AMSSA and its member agencies and stakeholders organize public community events, workshops for newcomers to Canada as well as professional development training, workshops, seminars and conferences for (re)settlement, language training diversity and inclusion sector employees. Community events and workshops which are continuous are listed below the calendar.
FutureProof: Settlement Sector Social Enterprise Strategy and Social Finance/Investment Forum
Date: February 25–26, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM–1:00 PM PT
Location: Zoom
Please plan to attend with a senior leader and board representative from your organization. Each should register individually for Day 1 and/or Day 2, as well as the optional afternoon sessions.
About the Forum
FutureProof is a two part virtual forum designed for senior leaders and board members from immigrant and newcomer serving organizations across BC.
As funding environments shift and pressures increase, many organizations are being asked to do more with less — while sustaining quality, trust, and impact in their communities. This forum creates space for honest conversation, practical learning, and shared problem-solving around revenue generation, social enterprise, and social finance as tools for long-term resilience.
FutureProof supports leaders and boards to clarify their role in revenue generation, strengthen decision-making under uncertainty, and identify realistic options for sustaining impact beyond traditional funding.
Who Should Attend (and Why as a Pair)
Each AMSSA member organization is encouraged to send two senior representatives to attend:
- A senior leader (Executive Director / CEO / CFO)
- A board member
Why? We’ve heard the common challenge: one person returns from a learning opportunity energized only to have their fresh ideas stall at the board table due to uncertainty about risk, governance, or financial responsibility.
FutureProof is designed to prevent that, providing management and boards with shared context and language, as well as practical next steps to take, together.
Program at a Glance
Day 1 – Foundations: Social Enterprise and Governance
- Social Enterprise 101: what it is, what it isn’t, and why it matters now
- True Confessions: A candid settlement-sector social enterprise story
- WorkLab: Governance for social ventures — bringing boards along, managing risk, and making sound decisions
Day 2 – Capital Pathways and Action
- Plenary panel: Blended capital strategies for social and financial returns
- WorkLab: Capital models for social impact
- Mini case studies from Breadwinners (UK), HireGood (AB), Flavours of Hope (BC) and Build Smartr (BC)
- Next steps, resources, and follow-up opportunities
Optional afternoon sessions on social impact franchising are available on both days. More details below.
Find the full agenda here
Featured Speakers and Panelists
Andrew Greer
Managing Director, Purppl
BC Interior Lead, Thrive Impact Fund
Andrew Greer works with nonprofit and social enterprise leaders to align impact strategy, governance, and revenue decisions for long-term sustainability. As Managing Director of Purppl, he leads a team of 30+ Entrepreneurs In Residence supporting organizations navigating funding uncertainty to build sustainable impact-aligned business models, strengthen board and leadership capacity, and steward assets responsibly.
Andrew also serves as the BC Interior Lead and a board member of the Thrive Impact Fund, where he helps expand access to flexible, community-rooted capital for impact-driven organizations across British Columbia. He currently serves on the board of the Central Okanagan Foundation.Andrew has diverse experience working in, starting, and serving as a Board member to nonprofits, co-ops, and social enterprises, including leading programs and partnerships at Accelerate Okanagan and as a top Canadian sales manager for Xerox.
Omar Yaqib
Servant of Servants (Executive Director), IslamicFamily
Co-Founder, Flourishing Systems
Omar Yaqub, DSL ICD.D MBA BSc, serves the team at IslamicFamily, a multi-award-winning social change organization that is disrupting systemic inequity through service, research and beauty. Under his leadership, IslamicFamily has grown into an Imagine Canada- and Great Place to Work-accredited charity. Omar is also the co-founder of Flourishing Systems, a tech social enterprise owned by IslamicFamily that provides trauma-informed case management software (Transform) to social service agencies.
At FutureProof, Omar will share what it took to build, govern, and learn through a revenue-generating venture rooted in a settlement organization – what worked, what didn’t, and what’s next.Omar brings over two decades of experience in the for-benefit sector, has taught in the University of Alberta’s MBA program, and is a former Historian Co-Laureate for the City of Edmonton.
Omar has been awarded a Doctor of Sacred Letters from St Stephen’s College, EMCN’s RISE award for Community Leadership, and the University of Alberta’s Co-op Mentorship Award. He is a settler on Treaty 6 territory.
Kelly Terbasket
Co-Founder & Program Director, IndigenEYEZ
Found & Program Director, kinSHIFT
Kelly Terbasket is a nonprofit and social enterprise leader and facilitator with 30+ years of experience working at the community, nation, and provincial levels. Through IndigenEYEZ and social enterprise kinSHIFT, Kelly supports leaders and organizations to strengthen relations, navigate conflict, and address systemic challenges by revitalizing Indigenous ways as the foundation for tackling current challenges. Kelly has a Bachelor of Social Work, Executive Coaching certification, and extensive training in Creative Facilitation through Partners for Youth Empowerment (PYE Global).
Coming from mixed Syilx and European ancestry, Kelly brings deep lived experience in bridging worlds — a perspective she weaves into her facilitation and storytelling. She is widely sought for her ability to create grounded, relational spaces that help groups engage honestly at a time in history when connections across differences are essential. At FutureProof, Kelly will open the forum with an Indigenous-led storytelling and reflection experience that invites participants to slow down, connect, and situate financial and organizational decisions within broader relationships to community, land, and responsibility.
Kelly lives in her family’s ancestral home on the Blind Creek Reserve in Syilx territory in the South Okanagan-Similkameen.
Trixie Ling
Founder & Executive Director, Flavours of Hope
Trixie Ling is a storyteller, cross-cultural bridge builder, and a Taiwanese-Canadian settler living on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded Coast Salish Territories. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Flavours of Hope, a non-profit social enterprise that envisions a society where newcomer immigrant and refugee women flourish and experience belonging in the community through cooking, storytelling, community-building, and entrepreneurship. Through the non-profit’s Dream Cuisines Food Business Program, Trixie has helped to launch 20 feminist food businesses owned and operated by talented newcomer women entrepreneurs since 2021.
Trixie hopes to create a more equitable, just, and inclusive society where newcomer women are leading with cultural pride and making a positive impact in the community through sharing their cuisines, traditions, and stories. She finds much joy and hope in sharing food with friends, neighbours, and strangers around a table.
Carla Langhorst
CEO, Just Like Family Home Care
Carla Langhorst is an innovator. When approached with the opportunity to become part of Just Like Family Home Care, she spearheaded the first social acquisition by charities in Canada. With her vision, Just Like Family has been transformed into a social enterprise, with the majority of profits going to charities. She strives to transform home care across Canada for Just Like Family franchise owners and the families they support.
Throughout her career, Carla has provided leadership, coaching, mentorship, and education to thousands of entrepreneurs and small business owners. Believing success comes from collaboration, Carla has a long history of creating partnerships that transform organizations and people. She previously led innovation at The United Church of Canada, building hundreds of new relationships and supporting more than 700 new innovations. She holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of British Columbia, with a specialization in supply chain management and organizational behaviour.
Kim Mangan
Principal, Non-Profit Advantage Consulting
Board of Directors, Caetani Centre
Kim Mangan brings more than 25 years of leadership and management experience rooted in a deep commitment to community. She has served as an Executive Director in the nonprofit sector, most recently leading the Kamloops Music Collective, where she guided organizational growth and expansion. Over her career, she has helped organizations navigate periods of growth, financial complexity, and change, working closely with boards to align strategy, governance, and long-term organizational sustainability. With many years of experience in finance, including CIBC and GE Capital Finance, Kim brings practical insight into financial oversight, revenue planning, and organizational resilience.
As a governance and strategic planning consultant, Kim coaches boards and senior leaders in building financial literacy, clarifying decision-making and accountability, and creating sustainable governance structures that enable organizations to navigate uncertainty, diversify revenue, and maximize long-term impact. She is much beloved for her skill in equipping boards with practical tools to embed effective governance practices.
Eloise Duncan
CEO and Founder, Financial Resilience Institute
Eloise Duncan is the CEO and Founder of Financial Resilience Institute, a Canada-based non-profit and global authority on financial health, resilience, and well-being. She and her team lead pioneering research, impact measurement, and strategy innovation to drive measurable social, financial, and business outcomes and help create a better world. A Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and impact-preneur, Eloise is the creator of multiple indices, including the world-leading, peer-reviewed Household Financial Resilience Index – the first of its kind globally. She also serves as a UNEP-FI Financial Health and Inclusion Reviewer for Banks, advancing financial health, gender equity, and women’s empowerment through evidence-based solutions.
She holds a First-Class Master’s Degree in Spanish and Business from the University of Edinburgh; is a member of the C.D. Howe Institute, and previously successfully scaled two social enterprises. Prior to this, Eloise held senior Director roles at Royal Bank of Scotland (UK) and Vancity (Canada), and worked at two leading strategy consulting firms. A dual British-Canadian citizen, Eloise is based in Vancouver.
JJ Thevasagayam
Executive Director, New Canadians Centre
Jeeniraj (JJ) Thevasagayam is the Executive Director of the New Canadians Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, where he provides strategic leadership across settlement, employment, and community integration services for newcomers. Trained as an urban and regional planner, he brings extensive experience in housing, nonprofit governance, and cross-sector partnerships.
JJ is advancing social enterprise initiatives that create sustainable revenue while expanding workforce development and economic inclusion opportunities for newcomers. Drawing on his lived experience as a former refugee, he is committed to building inclusive, resilient community-based economic models.
Jodi Phelan
CEO, Hiregood
As CEO of Hiregood, Jodi Phelan leads a social enterprise dedicated to creating meaningful employment opportunities for people facing barriers to work. With more than 18 years of experience in business operations, management, and general leadership, she has guided the organization toward sustained growth, financial resilience, and measurable social impact. Jodi oversees all aspects of the organization, including strategy, planning, budgeting, and reporting, and works closely with staff and partners to ensure strong alignment and collaboration. Drawing on experience in marketing, sales, customer service, and project management, she supports revenue generation while maintaining a strong focus on service quality and community benefit.
Deeply committed to social change and community empowerment, Jodi is continually exploring ways to strengthen and innovate Hiregood’s impact. In recognition of this work, she was recently a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for contributions to social enterprise and social finance in Alberta.
Emily Mercy
Co-founder & Managing Director, Goparity Canada
Emily Mercy is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Goparity Canada, a platform that’s making impact investing more accessible to Canadians. Emily’s leadership has helped open new pathways for everyday investors to fund responsible community projects and drive action on climate and social goals.
In addition to her work at Goparity, Emily serves on the Steering Committee of the Canadian Coalition of Community Capital, championing inclusivity and stronger policy frameworks for community finance nationwide. Emily is recognized for her commitment to building a transparent, equitable investment ecosystem that empowers individuals as agents of positive change.
Thi Dao
Entrepreneur In Residence, Spring Impact Capital
Board of Directors, Purppl
Thi Dao is all about impact with purpose and relationships with heart. An experienced Canadian impact leader, she’s on a mission to strengthen Canada’s social sector – one story, one partnership, and one systems shift at a time. Formerly Director of Strategic Engagement & Partnerships at Technology Helps, and also with Future of Good, Thi works in spaces where tech and media meet social good, supporting nonprofits and communities to build digital resilience and capacity. She also serves on the board of Purppl, helping to grow Canada’s social enterprise ecosystem through strategic guidance and community-rooted support.
With a background in sales, strategy, storytelling, and stakeholder engagement, she brings a collaborative, equity-centred approach to everything she does. She believes small wins spark big change and that strong partnerships are the missing piece to (re)-build resilient systems. Proud B.Com. grad from the University of Ottawa / Université d’Ottawa.
Martin Cosarinsky Campos
CEO, Breadwinners
Martin Cosarinsky Campos is Managing Director of a UK based social enterprise called Breadwinners. He is a self described social entrepreneur and continuous improvement expert, with in depth experience in both the profit making and charity sector, and graduate of both the “On Purpose” and “School for Social Entrepreneurs” programmes in the UK.
Martin is passionate about supporting inspiring young people facing adversity due to displacement, migration, seeking refuge, and asylum. He is also an industrial engineer, sport enthusiast, and charity challenge fan!
Harv Sidhu
Founder & CEO, Build Smartr
Harv Sidhu is the Founder and CEO of Build Smartr, with a mission to build the fastest and lowest cost method of construction in the world. Build Smartr is driven by a team on a mission to transform construction with innovative prefab wood and steel solutions that build faster, cost less, and are better for the environment. Witnessing how skyrocketing housing costs have put homeownership out of reach for millions and strained communities, Harv has set out to unlock a new way forward – one that leverages smart design, precision manufacturing, and sustainable materials to make high-quality housing more attainable for everyone. Build Smartr is redefining what’s possible in housing, turning prefab innovation into real, scalable solutions that help address one of the biggest challenges of our time: affordable, accessible homes for all.
With loan financing via crowd-lending through GoParity, Harv has been able to build a blended finance model to grow this social enterprise over the past 8 years.
Brianna Ennis-Brown
Impact Measurement & Organizational Sustainability consultant and coach, Purppl
Impact Measurement instructor, BCIT
Brianna Ennis-Brown is passionate about supporting organizations to respond to pressing societal issues through impact-focused business strategy. She supports organizations to define impact measurement frameworks, co-create sustainable business models, and embed social and environmental sustainability into core operations. She is an expert in sustainable business and is passionate about weaving long-term strategic goals into the day-to-day practices of organizations. She applies a range of impact, sustainability, and ESG frameworks into her practice, always starting with organizational goals and culture in mind.
Brianna is also an instructor with BCIT’s Sustainable Business Leadership program, where she teaches impact and sustainability measurement and reporting and nurtures the next generation of sustainability leaders. Previously, Brianna co-founded and managed Decade Impact, an impact consultancy focused on sustainability strategies for small and medium businesses. Brianna holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from McGill University and a Master of Management from UBC Sauder.
Simi Lawoyin
Strategy, Governance & Leadership Development consultant & coach, Purppl
Simi Lawoyin is a Strategy, Governance & Leadership Development consultant to values-driven leaders, specializing in organizational design and capacity development. With extensive global experience spanning corporate, public sector, and nonprofit environments, Simi brings a human-centered, asset-based approach to organizational leadership and strategy. Her work has supported leaders in navigating complex transitions, strengthening leadership teams, and translating strategy into mission-aligned systems and structures. Simi is committed to restoring broken systems and removing inhibitions in the way of human flourishing.
Kristi Fairholm Mader
Managing Director, Thrive Impact Fund
Director of Innovation & Initiatives, Scale Collaborative
Kristi Fairholm Mader has worked throughout her career in the social change sector, from front line to project manager to executive director and sector convener. Fairholm Mader has a track record of starting and operating social enterprises, and finding entrepreneurial solutions to today’s social challenges. In 2014, she co-founded Scale Enterprises to help build a strong social economy sector on Vancouver Island. Fairholm Mader is committed to the innovation and growth of social enterprises, social procurement and social finance and is now Managing Director of Thrive Impact Fund.
Kristi is the former co-executive director of non-profit organization RentSmart, which works to prevent homelessness and increase housing stability. She currently convenes and provides local leadership for cross-sector initiatives such as the Thriving Non-Profits program, Social Venture Bootcamp and Incubator (seCatalyst), Coastal Communities Social Procurement Initiative and Vancouver Island Buy Social.
Optional Learning Sessions: Explore Social Franchise Ownership as a Revenue and Impact Strategy
Feb 25 & 26 | 1:30–3:00 PM PT | Zoom
Join the teams at Just Like Family Home Care and Purppl for two optional post-conference learning sessions designed for nonprofit leaders and Board members curious about social enterprise. These sessions explore how charities and social-purpose organizations are successfully purchasing or operating social impact franchises to diversify revenue, create employment pathways, and deepen community impact, without needing to build new programs from scratch.
These sessions offer practical, relevant insights and opportunities – whether your organization is exploring franchise ownership itself or supporting entrepreneurially minded newcomer clients to become franchise operators.
Feb 25 – Introduction to Social Franchising 101
Get an overview of the model: how social franchise ownership works, why it’s uniquely suited to mission-driven organizations, and hear the story of how a group of charities bought and now run a national home care franchise, proving that business can be done differently.
Feb 26 – Meet the Franchises: Real Opportunities Across BC
Learn directly from a group of social impact franchise networks currently expanding across BC. This session will introduce real, timely opportunities for charities and nonprofits to invest in or partner on franchise ownership and explore how this model can support employment and integration goals for newcomer communities.
Brought to you by Just Like Family Home Care and Purppl.
Presenting Partners
FutureProof is co-designed and facilitated with Purppl, a BC-based social enterprise that walks alongside social impact leaders to clarify impact and revenue strategy, strengthen governance and operational systems, and generate predictable, impact-aligned revenue.
The forum also features expertise from the Thrive Impact Fund, a place-based impact investment fund co-owned by Purppl and Scale Collaborative that invests in and supports non-profit, co-operative, and for-profit BC-based social enterprises that generate positive social, environmental, or cultural benefits.
We gratefully acknowledge the support of Vancity and Vancouver Coastal Health (Health Promotion Community Investments), which helps make this forum possible.
What Happens After the Forum
Participants will receive:
- Tools and resources shared during the sessions
- Connections to ecosystem partners who can support next-step exploration
- A short follow-up check-in to understand what actions organizations are taking and what additional support would be helpful
FutureProof advances AMSSA’s commitment to strengthening the long-term sustainability of the settlement sector by supporting member organizations to build leadership and board capacity around revenue diversification, governance, and financial resilience.
Questions?
Contact Lori Cameron at amssa@amssa.org
Ongoing Community Events/Programs
English Upgrading Classes for Adults
Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday 12:40 – 2:40 p.m.
September 2025 – January 2026
Free LINC classes for adults
September 2025 – January 2026
