Our Team
Staff
Theresa Mersky
Founding Executive Director
Theresa is the driving force behind the school, from its inception to the thriving place it is today. Theresa worked in finance and consultancy for 20 years and joined the York School Board and became heavily involved in education. Theresa grew up in rural Arkansas with a mother who taught her from an early age that education was the ticket to a better life. Theresa remains steadfast in this belief, as she has personally experienced the rewards of education and continues to see it benefitting so many children at GPS and beyond.
Leah Mersky
Director of Operations
Leah has diverse life experience working on social change projects across the globe. In 2018, Leah led the tree-planting project at GPS and fell in love with the school, students, teachers, and the bright community. After working at Impakt Foundation to develop employment programs for newcomers in Toronto, she is now helping VCF to advance its mission through exciting planning and growth. Leah is extremely committed to the success of the community and the organization.
Robert McLean
Director of Advancement
Robert brings a strong background of technical development and human rights to the team. His studies in International Development studies led him to consult on a variety of projects spanning from successful gender inclusivity campaigns spearheaded by sitting Canadian senators, to consulting with UNICEF's Children's Rights and Business unit to build partnerships with global corporate leaders to promote children's rights and combat the worst forms of exploitation. With his unique background, he hopes to help with growing VCF's outreach and ensuring the cutting edge best practices are leveraged to ensure continued success for years to come.
Alice Milne
Director of Administration
Alice is responsible for overseeing the VCF budget and liaising between our donors and service providers, ensuring all donations reflect our school ethos. Alice works closely with both the Indian and Canadian Boards and their respective auditors. For Alice, the students at GPS are a true reflection of the high-quality work that has been done and will continue to be done at GPS.
Leah Bandler
Manager of Volunteers and Summer Camp
Leah is currently a full-time teacher at Greenwood College and was introduced to GPS in the fall of 2015 when she joined as a resource teacher straight out of teachers college. Formerly the director of the CIT program at Camp Tanamakoon, she founded the GPS Summer Camp Program in 2016 and continues to operate it today.
Board of Directors
Theresa Mersky, Chairman
Theresa is the driving force behind the school, from its inception to the thriving place it is today. Theresa worked in finance and consultancy for 20 years and joined the York School Board and became heavily involved in education. Theresa grew up in rural Arkansas with a mother who taught her from an early age that education was the ticket to a better life. Theresa remains steadfast in this belief, as she has personally experienced the rewards of education and continues to see it benefitting so many children at GPS and beyond.
Seth Mersky
Seth is the former Senior Managing Director of Onex and Vice Chairman of Gluskin Sheff, where he built and managed relationships with the firm’s clients and business partners. Seth has been vital to the success of VCF and GPS since its founding, including ensuring the school has financial stability and the resources needed to achieve its mission. Seth has brought financial expertise and strategic guidance to the VCF board since its inception.
Justin Medved
Justin is the current Associate Head of Academics at the York School. A board member of GPS since its founding, Justin also led the first York School Service Learning Trip to India. Justin is thrilled to lend his expertise to the strategic planning and development of VCF and GPS, and has enjoyed watching the GPS school grow from its humble beginnings to the amazing centre of learning it is today. He believes learning can only happen when health, heart and spirit align, and GPS is a living and thriving example of this today.
Dr. Samir Gupta
Dr. Samir Gupta is a respirologist and clinician-scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital. Dr. Gupta joined the VCF board in 2009, inspired by the vision and early successes of GPS. Dr. Gupta is very active in the GPS community, where he co-founded and now leads the GPS Health Program. His greatest reward has been seeing the once malnourished children become healthy and revel in the learning experience at GPS.
Christine Milne
Christine, a lawyer who specializes in children’s law, joined the VCF board in 2014. Since that time, her admiration for the work of the school has continued to grow and far surpassed anything she ever imagined. In an area of great poverty, GPS is a beacon of learning and wellbeing for the students and staff alike. Christine is delighted to be able to serve on its board and support GPS’ continued growth and success.
Ashley Audrain
Ashley joined the VCF board in 2009, after volunteering at the school when it was just two classrooms in a former matchbox factory. With a background in PR, including Publicity Director of Penguin Books Canada, Ashley joined the board to lead communications and support fundraising efforts. Ashley is currently a writer and mother of two.
Kate Thornley Hall
Kate is an interior designer in Toronto and mother of three. Her children, all GPS volunteers, fell in love with the school and inspired Kate to visit in 2017. She joined the board later that same year. The school and the community are a constant source of inspiration to Kate, who feels honoured to be involved in the work that the school is accomplishing.
Lyane van Schaik-Munk
Lyane is the founder of Scarlet Boutique and works with foundations to help them reach their development goals. Lyane joined the VCF board in 2012 after volunteering for the organization, and is thrilled to support fundraising for the school. In all her years involved with VCF, a major highlight continues to be visiting the school and meeting diverse volunteers from across the globe.
GPS Staff coming soon!
Jim Brickell, Principal
Sornthala S, Vice Principal
Sunbeam Viswanathan, Coordinator of Community Services
Parimala Ravindran, Accounts Manager
Ananthi S
Sornalatha S
Sunbeam Vaswanathan
Vanitha K
Faculty
Agalya S
Aldin Montaut
ArasaKumari R
Arlin Sugitha R
ArokyaMary I
Caroline Lazarus
Christina Thomas
Clive Lazarus
Jayalakshmi A
Jeeva M
Kalyani CR
Kanmani U
KrishnaVeni V
Leeba Edmonds
Leela M
Leema L
Lidwin P
Malarvizhi T
Marceline Sophia J
Maruthamuthu K
Narmatha KD
Naveen J
Nishanthini R
Patricia Lazarus
Phylicia A
Prema B
Punitha J
Raymond John
Richard A
Sandya S
Sarah Prince
Sornalatha S
Sreedevi S
Subashini R
Sudha G
Tony Williams
Victoria PC
Support
ArulMary S
Jessi Flora
Lskshmiamal N
Mahalingam P
Megladevi S
Rajeswari R
Rathna S
Revathi V
Sadiq B
Shanthi P
Shushella K
Sunaja V
Board of Directors
T. Rajkumar, Chairman
Rajkumar joined the India board in 2009, after working as the CEO of Families for Children (FFC) orphanage. At FFC, Rajkumar became connected with the founding partners of GPS and wholeheartedly supported their mission to start a new school for children living in poverty. Rajkumar believes GPS is fine tuned to today’s complex problems while being a temple of learning for children living in poverty.
Kamla Saha
Kamla Saha owns and operates a small agriculture company and works locally in social services. She joined the India board in 2009 while working with Families for Children and felt compelled to get involved in providing a holistic education to the community. She feels very privileged to have seen the school grow from an idea to what it is today.
Shankar Vanavarayar
Shankar is the President of Kumaraguru Institutions and Suddha Sanmarga Nilayam Institutions, two educational conglomerates dedicated to enhancing the lives of thousands from underprivileged backgrounds. He joined the board in 2014 because he saw VCF and GPS share his belief in the power of education to help marginalized children reach their potential. He is thrilled to be a part of GPS’ growth and to work with people who truly understand the value of empowering others.
Sadhana V.Shankar
Sadhana is a civil lawyer and senior partner at M/s Ramani & Shankar. Sadhana strives for an ethical practice, ensuring the law always supports the common person. Sadhana also organizes Medical and Art of Living camps at the Central Prison for prisoners and their families, and has been a voluntary teacher at a local high school. She is honored to serve as a trustee at GPS and to witness the transformational growth in the community and the children.