Afanou – (Pronounced A – FAN – OU)

Fundraising consultant at BNP Philanthropic Performance 

Adya Afanou is an enthusiastic and dedicated philanthropic management professional with over fifteen years of experience in fundraising, marketing and event management.

Her extensive experience working and volunteering with multiple NPOs in Quebec, Ontario, and West Africa has triggered a passion for creating connection points with audiences and building relationships across countries, sectors, and industries.

Adya is a cinephile, an avid consumer of pop culture and a bookworm! She reads about a multitude of subjects− arts & culture, business, sciences, international development, social challenges and community building; and is always on the lookout for global communications, marketing, and fundraising trends.

She sits on the board of directors of Twice Upon a Time, a volunteer-run organization dedicated to supporting early literacy skills and providing free books to Ottawa children under 12 years old.

Senior Manager, Philanthropy – Individual Giving at Women’s College Hospital Foundation

Melissa is a Certified Fundraising Executive committed to creating a charitable sector that is inclusive, equitable, and reflective of the communities it serves. Melissa has spent the better part of her career in social change philanthropy, developing expertise in major gifts, donor advised funds, planned giving, annual giving, and global philanthropy. Melissa takes great pride in her Cape Verdean roots and is a member of the Black Canadian Fundraisers Collective. 

Senior Fundraising Professional 

Born and raised in Brazil, Camila comes from a very mixed family including Black, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Indigenous. She understood from a very young age that race relations, identity and gender roles were central not only to her family but to herself and that skin color in Brazil dictates your role, future and existence within society. 

Since childhood Camila has been involved in philanthropy through her family’s community initiatives. Her career in the nonprofit sector is a means to contribute towards the eradication of all forms of prejudice preventing the advancement and betterment of humankind; she is a senior fundraising professional in Toronto and a coach to Brazilians involved in philanthropy and fundraising in Brazil and Canada. Camila holds a PhD in Public Policy/Public Administration & International Relations from Howard University-USA.

Alongside her career, Camila keeps a strong connection with her family in Brazil and loves spending time with her husband – Adrian and cat – Lila and travelling.