate in the Rotary International Youth Exchange, where she lived in Belgium for one year. Following Belgium, Emma enrolled at the University of Prince Edward Island. At UPEI Emma was elected Vice President Academic & External (‘18-’19) and President & CEO (‘19-’20) of the UPEI Student Union. During her tenure at the UPEISU, Emma was an advocate for international students at the federal level of government, advocating for improving work VISAs and the provincial government level for needs-based-grants and affordable housing. Emma is currently working on finishing her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at UPEI, volunteers as Chair of the PEI Coalition for Women and Government, and works full-time at Elections PEI. Emma is enthusiastic about continuing to work to support international students in PEI and collaborate with community partners!

Dante Bazard
Human Resources

Dante (he/him) is a Bahamian native who is also a graduate of the University of Prince Edward Island. He obtained his Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology and postgraduate at the University of Leicester, where he received his Masters of Science degree in Clinical Criminology. As a founding member of BIPOC USHR (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour United for Strength, Home, Relationships) and ASDA (Atlantic Student Development Alliance), his work involves anti-oppression training, policy advising, and community empowerment. Dante’s latest achievement is his appointment as the first black Commissioner to the Human Rights Commission of PEI. Dante is also working on various publications with the University of Prince Edward Island, analyzing police discourse investigating sexual and physical violent crimes and international students thriving in Prince Edward Island.

Jonah Chininga
Director of Resource and Operations

Jonah is from Harare, Zimbabwe. He moved to Prince Edward Island in January 2014 to pursue a degree in Business. After graduating, Jonah secured a certification with the World Bank Certificate for Secured Transactions, Collateral Registries. In 2019, Jonah attended the United Nations Youth Assembly in New York, a youth leadership conference where they engaged in discussions around the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The conference talks inspired Jonah to co-found Money & Innovation Connecting Communities (MICC). MICC is a collaborative platform that allows groups of individuals, build credit, access capital, and achieve their financial goals. Jonah led MICC to become the first PEI Company to win the Volta Pitch competition in 2020 and was selected as one of the 30 under 30 innovators in Atlantic Canada.  Jonah is also the co-founder of Overtime Management Group, an events management company that works to create a diverse, inclusive environment through programs, events, and advocacy. It has produced many events highlighting the cultural contributions of international students and other newcomers. Jonah’s passion for economic development has led him to create programs such as TheYouthWing, a youth-led organization that empowers financial literacy programs to youth across PEI. Jonah is also the co-founder of The Atlantic Student Development Alliance.

Patrick Farrar
Vice President

As a startup advisor and mentor for several businesses across Canada, Patrick has helped launch and foster several social startups, leading efforts in raising millions in financing.

Attending Jonkoping International Business School in Sweden, the top school in the world for research on Family Business and Entrepreneurship, Patrick conducted research on developing long-standing, thriving businesses.

His experience and love for start-ups push him towards other ventures that bring added value to the Canadian economy through business growth and employment.

Drawing on startup experiences, he’s inspired to enhance the support and training of ambitious entrepreneurs. This has led him to advise entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses.

Elizabeth Iwunwa
Director

Elizabeth Iwunwa is a writer, communications consultant, and human resources professional with experience in the creative, non-profit, and information technology sectors.

She graduated with distinction from the University of Prince Edward Island with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and an MBA in Global Leadership.

Elizabeth was born in Lagos, Nigeria and lives in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Jamie Arsenault
Director

After receiving his CA designation in 2007, Jamie spent the next few years working in the industry before joining the firm and returning to public practice in December 2011. He made Partner in 2015. During his time in the industry, Jamie served as the Controller to many Crown Corporations inside the Provincial Government. As Controller, Jamie was responsible for designing, implementing, and evaluating internal controls for ten separate entities. Jamie was also involved in converting several government business entities to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). During his time in public practice, Jamie has had the opportunity to work with various small- and medium-sized businesses on assurance, consulting and taxation engagements. Within this work, Jamie has focused his skills within the consulting and taxation services by preparing various business plans, projections, strategic plans, feasibility studies, and succession plans. Jamie is currently serving as the President of the Special Olympics of Prince Edward Island.

Mary-Ann Aliu
Treasurer

Mary-Ann Aliu always seeks others’ improvement by identifying opportunities for improvement through strategy development and its execution. She is passionate about people operating at their optimum potential and utilizing all resources available to them. She achieves this through mentorship and is a firm believer in lifelong learning.

At Sekisui Diagnostic PEI Inc., she currently chairs the Diversity and Inclusion committee to improve workplace culture and empower employees to thrive in their respective positions. After hours, she leads a campaign to ensure African international students’ academic excellence, focusing on easing their financial burden and interpersonal empowerment.

Professionally, her work ethic and dedication have earned her recognition for accountability and personal responsibility and customer focus. Consequently, she is entrusted with more responsibilities.

Mary-Ann holds a BSc in Biology, Minor; Psychology from University of Prince Edward Island, PEI and is completing her Master of Healthcare Quality from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. She is a certified Quality auditor with a keen eye for identifying patterns.

Vivian Beer
Director

Vivian Beer is Manager, HR Strategy, for the PEI BioAlliance where she supports successful recruitment in the PEI bioscience sector through targeted outreach efforts to build key networks, promote career opportunities and attract talent. She collaborates with companies to build successful HR best practices to support talent attraction and retention. Vivian is on the Board of BioTalent Canada, an HR-focused organization committed to growing Canada’s bio-economy in collaboration with industry, academia, and community partners. She is also a member of the Atlantic regional board of Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers, a network connecting career educators with employers to successfully move post-secondary students into careers.