Board of Directors

NACY is governed by a Board of Directors elected by its Members to work collaboratively through initiatives that take advantage of the broad-based coalition to address issues affecting children and youth.

The current members of the Board of Directors are:

Board of Directors 2020 

Deborah Morrison (Chair) 
Experiences Canada, Ottawa, ON

Deborah Morrison is President and CEO of Experiences Canada, a national charity devoted to fostering deeper connections for youth within Canada through travel and exchange.  Prior to joining Experiences Canada she spent over 20 years promoting Canada’s history to Canadians and was responsible for the introduction of several youth-focused initiatives that continue to endure today including Heritage Fairs and Kayak: Canada’s History Magazine for Kids.  She joined the board of NACY in 2015.

Lisa Lachance 
Wisdom2Action, Halifax, NS

Lisa Lachance is President of Wisdom2Action Ltd and is a PhD Candidate in Health at Dalhousie University. She is the proud mom of two teens. She is a recognized youth mental health youth engagement and knowledge translation expert, with a specific focus on participatory and transformative approaches

Sharif Madhy
Students Commission of Canada, Toronto, ON

Sharif Mahdy is the Executive Director of the Students Commission of Canada (SCC). The SCC is a national charitable organization that purposely works with others to ensure young people’s voices are heard and valued. Sharif has been with the SCC since 2010 when he joined the organization as a project coordinator. Sharif has an Honors Bachelor of Health Sciences from the University of Western Ontario. He also has a Masters of Arts in Leadership degree from Royal Roads University. Sharif loves canoeing, being in the outdoors, dancing like no one’s watching, working out and hanging out with his partner and cat Zoey!

Sarah Attia
Muslim Association of Canada

Sarah is a mother, educator and community activist.  Sarah is a graduate of The University of Toronto, Faculty of Engineering, holding a bachelor and a master degree in chemical engineering. Sarah spent over 10 years working on providing quality international education to children in Egypt as a principal, teacher, and founder of an international school in Cairo, Egypt. She has a particular interest in curriculum development, character education, and community contribution. She is currently the lead of MAC iRISE, where she oversees character education curricula and programs for MAC Islamic Schools. Sarah has always had a passion for working with young people and also currently serves as the Director of Youth for the Muslim Association of Canada

Genna DiPinto
Youth Representative, Edmonton, AB

Genna is a recent graduate of the University of the Alberta with a bachelor’s degree in biology and political science. As a former two-term chair of the City of Edmonton Youth Council, Genna advocated for the inclusion of young people in all aspects of civic governance. She continued this advocacy as an elected councillor on the University of Alberta Students’ Council, as a member of the Edmonton Journal’s Community Advisory Board, and as part of Edmonton’s Guiding Coalition on Public Engagement. Today, she serves on Alberta’s Mental Health Review Panel, and continues to serve on the board of NACY.