Our people

Alan Broadbent is Chairman and Founder of Maytree, and Chairman and CEO of Avana Capital Corporation. He co-founded and chaired the Caledon Institute of Social Policy (1992-2017) and the Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement (2004-2019), and was a Director and Chair of Sustainalytics Holdings B.V. (2009-2020). Alan chairs the Institute on Municipal Finance & Governance at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, and is also Chair of the Toronto Inner-City Rugby Foundation, Chair of the Common Good Retirement Savings Initiative Steering Committee, Senior Fellow, Member and former Chair of the Governing Board of Massey College, and Member of the Order of Canada and recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. Alan is the author of Urban Nation: Why We Need to Give Power Back to the Cities to Make Canada Strong; and You’re It (with Franca Gucciardi); and co-editor of Five Good Ideas: Practical Strategies for Non-Profit Success. Alan was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Ryerson University in 2009, and from Queen’s University in 2015.

Matt is a Principal and Co-Founder of ACS Group, a socially responsible investment research and fund management company, and co-leads Alder Capital, an investment firm financing private companies with positive social or environmental mandates. His previous experience includes working as an economist specializing in tax and benefit policy with the Ontario government, before entering the investment industry where he has worked across asset classes. Matt is the Vice-Chair of All Saints Church Homes, an affordable housing provider in Toronto. He holds an Economics degree from McMaster University and a Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Victoria.

A professional social worker by training, Judy Broadbent has led the creation of a number of initiatives including the Maytree Scholarship Program for protected persons, which she directed for nearly two decades. Throughout her professional career she has specialized in working with adolescents in distress. In 1975, when the Toronto Child Psychotherapy Program first began, she was in the first group of students. Since then she has worked at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH – formerly the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry) and Jewish Family and Child Services. She also developed an aftercare program at Opportunity House for youth and spent several years as a supervisor of a group residential treatment home at Youthdale Treatment Centres as well as working in the family therapy department. Judy’s commitment to community and serving the needs of refugee students was recognized by FCJ Refugee Centre through an award presented at their twentieth anniversary Refugee Forum.

Sam Broadbent is the Chief Executive Officer of Advantage Capital Strategies Group, a fund manager in the Responsible Investment industry. He also serves as an Exempt Market Dealer for the firm. He has over 15 years of finance experience in both the public and private sector. Sam began his career in the Government of British Columbia, working in a range of Ministries, including several years at the Ministry of Finance. After departing the government, Sam has spent close to a decade working in private sector investment management, with experience in public and private markets. Sam serves on several Boards, including Fresh City Farms and Maytree, with past Board service including St. Jude’s Community Homes and the Open Democracy Project. Sam holds the Chartered Professional Accountant (CMA, CPA) designation and the Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation.

Daniel Burns has been on the Board of Maytree since its founding. He served as a Deputy Minster at Queen’s Park for ten years at the Ministries of Housing, Municipal Affairs, Economic Development, and Health. Before that he worked at Toronto City Hall for 16 years in the Department of Planning and as Commissioner of Housing. During those years he served on a variety of public and community agency boards including the Ontario Realty Corporation, the Waterfront Trust, and United Way Toronto. Since retiring in 2002, Dan has worked as a consultant in public policy and public administration. From 2012 to 2014 he served as the interim CEO of the Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres. Additionally, he has served as a trustee of several organizations including Queen’s University and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), where he was Chair of the Board. He is currently a member of the National Advisory Board to the Salvation Army and a director of the Ireland Park Foundation.

Vali is the Vice President and Corporate Secretary at Avana Capital Corporation. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in English and Literary Studies from the University of Toronto, and is the Corporate Secretary for a number of organizations, including The Literary Review of Canada, the Loran Scholars Foundation, and the Toronto Inner-City Rugby Foundation (TIRF).