Sandi Ross (Arts)
Sandi Ross came to Canada from Minneapolis, Minnesota, fourteen years ago. She came with nine years of professional theatre experience and a B.F.A. in Theatre from the University of Minnesota. As a black actor working in Canada at a time when actors of colour were considered a risk, Sandi found few in the performing arts who would take her seriously. Sandi persisted in her performing career, earning theatre credits across the country: Theatre Passe Muraille, Magnus Theatre, Toronto Workshop Productions, Stratford Festival, Theatre London and Factory Theatre. In addition to theatre, Sandi has also worked in film and television including ENG, Street Legal and Night Heat.

In recent years, Sandi has focused her talent into organizing for change. She is the founding editor of Into the Mainstream, a talent directory of visible and audible minority members of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA). This directory is now in its second printing and has helped visible and auditory minority performers be considered for more roles. She is currently President of the Equity Showcase Theatre Board of Directors; Vice President, Toronto Branch Council of ACTRA; Chair, Equal Opportunities Committee of ACTRA, National & Toronto Branch.


Kim Hua (Entrepreneurship)
Kim Hua, together with eight brothers and sisters, escaped from Vietnam by boat. After five months in Malaysia, Kim with two other family members entered Canada in 1979. With her family, she faced powerful language and cultural barriers. Through language training and work experience with several employers, Kim not only adapted but prospered. In 1989, she opened her first PHO restaurant. Each year since that time she has opened a new restaurant, doubling sales and the number of employees. Eager to share her experience with others, Kim volunteers as a mentor to other immigrant women in an entrepreneurship program sponsored by George Brown College.


Chandra Budhu (Community Service)
Change has had a life long commitment to supporting immigrants and refugees. Since 1979, she has worked as an advocate for a number of individual immigrants. She has facilitated workshops for low-income working immigrants from the Caribbean, so they could learn about their rights in the workplace and other areas. She co-founded the Guyanese Research and Representation Services, a community based non-profit group that worked with Guyanese immigrants, and was editor of a tabloid called the Guyana Forum. Returning to Guyana for a short time in the early 1980s, Chandra co-founded a labour and human rights organization.

Currently Chandra is the Co-ordinator of Community Action on Violence Against Women at the YWCA of Canada. She also serves on the Board of the Canadian Women’s Foundation and its Grants and Nominating committees.


Pura Velasco (Education)
Pura Velasco arrived in Canada from the Philippines in 1989. Because Pura did not have permanent status, she found it extremely difficult to access community resources and she lacked general knowledge about Canadian culture. Initially, Pura was employed as a live-in domestic worker. At the same time she enrolled in the Activation/Gerontology Program at George Brown College while volunteering during the day at the Villa Columbo Centre. Her leadership skills and her ability to encourage others were quickly evident. In 1991, Pura began working as a facilitator at INTERCEDE (Toronto organization for domestic workers’ rights), providing orientation workshops to domestic workers who recently arrived in Canada.

Pura has given hope to many immigrants by empowering them to strive for positive changes. She is currently on the Board of Instrac (Institute for Training and Accreditation of Foreign Professional Graduates) and is a member of the Multicultural Committee at Mid-Toronto Community Services.


Annamaria Menozzi (Leadership)
A successful small business owner from Italy, Annamaria came to Canada and was faced with many of the same settlement problems that immigrants continue to face today -- language and cultural barriers, estrangement from family and friends, lack of recognition of work experience, education and credentials. Annamaria learned first hand that such an experience can shake your confidence and identity. Her leadership role in advocating for policies and programs to assist newcomers is rooted in this experience. Through her work, she has opened hundreds of training opportunities for women. She is a co-founder of INTERCEDE and ONESTeP. She has been Executive Director of the Working Skills Centre; President of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants and a Director of the Social Planning Council of Metro Toronto and West Toronto Services. She is currently a Director of the Ontario Science Centre. Today, Annamaria continues her leadership role advocating for training for women as the Women’s Representative to the Ontario Training and Adjustment Board.


Phan Dan (Science & Technology)
In 1969, Phan Dam arrived as one of the first fifty Vietnamese in Toronto. He promptly co-founded the Vietnamese Fraternal Association to help this small fledgling community. Like many other foreign-trained professionals, Phan faced barriers to his accreditation and subsequently returned to school to gain his engineering qualifications. At the same time, he became a laboratory demonstrator at Centennial College. In 1977, he was promoted to full Professor. In his 22 years at the college, he has taught more than 27 different subjects and is widely respected by the student body. In 1989, he helped introduce a new environmental protection program at the college. Within the community, he has been a committed volunteer, acting as a mentor to foreign-trained professionals. As President of the Canadian-Vietnamese Parents’ Association (Toronto), Phan continues to promote pride within Vietnamese students and parents.


Vankham Phommavong (SfC Graduate)
Vankham Phommavong escaped from Laos alone at the end of 1979. She made her way to a refugee camp and in April 1980 was sponsored by the Canadian government. After receiving language training, Vankham obtained a position with the Lao Association which she held from 1981 to 1986. Eager to develop her skills, she enrolled in the Skills for Change program and upon graduation, Vankham accepted a position with The Financial Post. Since being hired, Vankham has been promoted twice and is currently a Production Co-ordinator in the Marketing Department.
In addition to her busy schedule as a full-time professional and mother, Vankham is committed to assisting other immigrants and refugees. She has been a board member of the Lao Association for four years and currently is the first female second vice-president.

Her participation and commitment has encouraged other women to become Board members. In 1992, Vankham was honoured with a Volunteer Award by the Ministry of Citizenship. Her future goals include becoming a social worker to serve the growing Lao community.

Return to New Pioneers Home Page

Contact Us
( 416 658-3101 ext. 214
* npa@skillsforchange.org