OUR TEAM
OUR TEAM
Organization Staff
AMANDA GASKIN
League Convenor
Amanda joined our association in 2009 as a volunteer while her children participated in the program. Before you knew it, she found herself organizing and overseeing our league-play! On top of that, she plays a pivotal role in guiding and developing our volunteers – an essential task for building community capacity while strengthening communal bonds. Away from the frontlines, she serves as a member of the Program Committee, bringing frontline needs to the decision making table. Throughout all these years, Amanda remains an ardent supporter of our work and a steadfast presence in the lives of our youth. We look forward to more years to come!
ALAN MA
Manager of Special Projects & Initiative
Alan joined us in 2011 and served as the Program Manager until 2018. He is an ardent believer of our work and strives to bring out the best in the youth, volunteers and staff members. He is a proud advocate for our work within his networks. Despite being based in Montreal now, he manages to throw in his 2 cents every now and again. He currently supports us in new projects and our youth wherever possible.
Board of Directors
TAMASHA GRANT
Chairperson
In 2006, Tamasha attended a roundtable to hear about how tennis can create new opportunities for the Jane/Finch community. Fast forward 14 years later, she now sits as the chairperson on the JFCTA Board of Directors – leading and guiding our organization with in-depth community knowledge through her work with the city of Toronto and lived experience as a community member. Tamasha continues to ground our organization in our founding principles and values. As a result, we have remained true to creating life-changing opportunities in addressing the needs of our community. We are thankful for Tamasha’s continual service and leadership. Together, we look forward to the years to come!
CAROLINE CLEMENT
Vice-Chairperson
Caroline has lived her entire life near the Jane/Finch community. She first joined our association as a volunteer coach through the recruitment of the Hamids! In recent years, she became a Board of Director and Program Committee member. Despite her transition from the frontlines to governance, her dedication for the welfare of our children and youth remains unchanged. Now she utilizes her background in IT project management to keep the organization on task – asking data-driven questions and framing our thinking in evidence-based approaches. Moreover, she has the uncanny ability to get to root causes with tact, poise and humility. We are thankful for the transitions that she had made with our tennis family, all the while keeping everyone on our toes!
JOSEPH WINTERMANS
Secretary
Jos comes to us through the Lambton community. Since 2016, he has been an advocate and generous supporter of the organization. He enjoys our mission focused culture and the company of our dedicated members. Even with 40 years of experience serving on corporate and charitable boards, Jos remains down-to-earth. His gentleness and warmth makes it a joy to work alongside. What’s more, he is always happy to share his wealth of knowledge for the benefit of those around him and for society at-large. Should you ever have a question in mind, Jos is always open to discussing over coffee or tennis. But a word of caution though, approach the latter with care – beware of his slice!
RYAN RODRIGUES
Director
Tennis has been instrumental to Ryan’s life. It was his first career endeavor at the age of 14 and he became a certified instructor at age 16. As his skills progressed, he went on to compete at the university and collegiate level with the OUA and NCAA. His love for the game goes beyond playing. For over 25 years, he has given back by volunteering with Tennis Canada. To this day, he maintains a passion for the game. Ryan joins us in 2020 with over 20 years of governance experience with businesses, associations and social sector boards. He looks forward to working together by utilizing tennis as a vehicle for positive change within our community.
Key Contributors
LYNETTE HAMID
Lynette and her family joined when the program was in its infancy. While her daughter played, Lynette and her husband volunteered. In time, Lynette became our Head Coach after being certified as a professional tennis instructor. For over 10 years, Lynette poured herself out for the children and youth in our community. For Lynette, it was bigger than learning a new sport. It was about teaching fundamental life skills and becoming a responsible member of the community. Because of Lynette’s hard work, hundreds of young people in the community benefited from the foundations laid by her. Although Lynette is no longer on court, she remains an influential figure with us. Without her contributions, we would not be where we are today. We thank Lynette and her family for their dedication and years of service with our tennis family.
RICHARD CROWELL
Richard was instrumental as a founding member and Board of Director with our organization. He provided incredible vision for the growth and development of the organization. His conviction for ‘doing the right thing’ sustained the integrity of our association. His focus on the mission steered the team in its proper course. The new processes that he developed for the Membership and AGM demonstrated his foresight for good governance. Today, you can still see the imprint of his work and the legacy that he left behind. We are forever thankful for his service, support and contributions. We look forward to hosting Richard whenever he is in the neighbourhood!
HATEM MCDADI
Hatem, the Senior Vice-President of Tennis Development at Tennis Canada, has been a tremendous supporter since our inception. When we first launched, he literally hit the ground running with our volunteers. He provided valuable feedback to our organizers and coaching tips to our community instructors. As our association grew, he continued his support by connecting us with resources and good counsel. To this day, he remains committed to our cause. We thank Hatem for his decade-long support and continual trust in our team.
