After many years of dedicated service, Families Canada bids a heartfelt farewell to our long-time President & CEO, Zindu Salih, who has decided to step down from her role. We are deeply grateful for Zindu’s leadership, vision, and unwavering commitment to strengthening families across Canada.

Since stepping into the position in 2021, Zindu has led Families Canada through a period of dynamic growth and innovation. She guided the organization in the aftermath of the pandemic and built on its successful digital transformation, significantly expanding our impact in the field of family support.

Some of her key accomplishments include:

• Launching a robust online store in 2022, with hundreds of resources downloaded tens of thousands of times annually.
• Introducing a new online training portal with a wide range of e-learning modules for member organizations.
• Implementing an online membership management system to enhance engagement and streamline access to benefits.
• Launching a cost-free membership model, resulting in a 20% increase in membership and greater representation of diverse family-serving agencies.
• Leading the development of a new strategic plan through an extensive consultative process, to be launched soon.
• Expanding Families Canada’s focus to include emerging areas such as perinatal mental health and climate change’s impact on family support.
• Piloting the first-ever virtual training for the Nobody’s Perfect Program in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada, increasing access to this evidence-based initiative.

Her tenure has been marked by a deep commitment to innovation, inclusion, and strengthening support for families.

We are excited to announce that Melissa McGuirk McNeil will be taking on the role of Interim Executive Director. Melissa brings over 20 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector, including 15 years leading teams and programs.

As part of this transition, we are rescheduling our Annual General Meeting and will be sharing a new date as soon as possible.

Please join us in expressing our deepest thanks to Zindu and in welcoming Melissa to her new role. We look forward to continuing our work together to support families across Canada. 

Families Canada