Meet The Team
Board Members
Carla Waites, Board President
Since retiring as a teacher at the WRDSB in 2016, Carla has worked with educators to discover the benefits of mindfulness/self-compassion practices and meditation. In her free time, Carla enjoys spending time volunteering, teaching, travelling near and far, reading and taking up the arts. She is also the President of a local Probus club.
Carla became involved with Food4Kids Waterloo Region because she loved that it was a local grassroots start-up and was inspired by the passion and commitment of the founder, Kelly Sue Oberle. As an educator, she has seen firsthand how poverty and food insecurity can negatively impact children. Carla was motivated to do what she could to help Food4Kids Waterloo Region succeed, firmly believing that healthy children = healthy communities.
Cameron Redmond, Vice-President
Cameron is a Technology and Professional Services Executive with over 20 years of Product Development industry experience. He currently serves as the Executive Vice-President of Sales with Fidus Systems. In his spare time, Cameron enjoys activities with his family and enjoys scuba diving.
Cameron has a passion for community building and believes that a good healthy start allows our children to be in the best position to flourish in their lives and achieve their full potential. Introduced to Food4Kids Waterloo Region early in the pandemic, the organization aligned well with his beliefs. Cameron feels strongly that our local technology companies should, can, and will make a large difference in kids’ lives by supporting this organization.
Colin Woodworth, Treasurer
Colin is a Chartered Professional Account (CPA) and the Head of Finance at Deep Trekker Inc. where he is responsible for managing the company’s financial strategy, administrative functions and operations. Leisurely, Colin enjoys golfing and spending time with his family (including his dog Rosie).
In his role as Treasurer at Food4Kids Waterloo Region, Colin is responsible for managing the organization’s financial affairs and ensuring its financial stability. With a strong track record of managing budgets and driving growth, Colin is known for his leadership skills, strategic thinking, and ability to build relationships with stakeholders. Colin is dedicated to the long-term success of Food4Kids Waterloo Region and is extremely passionate about the mission.
Martin Mahlstedt, Board Member
Martin practices real estate and corporate law with GGFI Law LLP, and is a member of the Waterloo Law Association. In his free time, Martin enjoys travelling, reading and running. Martin currently resides in Wilmot Township with his young family.
Martin joined the Food4Kids Waterloo Region because he finds it humbling to serve children in need and is passionate about supporting the program’s mission. Martin brings strong insight into many risk factors associated with a young non-profit such as Food4Kids Waterloo Region, and its rapid growth in the last 6 years.
Jessica Nurse, Board Member
Jessica is a senior project manager at Aftia Solutions, leading complex projects by utilizing her skills and expertise to drive successful project outcomes. Jessica enjoys outdoor activities including camping, skiing, and beach volleyball in her spare time, as well as spending time with her family.
As a Board Member for Food4Kids Waterloo Region, she brings her passion for community service and dedication to helping others in the mission delivery of providing healthy food for children in need. Jessica uses her project management skills to assist with program initiative planning, execution and her community-minded spirit to contribute to the organization’s efforts to make a positive impact in the lives of local children.
Corina Chang, Board Member
Corina is an Executive at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada with over 25 years of experience. Corina’s areas of expertise lie within organizational leadership, strategic governance, product development, and lean manufacturing. Corina enjoys being outdoors in her free time and spending time with her family.
Corina chose to become involved with Food4Kids Waterloo Region because she believes that the poverty cycle can only be broken through systemic change.
Faaez Al-hendi, Board Member
Faaez is a Syrian-Canadian and three generations of his family have established roots in Kitchener. One of Faaez’s main priorities is supporting newcomers from all backgrounds and helping them feel welcome in the community. Faaez is Vice-President of Operations at Ammar’s, his family-owned business that offers all-Halal grocery products (foods that conform to Islamic dietary regulations). In his spare time, Faaez spends time with family, exercising and being a foodie.
Faaez believes having the privilege of working alongside Food4Kids Waterloo Region since its inception to help provide Halal food options for children across the Region, helped him become more aware of the growing demand and need for the program in our community.
Josh Bruce, Board Member
Josh is Vice President of Operations and Engineering at Cambridge Elevating, dedicated to advancing our people, technologies, processes and products to facilitate our growth. Josh’s favourite things to do are spending time with his family, hiking, snowshoeing, weight lifting, climbing and swimming.
Josh became involved with Food4kids Waterloo Region specifically because the mission resonated as he believes chronic food insecurity is a threat that can steal innocence and childhood from the kids who experience it. Moreover, it can be the root cause of systemic social and societal issues over time. By reducing the impacts of chronic food insecurity, we are helping individual children and our community as a whole.
John van Dijk, Board Member
John van Dijk is the Business Intelligence Manager at a large non-profit serving people who experience developmental disabilities in Ontario and Saskatchewan. He has over 25 years in various roles in the non-profit sector including involvement in finance, project management, technology and operations. In his free time, John enjoys running, playing with technology, and spending time with his family.
John’s heart is drawn to help achieve Zero Hunger: the #2 UN Sustainable Development Goal. Eliminating hunger for children experiencing severe food scarcity means an improved future for these children and their communities.
Staff
Lorri Detta, CPA, CHRP, Executive Director
A Chartered Professional Accountant and Canadian Human Resources Professional, Lorri brings over 20 years of non-profit career, governance and direct volunteer experience working with many large and grassroots organizations focused on mental, physical and social wellbeing of at-risk children and youth. In her spare time, Lorri enjoys spending time with family and pets, running and volunteering with at-risk kids, individuals and families in our community.
Lorri believes her role as Executive Director at Food4Kids Waterloo Region is her dream career. She is passionate about working together with our community to help kids living with chronic hunger and raise awareness of this serious hidden social problem.
Cali Dubois, Program Coordinator
Cali leads the Program Coordination at Food4Kids Waterloo Region, working with families, schools and volunteers in delivering our mission. Prior to this, Cali worked in retail as a Buyer and Manager for 17 years, but the role lacked fulfillment. Being a part of Food4Kids Waterloo Region has given Cali the opportunity to truly help children’s futures. Cali enjoys gardening and wishes Ontario had a longer growing season.
Suhkmeet Deol, Program & Volunteer Assistant (Fall/Winter 2023)
Sukhmeet Deol is the Program and Volunteer Assistant with a strong passion for making a positive impact on the world. She is currently pursuing a degree in Business and Social Development Studies at the University of Waterloo. Sukhmeet brings a unique blend of business acumen and social awareness to her role at Food4Kids Waterloo Region.
In her role, Sukhmeet works with volunteers and our program. Sukhmeet understands the importance of helping children in need and is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to Food4Kids’ mission.
Rawan Eleraki, Program and Volunteer Assistant
As a Program and Volunteer Assistant, Rawan works with families, schools, and volunteers, particularly Arabic-speaking families and children to
reduce problems caused by language barriers.
Rawan is a biomedical engineering student at the University of Guelph with experience volunteering with non-profit organizations that help children such as Nutrition for Learning and United for Literacy. She is grateful for this opportunity to help children with Food4Kids. In her free time, Rawan enjoys knitting and tending to houseplants.
Connect With Us
If you have any questions about donating to Food4Kids Waterloo Region, please let us know. You can contact either Lorri or Rachael to find out more or share your ideas. Whether you want to make an individual donation, host a fundraiser, or support our organization in another way, we’d love to hear from you!
Lorri Detta
lorridetta@food4kidswr.ca
(519) 576-3443 ext. 1
Rachael Gemin
rachael@food4kidswr.ca
(519) 576-3443 ext. 4