Emerging Leaders Leadership Team

Young CPA professionals are blazing new paths and shaping the future of the profession. They’re entrepreneurs, visionaries, activists and, most importantly, leaders.

Our Emerging Leaders Community is for CPA Ontario members 34 years old and under. Through our focused program you have the opportunity to connect with like-minded peers from across the province for the purpose of networking, sharing knowledge and growing.

Nominate an up-and-coming leader

The Emerging Leader Award celebrates the most exceptional young members of CPA Ontario under 35 as leaders in their companies, communities and industries. Award recipients have a chance to amplify the impact they have made to an even larger community of respected colleagues and peers.

Get to know the team

The community is led by a team of young volunteer CPA Ontario members who are leaders in their fields. They provide guidance on our Emerging Leaders initiatives and events.

Senior Manager, Tax, PwC OM

"I’ve had the opportunity to work with great clients from start-ups to public companies, and even rock stars and professional athletes. Some of my favourite clients to work with, though, are the ones where I have a direct impact on them achieving lifelong goals. Those are the situations where we’re helping sell a company that was started from scratch so the founder can now retire, or helping employees buy out a corporation that they helped build for years."

Brand Director, Canopy Growth

Sherry is Brand Director at Canopy Growth, where she oversees a portfolio of leading brands and innovations in the new and ever-changing legal cannabis industry. What excites her most is generating business value through delivering disruptive work that challenges the status quo. Sherry’s CPA background has taught her the importance of data, and leveraging it in developing consumer-first, insight-driven brands.

CEO and Co-Founder, My African Corner; Founder, The Winning Circle

"I'm a connector. I love connecting people. With My African Corner, we're connecting people with a hub to find businesses, events, culture and positive content about people of African descent. We are also connecting business owners with resources and tools to grow and scale. I created The Winning Circle to connect millennial women in various industries with a strong peer network."

Co-Founder and CEO, Luminari

"I often say: I’m not an accountant, I’m a CPA. I’m proud of my CPA designation; it’s part of who I am as a person and a professional. But everybody’s different. I wanted to build something from the ground up, and I did. Auditing didn’t speak to me, but the skills and experiences I earned doing it helped me enormously. So at Luminari, we’re building content and services that support the CPA community, helping to push their careers in the direction that speaks to them, whatever that might be."

Financial Analyst, Department of National Defence

In his work, David developed a data analytic model for DND that enabled the finance function to perform in-depth financial analysis to support senior management to make strategic decisions. David was awarded the National Defence CFO’s Medal for his innovation in public sector financial management and the Deputy Minister’s Medal for Excellence for his exceptional contributions to support DND and public sector financial community.

Founder, Monte CPA

After working for six years as an employee in the marketing and advertising industry, Jami changed her career trajectory to pursue entrepreneurship. She created the Bookkeeping Bootcamp program, an online course where she teaches entrepreneurs to do their own bookkeeping, budgeting and tax prep. Jami currently serves as a board member at the Toronto Organizational Development Network. She is passionate about mental health and volunteers regularly as a responder at the Toronto Distress Centre.

CFO and COO, Celtic House Venture Partners

"One of the valuable skills at a start-up is to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Early on at Solink, we were selling our product into a market that we always sold into, which was banking. And we were too comfortable just waiting for our channel partners to sell our product. So the CEO and I got into a room one day and thought this is too comfortable. This is not working. Let’s shake things up. Let’s start selling direct. And we ended up turning that into our fastest growing market segment."

Founder, ColliderX; Managing Director, Accenture

"When I first started learning about blockchain, I just couldn’t ignore its potential. It felt like one of those major game-changers to me. But not everyone saw it the same way. So when I launched ColliderX, I wanted it to be open-sourced and crowdfunded so we could bridge gaps between the world of research and industry. In that sense, I really see myself as a translator between those communities, helping others see that potential more clearly."

Founder, MADE Clothing Co.

“Early on in my career, I identified I was never going to fit the mould of a traditional accountant. I wanted to be able to apply the knowledge gained through the CPA training and build my own business. After I obtained my designation, I left the safe path to success; with no fashion or retail background, I started MADE Clothing Co. We proceeded to scale a luxury menswear brand and ‘anti-shopping’ experience from a single to multi-product line that became Toronto’s highest reviewed menswear company, and partner of notable clients and athletes alike.”

Senior Manager, Disputes, Deloitte

Rachel is a Senior Manager in Deloitte’s Disputes practice, where she authors expert reports quantifying economic losses for commercial litigation. In 2018, Rachel was selected for the CBV Institute’s Ian R. Campbell Research Initiative to research discounting conventions in economic damages claims. In 2019, Rachel received CPA Ontario’s Emerging Leaders Award. Rachel is actively involved in philanthropic initiatives including B’nai B’rith Canada, the Sinai Foundation and the Canadian Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.

VP of Operations and CFO, Deep River and District Hospital

During this time at the Deep River and District Hospital, William and his team have been successful in securing over $1.5 million in additional funding for infrastructure needs and capital project planning. William has been instrumental in advancing and adapting regional healthcare initiatives at his northern and rural healthcare facilities. William is also a board member of the Deep River and District Hospital Foundation, a foundation dedicated to raising money for capital healthcare improvements for the residents of this rural community.