CAMH and Verity Club present
Women Minds: Rethinking Women’s Mental Health
Tuesday, March 10, 2020 Breakfast 7:30am – 9:00am

At Verity, our mission is to support the advancement of women through professional, social and personal opportunities.

As such, we're delighted to be co-hosting a panel session exploring equity in women’s mental health with CAMH, an organization that is committed to advancing research on women’s mental health, supporting women to become leaders in the sciences, and the power of philanthropy in driving these efforts forward.

Please join us for this International Women's Day breakfast event where we will have a discussion around closing the gender gap in mental health, how community and relationships affect our wellness and happiness, balancing family and career and how we can better manage feelings of burnout.

Moderated by Cherry Rose Tan, Verity Member and the founder of For Founders by Founders, our panel line-up includes:

Dr. Catherine Zahn, Verity Member and President and CEO of CAMH
Deborah Gillis, Verity Member and President and CEO of CAMH Foundation
Mary Aitken, CEO and Founder, Verity

Moderator Bio

Cherry Rose Tan

Leadership Coach and Founder of For Founders by Founders

A fifth-generation entrepreneur, Cherry Rose lives and breathes what it means to create companies that matter. With 12 years of expertise in psychology, she has guided thousands through the trenches of mental health. A mentor for the Inc. Founders Project, she coaches CEOs on emotional resilience and moonshot leadership.

As the CEO of For Founders by Founders, the mental health movement for the tech industry, she speaks on stages around the world. With 70+ champions across North America, CEOs pledge their most vulnerable stories. A mental health authority, she has been featured in Forbes, Inc., and more. She teaches at the Schulich School of Business.

Listen to her story on the I'll Go First podcast.

Panel Bio’s

Dr. Catherine Zahn, C.M.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health(CAMH)

Dr. Zahn is President and CEO of CAMH, Canada’s leading mental health hospital. She received her MD from the University of Toronto (U of T) and is a Professor in the U of T Faculty of Medicine.

Recognition includes appointment as a Member of the Order of Canada, Doctor of Laws degrees (honoris causa) from Western and Ryerson Universities, the Bryden Award for Outstanding Achievement (York University) and the Faculty of Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award (U of T).

She has made numerous contributions to advancing healthcare in Ontario.

Deborah Gillis
President and Chief Executive Officer

CAMH Foundation

Deborah Gillis is President and CEO of CAMH Foundation. A recognized thought leader on gender equality, diversity and inclusion, Deborah has dedicated her career to driving social change. Deborah’s unique blend of passion, strategic vision and entrepreneurial spirit is helping her lead CAMH Foundation in transforming how Canadians understand and address mental illness, in the workplace and in society.

Deborah’s early work in the public sector focused on employment equity, anti-racism and LGBTQI rights. She went on to become a consultant and practice leader with two global professional service firms.

Deborah also worked in the Nova Scotia government and stood as a candidate for elected office. During her time in politics, she first truly understood the power of role models—and the urgent need for more of them—to inspire girls and young women.

In her previous role as President & CEO of Catalyst, a global non-profit, Deborah advised some of the world’s most powerful CEOs and leading companies on how to accelerate and advance women into leadership.

In 2016, Deborah was named as one of Canadian Business magazine’s 10 Most Powerful Business People and was awarded the Foreign Policy Association Medal.

In 2017, she was appointed to the Canada-United States Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders.

Mary Aitken

CEO & Founder, Verity

Mary Aitken has far-reaching interests that range from business, to the arts, to education. In the latest and perhaps most unique of her business ventures, Mary launched Verity in 2004, a women's club in downtown Toronto.

Designed by women for women and with more than 750 members, Verity is a women’s networking opportunity in a 65,000 sq. ft. facility, Verity features everything today’s women need to manage their time-challenged lives. Apart from the private club, the enterprise includes three businesses open to the public: a women-only day spa, Sweetgrass Spa, George Restaurant, one Canada’s top restaurants and a boutique hotel, The Ivy at Verity.

Mary began her career in the financial business in the UK. Mary moved to Canada and founded Pronto Toronto, a start-up courier business that grew to 120 employees operating in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. She sold her interest in 1981.

In 1984, Mary founded an investment banking company and Investment Counsel, Renaissance Securities Inc. As an investment banker, Mary raised equity funds from Canadian and international financial institutions for a broad range of North American companies through both public and private placements specializing in the natural resource sector.

During that time she syndicated and operated a residential income investment in South Kensington, London, UK. In addition, she served on various boards including a Singapore based publicly listed media company investing in China.

With husband Peter Gundy, Mary founded Neomaterial Technologies Inc. in 1993 and served on the Board until 2002. Listed on the TSX, Neomaterials produced high tech performance materials in China and Thailand for the world electronics industry. From a start-up in 1993, Neomaterials grew to become the dominant global producer in its industry valued when it was sold at $1.2 billion.

Mary is mother and stepmother to six sons and is actively involved in the Toronto community. She has served as a Director on the Executive Committee of Trinity College School. Verity is her project to return something to the Toronto community by improving the status of women in business and assisting underprivileged women and girls.

This event is for Verity Members and their guests. Please RSVP with Concierge.

Interested in joining our community? Email membership@verity.ca to book your tour.