Board of Directors
Robin Dafoe, Chair
Robin Dafoe is currently the Chief Executive Officer & Registrar at the Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO). Robin has guided the Condo Authority to achieve its vision for strong and vibrant condominium communities in Ontario since it launched in 2017. She is a collaborative leader who empowers a diverse team to collaborate and build high-quality, client-focused information, education and digital solutions.
Robin has previously held several senior leadership roles, including as Executive Director for the Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario, the government’s implementation lead for Ontario’s first regulatory College of Trades, oversight and support for Tribunals Ontario, CAO at the Education Quality & Accountability Office and the Ontario Heritage Trust, as well as corporate secretary at Legal Aid Ontario. Robin holds a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School, an MBA from Schulich School of Business, and a BA from Carleton University.
Wayne Yeung, Vice Chair and Chair, Governance and Nominating Committee
He is the Managing Director and Founder of Summit Strategies Canada, a boutique healthcare management consultancy focused on digital health and healthcare transformation initiatives. In his previous leadership role, he served as KPMG International’s Global Health Executive supporting the growth of KPMG’s healthcare practice in over 70+ countries with 5500+ professionals. With a strong focus on equity and leading transformative initiatives, he has been at the forefront of increasing access to healthcare services for equity deserving populations.
As an active volunteer and ambassador with the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada, Wayne has been pivotal to many of the Foundation’s various initiatives for the past 11 years. In addition to his role at BALANCE, he currently serves as the Chair, Holiday Season Celebration Committee and is a Member of the Equity and Inclusion Community Council with the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada. Wayne brings a wealth of non-profit philanthropic and governance experience to BALANCE.
John Scali
It is with shock and great sadness that we post this information. Our newest member of the Board, John Scali, passed away on Tuesday February 4. He will be sorely missed.
John was instrumental in bringing effective back office support to BALANCE. His generosity of spirit, and keen wish to help vulnerable people, shone through in his work as CFO in a number of excellent non-profit organizations. John was always willing to go over and above to help others. John’s support through our last accreditation process, was one of the keys to achieving the commendations we received from the accreditors. John was resourceful, always connecting BALANCE with strong and reliable professionals and community organizations.
Most recently, John agreed to come back to BALANCE to serve on our Board of Directors. Our Board and Management were pleased that John wanted to move from operations support to a governance role. We knew he would bring his wealth of BALANCE process knowledge, and his concern, care and esteem for our work. His agreement to become Treasurer immediately was just one indication of how much he wanted to help and cared about our needs.
BALANCE will miss John’s commitment, his humour, and his willingness to always be ready to help, no matter how many other projects he had. The BALANCE Board sends our deepest condolences to John’s family and friends.
Visitation and funeral details can be found here
Bob Stark, Past Chair of the Nominating Committee
Bob Stark is a Strategy Consultant and Disability Advocate. Prior to this, he was Deputy Minister and CEO of Service Ontario and an executive at Rogers and Scotiabank. He is married with four children and seven grandchildren. His youngest adult daughter is blind and has received services from BALANCE for many years. Bob has served as BALANCE Board Chair, and is currently Chair of the Nominating Committee.
Keith Gordon PhD, Past Chair
Dr. Keith Gordon is currently the Senior Research Officer of the Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB). He was Vice President Research of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind from 2007 to 2017 where he was responsible for directing all research activities of the organization. Prior to that he spent more than 30 years in the ophthalmic industry, where he was responsible for a wide range of research and scientific activities. He is a past Research Director of Blind and Low Vision New Zealand and has been a Board member of, and worked with, a number of national and international organizations associated with vision. Dr. Gordon’s primary research interests lie in the area of ophthalmic epidemiology. He is an adjunct professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences at the University of Toronto.
Virginia Duff, M.D., FRCPC, Secretary
Ginny is a psychiatrist practicing at Unity Health Toronto and holds a position of Lecturer at the University of Toronto. As part of her psychiatric practice, she works with people who are struggling with vision loss. Ginny has vision loss herself. Ginny currently serves as Board Secretary at BALANCE. She is an avid downhill skier, sailor and cyclist.
Jamiu Adigun, Director
Jamiu Adigun is a distinguished chartered accountant and finance professional with extensive experience across various industries, including hospitality, construction, ICT, telecommunications, manufacturing, food, logistics, transportation, and oil and gas. He excels in financial reporting, analysis, risk management, planning, treasury management, full cycle accounting, project management, and comprehensive finance operations.
Jamiu has achieved notable milestones, such as optimizing budget allocations in hospitality, managing financial reporting in construction, implementing advanced data analysis in ICT, structuring a EUR 250 million bond deal in telecommunications, and driving cost-saving procedures in manufacturing and logistics. In oil and gas, his financial analysis led to significant tax savings.
He holds an MBA from the University of Nicosia, a B.Sc in Finance from the University of Ilorin, and a Certificate in Strategic Planning from Heriot-Watt University. His professional credentials include ACMA, CGMA, ACA, and an IT certification (MCSD) from NIIT. Jamiu’s strategic insights and financial expertise make him a valuable asset to any organization.
Alex Bulmer, Director
Alex Bulmer is an award-winning blind Canadian writer, theatre maker, actor and educator— named one of the most influential disabled artists by UK’s Power Magazine.
Working across Canada and the UK, over 30 five years, she has founded groundbreaking Deaf and Disability arts programs, consulted on numerous performing arts education projects, led accessibility audits across arts venues, and written and created work produced with numerous companies including the BBC, CBC, Channel 4 television, the London and Rio Olympics, the Stratford Festival Ontario, Luminato Festival, Nightwood Theatre and Harbourfront Centre.
Alex was one of two blind people to be part of the 1991 description research project led by the Washington Kennedy Centre and The National Sound Archives of London, which was the beginning of what became audio description for live performance. She became a trainer for audio describers in the UK and was co-founder of Picasso Project in Toronto which went on to train some of Canada’s leading describers. She is the first blind person to be awarded a Highly Skilled Migrant Visa from the UK, and in 2000, her critically acclaimed play SMUDGE was called a turning point in Canadian theatre by theatre journalists, disability activists and theatre scholars. Inspired by her position as assistant producer for the highly political CBC 1993 television series D-Net, which influenced the beginning of multiple media and arts organizations, including Reel Abilities Film Festival and Tangled Art Disability, she has infused her artistic work with all the possibilities revealed by the experience of blindness and disability.
Alex is Artistic Director of the Blind-led arts collective Fire & Rescue Team, is former Artistic Director of Common Boots Theatre, lead curator of CoMotion International Deaf and Disability Arts Festival, is a fellow of the BBC Performing Arts, and is an associate artist with the National Theatre School of Canada. She holds a BA in Humanities and Economics with Bishops University Quebec, an Advanced Diploma in Voice Studies from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and an MA in Screenwriting with the University of the Arts London.
Deborah Gold, Ex-Officio Board Member
Deborah is CEO at BALANCE for Blind Adults.
Lizna Husnani-Puchta, Director
Lizna Husnani-Puchta brings a wealth of experience and a personal passion to her role as Director, Inclusion at IGM Financial, where she spearheads strategies to foster an inclusive and accessible workplace. With a foundational career as an occupational therapist specializing in disability management, accommodations, and accessibility, Lizna’s expertise is both professional and deeply personal. As a mother to a child with a disability, she offers a unique and empathetic understanding of accessibility challenges.
Lizna’s career trajectory took a transformative turn during the pandemic, leading to a focused shift toward Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) with an emphasis on employment equity and accessibility. Her work is driven by a profound commitment to dismantling systemic barriers faced by marginalized groups. As a South Asian woman living with a hidden disability, Lizna brings an intersectional perspective that enriches her advocacy and fuels her drive for transformative change.
Prior to joining IGM Financial, Lizna held roles at Coast Capital Savings and Scotiabank, where she developed and implemented impactful EDI and accessibility strategies. She holds a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science and is registered with the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario.
Ana Juricic, O.D, Director
Ana Juricic, Doctor of Optometry, graduated from the University of Waterloo School of Optometry in 1996. Ana is a leading authority in Low Vision Rehabilitation in Canada, with 27 years of experience in the field. She employs an integrative approach through her Vision Enhancing Method, which goes beyond traditional approaches and combines vision solutions with nutrition and wellness. She has helped thousands of people across Canada maximize their remaining vision using specialized vision aids, customized glasses, and the newest assistive technology so they can read, recognize faces of loved ones, watch TV and enjoy daily activities.
As an international lecturer, she advocates for Low Vision Rehabilitation, emphasizing that help is available for those living with vision loss. Her mission is to impact millions of people worldwide, spreading the message of hope and assistance. When not seeing patients, Dr. Juricic is a devoted mother to her four teenagers (with the youngest being twins) and enjoys traveling with her family.
Jue Li, Director
Jue Li has spent over 15 years in the banking industry in various finance and product management positions and currently work as Senior Product Manager of Deposits and Savings at Coast Capital Savings. Her strong skills on strategic planning and profit optimization have helped making impactful decisions and significantly contributed to the organizations’ growth. Jue is also a Chartered Professional Accountant of Ontario with a focus on cost accounting management. Jue is married with two kids (one boy and one beagle) and resides in Oakville. Jue is also actively volunteering in local community events and when she is free, the family can be found biking in the local trail in the summer or skiing in Glen Eden during snow time.
Stephen Ricci, Director
Stephen Ricci works for the CNIB in the Social Enterprise Division as the National Portfolio Manager- Accessibility Solutions, supporting the CNIB Smartlife brand. Stephen is a person with ocular albinism and has been legally blind since birth. Stephen is an active member of the blind and partially sighted community volunteering and is always willing to lend a hand. Stephen is driven by the knowledge that he can help make a difference in his community and change what it means to be blind or partially sighted in Canada. Stephen is happily married with three adult children and resides in Toronto. When Stephen is not advocating for accessibility, universal design or talking about the benefits and features of accessible products, he’s likely reading, listening to comedy, cheering on his Maple Leafs or vacuuming.