Board of Directors 2024-25

Board Appointments
Member Reading Coordinator – Jasmine Jackman

Past Presidents of WEN:

  • Gay Peppin 2001-2006
  • Dr. Jasmine D’Costa 2006-2009
  • Dr. Glenn S. Reid, D. Mgt 2009-2010
  • Richard Best  2010-2011


President: Maria Pia Marchelletta
WEN Writing Circle Co-ordinator:

Maria Pia Marchelletta is a teacher, poet, writer, editor and translator.She has written three poetry books “Nocturnal Lament” (2008), “On the wings of Dawn” (2009) and “Sentieri dell’Anima/Journey of the Soul” (2010). She obtained her Creative Writing Certificate from the University of Toronto, She was awarded second prize for her short story in the 2009 Ottawa Literary Festival. Maria was the vice-president, program co-ordinator, co-editor and co-ordinator of the WEN Anthology “Canadian Imprints.” She is the founder and chair of the Toronto Bayview Chapter and Italo-Canadian Chapter of the Canadian Federation of Poets.


Vice President and Program Director: Jasmine Jackman

Jasmine worked for 3M Canada Pharmaceuticals for almost two decades in several capacities: Bilingual Senior Professional Service Advisor, Account Executive, National Training Manager and Pharmaceutical Regional Sales Manager for Ontario, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia until she entered teaching in 2006. Teaching has allowed Jasmine to dedicate more of her time to community endeavours. Jasmine was WEN secretary and has been on the Boards of several community organizations in the role of Associate Director, Director, and Vice President as well as others. She participated on a Sensitivity panel reviewing reading materials created for students and is current taking part in a new programme at OISE U of T sponsored by CODE called Leading for Equity. In 2010 Jasmine worked as a United Nations online volunteer and completed research for an NGO exploring the use of microcredit for women in Kenya. Jasmine has spent most of this past year completing two documentaries: Providing Safe spaces for LBGTQ Students and Like a Rose Trampled on the Ground: Building Self- Esteem in our Youth. She currently chairs a Youth Advisory Council. An advocate for social justice, Jasmine volunteers her time mentoring underserviced youth in prison. She is a recipient of the 2011 Teacher Recognition award from the OSSTF Excellence in Teaching Committee. A published poet, Jasmine also writes, short stories, and plays. She is a member of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association, Canadian Confederation of Poets, and a contributor to the Canadian Multicultural Journal. She resides in Mississauga with her husband, Lorne, and sons, Steven and Michael.


Treasurer: Maurus Cappa

Maurus graduated with a Masters in Applied Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto. He recently retired from IBM after a successful career of 30 years spanning everything from hardware development to software testing and management and was awarded two patents. He is co-founder of the Toronto Toastmasters Club where he serves as Treasurer and Webmaster. He has been an avid Amateur Astronomer since childhood and now writes poems about astronomy and short stories which have been published in several anthologies.

 

Secretary: Geetaa V. Sharmaa

Geetaa was born in New Delhi, India and was brought up in a very humble household. In 2017, she migrated to Canada with dreams of a new life and hope for an exciting future. She would have never imagined, even in her wildest dreams, that this exciting future would involve her being a writer and a poet, since she never even wrote a journal in her life. She has always been someone who had many thoughts and opinions but could never pen them down. But something changed in 2020 when amidst the global shutdown, she suddenly found herself inspired to write poems and Shayari (verses written in Urdu). So, she joined an online creative writing class which introduced her to the amazing world of creativity. She is only a few poems and short stories old in the world of literature, but she is excited to continue this passion and explore this new side of her talented self. Her first poem is due to be published in December 2022 as part of an annual poetry collection called “Nectar”. She aspires to publish many more poems and short stories in future and hopefully one day publish a book.

 

 

Breakfast Coordinator and Membership Coordinator:

 Anna Stitski-Gemza

 

 

 

 

 

Director at Large: Aviva Mayers

Aviva Mayers, MSW., is a psychoanalyst and has worked as a clinical social worker in hospitals in several countries. She lived and worked  , the U.K., the US. and Norway where she pursued post graduate studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, while also teaching and working in private practice. She now lives in Toronto where she treats individuals and couples in her private practice. Her experience with breast cancer has taught her that if we take responsibility for our own health by informing ourselves and employing interventions that make sense to us, we can improve our health and transform our lives.

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