© 2018 Network for the
Advancement of
Black Communities.
All Rights Reserved.
Our People
Nafisa Mohamed (She/Her)
Senior Coordinator, Internal Systems and Initiatives
Nafisa Mohamed is the Senior Coordinator of Internal Systems and Initiatives at NABC. She oversees the distribution of grants and supports the administrative coordination of various projects and transformative initiatives. Nafisa holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in International Development Studies and Women’s Studies from the University of Toronto. Throughout her journey, Nafisa has worked to empower disadvantaged youth with several local non-for-profit and international organizations. From actively volunteering in grassroots organizations committed to youth development, to social justice and community building, she has continuously pursued her passions for youth empowerment and activism. She is strongly grounded in the unity and collective progress of the Black community. She cares about issues of human rights, social justice, and social development with a focus on capacity building, youth development and conflict resolution.
Nafisa is a committed young leader with a strong passion for advocating for the Black community. She has been active and engaged in several initiatives and projects in the last few years in relation to her passion. She is compassionate and motivated in bettering the Black community with comprehensive knowledge in navigating systems affecting youth and marginalized communities. Co-founder of NOOR, a Youth-Led initiative created to educate, empower, and unite the Black Muslim youth across the GTA.
Sarah Mekonen (She/Her)
Senior Coordinator, Digital Content and Communications
Sarah Mekonen is the Senior Coordinator of Digital Content and Communications at NABC, where she is responsible for maintaining transparent, effective, and meaningful outreach through the support and promotion of organizational initiatives and programs.
Sarah is a communications professional who graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a Bachelor of Communications and has worked with a variety of organizations to promote accessibility and inclusivity through strategic communications. She has provided tactical communications expertise and support through her work at the City of Guelph where she led initiatives such as the Guelph Urban Design Awards where she was able to increase audience engagement and enthusiasm through the implementation of various strategic communications tactics. She also has experience coordinating website design and rebranding.
Sarah is passionate about using communications and storytelling to provide a platform for all voices to be heard. She believes it’s important to be intentional and sensitive through all methods of communication, as it’s essential to acknowledge and appreciate all individuality within the workplace and community at large.
RaeChelle-Faith Ankamreddy (She/Her)
Senior Government Relations and Policy Analyst
RaeChelle-Faith brings a wealth of experience in legal research, government relations, public policy, and community development, combined with over seven years of project management and relationship-building expertise. For the past 3 years in particular, her focus has centered on advocating for affordable housing and supporting Black and minoritised communities. At NABC, RaeChelle-Faith leverages this expertise to drive impactful policy initiatives, foster community engagement, and advance the Network’s mission of empowerment and equity within Black communities.
Throughout her career, RaeChelle-Faith has worked with various organizations and agencies, including the Community Housing Transformation Centre, the Canadian Real Estate Association, The Yonge Street Mission, and Global Affairs Canada (IRCC Division), providing socio-political, legal, and economic research, policy analysis, and digital campaigning expertise. Her diverse experience spans sectors such as real estate, housing, education, immigration, and community development.
Holding a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree alongside certificates in Government Relations from Seneca College, Public Policy Analysis from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Project Management from Schulich Business School at York University, RaeChelle-Faith’s commitment to servant leadership and community engagement has been honed over the years through her extensive volunteer work, including serving as an Advisor to Leading in Colour, as Director of Public Relations at Immigrant Champions of Canada and as a Member of the board of Directors for Camp Agape Vermont, where she contributes to creating inclusive spaces and supporting children with incarcerated parents.
When doing none of the above, she enjoys spending time with the youths she’s worked with over the years, or traveling with her family.
Rosemary Erskine (She/Her)
Director, Organizational and System Capacity
Rosemary Erskine is a graduate of Schullah School of Business, York University’s Masters Certificate in Organization Development and Change. Rosemary has over 15 years of experience in non-profit organizational development and management and in healthcare settings. Most recently, she has been developing and working with small and medium-sized non-profit organizations coaching new Executive Directors to experience their full potential in their role, supporting organizations with funding strategies and writing grant proposals, developing strategic plans, and policy creation.
She is the past Office Manager, New Dawn Moravian Church, Project Coordinator, Peel Newcomer Strategy Group, and Executive Director of the Eritrean Canadian Community Centre. She is a single mother with three grandchildren who live in Germany and Portugal.
Rosemary is originally from the island of Antigua and is a creative dressmaker who has in the past, sewn ballet costumes for the Ontario School of Ballet.
Allan Boesak (He/Him)
Director, Youth, African Diaspora and Continental Engagement
Allan is an experienced champion and facilitator of systemic social transformation helping diverse groups of stakeholders make progress on tough challenges. He has worked in international development cooperation and community development for over 20 years and has professional experience in Africa and Europe working with community organizations, non-profits, business, all levels of government, and international agencies on issues related to youth engagement and empowerment, civic education, sport for development, and community safety planning with particular attention to the active participation of marginalized people. Allan is originally from South Africa where he supported systemic approaches to violence and crime prevention through the facilitation of multi-stakeholder processes. He has done significant work across Africa in youth empowerment and engagement, and has a firm conviction that the voice of youth is critical and contributes significantly to positive social change in their own lives, as well as in the lives of others.
Allan is a proud husband to Olivia, and father to their young sons Alexander and James Boesak who all teach him something new about life every single day. He values quality time with his family, enjoys nature and is a sport enthusiast with a particular passion for soccer.
Denise Challenger (She/Her)
Director of Network Weaving and Learning
Denise Challenger, Director of Network Weaving and Learning, oversees the implementation of communication systems and digital platforms that assist agencies to identify their interests and challenges, form new connections, and achieve mutually beneficial goals. Ultimately, she ensures the social connectivity of NABC agencies in order to advance systems change work within the Black non-profit sector
Denise’s passion for community engagement and expertise in digital humanities motivates her to find collaborative and creative ways for network members to share resources, mobilize knowledge and communicate effectively in lived and virtual spaces. Before joining NABC, Denise was the coordinator of the Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on Africa and its Diasporas, York University. She designed programs both to teach high school students about the history of Black inventors and to train them in computing technology. She has extensive experience organizing international and local conferences for academics and non-academics alike. For several years, in Scarborough and Durham, she volunteered to facilitate youth discussions related to race and gender equity.
Being a Caribbean and gender historian, Denise has a deep understanding of the past conditions that have shaped present day lives of diasporic peoples. Her outlook on the world is one of work-life balance: meditation and yoga feature prominently in how she engages with people and life in general.
Yonatan Ghebray (He/Him)
Associate Executive Director
Yonatan Ghebray is NABC’s Associate Executive Director. He works with NABC’s team and strategic partners to build and enhance data and evaluation capacity of Black-led, Black-focused, and Black-serving organizations through innovative learning strategies to advance systems change. Yonatan brings a wealth of experience in community health, community development, community-based research & evaluation, evaluative capacity building and culture of inquiry-based learning. He held various positions in non-profit and funding organizations; designed and taught community development practices, grant writing, and program evaluation courses in college; and provided consulting services in evaluative capacity and culture building.
Through these experiences, he developed a deeper understanding of what it takes to bring about transformational change in organizations and communities. He is a firm believer in self-empowerment as a precondition for meaningful engagement in systems change. He also believes systems change requires engaging in difficult conversations that must first lead to personal transformation. He understands the complexity and messiness of systems change and sees himself as part of the system that must change for the better.
Yonatan received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Masters in Education at York University, and is an alumnus of the Emerging Leaders Program, Management Certificate offered by United Way Toronto, Metcalf Foundation and York University’s Schulich School of Business, and Maytree Foundation’s Leaders for Change. As a passionate soccer player and amateur coach, he brings coaching principles and team spirit to his work.
amanuel melles (He/Him)
Executive Director
amanuel melles (aman) brings more than 28 years of management and senior management experience in various sub-sectors of the non-profit sector: settlement and immigration, community health, social services and community development, and funding & sector capacity. aman was on the Senior Management Team at United Way Toronto and the Director of Programs & Capacity Building where he led the development of the Organizational Capacity Building Unit and was responsible for leading the introduction of several innovative and creative leadership, capacity building, evaluation and granting programs aimed at building various capacities of non-profit agencies and communities in Toronto. Prior to his role at United Way Toronto, aman held various roles at OCASI, Lawrence Heights Community Health Centre and Family Service Toronto.
Over the years, aman has contributed to the vibrancy of the non-profit sector and communities as a Board member, executive officer and civic leader: Distress Centres Toronto, Social Planning Toronto, Ontario Council for International Cooperation , Inclusive Cities Canada’s Toronto Civic Panel, Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs, African Canadian Social Development Council. In 2018, aman was appointed, for a two-year term, by Toronto’s Mayor to sit on the Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit’s, City of Toronto, Partnership and Accountability Circle. He’s currently the President of InterChange Community-Based Peacebuilding International Institute, sits on the Board of Social Innovation Canada and chairs the Board of Institute of Change Leaders. aman is an alumnus of the Maytree Foundation Leaders for Change and the Maytree-York University Management programs. As a former marine ecologist, aman often brings ecosystem thinking to his work with organizations and communities. aman is the recipient of the Jane Jacobs Prize, the New Pioneers Award, the African Canadian Leadership Award, and the Emancipation Day Underground Freedom Train Ride – Community Service Award