Paper Kite Children's Foundation :: Give Dreams Flight
Leadership Team
Board of Director
Tarik Kadri
Board Chair, President & Founder
Tarik Kadri’s experience with orphans in Bihar, India inspired him to found Paper Kite to ensure the children have full and healthy childhoods that prepare them for adult life.
He has extensive professional leadership experience including volunteer recruitment, and allocating and achieving budgets. Tarik has been a Big Brother through the Big Brothers program in Canada and has coordinated Rainbows, a program to assist children who are grieving due to a loss through death or divorce.
Professionally, Tarik is a civil-servant specializing in diversity and social justice and he is a registered social worker. He has achieved a Bachelors degree in Philosophy, a Bachelors of Social Work and is a Master of Social Work candidate at the University of Toronto.
Isabel Estañ
Board Secretary and Vice-President
Isabel is an Industrial Designer who thrives on creating memorable experiences for users through design. This passion has led her to pursue a means of creating truly memorable experiences in the lives of those in need. She believes that a fulfilling childhood is the building block for a rewarding and soaring future. Isabel is dedicated to ensuring that every child has access to the childhood they deserve.
Angela Wong
Board Member
Angela is deeply passionate about social justice issues relating to poverty and human rights especially in regards to labour rights and their right to health. Angela has been with Paper Kite since April 2010 and she was drawn to Paper Kite because she learned that the organization actually organizes an annual trip in which volunteers fly to Bihar and spend the funds accordingly – thus, promoting accountability and transparency to its donors. Angela has a Master’s of Arts in Asia Pacific Policy Studies from the University of British Columbia and she is currently studying law at the University of Alberta.
Dr. Sukhi Muker
Board Member
Dr. Sukhi experienced many hardships as a young child when his family migrated to Canada. At the age of 18 he was a high school dropout and immersed in a life of crime, violence and drugs. After a near death experience Dr. Sukhi made a commitment to dedicate his life to understanding universal laws of life. Today he serves humanity as an international keynote speaker, author and healer.
As a student of life he has studied over 250 different disciplines and formally obtained degrees in Exercise Science, Kinesiology, Psychology and a Doctorate of Chiropractic graduating on the Dean’s list with several honours and distinctions. Having been to India several times and spending a year traveling throughout the country he has experienced first hand the challenges and hardships children face.
Over the past 20 years he’s been deeply inspired to commit his life to the service of others. With the Paper Kite Children’s Foundation he’s dedicated to helping these orphans and especially young girls break the cycle of poverty and fulfill their deepest aspirations
Jean-Claude Lizé
Board Member
Jean-Claude Lizé is currently Director of Programs at a human rights organization based in Ottawa. He has a background in human rights, law and mediation. He has several years experience working in the NGO sector and in the field. While living in southern Serbia, Jean-Claude worked for a grassroots organization dedicated to women’s rights, children’s rights and the development of civil society.
Jean-Claude is dedicated to the aims and goals of the Paper Kite Children’s Foundation and is committed to working with a great team of volunteers from across Canada.
Abhishaek Rawal
Board Member
Abhishaek is a recent business graduate and has a heavy interest in corporate and humanitarian law. Having lived in India for 5 years Abhishaek has seen the issues that Paper Kite is trying to deal with firsthand. He is an active volunteer in the community and has gathered valuable experience by acting as a recruitment and selection consultant for Access Probono.
He also works with Global Agents for Change as an HR assistant and workshop coordinator. Furthermore he works with The Canadian Red Cross as a resource leader (among other roles) as well as The Vancouver Anti-genocide and Human Rights group in various capacities. Professionally, he will be starting work with TD Bank in a client service role and is looking to enter law school in the near future. His passion and enthusiasm for Paper Kite’s cause will ensure that he serves the organization well.
Chester Cheang
Board Member
Chester is based in Toronto and currently serves as Director, Treasury and Business Strategy for a leading global manager of hotel and resort properties. He had previously worked in the investment banking group of a major international bank and in the financial advisory and assurance groups of a Big Four accounting firm. Chester is a Chartered Accountant and received an honours degree in business administration from the Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario. He maintains an interest in corporate governance, public policy, and not-for-profit issues.
Amanda Rogers
Advisory Board Member
Amanda first became interested in social justice issues as a young worker in the tourist industry in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Her early exposure to inequity and unfairness—both in the workplace and in the greater community—ignited a life-long interest in advancing causes which seek to make the world fairer for everyone. Professionally, Amanda does this as a union-side labour lawyer with a downtown Vancouver law firm.
Michael Ernest Sweet
Advisory Board Member
Michael has over fifteen years of experience working in the community as an educator, journalist and activist. He is the founder of Learning for a Cause, a non-profit student press, and the author or editor of over a dozen books spanning multiple genres. A recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching, Michael has also been inducted into the Teaching Hall of Fame in the USA as well as both the World’s Who’s Who and Who’s Who in Canada for educational innovation. Michael holds degrees in the humanities, education and journalism. He divides his time between Montreal and New York City.
Officers
Rosy Rumpal
Executive Director (Acting)
Rosy joins Paper Kite with a diverse background of professional and volunteer experiences. She is from Toronto and in addition to her Commerce degree she has a dual JD/LLB law degree. Throughout the years Rosy has dedicated herself to various social causes ranging from assisting at-risk youth and young offenders to advocating with international charitable organizations. After 5 years of being a successful criminal defence lawyer with her own practice, Rosy decided to devote more time to her passions and she has been working with various non-profits since. She is interested in transitioning her legal background within the realm of social enterprise and international development and is dedicated to contributing to significant change in this world. Currently, Rosy is completing an internship with Kiva as a Development Intern at their head office in San Francisco. Rosy strongly believes that in order to alleviate global poverty, it is important to not only create awareness of social issues, but to actively engage local communities as well.
Nancy Lum
Finance Officer
Nancy joined Paper Kite in September 2011. She was introduced to Paper Kite by a friend and soon learned that the foundation is 100% volunteer operated. She is inspired by the dedicated volunteers who work hard year-round, despite their busy lives, to raise money to improve the situation for the children in Bihar through Paper Kite’s four programs.
Nancy is a Chartered Accountant and currently works in an accounting firm in downtown Vancouver. She obtained a Bachelors of Commerce with honours from the University of British Columbia. Nancy has also studied abroad in Belgium and recently worked in Singapore.
Sophia Montero
Volunteer Officer (Vancouver)
Sophia is the Volunteer Officer for Vancouver. She is passionate about education, youth leadership, and community development issues both locally and overseas. In 2010, she had the chance to live, work, and travel in India where she witnessed first hand the barriers that people face in accessing basic education and health care, clean water, and proper nutrition. Her experience in India and her interest in development work led her to Paper Kite. Sophia holds a Bachelors of Education with a focus on International and Global Education from Simon Fraser University. She currently works for a grassroots non-profit organization that serves the Hastings-Sunrise community in Vancouver.
Xilonem Lopez
Volunteer Officer (Toronto)
Xilonem is the Volunteer Officer for the Toronto area. She graduated from York University with a BA in International Development, and currently works in the financial industry where her organizational and communication skills are constantly called into use. Her passion for international development work led her to the Paper Kite Foundation. Paper Kite’s volunteer-based structure, four key programs and methods of delivery appealed to her preference for transparent grassroots organizations. Xilonem is excited to work with Paper Kite in empowering the children of Bihar to reach their dreams.
Lori Scholtz
Volunteer Officer (Ottawa)
Lori Scholtz is the Volunteer Officer for the Ottawa area. She has worked in the healthcare management field for fifteen years, since graduating from the University of Alberta with a Masters of Health Services Administration. Lori has been an active volunteer/fundraiser in her community for many years, and enjoys volunteer work that has a positive impact on the lives of others. She has a passion for health promotion, and her belief that every child deserves a healthy childhood with proper nutrition, clean water, healthcare, and education is congruent with Paper Kite’s four programs. Lori is dedicated to helping Paper Kite fulfill its mission in improving the quality of life for the orphaned children in Bihar state and ultimately preparing them for success in life.
