Zulema de Souza
President

A Canadian Citizen who has lived in three continents and speaks Portuguese, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Konkanim. She has distinguished herself as a leader in the community with extensive experience as an Educator, Counsellor and Consultant in Race Relations and Multiculturalism. She has contributed to the review of literature, curriculum and media resources to identify biases. She has written articles on race relations and multicultural issues, and has organized conferences such as "Many Voices, One Future", and the "Goan International Convention" in Canada. Zulema de Souza has founded, organized and presided over a variety of organizations, including the Goan Women Entrepreneurs Network, the G.O.A. Field hockey team, The Goan Theatrical Group, the Goan Overseas Association, and the International Goan Organization. She is presently the Chair of the Friends of the Multicultural History Society of Ontario.

Professionally, Zulema has a B.A. (Hons.) degree with a major in Economics, and Sociology/Anthropology; a Bachelor of Education, and a post graduate degree from the State of New York. She has a consulting practice in anger management, individual and marital counselling, and Family Mediation. She is an accredited Family Mediator, a Mediator for Child Protection cases and a Registered Social Worker.

In recognition of her contribution to the community in the areas of race relations, multiculturalism, women's issues, sports, youth development, and seniors, she was awarded the Ontario Volunteer Service Award, and the Poona University (Maharashtra State, India) Gold Medal for leadership and sports.

Deborah Araujo
Director

Attended the Goan Schools in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanazania, and then completed her High School education at Loreto Convent, Valley Road, in Nairobi. In 1975, she emigrated to Toronto, Canada, where she completed her Bachelor of Business Administration at York University.

Debbie served the City of Toronto for thirty years. She has 20 years senior management experience, culminating in the executive level position of Administrator at Carefree Lodge, a 127-bed Long Term Care Home in the North end of Toronto. Under her leadership at Carefree Lodge, the Home was accredited twice by the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation and was viewed as a "model of excellence" within the City of Toronto.

Debbie joined the International Goan Organization in 1998 because she felt she could effectively contribute towards the Health Services Project, which involved the transfer of health care equipment and supplies to the most needy and vulnerable in Goa, India.

Debbie is married with two children. She volunteers in various capacities in the Greater Toronto area.

Cellie Gonsalves
Director

A senior executive with over 30 years of experience in strategic planning, marketing & sales, operations and business disciplines as a line and staff executive. She has had a successful track record of building market share and developing innovative new opportunities. Her strong strategic and implementation skills and practical experiences in the corporate world result in pragmatic solutions that deliver competitive advantage.

Cellie was formerly Senior Vice President, Marketing, for HSBC Canada where she initiated and implemented major strategic thrusts and developed a market "Positioning" stance to create a distinctive image and "top of mind" awareness of the Bank.

Cellie spent eight years in various Executive positions at Royal Trust responsible for Personal Banking, Lending, Direct Marketing, and Credit Card - marketing, operations and customer Service. She was an Executive member of the Royal Bank/Royal Trust Integration team responsible for Client Impact Communications.

Prior to Royal Trust, Cellie spent nine years in both line and staff Senior Management positions at the Bank of Montreal. She began her career in the packaged goods industry in the United Kingdom and with Colgate Palmolive in Canada.

Cellie has been a speaker at various Financial Services conferences and guest lecturer in the MBA Program at the University of Toronto and McMaster University. She is a graduate of Salford University in the United Kingdom. She has successfully completed the Canadian Securities Course.

She is currently a Partner with ACCM Consulting Group focusing on Strategic Planning and founder and owner of Cyberflowers.com on online flower and gift store.

Lamberto Gomes
Director

Born in Entebbe, Uganda, Lamberto left the country at an early age to pursue his education in Goa completing his baccalaureat at Liceu Afonso de Albuquerque in Panjim. After obtaining degrees (junior B.Sc. Bombay University) and Engineering from Coimbra University, he completed his Masters degree (majoring in Telecommunications} from Darmstadt Technical University, Germany. As a research engineer with Standard Elektrik Lorenz (SEL), Stuttgart, Germany, he was transferred to ITT-USA, headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a corporate manager, responsible for telecommunications network planning in Latin America. Subsequently Lamberto joined Bell Canada and later the Ontario Government's Telecommunications Division as a Chief Telecom Systems Engineer, responsible for assessment and introduction of advanced technologies. Lamberto is a registered professional engineer in Ontario, Canada. He has published many technical papers, nationally and internationally. He speaks Portuguese, Spanish, English, German, French, and Konkani. As a Chair of North York Chapter of Professional Engineers of Ontario and a Chair of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) of Toronto as well as a Director of Innovation Forum of Toronto, he organized and fostered various international conferences and techno-social activities locally for the benefit of the community at large. It was at this stage that Lamberto got involved in volunteer projects with IGO which was founded after the successful Goan International Convention, held in Toronto in 1998. After his retirement he joined an international consulting company (TN Associates) working on projects sponsored by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the World Bank Lamberto is a patron member of the Indo-Portuguese Society of Goa as well as of the Goan Overseas Association of Toronto. He is also a co-founder of a newly registered expat NGO in Goa, known as Forum of Overseas Goan Indians (FOGI) working at grass roots level in Goa. He loves sports in general but his passion goes all out for football as he played abroad for clubs in Portugal, Germany and Brazil.

Al (Aloysious) Mathias
Director

Hails from Siolim, Bardez, Goa and is one of seven siblings. He had his early education in Goa, spent a year in Nagpur and completed his secondary education in Kampala, Uganda. His work experience started at the very bottom of the car industry, in the parts department with Ford of UK and progressed to being the Manager of the Renault dealership for Uganda. He was then forced to leave Uganda and, with his family, made his home in Canada. Al is a qualified Chartered Secretary (ACIS) and a Professional Accountant (CGA) and was a member of the British Institute of Management (MBIM) and also The Institute of Purchasing and Supply (M.Inst.P.S.). He has several years experience as a general accountant, Management auditor, Special Investigator and Manager of Capital Finance with the Ontario Provincial Government.

Al is an avid sportsman and played hockey and cricket at the national level and tennis, badminton, table tennis and squash at club level. He still enjoys hitting that tennis ball!

He has also served in several capacities in community Associations and Organizations in Uganda and in Toronto. He does not now have direct ties to Goa, but still cares passionately about the welfare of Goa and Goans.

His current interest is also in Theology and seeking/studying the rationale, philosophy, origins and theological concepts of the main "male-dominated" religions.

Osmond Remedios

Born in Kampala, Uganda, but completed his Primary School Education, at the St.Joseph Convent School in Zanzibar, Tanzania. He returned to Kampala in 1957 and completed his Senior Cambridge School Certificate, receiving the Principal's Prize for the best all-round Male Student, in his final year. He went on to obtain his Bachelor's Degree in Architecture at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, and then attended the Kunstacademie of Fine Art and Architecture, Copenhagen, Denmark, where he successfully completed his Design Thesis, and obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Architecture.

After a short stay in Kenya, Osmond and his family moved to Toronto, Canada, in 1973. He joined Architects Crang and Boake Inc., and rose through the ranks to establish himself a Vice President/Director of the Company in 1989. He is now one of the co-owners of the Company. In 1992, he set off to the Middle East Region to set up an Architectural Practice in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In 2003 he set up another Practice in Dubai and now has a total of seventy qualified Architects and Engineers working in his office and they have been involved in some fabulous Projects, including the renowned Jumeirah Palm Island.

Osmond was involved in several volunteer projects with the Goan Overseas Association, Toronto and served successfully on their Building Committee. He was also a member of the Steering Committee for the first ever International Goan Convention, which was held in Toronto in 1988 and coordinated the Cultural Show at the Roy Thompson Hall. He also served the community on many GOA Caravan Events, and was awarded the Province's Ontario Volunteer Award for his many years of service to his community.

Myra Tavares

An Information Technology professional and has for several years managed the Canadian operations for a software solutions company to leverage business development, client relationship management, solutions delivery and support operations.

She was also the Secretary and Membership Director of the Goan Overseas Association (GOA) Toronto, Canada. At the International Goan Convention held in 1988 and organized by the GOA, she managed the Hospitality Committee guest services for visiting speakers, dignitaries, delegates and the various groups.

Following the success of the International Goan Convention, Myra together with Zulema de Souza, Al Mathias and Armand Rodrigues, played a major role in the editing and publishing of the Proceedings of the International Goan Convention. Myra continued to work with the International Goan Organization (IGO) of Ontario on various subsequent projects.

She has also served on various community boards and organizations: Membership Director at Applewood Tennis Club, High Park Ski Club and participated on local fund raising committees and political organizations.

Myra has traveled extensively and enjoys both indoor and outdoor activities and her interests include tennis, skiing, theatre and the arts.