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Meet Our Team

Our team is made of individuals from diverse backgrounds spanning the globe, unified by a common mission: to offer better support to newcomers in Canada.

Headshot of Haven founder, Victor smiling against a light gray background

Victor Lal

Founder and Executive Director

Victor has managed refugee resettlement to Canada since 2017 and has worked on the frontlines of the Ukrainian, Syrian and Palestinian crises.

Selfie of Senior Backend Engineer, Alexis smiling with a mountainous terrain in the background

Alexis Buisson

Senior Backend Engineer

Haven's first tech hire, Alexis was previously a Senior Developer at Shopify and at several Canadian start-ups.

Photo of senior Frontend Engineer Oren smiling against a light gray background

Oren Roth

Senior Frontend Engineer

Oren leads the creation of intuitive user experiences at Haven. Previously, he co-founded Codicate, guiding it to a successful acquisition by Lightricks.

Portrait photo of Social Media Manager Catherine, smiling seated on the ground.

Catherine Goncalves

Social Media Manager

A social media expert, Catherine has scaled several brands to 1M+ followers and views.

Headshot of head of content, Meg. Smiling against a light gray background

Meg Black

Head of Content

Previously leading content for the Mayor of Toronto and various UN and non-profit organizations.

Meet Our Teachers

Our Haven Language Program is led by dedicated, experienced teachers — many of whom are newcomers themselves, rebuilding their lives in Canada.

photo of Haven language teacher, Olga, smiling with trees and other greenery in the background

Olga Vorobiova

Selfie of Haven language teacher Sofi, smiling with plants in the background

Sofi Galuza

headshot of Haven language teacher Larysa, smiling against a beige background

Larysa Sokolovska

Image of Haven language teacher Diana, smiling with a blurred beach in the background

Diana Serdiuk

Image of Haven language teacher Zohreh, smiling with plants in the background

Zohreh Lotfi

headshot of Olga, Haven language teacher. Smiling against a grey background

Olga Kasyan

Image of Haven language teacher, Horia smiling against a plant wall.

Horia Faizi Sardarzada

Image of Haven Language teacher Lidia, smiling against a white door.

Lidia Castro

Meet the Rest of our Teachers

Anastasia Bazhanova
Anastasiia Lebid
Anastasia Makharadze
Anna Kovalenko

Areej Alasadi
Dariia Skrylova
Elizabeth Kuva
Josh Avolio

Kateryna Kolisnyk

Kateryna Solimchuk

Kathleen Hankinson​

Marina Mokra

Mary Wendling

Nasratullah Mateen

Natalia Bowden​

Osama Elashkar

Our Origin Story

Haven founder Victor, and two other volunteers stand smiling between 3 vehicles with their trunks open. Each vehicle is filled with supplies and aid.
Victor standing with a large group of adults and children gathered inside an airport terminal, smiling for a photo beneath a sign marked ‘C,’ with several holding welcome balloons and flowers.
Victor standing with Haven team members wearing name tags at a conference with a Haven banner behind the group.
Victor mid-swim across Lake Ontario

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​Our founder, Victor Lal, started helping refugees because of his parents. Like many new Canadians, Victor's parents came to Canada to give their children a better life. Victor's mission is to build a better way to help new Canadians. It's good for those in need, and it's good for Canada.

 

In 2017, he launched Canadians for Syria to sponsor the Beshmafs, a Syrian refugee family. To raise funds, Victor biked over 2,600 km from Toronto to Newfoundland, raising $35,000 with the help of over 300 Canadians. In 2018, to help more Syrian refugees, Victor swam 52 km across Lake Ontario. This effort rallied more than 400 Canadians and raised $60,000, bringing the total to 14 refugees sponsored. These Syrian refugees and their children are now thriving in Canada.

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When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Victor was on the ground on day four. He created Hands On For Ukraine, a grassroots effort to rapidly deliver aid while large NGOs were still gearing up. The team raised over $50,000 from Canadians, purchasing critical humanitarian supplies and getting them to war-affected communities in Ukraine. As more refugees arrived in Poland, Victor pivoted to securing safe housing for vulnerable Ukrainian families. We were able to provide over 1,300 nights of accommodation to hundreds of Ukrainian refugees.

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With more people fleeing conflict arriving in Canada than ever before, Victor created Haven in October 2022. Since then, our goal has been to build a better way for Canadians to help refugees now in Canada. By helping refugees become independent in Canada faster than ever before, we're not just helping new Canadians — we’re building a stronger country. ​

Selfie of Victor and a volunteer in a car loaded with supplies
Victor standing in front of Parliament building in Ottawa with a bike loaded with bags.
Sofi from Haven standing with two other team members next to a Haven banner reading "We make it easier for Canadians to help refugees"

Canada needs a better way to help refugees and other new Canadians start life in our country.

We'd love to get you involved. Helping can start with a 30 minute conversation to help a refugee practice their English. It really is that easy.

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