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- Our Team -

Our team is made up of dedicated professionals and community members who are deeply committed to improving care and outcomes for people living with Parkinson’s disease.

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Board of Directors

Armand Gilks

-Chair, Board of Directors

A Realtor by profession and the Chair and face of the World Parkinson’s Program, incorporating his network to create key partnerships with community leaders like Mary Ng and John Tory. Armand actively supports the WPP connecting with various organizations that help further the work we are doing.

Nadeem Hussain

-Outgoing President

Nadeem Hussain is an experienced leader in the charity and corporate sectors, with a background in strategic management, cybersecurity technology, governance, programme delivery, and fundraising in the Canada and abroad. He works as a head of cybersecurity at Grant Thornton LLP.

Shabbir Razakazee

-Executive Director

Shabbir Razakazee, a Solutions Executive at Sphera Solutions, dedicates his free time to assisting the WPP as one of our executive directors. Shabbir has helped create the entire WPP website and continues to provide key marketing materials to further the mission of the organization.

Shane McPhee

-Volunteer Director

Shane McPhee is a volunteer Director and Member with the World Parkinson’s Program. Living with Parkinson’s, since being diagnosed in late 2011, Shane offers life experiences and perspectives, to discussions and fundraising projects, while promoting the work of the WPP.

Nitish Sharma

-Chair, International Affairs Committee

Nitish Sharma, an Associate Vice President at Instar Asset Management Inc., leads efforts as the Chair of WPP's International Affairs Committee by managing the global medication donation projects to help improve the quality of life for patients with Parkinson's disease. Nitish also works towards expanding partnerships globally with several organizations.

Faiz Mohyuddin

-Treasurer & Director Finance

Mr. Faiz Mohyuddin is a seasoned finance professional and has experience in different financial aspects for more than 35 years. He completed his Bachelor in Commerce with Honors and Masters in Commerce from Hailey College, University of the Punjab. He is a CPA from Illinois USA and is a Chartered Accountant from England & Wales. He is a qualified CFO from the Canadian Securities Institute.

Kenneth Chin

-Director, Advisory Board

Kenneth Chin was born in Hong Kong. He attended high school in Toronto and graduated from the University of Western Ontario.

After his graduation, he went back to Hong Kong and began his career as a Sales Manager, leading the distribution of Intel Semiconductor products. He then decided to immigrate to Canada. He started running his business in computer distribution as well as business consulting in Toronto. For the past decade, he also headed and operated a tutoring school for students of all ages. Within the community, he has held and is still currently holding different leadership roles in a variety of organizations. He is the Past President and Secretary of the Canada Chinese Computer Association and CCCA Foundation; three terms Past President of Markham Unionville Rotary Club; current and past District Area Governor of the Rotary International; the York Region Men Of Honour Outstanding Community Service Award Winner; Chair of the Food Drive Markham Unionville Rotary Club; Ontario Central-Local Health Integration Network Community Nominations Committee; founding Director of Canada Hong Kong Alliance, Director of York Region Parents’ Association and Youth and Parents Association of Markham. Last but not least, currently he is also the Advisor for the World Parkinson’s Program.

Aftab Khan

-Director, Advisory Board

I’m Aftab Khan, currently serving as Director of Aster Funds Limited and Dalton Mining for the Middle East & Asia. With over thirty years of experience in the upstream oil and gas industry, I have held various technical, sales, and management positions, including VP Operations, Country Manager, and Business Development Manager.

My extensive career has covered wide geographical regions and involved managing regional and country-level business operations, resource management, team building, business strategies, and successful project implementation. For eleven years, I served as Registrar with the Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (PGO), where I gained substantial experience in regulatory functions within the professional geoscience domain. My role encompassed enforcement and compliance, handling complaints and discipline, and coordinating with geoscience departments across all Ontario universities. I bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise in both the regulatory and operational aspects of the geoscience and oil and gas industries, making me well-equipped to contribute valuable insights and leadership to any organization.

Omotola Thomas

-Director, Advisory Board

World Parkinson’s Program (WPP) has the pleasure of working with Omotola Thomas in African regions. Omotola had raised the funds for WPP with a goal of helping people with Parkinson’s access to free medications.

Omotola was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2016, at 35. She is currently serving as a board member for the World Parkinson Coalition; a patient advocate for IPDGC-Africa; a patient advisory group member for the Community for Research Involvement and Support for people with Parkinson’s (CRISP) at Kings Hospital; and as an ambassador for the 6th World Parkinson Congress. She is also a founding member of PD Avengers – an international group of advocates determined to end Parkinson’s.

Raveena Rajasingham

-Director, Advisory Board

Raveena Rajasingham is a highly accomplished professional with a wealth of experience in both the clinical and academic spheres.

She works as National Cardiology Clinical and Device Specialist. She is also a seasonal lecturer for the Faculty of Health Disciplines at Athabasca University. Raveena is passionate about helping the community here and around the world and has been involved in many projects for over 20 years. She is currently serving as a Youth Education Chairman for the Royal Canadian Legion Pickering, and recently appointed as a Zone Youth Education Chair. She is the founder and serves as a community expert and consultant for the Ajax and Pickering Public Library Science Fair. She has and continues to work with homeless shelters and hosting blood pressure seminars for seniors throughout the region. Her contribution to the community has been recognized by Town of Ajax and City of Pickering. She initiated and executed the opening of WPP chapter in Jaffna Sri Lanka June of 2023.

Kelly Walters

-Operations Manager

Kelly Walters joined WPP at the beginning of 2023 to manage Operations for the organization. With a strong background in administration, logistics, and volunteer management, Kelly found a great community that is supportive and engaged.

Kelly is a certified Project Manager, holds a diploma in Public Relations, and recently obtained credentials in Sustainability Leadership. She is thrilled to be a part of WPP and provide services and support to people with Parkinson’s Disease here in Canada as well as around the world.

Nirmala Armstrong

-Director, Advisory Board

For the past 29 years, Nirmala Armstrong has been bringing a sense of passion, dedication, and expertise to her clients. Practicing Family, Criminal and Civil law with her office in the City of Markham, Nirmala is a well-respected professional.

Nirmala received her LL.B from Queen’s University in 1993, and was called to the bar in 1995. She then successfully obtained a Masters in Law from Osgood Hall in 2010. Prior to her studies in Law, Nirmala completed her Bachelor of Arts degree, specializing in Political Science in 1990. Nirmala contributed to the legal community as a participant of the Item Writing Sessions at the Law Society of Upper Canada and as an instructor at the Bar Admissions in Family Law. In addition to her accomplishments professionally, she has also proven to be a dynamic individual within her community. Nirmala is a former Regional Councillor for the City of Markham. As the recipient of the Queens Golden Jubilee in 2002 and Queens Diamond Jubilee in 2012, and the Queens Platinum Jubilee in 2023, Nirmala has been recognized for going above and beyond fulfilling her civic duty. As the Former Chair of the Markham Arts Council, Former President of the Markham Unionville Rotary Club and the Founder and President of the Wismer Ratepayers Association, she is a proven leader within the community. In addition to her many leadership roles, she serves as a board member for many other organizations within the local community and is widely lauded for her ability to engage all types of individuals from youth to professionals to seniors.

Michael Costa-Parke

-Advisory Board Member

Michael is a Venture Investment Associate at Panaxium in Toronto, Ontario. Panaxium is a medical device company building a precision neurostimulation device for stroke recovery.

Prior to Panaxium, Michael was a Venture Manager at the Creative Destruction Lab, a global startup accelerator building pre-Series A companies tackling society's greatest challenges. At CDL, Michael managed the Neuroscience stream, a program supporting the commercialization of cutting-edge drugs, devices, and software tools for treating neurological conditions. His team was tasked with recruiting promising startups for the program; recruiting leading scientists, investors, and industry experts to serve as startup mentors; and managing the overall planning and delivery of the program. While leading the recruitment of 20 promising startups for the 2023/24 program year, Michael was recognized by his colleagues as a top-five venture recruiter across the CDL recruiter network. Before joining CDL, Michael worked in a variety of research and project management roles. He worked as a biomedical engineer at Glendor, a medical imaging startup; as a clinical project manager at Toronto Western Hospital, in the Movement Disorders Clinic; and as a research assistant at McMaster’s Children’s Hospital. Michael received his bachelor’s degree in Medical and Biological Physics from McMaster University and his Master of Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto.