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Profiles of Diversity -:- Peter V. Tretter

Peter V. Tretter Founder & CEO Meet Peter V. Tretter, a financial professional by profession and a tenacious advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Peter’s journey is one of perseverance and dedication, marked by his ability to overcome great obstacles with a belief that the odds are always in his favour.

His life outside work is rich with activities that feed his soul and contribute to his community. He is an avid reader, a volunteer, an advocate for change, an arts enthusiast, and a movie lover. His organizational skills are impeccable, thanks to his trusty Google Calendar, which keeps him on task and organized.

Peter’s colleagues from his previous roles would likely highlight his exceptional ability to maintain customer satisfaction. Even when faced with the most challenging customers, Peter managed to keep a smile and resolve conflicts with grace.

In his last position within the banking industry, Peter felt a sense of empowerment, being able to perform his duties effectively within the constraints of a large corporate structure. This experience has shaped his management style, which is characterized by trust and autonomy. As a leader of a virtual organization, he values regular check-ins via email and virtual meetings, particularly with summer students, to ensure productivity while respecting their independence.

When it comes to fundraising, Peter views it as an essential aspect of non-profit work, akin to sales. Although not his strongest suit, he appreciates the zen-like quality of crafting social media posts or emails that contribute to a cause greater than oneself. He acknowledges the significant impact that even a few minutes of volunteering can have on an organization’s success.

Peter’s choice of entrance music would be “Hakuna Matatta” from The Lion King, a song that encapsulates his approach to life—no worries, and a focus on the positive.

As the Founder, President & CEO of Journey to Diversity Workplaces1, Peter is committed to transforming workplaces into spaces where diversity, respect, and harmony are not just ideals but realities. His vision for the future is clear: winning in all the right ways, with several businesses under his wing, all while treating everyone right.

Peter’s narrative is one of resilience, community service, and a relentless pursuit of creating an inclusive society. His story is a testament to the power of diversity and the impact one individual can have on the world around them. Thank you to all who volunteer and make a difference every day.

Profiles of Diversity -:- Curtis Herle

Curtis Herle is an Audit Director specializing in Cloud Security and Enterprise Architecture, within the Emerging Risk and Cyber Security Audit Department at Scotiabank.

Curtis Herle’s greatest strength is his passion for Pride and Diversity. He is an active member of Pride at Work, and has participated in several events and initiatives to support the 2SLGBTQ+ community. He also enjoys gaming, traveling, reading, and spending time with his friends in his downtime. He keeps himself organized by using technology, phone, to-do lists, and planning ahead.

Curtis Herle is a professional and innovative worker, who has created a professional practice area inside of audit at Scotiabank. He is a breath of fresh air in his role, not sticking to the status quo and always looking for new ways to improve and optimize. He is also a reliable and helpful coworker, who often acts as a middle man between his boss and his colleagues. He is comfortable in his current job, but also wants to better the world around him. He has volunteered at Covenant House, a charity that provides shelter and support to homeless youth. He also enjoys fundraising, and was on Scotia’s social committee, where he built a membership program.

Profiles of Diversity -:- Frank Tuzi

Frank Tuzi is a Canadian mortgage professional and a trainer. He has over 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry, working as a broker, lender, and trainer. His greatest strength is his people skills. He enjoys interacting with people, coaching them, and helping them achieve their goals. He is also an avid reader, especially of books on philosophy, linguistics, and religion. He has three children, whom he loves spending time with.

Frank Tuzi is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and has been involved in several initiatives to promote these values in his professional settings. He was introduced to the topic of diversity at a breakfast he attended, and was inspired to join a local charity that provides scholarships and antiracist, character-building, and leadership programming to youth in the Greater Toronto/Hamilton Area. He hopes to see more awareness and action on DEI issues in the next five years, and is eager to contribute his skills and expertise to this cause. He also understands the importance of fundraising for organizations, and has experience in securing grants and donations for his projects.

Mr. Tuzi is on a current leave of absence.

Profiles of Diversity -:- Dr. Leland Harper

Dr. Leland Harper is a Canadian philosopher and a professor of philosophy and race, justice, and equity studies at Siena Heights University in Michigan. He is also the founder of Leland Harper Consulting, a company that offers diversity, equity, and inclusion services to the Canadian hospitality industry. He has over 20 years of experience in the nightclub, restaurant, bar and hotel industries, and has received numerous awards and funding for his research on philosophy of religion and philosophy of race. He is the co-author of the book Racist, Not Racist, Antiracist: Language and the Dynamic Disaster of American Racism, and the editor of the Philosophy of Race book series at Vernon Press.
Leland’s greatest strength is his ability to see things from different perspectives and apply logical reasoning to various situations. He enjoys playing basketball in men’s leagues, reading books, and watching Netflix shows in his spare time. He keeps himself organized by using a series of dry erase boards and calendars to keep track of his tasks and deadlines. He is a little old school in this sense.
Leland is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and has been involved in several initiatives to promote these values in his academic and professional settings. He recently secured a grant from the Endowment for Humanities to conduct a feasibility study on whether it would be possible to bring a humanities DEI certificate program to his university. He hopes to see more collaboration and community engagement on DEI issues in the next five years, and is eager to contribute his skills and expertise to this cause.

Dr. Harper is no longer a board member. J2DW thanks him for his amazing time with us.

Profiles of Diversity -:- Deniz Toker

Deniz Toker, an educator at Northeastern University, brings a wealth of experience and a passion for community engagement to his role. As the Assistant Director of Community and Academic Partnerships, Deniz spearheads collaborations with post-secondary institutions and community organizations. His greatest strengths lie in communication, empathy, and the ability to connect with people through their lived experiences. Deniz has a remarkable track record of working with refugees and immigrants, addressing their needs with compassion and understanding.

In his free time, Deniz finds solace in nature, exploring new trails and connecting with the outdoors. His love for the natural world is complemented by a passion for cooking—a creative outlet that allows him to unwind and experiment with flavors. Deniz’s commitment to fostering meaningful connections extends beyond his professional life, as he actively engages with the community and academic partners to create impactful collaborations.

Deniz’s colleagues from previous positions would undoubtedly highlight his empathetic approach as his greatest accomplishment. Deniz’s ability to listen, understand, and address people’s needs has left a lasting impact. Moreover, the culture of diversity and unique perspectives at his last company empowered him, especially considering that the dean herself is the daughter of an immigrant.

If Deniz could choose a song to play every time he walked into a room, it would be Queen’s iconic anthem, We Are the Champions. The choice reflects his belief in celebrating victories, both big and small, and setting a positive tone wherever he goes. As for fundraising, Deniz acknowledges that it’s not his forte, but he recognizes the need to develop those skills.

Profiles of Diversity -:- Khushi Bhatnagar

Khushi Bhatnagar Deputy Speaker Khushi Bhatnagar is a Canadian recent grad who completed a Postgraduate certificate in Project Management at Sheridan College. She is a talented singer of classical Indian music, a badminton player, and a fitness enthusiast. She is also a time management expert, having juggled four jobs while maintaining a 3.5 GPA. She uses a notebook and Google Keep to organize her tasks and goals.

Khushi has a passion for academic integrity and innovation. She worked as a strategist for the Academic Integrity Office at Sheridan, where she created a project management system using Teams Planner. She was part of the most diverse team in the office, with eight members from different backgrounds and skill levels. She received positive feedback from her coworkers and manager for her contribution and performance.

Khushi is a fan of BTS, a popular Korean pop group. She chose their song Love Myself as her personal anthem, because she wants to spread happiness and confidence to everyone. She has a collaborative and transparent management style, and values listening to her team members and finding the best solutions for them. She is interested in working in the non-profit sector, and has some experience in fundraising from her previous projects in India.

Profiles of Diversity -:- Harneet Barmy

Harneet Barmy - Chief Privacy Officer Harneet Barmy is a Canadian IT professional and a computer science professor at Durham College. He worked as a senior systems analyst for the Government of Canada, where he helped with adopting cloud infrastructure and minimizing disruption to the business. He has over 20 years of experience in the IT industry, working as an Architect, consultant, and trainer. He is also the co-founder and editor of the Journal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Teaching.

Harneet Barmy’s greatest strength is his humility and willingness to help others. He loves to answer Technical questions on websites like Google, Quora and to teach and mentor his former students. He is also an organized and efficient worker, who uses calendars, SharePoint, Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Azure and Microsoft 365 to manage his tasks and meetings. He is easy to work with, reliable, and self-sufficient, as his coworkers and managers would attest.

Harneet Barmy is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and has been involved in several initiatives to promote these values in his professional and personal settings. He was inspired by a message he received from a local charity that provides scholarships and antiracist, character-building, and leadership programming to youth in the Greater Toronto/Hamilton Area. He joined J2DW as a board member, hoping to make a difference and support his wife, who faces challenges in her workplace due to the lack of diversity. He hopes to see more progress and impact from this organization in the next five years, and is eager to contribute his skills and expertise to this cause. He has never tried fundraising before, but is willing to learn and help.

Profiles of Diversity -:- Shan Simpson

Shan Simpson
Profiles of Diversity is a series in which we profile in each post one of the members of our Board of Directors or volunteers.

Today’s profile is Shan Simpson.

Shan has a physical disability. He tell us his greatest strength is resiliency. He is driven to succeed. He earned his Eagle Scout badge at age 14.

Shan’s hobbies include sports, reading, listen to music, and blogging. He really enjoys basketball as he can play it with his disability.

Shan got interested in J2DW because he thought it was a good idea. He lives in a small area with little accessibility. His proudest achievement was going back to school and earning his Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He’s also proud of his Eagle Scout Award.

In 5 years Shan sees J2DW having expanded to more areas and with a more global reach, especially to smaller communities.

E-mail Shan!

Profiles of Diversity -:- Lucas Woodcock

Lucas_Woodcock_2Profiles of Diversity is a series in which we profile in each post one of the members of our Board of Directors.

Today’s member is Lucas Woodcock.

Lucas is the Treasurer on the Board.

By day he is a team leader at a local call centre. Lucas says his greatest strength is the ability to analyze others, and to find their strengths and weaknesses.

Lucas’s most favourite hobby is playing board games. He enjoys interacting with people in person, but he also enjoys the occasional video game.

He got interested in Journey to Diversity Workplaces for two reasons:

  • Peter (the CEO) asked.
  • He thought it was a great idea, and wanted to help others find their workplace happiness.
  • Lucas’ greatest achievement is:

  • Personal & professional success.
  • That he has lived, and loved.
  • In 5 years, Lucas sees J2DW hopefully one of the ten largest organizations in Canada.
  • Email Lucas!

    Profiles of Diversity -:- Steven Bennett

    Steven BennettProfiles of Diversity is a series in which we profile in each post one of the members of our Board of Directors.

    Today’s member is Steven Bennett.

    Steven is Journey to Diversity Workplaces Vice Chair, and has been on the board since May 2014.

    Steven is a Disability Support Worker in his professional life. He says his great strength is adaptability. He’s always changing with the circumstances.

    His hobbies are sleep, work, and technology such as computers.

    He joined the Board of Journey to Diversity Workplaces because he is an advocate for workplace change, service, equal pay.

    His proudest achievement is working for Camp Hill.

    In 5 years, Steven sees us having a fairly good member base, and turning our vision into reality.
    Email Stephen!