Selga Apse (she/her) joined the Weston Family Foundation in May 2022, providing parental leave coverage for Crystal Braganza.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Selga worked with the Canadian Olympic Foundation where she spent almost a decade building its fundraising programs, managing operations, launching it’s endowment fund and supporting 52 National Sport Organizations with grants and programs.  She also supported Team Canada athletes and coaches directly serving at four Olympic Games in Brazil, South Korea, Japan, and China.

Selga began her career at The National Ballet of Canada working in all areas of fundraising, and following that at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Laura Arlabosse-Stewart (she/her) joined the Weston Family Foundation as Director of Communications in July 2022.

Before joining the Foundation, she worked at Habitat for Humanity as Director of Communications, implementing integrated strategic external and internal communication initiatives. She also provided senior communications support and advice for the executive leadership team, including key messages, media training, speaking notes, presentations, and town halls.

Laura has experience building strong relationships and supporting complex federations with streamlined storytelling, branding, issue management, and crisis communication. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Political Science from Concordia University.

Crystal joined the Weston Family Foundation in 2014 and since then has held various roles as a member of the Operations team. Most recently, prior to joining the Foundation, Crystal worked in operations at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, where she worked to create efficiencies for the Operating Room.

She is responsible for ensuring excellence and innovation in granting processes, and executing many of the Foundation’s support functions.

Crystal holds an Honours Bachelor of Science, and Certificates of Business and Project Management from the University of Toronto.

David Bysouth (he/him) joined the Weston Family Foundation in December 2023. He is responsible for managing the programming related to Northern Science and Knowledge.

Prior to joining the foundation, David worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Guelph, where, as a soil and ecosystem science researcher, he collaborated with communities in the Northwest Territories to understand the environmental impact of converting boreal forest to agriculture as a means of improving food security. He has also spent time understanding historical environmental conditions of peatlands in the Hudson Bay Lowlands region of Northern Ontario.

David has a PhD in Integrative Biology from the University of Guelph, a MSc in Earth Science from the University of Toronto, and a BSc in Life Sciences from McMaster University.

Adina Krupnik (she/her) joined the Weston Family Foundation as Coordinator in September 2024. She is a member of the Operations team and is responsible for supporting the administrative needs related to Discretionary giving.

Adina holds an Honours Bachelors of Arts degree in Anthropology and Women and Gender Studies from the University of Toronto.

Carolyn McEwen (she/her) joined the Weston Family Foundation as Coordinator in August 2013. She is a member of the Operations team and is responsible for supporting the administrative needs of both the Foundation Team and the Board of Directors.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Carolyn joined Weston Foods in 1988 as Coordinator, and moved to a similar role at George Weston Limited, where she was responsible for supporting the management team and other administrative tasks.

Lara O’Donnell (she/her) was appointed Executive Director of the Weston Family Foundation in 2020 and is responsible for all aspects of the strategy and program delivery, reporting to the Board of Directors.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Lara was the Director of Research Partnerships at the Canadian technology scale-up Element AI, where she was responsible for the design and execution of the research partnership strategy. Previous to that, Lara has held leadership roles within the Canadian research and innovation ecosystem. She was a Senior Director of Research at CIFAR (formerly the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research) an organization dedicated to creating transformative knowledge by convening interdisciplinary teams of scholars, and Director of the Accelerate and Elevate programs at Mitacs, building bridges between academia and industry.

Lara studied the mechanisms involved in sensing and repairing DNA during her postdoctoral research at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital. She also investigated the processes of cell division during her Ph.D. which she completed at McGill University. She earned her BSc. in Biology from McMaster University.

Meet Alana Simpson (she/her), a seasoned communications professional with 10 years of experience. She has spent her career in agencies and start-ups, as well as freelancing. Her skills include managing media relations, influencer marketing, social media marketing, as well as developing holistic marketing and communications strategies from the ground up, and more.​

Due to the range of clients that she has worked with, Alana is skilled in translating niche language into accessible content in both English and French. She also has boundless ideas, tireless enthusiasm, and an unshakeable drive to help the people and places she works for reach their goals and stand out in whatever industry they inhabit. ​

She has a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Political Science from University of Ottawa and has a Graduate Certificate in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from Centennial College.

Geordie Stewart joined the Weston Family Foundation in 2016. He is responsible for the oversight of all programming related to the Microbiome Committee.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Geordie founded and lead several innovative technology firms and served as an advisor to many Canadian entrepreneurs and investors in the health and technology spheres. Previous to this, he worked as a PhD researcher with the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University, where he focused on the exploration of complex aspects of bacterial biology and the development of new therapeutic strategies to combat antibiotic resistance. In addition to serving at the Foundation, Geordie advises various entities in the life science space with a particular focus on growing a vibrant Canadian biotechnology sector.

Geordie has a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree in Biochemistry, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and an MBA from McMaster University.

Anna Themelis (she/her) joined the Foundation in her role as Executive Assistant and Team Coordinator in February 2022. She is a member of the Operations team and is responsible for supporting the administrative needs of the Foundation’s Executive Director, as well as providing wider support to the Foundation as a whole.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Anna worked as the Executive Assistant to the President & CEO and Board of Directors at the Mackenzie Health Foundation. She has over 20 years of experience as an Executive Assistant in the healthcare and not-for-profit sectors, and is trained and educated in many areas of administration including Business Administrative Practices, Corporate Governance, Business Communications, Project Management, and Health & Safety.