Connecting scholars, practitioners, and community leaders to strengthen Canada’s nonprofit and social economy sectors.
Founded in 2007, the Association for Nonprofit and Social Economy Research (ANSER) and its French counterpart, l’Association de recherche des organismes sans but lucratif et de l’économie sociale (ARES), is Canada’s national academic association dedicated to advancing research on the nonprofit and social economy sectors.
We provide a neutral, open forum that bridges theory and practice. Our work helps scholars examine the real-world dynamics of third-sector organizations while offering nonprofit leaders and policymakers access to relevant research and expertise.
Advancing education and research related to the nonprofit and social economy sectors.
Innovation, partnership, member-centred practices, reconciliation, inclusion, diversity, equity, and quality, guide our decisions and actions.
Our community includes scholars, educators, students, practitioners, and community leaders from across Canada and beyond. Together, we strive to be a national voice for nonprofit and social economy research by fostering engagement, knowledge creation, innovation, and inclusive dialogue.
We acknowledge that ANSER-ARES members live and work on the ancestral lands or traditional territories of the original inhabitants of the Land, including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis across Turtle Island. These territories include Land (including water) that was agreed to be shared, not surrendered, through treaties with the settler governments, as well as stolen land, which are non-signatory territories. We recognize that settler governments have failed to fulfill the promises made in these treaties. We recognize the mistakes of the past and acknowledge the ongoing colonization of the original inhabitants of the Land and their ancestral lands. We honour their stewardship, resilience, contributions, and enduring presence on these territories.
As a non-profit and social economy network with members within Turtle Island and beyond, we acknowledge our responsibility to cultivate relationships based on respect and understanding. We are committed to supporting the ongoing pursuit of self-determination and reconciliation with the original inhabitants of the Land in Canada. We pledge to learn from Indigenous Peoples’ wisdom and practices that enrich our work and to advocate for social justice, equity, and the rights of all Indigenous Peoples. We also commit to amplifying Indigenous Peoples’ voices, promoting Indigenous-led initiatives, and supporting Indigenous communities toward social, economic, and cultural revitalization.
By fostering a culture of continuous learning, we aim to better our understanding of the histories, traditions, and rights of these peoples and actively participate in decolonizing practices that dismantle systemic barriers and promote justice for the original inhabitants of the Land.
Acknowledging this history and its ongoing impacts is a step toward reconciliation and a commitment to building respectful relationships. ANSER-ARES recognizes that truth and reconciliation is a journey. We are committed to actively seeking opportunities to learn, grow, and deepen the sincerity of our land acknowledgment and relationships with all Indigenous communities and Peoples. Our actions, understanding, and respect for the original inhabitants of Turtle Island and their histories will continue to evolve as we listen, learn, and collaborate in a spirit of respect and solidarity.
ANSER-ARES’s financial statements provide a comprehensive overview of the organization’s activities and finances. Statements for 2024 are available below.
As our fiscal year ends on December 31, 2025, updated financial statements will be published in the new year, in accordance with accounting practices, for review by the Board and membership at our Annual General Meeting during our virtual conference on June 4–5, 2026.
A copy of the ANSER-ARES 2022–2027 Strategic Plan:
The current plan was developed with input from the Board of Directors, committee members, volunteers, and the broader membership. Recognizing that a strategic plan serves as a guide for long-term organizational goals, the Board will begin reviewing and updating the plan in February 2026.
Maryam Mohiuddin Ahmed
Affiliation can be add here
Maryam, Director of the Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience (WISER) is a former human rights lawyer, serial social entrepreneur, and social innovation evangelist. She got her LL.M. in International Law from the University of California, Berkeley, and her PhD in Sustainability Management from the University of Waterloo.
Her work and research center ‘dialogues of wisdoms’ and explorations around alternate ways of knowing, doing, and being to decolonize systems change. Maryam previously co-founded the Social Innovation Lab, a social innovation ecosystem builder in South Asia, and Daftarkhwan, a series of co-working spaces in Pakistan, alongside starting a number of impact-focused initiatives over the last decade. She was also the Vice Secretary General of the International Muslim Jewish conference from 2015-2017 and has a decade of peace-building work under her belt. She is an Acumen Fellow, an International Youth Foundation Laureate Global Fellow, a Wolf Willow Positive Deviants Fellow, and an Earth Law Fellow at the Earth Law Center.
Maryam’s more recent work as a Senior Fellow at Social Innovation Canada centered on creating a decolonial “pedagogy of flipping” in social innovation lab design and practice for housing affordability. As a Senior Consultant at the Center for Social Innovation, Maryam has co-led the creation of CSI’s education strategy, program design, and curricula. Maryam is currently a Post-Doctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo and McMaster University, where she works to promote decolonial approaches to learning, skill-development, social innovation, and finance that center justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility for all. Maryam is also a sessional lecturer at the University of Waterloo, where she teaches discrimination and human rights law, and at OCAD University, where she teaches social innovation and business.
Jessica Alam
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Jasmine teaches Entrepreneurship and Strategy at the Shannon School of Business as an Associate Professor. She also serves as the Academic Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre. Dr. Alam holds a PhD in Economics and Management (University of New Brunswick), Master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and University of London, and a BA from Carleton University. Before joining academia, Dr. Alam worked for the Government of Canada and the private sector.
With a strong interest in social entrepreneurship, Dr. Alam works with start-ups focused on social change and is an Expert in Residence at the Innovation Cluster in Ontario as well as a member of the Wharton Venture Lab. Dr. Alam’s research areas include micro-finance, B Corporations, and Corporate Social Responsibility.
Cathy Barr
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Cathy Barr recently retired from a 35+ year career that spanned both academia and the nonprofit sector. She has a PhD in political science from York University and spent several years as a faculty member at Wilfrid Laurier University. In 2002, she moved to the nonprofit sector, becoming Director of Research for the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (now Imagine Canada), remaining there for 22 years in various positions. While at Imagine Canada, Cathy led dozens of data, research, and knowledge mobilization projects. She was the founding Director of the Insurance & Liability Resource Centre for Nonprofits and led the creation of Imagine Canada’s Standards Program. In later years, she was involved in several national public policy and advocacy initiatives and chaired the Federal Nonprofit Data Coalition. Cathy currently holds positions as Senior Advisor, Research & Data at Imagine Canada and Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University. She continues her involvement with the Federal Nonprofit Data Coalition and co-chairs the External Advisory Committee for Statistics Canada’s Nonprofits and their Diversity Project. She has been a board member of ANSER-ARES since 2017 and served as Treasurer since 2018.
Andrea Chan
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Andrea Chan is a Senior Research Associate at the Troost Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering at the University of Toronto. In her role, she works closely with faculty and graduate students on research examining engineering education, leadership development, interdisciplinary collaboration, equity, and sustainability. Andrea has over 15 years of experience in community-engaged research, with non-profit professional associations, social enterprises, and more broadly with social economy organizations. Andrea has an MA in Public Policy and Administration from Toronto Metropolitan University and a PhD in Adult Education and Community Development from the University of Toronto. She is co-editor of two books, Social Purpose Enterprises: Case Studies for Social Change (2014) and Selling Social: Procurement, Purchasing, and Social Enterprises (2023), both published by University of Toronto Press.
Brenda M. Elias
Affiliation can be add here
With a B.A.Sc. and M.Sc. from the University of Guelph, Brenda, a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Graduate Research Fellow, obtaining a Specialist Certificate in Aging at the University of Michigan. She graduated from the University of Toronto in November 2009 with a PhD in Adult Education and Community Development. Her doctoral study was conducted in Simcoe County on homelessness and aging. Brenda has served as Executive Director of the Canadian Association on Gerontology and as a Director with the Ontario Public Service, where she worked in several Ministries: Transportation, Health, Community and Social Services, Treasury and Economics, Children and Youth Services, Corrections, and the Ontario Women’s Directorate. As CEO of Supportive Housing in Peel, she ran a large nonprofit agency that provided support and safe, affordable housing to residents coping with serious and persistent mental illness. Brenda was hired as the Toronto Site Coordinator for the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s 5-year National Demonstration Research Project on Mental Health and Homelessness, which resulted in a $21 million award. Dr. Elias has also served as a member of the Law Commission of Ontario Advisory Committee, publishing A Framework for the Law as it Affects Older Adults: Advancing Substantive Equality for Older Persons through Law, Policy and Practice, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University (2012). Exploring the Connection between Personal Space and Social Participation, Brenda M. Elias & Suzanne Cook. Journal of Housing for the Elderly, Spring Issue (2016). The Research Handbook on Community Development, Chapter 10: How to Build an Intentional Community, Purdue University Press, USA, (2022).
Linda Jay
Affiliation can be add here
Linda Jay is a retired college instructor with extensive experience working in rural communities on Vancouver Island. I began as a distance education tutor (pre-internet) with my Bachelor of Commerce (U of Sask) and a desire to help make a better world. Over a 30-year career at North Island College, it was my privilege to grow and learn as the school and surrounding communities changed, developed, and expanded. NIC provided a space in the post-secondary horizon where the essential knowledge of ordinary people is often overlooked by academic research. I was able to appreciate the contributions and relationships of many actors and changemakers. It is an honour to be a member of ANSER, and I can offer my best efforts to help the organization in its future endeavours. My credentials include degrees in education and public administration, plus experience with governance and leadership through community development and local government.
Ellen Latimer – Arns
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Ellen holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Calgary, a Technical Writing certificate from Mount Royal University, and a Master of Arts in Leadership from the University of Guelph. This course-based MA culminated in a major research project entitled “A Leader’s Guide to Change from Blocking to Promoting Employee Voice”. The literature review resulted in a checklist that leaders can use to promote and support employees’ desire to speak up.
As a Policy Strategist with the Calgary Police Service (CPS) for the past nine years, Ellen has had many opportunities to express her voice by recommending policy changes to streamline processes and improve comprehension. Before this role, Ellen held several writing and training-related roles with The City of Calgary for over six years, during which she created training strategies and plans with supporting training materials. Job aids, videos, manuals, standard operating procedures, reports, and briefing notes are some of the examples of Ellen’s work. One procedure is still applicable and can be found on Calgary.ca, 13 years after it was developed.
Ellen was seconded to the CPS G7 Summit Planning team, where she was responsible for writing the After-Action Report. The recommendations in this report will inform and influence future events in which CPS is involved.
Ellen Latimer – Arns
Affiliation can be add here
Naureen Mumtaz is an Assistant Professor of Information Design in the Faculty of Business and Communication Studies at Mount Royal University. She holds an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Design Studies and Education and a Master of Design in Visual Communication Design from the University of Alberta. Her research areas are at the intersections of critical design and teaching and learning in higher education. She employs design-based participatory research methods for informing community-responsive curricula and their relation to complex social justice issues, such as intercultural understanding and cultural pedagogies in higher education communities
Catherine Pearl
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Catherine has been a member of the ANSER-ARES board since 2020 and is serving as Co-President. She holds a PhD from the University of Calgary, an MBA from Concordia University, and a BBA from Bishop’s University. Before joining academia, Catherine spent almost twenty years in the private sector working in corporate planning, finance, and marketing. As well, she spent considerable time in the not-for-profit sector as a volunteer, consultant, and President and CEO of a registered charity, which operated as a social enterprise. Because of her diverse training and experience, Catherine has integrated real-life experience across disciplines and sectors into course design and pedagogy. Through experiential learning and community engagement, Catherine’s courses are community-focused in that they support building a change-making culture in the classroom while at the same time creating meaningful social impact in the community.
Currently, Catherine is an Adjunct Professor at Mount Royal University in the Department of International Business, Supply Chain, and Aviation. Prior positions included Associate Professor, Social Innovation; Department Chair, Entrepreneurship, Marketing & Social Innovation; and, most recently, Department Chair, International Business, Supply Chain and Aviation.
Ushnish Sengupta
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Ushnish Sengupta is an Assistant Professor in Community Economic and Social Development at Algoma University. He has a PhD from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, and a degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto. Ushnish Sengupta’s PhD focused on data governance theory for social economy organizations. Dr. Sengupta is an award-winning teacher and has taught courses at post-secondary institutions and at community-based organizations. In addition to his academic experience, he has worked in various private sector, public sector, and social sector organizations, including Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Cedara Software Corp, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, OntarioMD, Ontario Telemedicine Network, and eHealth Ontario. Dr. Sengupta’s research interests include Nonprofits, Cooperatives, Entrepreneurship, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Open Data, Diversity, and the Social and Environmental impact of technology projects. He is currently researching the social and environmental impacts of the adoption of technology in Smart City projects.
Samantha Staves
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Samantha Staves is an Information Designer with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Art from the University of Lethbridge, a Bachelor of Communication in Information Design from Mount Royal University in Calgary, AB, and a Master of Information Studies with a focus on human-computer interaction from McGill University in Montreal, QC. With over 15 years of marketing, communication, and design experience spanning public, healthcare, and professional service and construction sectors, Samantha leverages her expertise to plan the structure, context, and presentation of information so that it is appropriate, useful, and engaging. Samantha is a systems thinker whose interests lie in human-computer interaction and accessible design. She was a member of the Accessible Computing Technology Research Group at McGill – a research lab dedicated to developing technologies that are accessible to a broad range of users, including older adults. Her research focused on the development of technology to increase engagement of family caregivers of palliative cancer patients with available respite care services.
Mary Sweatman
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Mary Sweatman (she/her) is an Associate Professor in Community Development at Acadia University in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia). She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Studies (Acadia), a M.A. (Dalhousie), and a B.Ed. (Trent) and a B.R.M.H. (Acadia). As a community-engagement scholar-practitioner, her teaching and research interests include community-campus partnerships, experiential learning, and equitable rural community spaces. She is currently involved in community action research on rural and small-town homelessness, with the Annapolis Valley Homeless No More, a movement with a logo (Home | homelessnomore.ca). This movement supports non-profits and community organizations that are offering constant support to individuals experiencing or at risk of Homelessness. Homeless No More does the work on their behalf and in partnership with the sector regarding policy advocacy, and community education. Mary’s role is to support research and evaluation, including a rural homelessness enumeration in the region every two years. Mary is also the faculty director of Acadia’s Inclusive Post-Secondary Education initiative, called Axcess Acadia (Axcess Acadia – Community Development (acadiau.ca)). Axcess Acadia is a Post-Secondary education pathway for students with self-identified intellectual or developmental disabilities who cannot access Post-Secondary through standard admission processes.
Mary Sweatman
Affiliation can be add here
This is Keshab’s third year with ANSER-ARES as a board member, and he is a member of ANSER’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Decolonization (DEID) committee. Growing up in a rural village in Western Nepal, Keshab has nine years of work experience in the non-profit sector in Nepal, working for three national non-profit organizations. Besides ANSER, Keshab has volunteered at the Nepali Cultural Society of Manitoba (NCSM), a community organization in Winnipeg, since 2016. A PhD candidate at the University of Manitoba, and through a Mitacs Canada internship, Keshab works with Maawandoon Inc. (an Indigenous consulting firm based in Fort William First Nation) to document traditional land use and occupancy and traditional ecological knowledge of Fort William First Nation, Mishkeegogamang First Nation, and Red Sucker Lake First Nation. Keshab holds a Master’s in Natural Resources Management (2018) from the University of Manitoba, a Master of Science in Agriculture (Conservation Ecology) (2008), and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (2006) from the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. The research methods Keshab is interested in include: GIS mapping and remote sensing, participatory videography, stories/perspectives, and climate modeling for adaptation planning.
Maria Topolnyski
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Maria Topolnyski is a non-profit manager in Calgary, Alberta. She holds a Bachelor of International Relations from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Calgary, AB, with a focus on social and health policy and holistic approaches to food insecurity. Her experience includes strategy development and implementation, program management, research and evaluation, and community building. In her role as manager of the Community Hubs Initiative at the United Way of Calgary and Area (UWCA), Maria employs an asset-based community development framework to support and expand third spaces and social infrastructure in the Calgary community. Concurrently, she is part of UWCA’s Community Impact Strategy work and of the Communities Working Group of the Natural Supports Leadership Table. Maria is interested in the intersection of systems change and asset-based community development – how local initiatives can inform policy and social change, and how systems thinking can support community resiliency.
Aaron Turpin
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Aaron Turpin holds a PhD and MSW from the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto. He is currently transitioning to an Assistant Professorship (tenure-track) at the Department of Human Services and Early Learning, MacEwan University, where he will be the first dedicated faculty member conducting teaching and research for the Human Services Administration program. Aaron has over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit and human services sector, supporting diverse groups in a variety of positions, including leading research and evaluation projects with community-based health and mental health organizations. Aaron is a passionate and dedicated scholar in the social entrepreneurship and social enterprise field and has co-authored over 20 manuscripts examining related topics in the human services. His work explores the development and implementation of innovative, market-based approaches to community empowerment, focusing specifically on organizational dynamics (such as management competencies and funding models) that promote equity using a socially entrepreneurial lens.
ANSER-ARES is a working board, which means we are a team of volunteers who work collaboratively to deliver the Association’s mission and vision. Each Board member is expected to volunteer and actively participate on at least one committee of the board. Please find a current list of our committees and their members.
Governance and Operations Committee
Ushnish Sengupta, Co-President
Catherine Pearl, Co-President
Linda Jay, Secretary
Cathy Barr, Treasurer
Communications Committee
Sam Staves (Co-chair)
Maria Topolnyski (Co-chair)
Catherine Pearl
Ellen Latimer Arns
Jasmine Alam
Tinuke Chineme
Conference Committee
Cathy Barr (Co-chair)
Aaron Turpin (Co-chair)
Catherine Pearl
Ushnish Sengupta
Jasmine Alam
Ellen Latimer – Arns
Mary Sweatman
Keshab Thapa
Naureen Mumtaz
Brenda Elias
Andrea Chan
Maryam Mohiuddin Ahmed
Maria Topolnyski
Samantha Staves
Linda Jay
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Decolonization Committee
Maryam Mohiuddin Ahmed (Co-chair)
Anne Armstrong (Co-chair)
Keshab Thapa
Ushnish Sengupta
Naureen Mumtaz
Soke Nwauche
Awards Committee
Mary Sweatman (Chair)
Brenda Elias
Andrea Chan
Keith Seel
Journal Management Committee
Andrea Chan (Chair)
Mary Sweatman
Aaron Turpin
Keith Seel
Laurie Mook (Editor-in-Chief)
Marco Alberio (Editor)
