TORONTO, ON–Save the Children, the leading independent children’s rights organization working to bring immediate and lasting change to the lives of children around the world and in Canada, announced the appointment of a new Chair and four new Members to its Board of Directors.
The newly appointed directors bring extensive fundraising, partnership, and philanthropy expertise, aligning perfectly with the organization’s five-year strategy. They will enhance fundraising efforts to drive the mission forward.
“At a time when millions of children are bearing the brunt of conflict, extreme climate events, and mass displacement, we welcome our new Board Members and new Chair to help us meet these challenges head-on,” said Danny Glenwright, Save the Children President and CEO. “The new additions to the Board will play a vital role as we strive to enhance our impact for children and meet today’s greatest challenges affecting them.”
“As someone who has served as Vice Chair and been part of the Board of Directors since 2020, I am delighted and honoured to be appointed the new Chair of the Board of Directors,” said Jill Zelmanovits. “I look forward to welcoming our new Board Members and working together to leverage their extensive experience and knowledge to provide guidance and drive our impact forward.”
Jill Zelmanovits has served as Vice Chair since September 2023 and has been a member of our Board since 2020. She has over 20 years of experience supporting non-profit organizations and is currently the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada. Jill previously served as CEO of Girl Guides of Canada and a Director on the Board of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. Jill began her career as a lawyer, gaining experience in private practice and the public sector.
About Save the Children’s new Board of Director Members:
Nadir Hirji is a Partner and Leader in PwC’s Customer Transformation & Digital Transformation practice. Nadir collaborates with senior executives to create innovative digital products, services, and experiences that deliver material results. Leading a cross-functional team of technical, design, research and business team members, Nadir drives customer-centric transformations to enable organizations to reinvent and deliver sustained outcomes. Nadir helps organizations define their future, develop roadmaps, and implement solutions that deliver value early and often. He has helped transform Fortune 1000 companies, start-ups, and government agencies nationally and internationally to realize results fast.
Sabrina Ladha brings more than 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur and investor, dedicated to building businesses and social investments that drive positive, sustainable change. Currently, she serves as the VP of Social Impact for GreenShield Cares, where she is responsible for deploying $75 million to improve the lives of at least one million Canadians by 2025. Previously, Sabrina was the VP of Portfolio and Investments for LEAP | Pecaut Centre for Social Impact, and she also provided strategic advisory services, capacity building, and leadership coaching to help 30+ portfolio ventures scale their revenue and impact. She is a certified Leadership Coach and also serves on the Board of Up With Women.
Sabir Sami became Global Chief Executive Officer of KFC Division in January 2022 and reports directly to the Yum! Brands CEO. He previously served in a dual role as KFC Division Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of KFC Asia. Before this, Sabir was managing director for KFC Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey markets. Prior to Yum!, he served in various leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, the Coca-Cola Company, and Reckitt Benckiser across multiple markets such as Pakistan, Australia, Vietnam, Singapore & Canada. Sabir has served on several not-for-profit boards, including SafeCity Mississauga, the Polycultural Immigrant Community Services, and the provincial Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Council.
Fatima Zaidi is the Founder and CEO of Quill Inc., an award-winning production agency specializing in corporate audio, and CoHost, a podcast growth and analytics tool. In addition to being a commentator for BNN Bloomberg, she is a frequent contributor to publications, including The Globe and Mail and Huffington Post. She was also featured in publications like Forbes and Entrepreneur. In the earlier days of her career, Fatima won two Top 30 under 30 awards. Most recently, she received DMZ’s Woman of the Year, the Young Professional of the Year by Notable Life, Veuve Clicquot’s Bold Future Award, The Women in Content Marketing Award, and one of Flare Magazine’s Top 100 Women. Outside of entrepreneurship, Fatima teaches at the University of Toronto and is Co-Chair of the #Tech4SickKids council for SickKids Hospital, which is on track to raise 25 million dollars to build a new emergency wing of the hospital, as well as fund some of the world’s biggest data and AI projects.