As students we constantly ask ourselves; how can we do our part to make positive changes for the world at large? Must we sacrifice having a fulfilling career to satisfy our pocketbook? The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way. Join us and meet Arts Alumni that have found success in the corporate world while making changes to pressing social challenges. If you have always wanted to do your part and make a social impact while remaining successful in the business world, join the conversation.
As future leaders and influencers, students do not need to sacrifice their passions to achieve success.
ALUMNI GUEST SPEAKERS:
Arjun Bhatt (BA ’13, Communications and Business)
Arjun is currently the National Marketing Director, ESG at KPMG in Canada, focusing on helping Canadian businesses become sustainable, resilient and purpose-led organizations.
An advocate of the “ESG imperative” and data-driven storytelling, Arjun is passionate about taking an integrated approach to ESG issues in order to help transform the Canadian economy for the better – including improving access to capital for crucial programs; navigating climate risks and opportunities (including biodiversity loss); facilitating Indigenous reconciliation; supporting inclusion, diversity and equity; and enabling ethical governance.
Since joining as a National Senior Marketing Coordinator in 2015, Arjun has held a number of progressive marketing roles focusing for KPMG’s infrastructure, government, healthcare, energy, natural resources, and digital transformation services. Views expressed are his own.
Jovie Galit (BA ’13, Psychology)
Jovie is an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) practitioner whose work lies in the intersectionalities of art, social entrepreneurship, and social justice. As a Filipina Immigrant from Nueva Ecija, Philippines, her immigration journey molded the person that she is for her community.
Jovie’s experiences equipped her with extensive knowledge in system change work, social inclusion, and anti-oppression. In the past 10 years, her career has brought her across multiple sectors: in community services, tech, transportation, and currently in management consulting as a Manager of EDI & Wellbeing at BrandActive. With strong experience in leading teams and embedding equity in every organization she works in, Jovie has honed her passion in developing programs, advocacies, and learning spaces that center diverse & marginalized voices.
In 2019, Jovie also founded Pinay Collection, a venture that celebrates and reclaims the Filipina identity through clothing. She’s also founded Pinya Letters, a calligraphy business that’s been featured in brands such as L’oreal and Deserres. As a hand lettering artist, she uses her skills to facilitate community spaces that focus on healing and reclamation of narratives within immigrant & BIPOC communities.
Nirav Patel (BA ’01, Sociology and Applied Studies)
Currently, Nirav is the Vice President Human Resources at Ontario Power Generation which strives to produce stable base load energy with virtually no air pollution and works towards supporting the well-being of this province by generating power with purpose. Ontario Power Generation provides the Province of Ontario over 60% of their electricity. They retired their coal stations in the mid 2000’s and are now a 99.09% green company leveraging hydro, nuclear and natural gas sources to produce clean electricity. OPG has launched a bold climate change plan to help Canada achieve a net zero carbon future.
Before becoming Vice President in 2021, Nirav worked for OPG as a Director of Human Resources and is now currently the manager of Recruitment and Diversity as well as Senior Manager of Recruitment and Resources along with his title as VP for OPG. Although he achieved his bachelor’s at University of Waterloo for Sociology and Applied Studies, he later received his M.HRM at York University for Liberal Arts and Professional Studies.
Anita Huang Teshima (MA ’00, in English Language and Professional Writing)
Anita is a VP, EPMO at Varicent assisting in building, establishing, and growing the new Enterprise Program Management Office function. A long-time advocate of a STEAM approach and mindset, Anita started off as a technical writer at IBM, and worked in a variety of roles focused on strategic and technical innovation across IBM, eventually taking on the role of Program Director, IBM Cloud Office of the CTO, where she received the Best of IBM Award in recognition of being an IBM top performer in 2020. [IBM looks for ways to make the world work better through technology and infrastructure, software, and consulting.] Anita is a strong supporter of Tech for Good initiatives to improve the well-being, resilience, and sustainability of our communities.
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