Article
Community Changemaker Awards: Igniting change, Inspiring action
When we volunteer, we spark change that helps our communities thrive. Our Community Changemakers are inspiring volunteers, leaders, and innovators who embody our Purpose, bring our Talent Value Proposition to life through purposeful work, and embrace our Shared Values by taking care of each other.
Meet our National Community Changemakers
Social Innovator
Ye’elena Tchana Creve-Coeur
Ye’elena has been recognized for her work in developing and growing Deloitte’s Bloom Scholarship from a program in her Financial Advisory business line to a national firm-wide program. The Bloom Scholarship was designed to address systemic underrepresentation in our industry and provide opportunities to First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Black students, and students with disabilities by offsetting a portion of their educational costs while providing opportunities for professional development. Ye’elena is also Deloitte’s Quebec Regional Lead for our Canadian Black Professionals Network, an integral member of the firm’s Black Action Council, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Financial Advisory Manager.
Enacting change to help reduce inequalities has always been something meaningful to me.
Outstanding Community Leader
Jennifer Szabo
Jennifer has been of service to her community for over 18 years as a volunteer with Amnesty International Venezuela and Amnesty International, where she was part of the Board of Directors in Toronto and Canada. Jennifer was also a co-founder of the VenCan Network in 2019, with the mission to organize Venezuelans to facilitate social action and drive positive impact worldwide. VenCan promoted various initiatives, ranging from free online English classes, to sending medical aid to doctors in Venezuela, to running workshops on how to look for work in Canada – through her work Jennifer has built bridges between existing organizations to help and support similar social causes.
We need to adapt, evolve, and listen. That is the only way to identify real needs and make a positive and sustainable impact.
Emerging Community Leader
Kay Ampofo
Kay has been recognized as a young leader at the firm that has exhibited a commitment to building thriving communities. Kay is not only an active volunteer in his community, but as our Atlantic Regional Impact Lead, Newfoundland Office Lead, and our Community Advisory Project Lead, Kay has developed new systems and approaches that have increased community outreach, collaboration, and volunteer engagement at Deloitte. He inspires practitioners to be confident in their ability to lead their own impact projects, providing an outlet for colleagues to develop their professional skills while getting involved in community projects with causes that are meaningful to them.
In addition to making an impact in my community, being involved has contributed immensely to my professional growth.
Meet our Regional Community Changemakers
British Columbia: Mikhail Pavlov
The level of support behind our project mission shows how, despite tragic circumstances, the power of good will prevail.
Mikhail started out on a solo mission to support, train, and mentor Ukrainian refugees with software QA experience to acclimatize to life in Canada and help them find their first IT job. His dedication has inspired others – he now works with 160+ members/volunteers on a project they call “QA UA in Canada”, which has 77 active project participants – of which 30+ have landed their first QA job. Along with 1:1 resume and LinkedIn profile consultations and mock interviews, guests are invited to bi-weekly webinars. They’ve created and recorded 30+ webinars on their YouTube channel which is made available as a resource to their project members.
Prairies: Alyssa Dewar
We are striving to make a long-lasting impact on the mental health services available to children and youth in Calgary.
Alyssa has been leading the Raising Spirits fundraiser in support of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, raising over $250,000 to date. Funds raised support mental health initiatives and programs at the hospital, including construction of a Child & Adolescent mental health center in Calgary, and programs such as Acute at Home and Emerging Adults. In addition to her tireless work for the hospital, Alyssa has been a regional lead for the firm’s Workplace Giving Campaign over the past 3 years, does significant volunteer work for Calgary’s Food shelters, and has helped to organize “adopt a family” programs over the holidays.
Quebec-NCR: Noor Al-haiek
Growing up as a child of immigrant parents, I have witnessed how impactful being part of a supportive community can be.
Noor has been involved as a Treasurer at Foundation W for the past two years – a non-profit organization that seeks to enable equal educational opportunities for vulnerable populations through their School of the Greats program. As Treasurer, Noor provides insights into how to best leverage funding to support the organization’s mission, leveraging his professional skills to provide financial projections to plan fundraising initiatives and engage prospective donors. Noor has also developed many fundraising and donation initiatives not only for Foundation W, but in response to natural disasters and the refugee crises in Syria. He is continuously involved in raising funds and providing basic care items to people in need.
Ontario: Tatyana Sabitova
There is nothing more meaningful than getting a call and hearing: “I’m an accountant again, not just a refugee – thank you!
Tatyana has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to galvanize support for Ukrainian refugees, leading Project Ukraine to help refugee newcomers settle in Canada, finding them hosts, and organizing a Holiday Toy drive. She rallied dozens of Canadian businesses to consider hiring Ukrainian refugees, organizing a webinar attended by over 112 leading Canadian companies that resulted in hundreds of Ukrainian newcomers gaining meaningful employment with Deloitte, TD Bank, Mary Brown’s, EllisDon and many others as a result of her tireless advocacy. Tatyana is also known in the community for helping women, especially newcomers, access networks and growth pathways.
Atlantic: Ritika Saraswat
Being one of the 600M girls in India, out of which only 40% receive education, I felt the need to change this.
Ritika is the founder of ReDefined, a non-profit that empowers underprivileged students in Canada, India, Ghana, and Nigeria with resources and educational workshops in areas of menstrual and sexual education, climate and sustainability, entrepreneurship and more. They aim to create awareness about important issues and enable students to feel confident about their bodies and their skillsets to pursue their dreams. Ritika also co-leads the Encouragement Corps team, with the aim to create a sense of support and belonging for those in the Atlantic Region. She has also led several regional Impact projects at the firm, and outside of work has mentored many international students and immigrants.