Gateway Collaborators
Our team is committed to positively transforming the experience of immigrants to Canada.
Our Leadership:
Development Partners:
Gateway Partner Advisory Council
The Gateway Partner Advisory Council (GPAC) is comprised of seven partners that provides advice, input and feedback on strategies, options and analytical frameworks in the development and execution of Gateway.
Gateway Executive Committee
The Gateway Executive Committee (GEC) provides strategic direction and governance decision-making. The GEC works to ensure funders and Gateway Partner Agency Council (GPAC) are aligned on vision, strategy, objectives, and activities.
Shirley Philips
Rhona DelFrari
Chandy Mung
Our Core Funder
The initial Gateway project is funded primarily by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) as a five-year pilot project. Immigrant Services Calgary was awarded funding from the IRCC to manage and facilitate the implementation of Gateway, in collaboration with Southern Alberta agencies.
Our Key Technology Development Partner
Gateway is powered by “K2: Pathway to Settlement”, a custom configuration of Salesforce, the well known cloud-based Client Relationship Management (CRM) technology. K2 was developed, with funding from IRCC, as a Standardized Needs Assessment and Referral pilot project by the YMCA of Southwestern Ontario (YSWO) Settlement Services team. The K2 pilot has been operating in the Windsor-Essex region in Ontario since March 2020 with a collaboration of agencies branded the “WE Value Partnership”.
Our Supporters
Thank you to the Calgary Foundation and Cenovus Energy for their transformational gifts and their continued support of the Gateway vision.
Shirley Philips
Retired Executive Director for The Arthritis Society Prairie Division
Shirley Philips recently retired as the Executive Director for The Arthritis Society Prairie Division. She has more than 30 years of education, volunteer service, board governance and non-profit high-level management experience. A graduate of the University of Toronto and she has dedicated her career to education, philanthropy and volunteerism.
Among her many experiences, she has been a teacher in the public education system, worked as an instructor/manager of ESL and continuing education programs in Calgary at the YWCA and with the Edmonton Catholic School Board. Her executive experience includes serving as Executive Director for the Mennonite Centre for Newcomers in Edmonton, Volunteer Manager for the Calgary Centre for Non-Profit Management, President and CEO of Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta and Executive Director of the Bethany Care Foundation.
In addition, she has served as board member and board chair for several social service including CCIS, Momentum, St. Stephen’s College, and Discovery House. Shirley is married and has 3 adult children. She and her husband enjoy travel, live theatre, music and the mountains of western Canada.
Hyder Hassan
CEO of Immigrant Services Calgary
Hyder Hassan is the CEO of Immigrant Services Calgary and a leader of collaborative initiatives that help empower our communities – unleashing the economic, social, and civic potential of newcomers and immigrants that have come to call Calgary home. His distinct 15 years’ leadership experience with various Canadian and Albertan financial institutions holds him as an influential contributor to the Calgary community.
His motto of Service above Self is his drive for engaging in community volunteering roles like the Rotary Club, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, Junior Achievement, and Alberta Health Services. He has received various accolades like the Calgary top 40 under 40 award, Calgary Herald’s compelling Calgarian, and Immigrants of Distinction award.
He also serves as a board of director for The Alberta Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies. Starting the non-profit charity FullSoul in Uganda, he is a champion of diversity and inclusion and drives social compassion by facilitating equal opportunities for the vulnerable population.
Rhona DelFrari
Vice-President of Sustainability & Engagement for Cenovus Energy
Rhona DelFrari is the Vice-President of Sustainability & Engagement for Cenovus Energy. She’s responsible for enhancing Cenovus’s reputation and communicating and interacting with internal and external stakeholders, including Indigenous communities. A key part of her role is ensuring sustainability considerations are embedded in the company’s strategy.
Previous to her role at Cenovus, Rhona spent several years as a journalist in television newsrooms across the country. Rhona has a combined honours degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Carleton University and has earned a Global Energy Executive MBA through the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary.
Rhona’s volunteer activities over the years have focused primarily on working with organizations that support new Canadians as well as those that empower women to move out of poverty.
Chandy Mung
Senior Manager, Cenovus Energy
As a Senior Manager in Corporate Planning, Chandy Mung leads Downstream planning at Cenovus Energy where he is responsible for the completion of the company’s refining, trading, and marketing long range business plan and annual budget.
Chandy has over 15 years of oil & gas experience, holding key roles in accounting, FP&A, assurance, and corporate planning. During this time, he has been involved in several of the industry’s largest transactions, and most recently, the merger of Cenovus Energy and Husky Energy.
Born in Cambodia, Chandy and his family immigrated to Calgary, Canada when he was five years old. He graduated from the University of Calgary and is a Chartered Professional Accountant. Chandy obtained his Certified General Accountant designation while starting his career at Bell Canada when the telecommunication industry was being deregulated.
Neeraj Gupta
Chief Strategy Officer, Attabotics
Neeraj is Chief Strategy Officer at Attabotics and an angel investor. He is an expert in global startup ecosystem building, strategy, startup investment, intellectual property consulting, innovation management, and technology commercialization. He is also a chief advisor for technology and innovation investments with Invest Alberta.
Neeraj has been part of international startup ecosystems and investment funds for many years, mentoring over 100 start-ups globally. He is also an angel investor in a few start-ups. Neeraj is author of “Creating And Safeguarding A Strong Intellectual Property Portfolio,” published in 2015.
Neeraj is committed to community programs and volunteering that support diversity, inclusion, and equality initiatives. He is also passionate about building a strong startup ecosystem in Alberta. Neeraj is on the board of Calgary Chambers and Alberta IoT Association. Neeraj holds a bachelor’s degree in Material Science from IIT (India), master’s degree in mathematics from KTH (Sweden), and PGPX from UCLA Anderson School of Management (USA) in General Management.