The Board

Mary Desjardins-Therrien

CHAIR

Mary is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and marketing leader with expertise in designing innovative strategies that drive brand consideration, employee engagement and social impact. Most recently, Mary was the AVP of Corporate Citizenship & Sponsorship at Manulife where she was responsible for global strategies guiding community investment, sponsorship and sustainability. Previously, Mary was the Executive Director of the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation and oversaw corporate environmental donations and sponsorships for TD Bank Group. She has also held several senior marketing positions with companies in Canada and the U.S. Mary graduated from the Western University with a B.A. in English Literature and subsequently received her M.B.A. from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. She grew up in a family bookstore in Trenton, Ontario where she developed her lifelong love of books and reading.

Sujin Son

TREASURER

Sujin is a finance leader with experience in corporate strategy and investment management, partnering with executives to drive next level performance goals and investment returns. She is currently responsible for prioritizing and optimizing $3 billion in annual infrastructure and product development investments as a member of the corporate capital investments team at TELUS. She has been recognized as an innovative leader and courageous trailblazer. Previously, she has held senior roles in management consulting and capital markets. Sujin has a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Waterloo, an MBA from Queen’s University, and is a CFA Charterholder. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking various keto recipes, plotting her next surfing adventure, and weightlifting whilst listening to her favourite audiobooks.

Pratap Reddy

Director

An underwriter by day and a writer by night, Pratap Reddy immigrated from India in 2002. An economist by education, he had worked as an executive in many leading companies in India. His abiding love of reading fiction resulted in a perverse desire to become an author. His dream, which remained little more than a pipedream for decades, became a reality in Canada thanks to the assistance and guidance from Diaspora Dialogues. His has published a collection and a novel on the theme of immigrant experience. He has another collection in the works, which includes the story selected for publication in the recent well-received anthology ‘Changing the Face of Canadian Literature.’ He is also currently working on a novel tentatively tilted Praful’s Errands. He lives with his wife and son in Mississauga.

Farzana Crocco

Director

Peter Smiley

Director

Peter is a civil litigator, and an avid reader and writer. He grew up on a farm in rural Tasmania, graduated from the University of Tasmania, and has since lived in Tokyo, London, Melbourne, Istanbul, New York and Fort McMurray. A graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, he now lives in Toronto with his family. His non-fiction has been published in the Guardian and the Toronto Review of Books, and his short fiction has been longlisted for the CBC Short Story Prize. When he’s not reading, writing, parenting, or preparing for trial, Pete trains in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and works on his pollinator-friendly garden.

Paula Menzes

Director

Sarah Miniaci

Director

Sarah Miniaci has over a decade of experience in book marketing and publicity. Specializing in both fiction and non-fiction promotion, she has designed and executed book launch campaigns for publishers and authors across North America and the UK, including a range of New York Times and Globe & Mail bestsellers. Based in Toronto, she attended the University of Toronto and Ryerson University, where she studied philosophy and English. In her spare time she enjoys trying new recipes, studying Italian, and reading everything from sci-fi to memoir.