Claudia Hepburn has devoted her career to building innovative charities that convert human potential into prosperity. Before Windmill, she co-founded and ran NEXT Canada, to develop high-impact young entrepreneurs. She also founded and ran an award-winning program to improve educational opportunities for children living in poverty in Canada and has led the education policy work of a leading Canadian think tank.

Claudia serves on the board of the SickKids Foundation, where she chairs the Compensation and Resource Management Committee.

She is a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s Human Capital Council, and is an advisor of Impression Ventures. During her 18 years serving on the board of the Kids & Company, it grew from a start-up into Canada’s largest childcare company with over 12,000 spaces across North America.

As a seasoned tech industry leader, Alex has a proven track record of building and leading successful teams from the ground up. With nearly a decade of startup experience, he understands the unique challenges and opportunities of growth. He contributed significantly to the success of SkipTheDishes and Neo Financial, two of Canada’s most successful startups, by introducing processes, implementing new technologies, integrating platforms, and supporting other business units to prepare for rapid growth. Born in Uruguay and having lived in the U.S. and Brazil before moving to Canada in 2016, Alex is deeply connected to the immigrant experience, motivating his transition to the nonprofit sector to serve fellow immigrants.

Carrie joined Windmill in March 2014, and was appointed as the National Director, Operations in April 2015. Carrie’s passion and experience for ensuring that the right people are in the right position, and have access to the appropriate tools to meet the needs of our clients, are the driving force behind her work at Windmill.

Prior to her work with Windmill, Carrie spent more than 20 years in the charitable sector in Saskatchewan; leading team development projects; supporting CEOs and Board members; facilitating technology directives; and aligning operational and human resource strategies.

Oumar is a seasoned government relations and public affairs professional, who brings years of experience helping organizations across the country build partnerships with all levels of government. He has a deep understanding of the Canadian political landscape and public policy topped with a track record helping organizations access government funding, run successful campaigns and achieve their advocacy goals.

Oumar is well known in Ottawa, having served in senior positions with the Minister of Indigenous Affairs and the Minister of National Revenue. In both roles, he dealt with complex issues that impacted a variety of public policy areas. He has also played a key role as a researcher for a leading think tank and has been involved in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Oumar is a frequent media contributor on economic and public policy issues and has appeared on programs such as CBC – The National, BNN Bloomberg, CTV News and Global News, as well as provided commentary for many radio shows, Financial Post, the Globe and Mail, iPolitics, The Hill Times, and industry magazines.

He holds both a Masters degree and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Economics from the University of Ottawa and is a first-generation immigrant, having moved to Canada from Côte d’Ivoire as a teenager. Oumar is fully bilingual in French and English and is an active member of the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves.

Linda is a marketing leader with years of experience in brand building, advertising, and marketing strategy. Over the years, Linda has worked in different cities and countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, and Canada, with top-tier brands such as McDonald’s, Dyson, and Heinz. Most recently, she worked at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary. The daughter of Vietnamese refugees, Linda is passionate about empowering newcomers to help them build the Canadian dream.

Nami joined Windmill Microlending as National Director and Chief Financial Officer in spring 2024. She brings over 15 years of experience in finance and accounting to our team, and a comprehensive understanding of risk and control management, financial planning and analysis, and financial reporting thanks to former roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers, OMERS and CanCap Group. At CanCap, she played a pivotal role in managing auto and consumer loan securitization programs alongside managing treasury functions across multiple entities as the Director of Finance.

Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Nami is thrilled to be able to leverage her accounting experience to enable newcomers to build brighter futures for themselves and their families at Windmill.

Sandy is a high performing advancement professional who possesses a wide range of fundraising, alumni engagement, advancement communications and special events experience. During her 17-year career in the charitable sector she has worked as a fundraiser at The Nature Conservancy of Canada, York University and Fleming College. Most recently Sandy was the Director of Advancement and Alumni Relations at Fleming College, where she was accountable for directing all aspects of fundraising and alumni relations for the college’s various campuses.

A Certified Fund Raising Executive, Sandy’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts from Western and a Masters in Environmental Studies from York University. Sandy is on the Board of the Art Gallery of Peterborough and has volunteered at many organizations including the Jane Goodall Institute, the Toronto Wildlife Centre, the Toronto Zoo, and OneChild.

Laura is a partnerships and communications professional with an extensive track record of driving growth and delivering impactful strategic initiatives. Prior to joining Windmill, Laura was the Director of Special Projects at Goodmans LLP, one of Canada’s leading law firms, where she was responsible for delivering on key strategic initiatives including business development, partnerships, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

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Laura has also worked for the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) where she led the CEO’s strategic communications and global thought leadership program. She played a key role in building FCLT Global, a non-profit entity that is funded by over 70 global organizations, including McKinsey, Unilever and BlackRock. She has also held strategic leadership positions at Scotiabank and Google, where she was on the founding team responsible for commercializing YouTube in Canada.

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In addition to teaching her young children to ski, play tennis and figure skate, Laura sits on Baycrest Hospital’s Finance and Audit Committee. Laura has a Masters of International Management from CEMS and an HBA from the Ivey School of Business.