Claudette McGowan

Co-Founder & Chair

Claudette McGowan is a global information technology leader with more than 18 years of success leading digital transformations, optimizing infrastructure and designing new approaches that improve service experiences. She has worked in the technology industry for several organizations such as Deloitte, Metropolitan Police Services, North York General Hospital, Bank of Montreal and TD Bank.  Claudette began her career at BMO in 2000 and held multiple senior leadership roles including Chief Information Officer, Enterprise Technology Employee Experience. In 2020, she joined TD Bank as Global Executive Officer for Cyber Security. In her spare time, Claudette writes books for children, builds robots and is the founder of the Black Arts & Innovation Expo. Claudette holds a Bachelor of Arts from Lakehead University and a Master of Business Administration from Athabasca University.She is the recipient of several prestigious awards: In January 2020, she was selected as an honoree at the Jamaican Canadian Association’s 20th International Women’s Day event for her groundbreaking work in STEM. In 2019, Toronto Life recognized her as one of the city’s Top 50 Most Influential Torontonians, Women’s Executive Network recognized her as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, AdWeek Magazine heralded Claudette as a Toronto Brand Star, and the Digital Finance Institute honoured her as one of the Top 50 Canadian Women in FinTech. In September 2019, Claudette also had the honour of moderating what is being hailed as ‘the most insightful one-on-one conversation’ with Former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,000-plus at Elevate Festival, Canada’s fastest-growing tech festival.

Armughan Ahmad

Co-Founder

Armughan helps people and organizations thrive in a time of uncertainty and change. He leads a team that is committed to helping our customers innovate with exponential technologies to create a more sustainable and prosperous future to drive human progress forward. He believes that technology is only the enabler but people are the true transformers. We can empower lives by using advanced technologies in AI, Quantum, Metaverse and Blockchain to automate repetitive tasks and allow people to focus on their impact and purposeful work. Armughan has found that people-centric focus to be closely aligned with my personal approach to leadership. His goal is to create and promote an organization that is diverse and inclusive of many different perspectives and approaches. He lends his time to groups such as CILAR (Coalition of innovation leaders against racism). He knows that diversity in all it’s forms creates a stronger organization and empowers our individual team members to bring their authentic self to work.

Yung Wu

Co-Founder

Yung is the retired CEO of the MaRS Discovery District, one of the world’s largest innovation hubs, and Canada’s premiere science and technology innovation ecosystem. The MaRS innovation community has raised over $16.7B in capital, generated over $9B in net revenues and contributed over $30B to GDP since inception, currently employing over 32,600 people in the health, cleantech, fintech and platform technologies sectors, and at all stages of growth.As a serial entrepreneur and investor, Yung has built breakthrough scale-stage companies in enterprise software, mobile analytics and big data, media and entertainment, technology services and biotech. He is a co-founder of two not-for-profit organizations, the Coalition of Innovation Leaders Against Racism (CILAR) and DifferentIsCool (DiSC). Yung currently serves on the boards of OMERS, the Toronto Region Board of Trade, Antibe Therapeutics Inc. (TSX: ATE) and is a member of Green Shield Canada. He is a Governor in Council appointee to Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body.Yung has been recognized as one of Canada’s “Top 40 under 40” and for leading one of Canada’s “50 Best Managed Private Companies” in the nation. Yung has a B.Sc. Computer Science, Economics and Mathematics from the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the Entrepreneurial Master’s Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the NACD Cybersecurity Oversight Certification Program at Carnegie Mellon University, a member of MENSA, the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D).

Serena Nguyen

Founding Executive Director

Serena brings 14 years of experience as a strategist, advisor, and mentor in Fortune 500 companies and Canada's top startups, cultivating pathways for innovation and commercialization. As the founding Executive Director of the Coalition of Innovation Leaders Against Racism (CILAR), she also led the launch of over 15 programs in its first 3 years, championing inclusion across the innovation sector.Now, Serena is dedicated to the growth of a productive, sustainable and inclusive blue economy. Drawing on her leadership roles at Microsoft for Startups Canada MaRS Discovery District and CILAR, she offers cross-sectoral insights to promote strategic growth in the blue economy. Her mission is to accelerate ocean literacy and action, where every individual and organization not only understands how they connect to the ocean, but is also empowered to take action.Recognized for her ability to connect disparate dots and drive outcomes, Serena collaborates with accelerators, corporates, NFPs, NGOs, and governments to advance ocean action and sustainability. Outside of work, she explores the depths as a new diver, freediver, and surfer. For business opportunities or collaborations, feel free to connect.

Keneisha Williams

Interim Executive Director

Keneisha Williams resides in Toronto and studied Communications and Marketing at Ryerson University. She is an accomplished international event professional with over 15 years of experience. Her passion for advocacy, impact, and designing spaces of belonging led her to create her company the Black in Events Network. Currently, she is the Community Engagement Manager at CILAR. She gives back her time as a  mentor at both the Scarborough Women's Center and the Content Marketing Institute (CMI).  She was named 2 x Top 100 most influential people in the events industry, top 10 most influential women in the events industry. Most recently she has been recognized by MeetingsNet magazine as a changemaker, and Canada's top 100 Black Women to Watch. Her views and opinions have been seen in Forbes, Skift Magazine (formerly EventMB), The Globe and Mail and much more. When Keneisha is not indulging in her passion she is cheering on her son at his games.

Tristan Morris

Program Associate

Passionate about addressing racial disparities and mental health, Tristan Morris - Program Associate at CILAR, is dedicated to community impact. Focused on program development, Tristan thrives in enhancing systems and fostering relationships. His commitment to promoting mentorship, racial awareness and diversity is evident in his work. Eager to contribute to positive change, Tristan seeks opportunities to assist those facing difficulties and advance missions of impact.

Rayah Ali

Communications Coordinator

Rayah is an emerging documentary filmmaker and Communications Coordinator for the Coalition of Innovation Leaders Against Racism (CILAR).  In addition, Rayah works as a Marketing Manager and Producer for Creative’s Bazaar and also a Content Contributor for The Olive Branch of Hope. Her passion lies in capturing personal stories, raising awareness about mental health, and advocating the value of knowledge-sharing. Through her work,‍ Rayah aims to be both an ally and a source of support for those whose stories ‍she shares.

Ismail Mohamud

IT & Platform Engineer

Passionate about building digital products and platforms, Ismail joined CILAR with the goal of creating innovative solutions to be accessible and enjoyed by everyone. With an educational background in Electrical Engineering, Ismail has experience working in product management and has worked for a few startups, helping them scale and improve revenue generation. Ismail is interested in creating tech for good products, especially in the AI space and is a founder of his own digital consulting company where he caters to SME's. In addition to this, Ismail has over 12+ years of community experience, whether its been mentoring youth, volunteering at non-profits or creating spaces for members in his community to interact and feel safe.