Blended Finance Summit 2026

Heading for Change invests in solutions that advance climate, nature, biodiversity and gender equality. Sana’s career has spanned gender and climate finance, venture capital, development finance, impact investing and equity research. She is focused on leveraging capital as a tool for social change and to support deep and intersectional systemic shifts. She holds an MA in Development Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and an iBBA in Finance & Accounting from York University’s Schulich School of Business. She sits on the Board of Criterion Institute and the Ban-Ki moon Foundation’s Cross Sector Leadership Committee, and is a Strategic Advisor to other impact organisations.

Ruth Shaber, MD, is a changemaker and innovator, moving from a 25 year career as an OBGYN and senior executive at Kaiser Permanente to empowering women across finance and healthcare. She is the founder and president of Tara Health Foundation, a philanthropic investment group that uses evidence-informed programs to promote women’s well-being and opportunities. She is also the co-founder and board chair of Rhia Ventures, a collective of foundations and investors committed to bringing new types of capital to the reproductive health field. She recently co-published a book, The XX Edge: Unlocking Higher Returns and Lower Risk, which uncovers the evidence that when women are in control of capital, both financial and social returns are stronger and organizational risks are diminished.

Kristin Richard is a proud member of the Red River Métis Nation and the Manager of the Sinew Impact Fund at EntrepreNorth. She is currently leading the creation of an Indigenous-led impact fund dedicated to supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs throughout Northern Canada. She is deeply committed to advancing economic justice and Indigenous sovereignty across Turtle Island.

With over 20 years of investment experience, Kelly has advised a wide range of clients — including private wealth, foundations, family offices, institutional investors and Indigenous trusts — on building portfolios that achieve social and environmental outcomes without compromising financial performance. She has worked in impact investing since its earliest days in Canada and has played a pivotal role in developing the market—unlocking the flow of capital from the supply side to the demand side.

Kim is the settler Co-lead of the Right Relations Collaborative where she works with Indigenous leaders, asset owners and funders to shift power and capital toward equitable and regenerative futures. As an Integrated Capital Practitioner, Kim is dedicated to addressing extractive norms in finance and creating pathways for capital that honour justice and right relationship. Kim is also Lead Advisor and Co-founder of the Just Economy Institute, Canada.

Jess is a queer and neurodivergent Indigenous writer, land-based educator, and community organizer with deep roots in Indigenous non-profit work and a strong desire to disrupt the power imbalances and structural inequity inherent in conventional philanthropy. 

Jess has served in various roles over the years, including artist-entrepreneur, community organizer, and environmental public servant. A decade ago, she founded The All One Fund to dedicate their efforts to their family’s philanthropic work. This initiative has since evolved into Heart Lake Committed Capital, expanding its mandate to include mission-aligned investing and other purpose-driven approaches to deploying capital alongside relationship-based grantmaking.

Dr. Majerbi is an associate professor of finance at the Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria. Her research focuses on ESG and impact investing, climate finance, and community energy transition as a Lead Investigator of UVic’s Accelerating Community Energy Transformation (ACET) initiative. She is the founder and director of the Impact Investing Hub, a research and education center whose mission is to mobilize finance for positive impact. Dr. Majerbi has received multiple awards for her leadership in climate and sustainable finance, including the BC Cleantech Educator of the Year Award, Canada’s Clean50 Award, and the King Charles III Coronation Medal.

Aaron has spent 16 years as a national-recognized community foundation leader and regularly speaks, coaches and trains across the country on impact investing. His foundation has led the charge for mid-size foundations hoping to get started in impact investing.

Krystal is a housing advocate and fundraising strategist who pairs deep compassion with sharp financial insight. With millions raised in social impact; she blends community-centred leadership with technical skill to advance interdependent equitable housing solutions rooted in dignity, human-centred design, and justice.

As Head of Relationship Management at Rally Assets, Ben works to strengthen relationships with investors, advisors and partners from the financial services and impact investing sectors. Over the last 10 years, Ben has worked across the impact sector in social services, health and environmental organizations, with experience in fundraising, relationship management and operations. Most recently, he led the operations for Canada’s first Social Impact Bond in the healthcare sector. He is a member of the steering committee for the Nature Investment Hub.

Rudy Ruttimann is the Founding Director of FLIP Foundation for Leadership, Imagination and Place, an initiative dedicated to systems change, leadership development, and social innovation in education and the creative sector across Canada. Through research, leadership coaching, and co-created learning spaces, FLIP works to remove barriers facing young creatives and build new pathways for leadership, learning, and community transformation.

Laurel Sabur is the Research Manager for the Business & Finance Innovation research area at the University of Victoria’s Accelerating Community Energy Transitions (ACET) initiative. She supports the Impact Investing Hub, an independent division of ACET, strengthening Canada’s impact investing ecosystem and advancing community-informed innovations that foster equity and long-term impact. A connector of people, ideas, and impact capital, she thrives on building partnerships and solutions that drive meaningful change.

Urmi Sengupta is part of the MacArthur Foundation Impact Investments team, focusing on catalytic capital. She oversees impact investments in emerging markets and coordinates  field-building grantmaking to expand investor participation in impact investing and blended finance. She also serves as the Chair of the Project Advisory Board at the Catalytic Capital Consortium,  providing strategic guidance for its grantmaking focused on growing the awareness, knowledge and use of flexible patient capital that creates impact otherwise not possible and opens doors for other types of investors to join in. With development finance experience spanning more than two decades, she has worked across global regions including India, Kenya, and Colombia.