As a first generation Canadian, Tarini Chandak credits the strong women who raised her for teaching her how to overcome adversity and the importance of giving back to your community, even in small ways. “I’ve had really amazing female role models who have had to navigate similar challenges to some of the women at Nellie’s,” explains Tarini. “When it comes to being an immigrant woman, and building lives for themselves through adversity…seeing that throughout my youth made the Nellie’s mandate and mission really resonate with me.”
Looking for an opportunity to make an impact in her community, Tarini joined our board in October 2024. “I’ve always been someone who has been involved in my community,” says Tarini. “Ever since I was a child, I was taught that regardless of your own hardships, you have to think about how you impact those around you, and how you can do that in a positive way.”
Tarini actually had her first board experience at a young age, with the opportunity to be a student board member at a sexual assault crisis centre while she was still in university. Through this position, she was able to learn more about the inner workings of a non-profit organization, including how they impact their community and how they work with different levels of government. She also notes that the board was also entirely run by women, which she found inspiring.
In her day job, Tarini is now a senior manager at Deloitte, where she helps major organizations make key strategic decisions. “A lot of the work I do focuses on building the right strategy and processes, so that organizations who work with limited resources can still achieve big results,” explains Tarini. “Strategic thinking is so relevant in the non-profit space and hopefully I can bring those skills to help contribute to the work Nellie’s is doing.” Tarini is now a member of our Strategic Planning Committee, where her experience will enhance our current strategic plan revamp project.
For a non-profit like Nellie’s, Tarini explains that a strong strategy becomes a chance to proactively future proof your organization. “You can’t use a crystal ball to look into the future, but you can start to put the right pillars in place to allow you to be agile and be able to meet the needs of the community as those needs and circumstances evolve,” Tarini says. “Nellie’s has grown so much already, and there’s so much potential to continue to build. I’m really excited to be a part of that work, and to think about what the future of Nellie’s will look like.”
Thank you, Tarini, for sharing your story and for your time and service to Nellie’s.