COSTI

COSTI CEO Anita Gupta Stellinga, ICD.D appeared before the House of Commons today to challenge the notion that population-based distribution models alone can resolve the pressures facing Canadian cities and municipalities. In her speech, Stellinga emphasized that moving asylum seekers to new communities without housing, jobs and supports in place doesn't solve the problem — it just moves it somewhere else. She called on the federal government to develop a national strategy that actually measures whether people are finding housing, getting to work and building roots in their communities. Watch the entire speech here: https://lnkd.in/eifrDaZt Alt text: This video shows COSTI CEO Anita Stellinga speaking before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. It has open captions. #Immigration #HouseOfCommons Farhad Sethna, MBA, CPA CA, CFA, C.Dir Janet Hallett Snezana Gabric Spencer Tripp Ingrid Wilson CHRP, CHRL, CMS Rahila Mushtaq Tanaz Pardiwala Jim Irwin

What an incredible morning at our netWORKS Speed Networking Event in Vaughan! More than 40 youth participants, adult job seekers and experienced mentors came together yesterday for real conversations and meaningful connections. From HR and marketing to accounting, community engagement and entrepreneurship, our mentors brought invaluable insights, practical advice and genuine encouragement to everyone in the room. The mentors hailed from EY, Microsoft, Great Canadian Entertainment, York Regional Police, United Way Greater Toronto and former leaders from Circana and Accenture. Events like these remind us that the right connection at the right time can change everything. For newcomers and job seekers building their footing in Canada, access to experienced professionals willing to share their journey is truly priceless. A heartfelt thank you to all our mentors for your time and generosity, and to United Way Greater Toronto for making this event possible! Alt text: Photo 1: Collage of COSTI CEO Anita Stellinga and Senior Director Client Services Snezana Gabric speaking to the gathered mentors and mentees. Photo 2: A close-up of the arm patch of the York Regional Police Sergeant who was attending as a mentor. Photo 3: A collage of two mentors speaking to job seekers. Photo 4: A collage of a mentor speaking and another participant looking at the mentor. Photo 5, 6, 7: Collages of two mentors each speaking to job seekers. Photo 8: A group photo consisting of youth participants, adult job seekers, COSTI staff and experienced mentors standing together. #netWORKS #SpeedNetworking #NewToCanada #JobSeekers #Vaughan Anita Gupta Stellinga, ICD.D Snezana Gabric Jim Irwin Tejal Solanki Elvin Jacob Joan Taylor, CHRE Geoffrey Milder Nadeesha Watawala (Ranasinghe) Amaree Watkis Beth Eshete Zarwah I. F. Moradi 🇨🇦 Associate Member, CMC-Canada

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺. Most people are overthinking. “What if I sound awkward?” “What if nobody wants to connect?” “What if everyone else is more confident than me?” Today’s Multi-Mentor Networking Event brought together young professionals, seasoned professionals who had the opportunity to connect with mentors from nonprofit, tech, HR, law enforcement, sales, entrepreneurship, accounting, marketing, fundraising, hospitality, and more. And at the beginning of the event you could feel it. The nerves. The overthinking. The quietness in the room. But after every round 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗿. People relaxed. Started laughing. Started connecting. And just had real conversations. Questions like: “How did you get into this field?” “What would you do if you were in my position?” “How do you stay motivated when things aren’t working?” And that’s when the shift happens. Because 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻. What people really need sometimes isn’t another job board. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. Perspective. A conversation. A reminder that they’re not the only ones trying to figure things out. Thank you to all of the mentors who gave their time and shared their journeys so openly. And thank you to every participant who showed up despite the nerves and put themselves out there anyway. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴. —— 💖Thank you: Ali, Ari, Amaree, Beth, F. Farhad, Geoffrey, Joan, Kristen,Jim, Michael, Nadeesha, Zarwah, Snezana, Anita —— #Networking #Mentorship #CareerDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopment #COSTI

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺. Most people are overthinking. “What if I sound awkward?” “What if nobody wants to connect?” “What if everyone else is more confident than me?” Today’s Multi-Mentor Networking Event brought together young professionals, seasoned professionals who had the opportunity to connect with mentors from nonprofit, tech, HR, law enforcement, sales, entrepreneurship, accounting, marketing, fundraising, hospitality, and more. And at the beginning of the event you could feel it. The nerves. The overthinking. The quietness in the room. But after every round 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗿. People relaxed. Started laughing. Started connecting. And just had real conversations. Questions like: “How did you get into this field?” “What would you do if you were in my position?” “How do you stay motivated when things aren’t working?” And that’s when the shift happens. Because 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻. What people really need sometimes isn’t another job board. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. Perspective. A conversation. A reminder that they’re not the only ones trying to figure things out. Thank you to all of the mentors who gave their time and shared their journeys so openly. And thank you to every participant who showed up despite the nerves and put themselves out there anyway. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴. —— 💖Thank you: Ali, Ari, Amaree, Beth, F. Farhad, Geoffrey, Joan, Kristen,Jim, Michael, Nadeesha, Zarwah, Snezana, Anita —— #Networking #Mentorship #CareerDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopment #COSTI

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺. Most people are overthinking. “What if I sound awkward?” “What if nobody wants to connect?” “What if everyone else is more confident than me?” Today’s Multi-Mentor Networking Event brought together young professionals, seasoned professionals who had the opportunity to connect with mentors from nonprofit, tech, HR, law enforcement, sales, entrepreneurship, accounting, marketing, fundraising, hospitality, and more. And at the beginning of the event you could feel it. The nerves. The overthinking. The quietness in the room. But after every round 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗿. People relaxed. Started laughing. Started connecting. And just had real conversations. Questions like: “How did you get into this field?” “What would you do if you were in my position?” “How do you stay motivated when things aren’t working?” And that’s when the shift happens. Because 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻. What people really need sometimes isn’t another job board. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. Perspective. A conversation. A reminder that they’re not the only ones trying to figure things out. Thank you to all of the mentors who gave their time and shared their journeys so openly. And thank you to every participant who showed up despite the nerves and put themselves out there anyway. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴. —— 💖Thank you: Ali, Ari, Amaree, Beth, F. Farhad, Geoffrey, Joan, Kristen,Jim, Michael, Nadeesha, Zarwah, Snezana, Anita —— #Networking #Mentorship #CareerDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopment #COSTI