Item - 2023.CA2.3

During the review of the Order Paper on February 7, 2023, City Council adopted a procedural motion to remove this Item from the jurisdiction of the Civic Appointments Committee and bring it forward for consideration by City Council.

The Civic Appointments Committee recommends that:

1. City Council appoint the following eight candidates to the Toronto Public Library Board, at pleasure of Council, for a term of office ending on November 14, 2026, and until successors are appointed:

Tamara Balan

Justice Faith Betty

Serda Evren

Jonathan Hoss

Dhruv Jain

Amina Mohamed

Alim Remtulla

Soo Wong

2. City Council direct that Confidential Attachments 1-3 to the report (January 24, 2023) from the City Clerk remain confidential in their entirety as they relate to personal matters about identifiable individuals being considered for appointment to the Toronto Public Library Board.

Candidates' biographies:

Tamara Balan

Tamara is the Vice President of Operations and Community at the St. Joseph's Health Centre Foundation. Previously, she held the role of Chief Operating Officer of CivicAction. Tamara believes that collective leadership is key to making the Toronto region better. For more than fifteen years, Tamara has been boosting civic engagement of senior and rising leaders across sectors and municipal boundaries. In 2012, Tamara was named a Vital Person by the Toronto Community Foundation.

Justice Faith Betty

Justice Faith Betty is the co-founder of Révolutionnaire. Justice is an alumna of the Dual Bachelor of Arts Program between Columbia University and Sciences Po Paris and graduated from Columbia as valedictorian. She is also the co-founder of Building Blocks, a social entrepreneurship workshop that has taught 300+ students across four continents. Previously, she was a management consultant at McKinsey and Company and Co-Chair of the City of Toronto Anti-Black Racism Advisory Committee.

Serda Evren

Serda is an award-winning communication professional who has a wealth of experience in the public and corporate sectors. Serda was awarded an honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and History from the University of Toronto, and a master's in political psychology from George Washington University, in Washington, DC. She has been honoured with an International Association of Business Communicators Award of Distinction as the Corporate Communications Department of the Year and won a Multimedia or Digital Content Merit Award.

Jonathan Hoss

Jonathan Hoss is a business leader with a background in the arts, technology, and education. Over nine years at McKinsey &Company, he consulted on strategy, digital ventures, and talent development. Later, he served as Vice President and Head of Innovation at Canada Life. Today, he advises enterprises and non-profits on strategic, operational, creative, and labour issues. He holds degrees in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto and Foresight and Innovation from Ontario College of Art and Design University.

Dhruv Jain

Dhruv Jain is a first-generation immigrant to Canada from India. He came to Canada in 2001 as an international student at the University of Toronto where he got an Honours Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and History. He pursued my graduate education at York University where he got his Masters and Doctor of Philosophy in Social and Political Thought in 2017. He has spent the last 15-plus years running single-issue campaigns on behalf of stakeholders, and currently works for the Elementary Teachers of Toronto.

Amina Mohamed

Amina Mohamed is a communications expert, researcher, and curator working at the intersection of culture, data, and the archive. She is interested in the ways digital heritage projects are democratizing access to cultural institutions and the continued role those institutions have in creating healthy communities. Amina has worked on a variety of social infrastructure projects in Canada, the United States, Germany and the Netherlands. In her free time you will always find her at a museum.

Alim Remtulla

Alim Remtulla is a strategy professional who has led initiatives across the public, private and non-profit sectors. Currently, Alim works for Telus Communications, where he leads a global team focused on the Team Member experience at Telus. Previously, he held brand marketing, product management and innovation roles in the consumer-packaged goods sector. Alim is active in the community and serves as the Vice Chair of the Toronto Public Library as well as a Governor of Seneca College.

Soo Wong

Soo Wong grew up in Toronto. She is a life-long supporter and user of the Toronto Public Library. Currently, she is a consultant; previously an Executive Director of a not-for-profit Long-Term Care Home in the Greater Toronto Area, and was a former Member of Provincial Parliament and Deputy Speaker at the Ontario Legislature. She is a former Toronto District School Board Trustee and Nursing Professor at Humber College. She brings extensive knowledge and skills in board governance, long-term care, public health and public education.

The Civic Appointments Committee will conduct interviews and recommend eight candidates to City Council for appointment to the Toronto Public Library Board.