Angel Advisory Board

Tamara Bahry

— Angel Advisory Board Member

Tamara Bahry is a philanthropist and celebrated Canadian photographer, best known for her signature contemporary portraits and Muskoka Fine Art Water Collections. Ms. Bahry’s tireless commitment to issues involving women and children and the Arts have greatly impacted and improved the lives of the Toronto community. She has served on many boards and committees, including The Covenant House, Boost Butterfly Ball, Baycrest Hospital, TIFF Gala, Partners in Art, National Ballet of Canada and Merry Go Round Children’s Foundation.

In addition, she is the Co-Founder of Commission Yourself, a movement to end sex trafficking. Tamara is passionate about family and is a mother of three and stepmother to three beautiful children. Prior to becoming a photographer, Ms. Bahry enjoyed a highly successful career in finance, serving as Vice president of Clearview Investments for over 6 years. In her free time, she can be found pursuing her love of food, wine, yoga, travel and most of all fashion.

Kirstine Stewart

— Angel Advisory Board Member

Kirstine Stewart is Head, Shaping the Future of Media, Entertainment and Information and Member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum, a pinnacle position in her career that she just couldn't turn down despite it requiring a move to Switzerland as her husband, actor Zaib Shaikh, moved to Hollywood to take on the plum diplomat position as Canada's consul-general to Los Angeles - fortunately, they are both tech savvy and can make it work. Instead, she stepped down as President and CRO of TribalScale in November 2018 where she was a top-tier business and media executive responsible for TribalScale’s continued growth and international expansion. She lead TribalScale’s operations, revenue, and sales strategies, all while actively fostering collaboration and innovation at TribalScale, and with its client partners. Kirstine brought revolutionary and diverse ideas to TribalScale, contributing to leadership thinking, and inspired at all levels of the organization.

Before TribalScale, Kirstine was the Chief Strategy Officer at Diply. During her time at Diply, the company surged to to the top. Diply was named an EY Young Entrepreneur of the Year, won NextMedia’s Digi Awards Company of the Year, and ranked first in Deloitte’s Fast-50 Tech Growth Companies in Canada. Before Diply, Kirstine was VP of Media at Twitter. She led Twitter’s expansion into Canada, and oversaw North American partnerships across all verticals. Kirstine was the Executive Vice President of CBC’s English services, and under Kirstine’s leadership, the CBC ranked number one as Consumer Brand of the Year, achieved its highest ad revenue growth in over 20 years and resumed its position as #1 Canadian television broadcaster. Before joining the CBC, Kirstine was the Senior VP of Programming at Alliance Atlantis. She oversaw HGTV, the Food Network, National Geographic, BBC Canada, and other renowned channels. Kirstine’s career is filled with inspiring ‘firsts,’ and epitomizes groundbreaking success at every stage.

Kirstine earned her BA from the University of Toronto, graduated from the Harvard Kennedy Global Leadership in the 21st Century Program, as well as the University of Oxford’s Transformational Leadership Program. She sits on the board of Kognitiv, the Score, and WOW Entertainment. She is also a member of the DMZ Advisory Council, and a mentor for theBIGPush and #MoveTheDial. Kirstine’s book "Our Turn", published by Random House in 2015, is a national bestseller geared towards leadership in today’s world.

Jennifer Stranzl

— Angel Advisory Board Member

Jennifer Stranzl is a high octane, seasoned executive with an entrepreneurial streak and a love of all that is digital, cutting-edge, market-disruptive, and game-changing. She has expertise in both brand and digital marketing, and has built e-commerce businesses across a number of industries and also in entrepreneurial ventures in the U.S., Europe, and Canada.

She has been a key player at several digital e-commerce start-ups and at a host of prestigious brands including as Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations at Dow Jones, where she appeared on the Wall Street Journal masthead, as well as at Sears Canada, L’Oreal Paris, Procter & Gamble, and earlier in her career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs & Co. in New York.

For many years, Jennifer has provided support for programs to end domestic violence and assist disadvantaged women. An avid believer in teaching kindness as a key part of education, Jennifer believes Canadians excel in this and thus are uniquely positioned to offer the gift of kindness to the world.

Jennifer earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, and a Bachelor of Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Shaun Francis

— Angel Advisory Board Member

Shaun Francis is the Chair and CEO of Medcan, with headquarters in Toronto. Established more than 30 years ago, Medcan is a global leader in assessing their clients’ overall well-being and inspiring them to live well for life. In 2018 Medcan was recognized for overall business performance and sustained growth with the prestigious Canada’s Best Managed Companies designation, presented by Deloitte, CIBC, Canadian Business, Smith School of Business, TMX Group and MacKay CEO Forums and published by The National Post. This marks Medcan’s eighth year on the list and the second in the coveted Platinum status. Medcan joins a select group of Canadian companies that are noted for fearless leadership, a culture of teamwork, and a relentless focus on innovation.

Previously, Shaun was the Executive Chair of New York City’s EHE, the recognized American leader in preventive medicine, and one of the founding employees and Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for Dallas-based Broadlane, Inc., a leading business process outsourcer for more than 900 American hospitals. In 2010, Broadlane was sold to MedAssets for US$850MM. Prior to joining Broadlane, Shaun worked for Morgan Stanley’s New York and Toronto investment banking divisions where he managed equity, debt and mergers and acquisitions transactions.

Shaun serves on the board of the Fraser Institute and is the Chair of the True Patriot Love Foundation, which he founded to benefit Canada’s military families. He previously served on the boards of the Invictus Games Canada, which he collaborated with the Royal Foundation to bring to Toronto; the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR); Toronto Pearson Airport; Upper Canada College; and he was the Chair of both the Ontario Chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and the PC Ontario Fund.  In 2013, he was asked by Canada’s Minister of Veterans Affairs to Chair the Veteran Transition Advisory Council (VTAC). The Council was comprised of Canadian business leaders and assisted the Minister in drafting strategic recommendations for the transition of service personnel to the private sector.

The Globe and Mail featured Shaun as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2008, when he selected by a national panel. In 2010, Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Walter Natynczyk, awarded Shaun the Canadian Forces Medallion for Distinguished Service, the military’s highest recognition for a civilian. In 2011, Shaun was the convocation speaker at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario where he received his Honorary Doctor of Laws from Canada’s Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay.  In 2012 he was selected by Toronto Life as one of Toronto’s top 50 most influential people. In 2013 he was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by Senator Linda Frum and the Minister of Veterans Affairs Steven Blaney. In 2014 he was awarded the Veterans Affairs Commendation by Minister Julian Fantino for contributing in an exemplary manner to the care and well-being of veterans. In 2015 he was recognized by Toronto’s Junior Achievement chapter with their Bold Thinkers Inspiring Leaders award for taking risks and challenging convention. In 2016 he was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross by Canada’s Governor General.

Shaun enjoys endurance sports and in 2012 co-led an expedition to Everest Base Camp and the summit of Island Peak, a 6,189-metre Himalayan Peak adjacent to Mount Everest. The expedition featured 12 injured Canadian soldiers raising funds and awareness for the True Patriot Love Foundation and injured veterans. It was the subject of a national prime time documentary named March to the Top airing on the CBC in February 2013. In 2014 Shaun co-led another True Patriot Love Expedition to the Magnetic North Pole, which was also the subject of a national prime time documentary on the History Channel. In 2017 Shaun completed his third True Patriot Love Expedition retracing the route of Canadian explorer George Douglas in the Northwest Territories to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary as a nation.

Simon & Schuster published Shaun’s first book, Eat, Move, Think: The Path to a Healthier, Stronger Happier You, which debuted as a national bestseller in 2018.

Shaun earned his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science with honors and merit from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland after he received a nomination from President Reagan to attend as a Canadian. While there he also earned a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Canadian Army.

Shaun is married to Stacy Francis and is father to Robert, William, and Christopher. Born and raised in Canada, he has lived with his family in the United States, the United Kingdom and France, and has traveled extensively throughout the world.

 

Candice Best

— Angel Advisory Board Member

Candice Best has over 20 years of public relations and marketing communications experience. She started her career with Toronto’s Bay Street stalwarts in the financial and telecom sectors, including Tier 1 companies—CIBC, Ernst & Young, Microcell and Bell. Near a decade into her corporate career, Candice left to pursue leadership of her own boutique PR agency—BEST PR—proving to be a successful entrepreneur, focused on launching and elevating profile for a range of lifestyle brands and personalities across North America. Her work has included management and execution of various high-profile events from the Toronto International Film Festival to charity galas, and PR activities on behalf of notable names in the music and film industries. 

Her experience with luxury goods, her deep connection to well-known personalities and influencers, and her regular commentary as a PR expert for various media outlets, made her the ideal fit in the subsequent transition to the executive role as President of Siren Communications—a Canadian travel and tourism PR agency. Highlight accomplishments at Siren from generating national cover stories, to leading sales-prospecting events, developing partnerships and expanding traction with broadcast and digital media, as well as mentoring staff and managing professional development, helped to meet and exceed communications goals for brands such as Air Canada rouge, Air Canada Vacations, Barbados Tourism, Exclusive Resorts, One & Only Resorts, Turkish Airlines, and various luxury hotel brands. 

Following two years at Siren, Candice re-launched BEST PR, where she offers strategic communications counsel, management and execution across Canada and through the U.S, for a mix of clients in industries that include fashion & beauty, design & decor, health & wellness, and travel & tourism. Media relations, creative launches, brand collaborations and sponsorships, ambassador and inner circle programs, anchored by overall brand strategy and positive market positioning, are core strengths. Prestige positioning—particularly among nimble small-to-mid-sized companies led by innovative entrepreneurs—is a common theme across the portfolio of represented brands, all with a focus on “living well”. Across the client base, there is a genuine commitment to the best quality goods and services, to improve lives and ameliorate lifestyle, whether for-profit or non-profit.

Candice is often engaged by global communications agencies to offer strategic advice, amplify new business pitch preparation, and for short-term project needs for corporate communications initiatives. She is a go-to resource and PR commentator for broadcast and print media. 

A track record of devoted contribution and shared expertise over two-plus decades to the not-for-profit sector includes work with: Children’s Aid Foundation; Girls E-Mentorship (GEM); Kids Help Phone; Lung Cancer Canada; Rethink Breast Cancer; St. Michael’s Hospital; Toronto Botanical Gardens; and Toronto East General Hospital (now Michael Garron Hospital). Cause-related PR to drive awareness and raise funds have been hallmarks of success. Additionally, Candice has lent her insights to some of the country’s leading arts and cultural organizations. Most notably, she played a pivotal role in the early development of young patrons’ programs in Toronto, Canada for the Royal Ontario Museum and the Canadian Opera Company, and consulted to similar groups in the nascent phase for the Art Gallery of Ontario, National Ballet of Canada and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. 

In 2018, Candice made the commitment to lend her PR skills to developing the world’s largest movement of kindness with Angel Love, and its partners; and through their mission, support the organization’s charities of choice.

Based in Toronto, Candice has worked on PR programs in multiple Canadian cities coast-to-coast, and also has experience in select U.S. cities including Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, and San Diego.

 

Ryan Emberley

— Angel Advisory Board Member

One of Canada's most sought-after event photographers, Ryan Emberley shoots top-tier press launches, celebrity red carpets, galas, and private functions both nationally and internationally.  Ryan has shot official state dinners for the Prime Minister’s Office of Canada, travelled with amfAR around the world to capture their star-studded galas, and recently photographed a private event with Michelle Obama in New York.

The Toronto Star dubbed Ryan the "younger-gen’s go-to snapper” and the National Post included him in an article about millennial entrepreneurship. His photos have appeared in Vogue and W Magazine, among others. Ryan has also shown three times at the Contact Photography Festival.

In addition to his love of photography, Ryan has worked on numerous non-profit and charitable initiatives.  He’s on the Events Committee for the Canadian Opera Company’s Operanation fundraiser, and on the Advisory Board for Arts & Minds Canada.

A graduate of Ryerson’s School of Journalism, Ryan began his career as a producer with E! News, eventually rising to become its head writer in Canada.  Ryan made the switch to photography and entrepreneurship after meeting another photographer at a cocktail party in 2009.