Surranna Sandy is the Chief Executive Officer of Skills for Change (SfC), a registered charity and nonprofit multi-service agency in Toronto, Ontario serving 14,000 Immigrants and Refugees annually. Prior to becoming the CEO of SfC, Surranna enjoyed a successful career as President and Founder of Surcorp Group, a Career Management firm with offices in Toronto and Ottawa. Having the first-hand perspective of an Immigrant in a new country, Surranna found her calling in advocating for and advancing the needs of immigrants and refugees as a volunteer and board member in the settlement sector.
In 2012, Surranna elected to resign from her firm and accept the invitation to serve as Skills for Change’s CEO, turning her advocacy of ensuring that Immigrant and Refugee has a fair chance to realize and fulfill their potential into her life’s vocation. Under her leadership, Skills for Change has grown from 5 locations in GTA to 10 locations in GTA and Southwestern Ontario serving over 15,000 clients per year. Surranna has led Skills for Change in expanding its programs and services from serving primarily internationally educated professionals to also serving Immigrant Women, Youth, Entrepreneurs and Seniors.
Surranna has a Master of Arts in Leadership and Management from Anglia Ruskin University, an MBA in Human Resources Management from the University of Wales, an Hons Bachelor of Arts in Leadership and Management from Northumbria University, a Diploma in Human Resources Management, and a Certificate in HR Management.
Surranna was awarded the Government of Canada’s Canada 150 Outstanding Neighbour award. This award is in recognition of her community service, as CEO of Skills for Change.
She is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Toronto Workforce Innovation Group and is a Board Member of First Work, Ontario’s Youth Employment Assistant Centers. She is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Ontario Nonprofit Network’s Decent Work for Women project and serves as Steering Committee Member for the Consortium of Agencies Serving Immigrants.She is a member of the City of Toronto’s Partnership & Accountability Circle (“PAC”) for The Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-black Racism.
Noel Muttupulle
Chief Financial Officer
Noel Muttupulle offers over 35 years of accounting, finance, information technology and international business experience earned in USA, Canada, China, Asia, Africa & Middle East.
Noel started his professional career with Ernst & Young (Sri Lanka) gaining expertise in accounting, auditing, computer systems and consulting. As Group Audit Officer for HSBC Bank, he conducted operations and computer audits in fifteen countries in the Middle East and Asia. Noel then held accounting and operations roles in government, and in US and Canadian corporations. He led strategic initiatives in Canada, USA, China and Middle East as Director of Business Solutions and Projects with SLMsoft Inc., a Toronto based provider of electronic banking and health claim processing solutions using offshore resources. Noel was Vice President Finance / CFO at Futureway Communications Inc., Canada’s first fibre-to-the-home telecommunications company. He was involved with the company’s valuation and sale to Rogers Cable Communications Inc. At Rogers, a public company with revenues exceeding $11 billion, Noel held various Director Finance positions leading the planning, budgeting, and financial analyses of new initiatives.
Since 2010, as a tactic for firms to reduce costs and increase profits, Noel offers Chief Financial Officer (CFO) services on-demand, business advisory services, and outsourcing.
Sampada Kukade is the Director of Employer Engagement & Partnerships and Program Marketing at Skills for Change.
Sampada has over 15 years of marketing and partnerships experience. She has a Bachelors in Arts at the University of Western Ontario and a post-graduate certificate in Marketing and Events Planning from George Brown College.
Prior to working at Skills for Change, Sampada led communications, events and a physician leadership program at the Ontario Medical Association. Being passionate about politics, Sampada also ran as a political candidate for a past provincial election.
She is extremely passionate about creating new ways to support immigrants and refugees in our community, working with corporate and community leaders to develop innovative programs.
In her spare time, Sampada teaches yoga and mediation as a certified yoga instructor, with a specific focus on helping manage chronic disease and training beginners to feel comfortable doing yoga. She is also a mother of a 4 year old boy and a newborn.
Nidhi is the Director, Programs Operations at Skills for Change. Nidhi brings 20 years of non-profit sector experience in program development, operations, social enterprise and event management. Over the course of her career, Nidhi has worked at the institutional, grassroots and municipal levels including leadership roles at Artscape, Mississauga Celebration Square, and Meadowvale Theatre. Nidhi’s approach to programming is framed in a holistic view that intersects with operations, finance and community to develop relevant and responsive programs.
An actor by training, she holds an M.A. in Text and Performance Studies from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and an MBA in Marketing and International Business from York University’s Schulich School of Business.
Nidhi’s community work has focused on mentorship of emerging arts leaders with a particular focus on the systemic issues and barriers that face women in the non-profit sector. She is a 2018 Fellow of the Toronto Arts Council’s Leaders Lab, a Coach for Girls on Boards and a Strategic Advisor for Work In Culture and Generator.
Corina Carvallo is the Associate Director, Programs & Services for Skills for Change. She has a background in Human Resources. Corina has worked in various management positions since joining Skills for Change.
She has over 10 years of experience in Program Management and Development. She is an expert in managing newcomer and refugee services ranging from settlement, skills training and employment. Corina played a major role in the creation and development of IRS HUB @ 791 which provides settlement, employment, women’s programming, mentoring and language courses. She is passionate about the power of community and actively pursues ways to provide continuous support and assistance to newcomers.