
Mission
The Emerging Leaders Council is a committee to assist KidsAbility’s mission of empowering children and youth with special needs to
realize their full potential. Established by KidsAbility Foundation, it aims to engage a new generation of emerging
leaders and philanthropists to undertake an active role in fundraising and promote awareness of KidsAbility in new and innovative ways.
Purpose
The Emerging Leaders Council seeks to provide individuals (aged 18-40) with opportunities to
engage with other emerging leaders, while focusing on a mutual philanthropic
goal. It is a unique way for members to deepen their understanding and
connection to KidsAbility.
We celebrate, value and respect the strength, wisdom and insights that diversity brings. We are actively recruiting new members to the Emerging Leaders Council from diverse backgrounds, abilities and lived experiences. If you live within Waterloo Region or Guelph-Wellington and you are interested in learning more about how to join our Emerging Leaders Council, please contact Lisa Talbot at ltalbot@kidsability.ca.
Emerging Leaders Council Members

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Jack Durdan
Bio coming soon.
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Bryton Keyes
Bio coming soon.
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Josie
Schwartz
Josie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Honors Business Administration from
the Richard Ivey School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology
from Western University. She began her volunteer journey with KidsAbility at
the age of seven when she toured the Waterloo facility and instantly became
inspired by the uplifting, “can do” environment. Ever since, she has remained
involved with the organization, serving as a classroom and evening program
volunteer, and as a committee member and fundraising advocate for various
events. More recently, bringing together her passion for healthy cooking and
supporting KidsAbility, she self-published a cookbook called Spilling
the Greens – 100% of the cookbook profits are donated to
KidsAbility. She is excited about this new opportunity to support the
organization’s inspiring mission alongside other young leaders in her
community.
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Rachel
Wagner
Bio coming soon.
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Jenn Hill Bio coming soon.
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Kyle
Mangotic
Kyle is a Portfolio Manager at TD Wealth Private Investment Counsel
focused on serving the Waterloo Region. He holds the Chartered Financial
Analyst (CFA) designation, has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree with a
major in Finance from Griffith University and a Diploma in Financial Planning
from Fanshawe College. With TD he has
had the opportunity to work with KidsAbility and see the significant impact
they have on the kids they support and the broader community. He is excited
to bring his perspectives and expertise to the KidsAbility Emerging Leaders
Council. Kyle currently lives in
Kitchener with his wife and enjoys golfing and spending time in Haliburton at
their family cottage.
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Trent Lepage Trent works at Equitable Life of
Canada in their Documentation Center since graduated high
school 5 years ago. When he was four, he was diagnosed with Pervasive
Developmental Disorder, also known as PDD, a form of autism. He attended
KidsAbility for speech, physical, and behavioural therapy for a couple of
years before starting public school full-time. He hopes that through his participation in
the Emerging Leaders Council he can help kids benefit from the programs that
KidsAbility offers.
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Jordan Fox
Jordan was born and raised
in Waterloo and graduated from the Bachelor of Business Administration at Wilfrid Laurier University. Through his co-op program, he worked at Disney and Crayola in Toronto for five years before moving back to Waterloo to lead the sales team at Athena Software. After seven years leading the sales team at Athena, Jordan recently moved to Head of Sales for local company, SkyWatch, a company that aims to democratize satellite imagery
for the world. He has been personally passionate about the work being done at
KidsAbility and a consistent volunteer at the weekly Active Start
and FUNdamental groups.
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Kristin
Kelly
Kristin Kelly is a Marketing Specialist with Waterloo company, eSentire, and a Social and Content Strategist for EdTech Startup YOURIKA/Orbits. She is
a recent graduate of the Professional Communication Program at Ryerson
University and worked in PR for 2.5 years while participating in extra curriculars
and finishing her full-time studies. In addition, she actively volunteered at
the Children's Book Bank, ROAR Festival, and KidsAbility. Kristin was
recognized for her strong academic achievement and
co-curricular/extra-curricular involvement with the 2020 Ryerson
FCAD Gold Medal, the most prestigious faculty-wide award offered to
graduating students. In addition, she was a Dean's List recipient for two
years. In her spare time, Kristin enjoys
cycling, playing tennis, and spending time with friends and family.
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