Staff Directory

Aisha is a seasoned professional with twenty-five years of diverse leadership and business experience across the private, corporate and non-profit sectors. Called upon as a thought-leader, creative visionary and prolific speaker, Aisha is also an author who has the gift of connecting narratives, experiences and ideas seamlessly with structure and strategy to energize, motivate and inspire purpose-driven action and achievement.    

In 2014 Aisha founded Project Restore, a grassroots organization with a focus on justice, racial equity and access for families impacted by incarceration (FIBI). Aisha has significant experience in leadership development in a faith-based organization and a strong background in advocating for racial justice issues. She also has an extensive background in corporate budget and operational oversight. 

She sits as a director on the Boards of Ajax Public Library, CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals and Eva’s Initiatives for Homeless Youth. Aisha is the recipient of many awards and recently she was selected as one of the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women for 2020.

Alfredo Barahona, originally from Cuzcatlan, a Maya – Pipil territory part of what is now known as El Salvador, moved to Canada as refugee in the mid-eighties. He has worked with refugee and migrant communities through Toronto-based settlement agencies and now with KAIROS Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives.

Currently Alfredo is working on Indigenous Rights issues focusing on the development of meaningful relationships and solidarity between Indigenous peoples and newcomers to Canada.

Alfredo has facilitated the KAIROS Blanket Exercise (KBE) extensively in English and Spanish through all of Canada including training KBE facilitators. Alfredo is responsible for the international work related to the KAIROS Blanket Exercise.

Facilitating the effective and meaningful participation of affected communities in advocacy and solidarity work is a key principle in Alfredo’s work.

As a tool for social change, music within a faith ecumenical and solidarity context, is an integral part of Alfredo’s life and social justice work.

Barbara brings extensive leadership experience in federal and provincial programs and more than 15 years’ combined experience in the non-profit and education sectors. She has effectively led teams to serve diverse client groups including youth, students and adults facing multiple barriers to employment and connect newcomers to resources. Barbara has built lasting partnerships and collaborated with various stakeholders. She has coached program staff, volunteers and participants for success. Her monitoring and evaluation skills have impacted communities and improved programs.

Barbara holds a master’s degree in Sustainable International Development. She believes that everyone if connected with the right tools, resources and supports can be empowered to reach their full potential. Barbara is committed to bringing change and inspiring others through her involvement in faith-based communities, including her local church and women-led groups.

Beth is a social and ecological justice advocate with over 10 years experience in sustainable development. She has worked with academia, civil society and government, including Global Affairs and Status of Women Canada. Her work has focused primarily on freshwater management, climate justice, gender, and urban issues in Canada and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Beth was a Youth Council member of PWRDF and supported the work of justgeneration.ca and the Canadian Lutheran Anglican Youth (CLAY) National Youth Project Working Group. She has worked in social justice, camping, and youth ministry at the parish and diocesan level for the Anglican Church of Canada in Ottawa, Kingston, and Toronto. When not at work, Beth enjoys spending time by water with her family, including swimming, paddling and sailing in Ontario’s many great lakes and rivers.

Bonnie’s specific matrilineal ancestry is Secwepemc from St’uxwtews First Nation, located in what is now known as Interior BC. She has worked in Indigenous Education for the past 10 years with the Langley School District. Currently she facilitates reconciliation dialogue with a strong emphasis on shared history, stereotypes/biases, responsible ally-ship & advocacy for direct calls to action within her company Skelep Reconciliation. Bonnie holds an Indigenous Cultural Safety Facilitator Certificate from UBC Health and is a Building Bridges Collaborator with the Raven Institute. Bonnie is currently pursuing her MEd in Curriculum and Instruction at Simon Fraser University.

Caroline Sharp graduated from Trinity College at the University of Toronto in 2018 with a Master of Divinity. Her two areas of focus were on ecotheology and faith formation. After graduating she began pursuing a Master’s of Environmental Studies in Social and Ecological Sustainability at the University of Waterloo and plans on completing her thesis in 2022. Caroline enjoyed her position as a Teacher’s Assistant at UofW. Caroline is currently one of three Chairs for Social and Ecological Justice Huron (Anglican Diocese of Huron) and is the owner of greenUNITED Vegetable and Duck Farm (previously in Hamilton).

The Media Coordinator for KAIROS Canada, Cheryl has 20 years experience in communications management. She has worked for national and grassroots organizations that include the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation, Easter Seals Canada, and the Toronto Arts Council Foundation. She is also a climate activist. Cheryl founded and leads the Toronto chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, and has lobbied Parliamentarians, US lawmakers and the World Bank to put a price on carbon. Once upon a time, Cheryl was a professional actor. In her wee spare time, she writes plays and hangs around with trees. ​

An Omàmiwininì Speaker, Cultural and Spiritual Practitioner, Chrystal is a member of the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation, located in what is now known as Renfrew County in the Ottawa Valley.

Chrystal has worked in grassroots spaces for over 22 years and brings a passion for public education, Indigenous harm reduction and cultural reclamation. She is best known for her written works under the traditional Storyteller name Chrystal Waban and her work as a Life Spectrum Doula and founding member of Aunties on the Road and the Indigenous Death Doula Collective.

A member of the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation, Connor has worked with First Nation Chiefs, council, staff and Tribal Councils to assist with building capacity, employment and training within their respective communities.

Over his career, Connor has been employed in the non-profit and private sectors for corporations and Indigenous businesses in various areas from sales, employment and training, to tourism, graphic design and marketing. Connor is formally trained in Graphic Communications from Canadore College and is also known for his passion as an Algonquin/Mohawk artist that has led to several art shows across Ontario.

Another passion Connor holds close to his heart is his continuation to reclaim his culture to honour the sacrifices his grandparents made. They fled their home, family and community and lived off the land in hiding in order to save their own children from being taken away to residential school.

Connor is grateful to be a part of a movement to bring awareness and understanding of his ancestors to light.

John is a creative thinker and innovator, passionate about digital communication and its progressive development for teaching and communicating with a global audience. As the Digital Communications and Marketing Coordinator for Kairos Canada, he feels blessed with the opportunity to continue to fulfill his passion by allowing him to convey information, impart knowledge, and engage on subjects such as climate change, equality, social and economic justice, as well as stories of faith and courage with various audiences from around the world.

In his professional life, he has assisted businesses and organizations with their website development, social media presence, and marketing campaigns, as well as led teams in the fields of quality control, franchising, web development, graphic design, analytics, marketing, data acquisition, and technical support for over three decades.

As for his personal life, when he’s not volunteering for non-profit, religious, and youth sports organizations, he enjoys designing and creating in his workshop for 3D printing, CNC fabrication, sublimation, and woodworking.

Devora grew up in Regina where she completed a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a Bachelor of Education. Since her student days, she’s been volunteering and working in the non-profit / arts and culture sector, with experience in public libraries, provincial museums, national arts organizations, local music festivals and independent print and digital media.

When Devora moved to Ottawa in 2005 she brought her organizational skills and love of spreadsheets to several grassroots initiatives, often in support of gender equality and Indigenous rights. She joined KAIROS in summer 2017 providing administrative services to the Ottawa team. When she’s not sifting through files, she’s exploring hiking trails or coffee shops in the NCC. Devora’s also passionate about fitness and teaches a bi-weekly strength-training class at her local gym.

Prior to becoming KAIROS’ Program Manager in 2012, Ed coordinated KAIROS’ Indigenous Rights Program. This involved working with Indigenous peoples and their allies on domestic and international public education and action initiatives towards the recognition and enforcement of Indigenous peoples’ rights.

KAIROS’ creation in 2001 brought together 10 social justice ecumenical coalitions, including the Aboriginal Rights Coalition (ARC), which brought together churches, religious organizations, Indigenous peoples and regional groups. Ed was ARC’s National Coordinator from 1995 to 2001.

Ed has a Bachelor of Journalism (Television) from Carleton University in Ottawa and is the first student at York University in Toronto to complete a combined-Masters Degree in Fine Arts (Film) and Environmental Studies. While in Toronto, Ed co-founded Friends of the Lubicon, a support group for the Lubicon Lake Cree First Nation in Alberta.

Ed’s a hockey and soccer dad who lives in rinks and on pitches in Ottawa with his partner, Nancy, and their children, Graham, Gabriella and Robertson.

Fahira has served in many roles within KAIROS since joining in 2002. She currently holds the position of Donor Relations Coordinator. She enjoys the challenges of fundraising and believes in social justice. Fahira currently lives in Toronto with her husband and two daughters.

Giselle barely has the time to push pencils behind the solid walls of finance and administration at KAIROS. She enjoys working in the background, behind the epic scenes of the KAIROS day to day. While she may not have a green thumb like many of her colleagues, she really likes trees and plants. She’s known to love watching films and does not mind losing an excellent game of scrabble to a good opponent.

Isabel has managed to juggle not only her full-time job as a mother and wife but now finds herself in the role of Finance Coordinator.  

She moved to Canada in 2014, not knowing any English. It was just her and her family and their luggage. She was able to create a name for herself in only six years. She decided that this language barrier was not a challenge for her; she started taking different courses and emerging herself in the culture and learning the language. She then started getting involved as a working member of the community.  

Her story at KAIROS started in 2018 when she was just an intern trying to earn experience for her Business Office Skills course. She was then able to make this grow into a full-time job due to her hard–working and determined personality. She has never backed down from a challenge and is open to trying new things.  

With more than ten years of experience in the Administrative area, for various companies and non-profit organizations, Isabel has brought many new additions to the KAIROS team. But her interests are diverse and go beyond work.  

Outside work, she is an amazing mother that has provided an immense amount of encouragement to her kids to continue whatever path in life they choose to. When she is not working, you can find Isabel spending her time with her family and friends. She enjoys learning various new skills from YouTube videos. She also enjoys reading, going for walks, watching movies with her daughter or playing video games with her son and husband. 

Jane is originally from Kenya and is passionate about work that supports social justice, equality, non-discrimination and respect for human rights. She has worked within Kenya’s civil society, in the U.S.A. and Canada, combining her passion, understanding and experience in social justice initiatives with connecting donors to causes they care about. Jane has coordinated and fundraised for human rights and advocacy programs, as well as partnerships with a wide social justice stakeholder movement. She is an Atlas Corps and Human Rights Campaign Fellow (2014).

In her spare time, Jane enjoys volunteering, amateur photography and exploring green spaces.

Rachel is KAIROS’ partnerships manager. She has been involved in the human rights and social justice work of the churches for over 20 years and in solidarity and social justice movements for much longer, starting with the anti apartheid and divestment movement and the Nicaraguan solidarity movement in high school and university.

She holds an honours degree in International Development Studies from the University of Toronto, and a graduate certificate Gender and Peacebuilding from the University of Peace of the United Nations in Costa Rica.

Rachel is an experienced Popular and Adult Educator and fearless flute player and member of the Fallen Angles musical group. Finally, but most importantly to her, she is the mother of two beautiful, wise, compassionate and independent young women.

Originally from Senegal, Radia has worked with transnational organizations in Africa to analyze the scope of implementation of UNSCR1325 in the Great Lakes Region and worked as a MENA Gender Based Violence Consultant for the World Bank.

She analyzed the current state of displacement, women’s Health Rights and Gender Based Violence in conflict affected areas of Mali in an effort to provide policy recommendations to Refugees International; She enjoys working with local civil society organizations and is passionate about grassroots change and bottom-up approach to development. Her work at US-Afghan Women’s Council also furthered her interest in peacebuilding and reconciliation.

After working as a Grant and Development fellow focused on USAID and World Bank contracts at Inclusive Societies, she is now working as the Global Partnerships Coordinator at KAIROS Canada on Women, Peace and Security and Climate Justice in Africa.

Randy Haluza-DeLay is the interim Ecological Justice Coordinator while Beth is away until March 2023. Randy has a long history and strong background as an academic, activist and ecumenist with a focus on ecological justice. He is associated with both Mennonite and Roman Catholic communities (which he describes as complicated). He was a wilderness guide for fifteen years, then taught as a social scientist at two Canadian universities for nearly two decades. Along the way he produced books and academic journal articles and both scholarly and public presentations on environmental justice in Canada, environmental education, and the engagement of religious communities to climate justice. But he describes himself first and foremost as an activist. Since moving to Toronto a year ago, he has explored Ontario by cycle touring. In Edmonton before COVID, he was highly involved in interfaith dialog, particularly on caring for creation, and even co-taught a course on Islam.

Randy writes, “I am utterly captured by the mission of KAIROS and have been familiar with it for many years.”

Randy lives on land of the Anishnabeg, Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas of the Credit in Tkaronto, just East of the Don River in Riverdale/East Chinatown.

Rick hails originally from the Maritimes where he received a B.A. from Mount Allison University and an M.Div from Atlantic School of Theology. Rick worked for the Student Christian Movement of Canada as General Secretary from 1995-2000. From there he moved to work at the general council office of the United Church of Canada, where he acted as program coordinator for youth and young adult ministries.

He currently holds the position of Administrative Associate at Kairos, dealing with financial reconciliation for staff and operations of the organization. He also manages resources and other office duties. In his spare time, Rick spends time volunteering for Save My Tail dog rescue, playing Rock Band with his partner Darren, and generally pining for the East coast.

My role at KAIROS is to support the work of the grassroots across the country and to maintain the link to the churches in all the justice work.  I give workshops and develop worship resources related to all areas of KAIROS work.

When I’m not at work I enjoy exploring the city with my partner and children, especially the green spaces on my bicycle.