Our Team
We are your neighbours: Caring community members from across Algoma.
Staff
Desiree Gravel - Executive Director
Desiree is a dedicated leader passionate about community development, equity, and empowerment. Desiree has a B.A. in Psychology, and a Graduate Certificate in Human Resources. With over a decade of non-profit experience focused on mental health, addictions, and homelessness, she currently serves as the Executive Director of Algoma Community Foundation. Desiree’s leadership is characterized by her collaborative approach and strategic partnerships. She has found immense joy creating, building and working in programs to support youth, Trauma Informed Care, housing, mental health and addictions, neurodiversity, and 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Board of Directors
Ani Ramos - Co-Chair
Ani is a Sault Ste. Marie based registered social service worker, community development professional and fundraiser. She immigrated from Ecuador in 2008. As an avid volunteer and active community member, Ani works within the local community to create and bolster equity and access for people experiencing different levels of oppression. Ani uses philanthropy as a tool to explore and support belonging, connection and human relationships. Ani is also part of the Board of Directors at Grocer4good and a patient Advisor with Sault Area Hospital and with Algoma Ontario Health Team. In her free time, you can find Ani and her partner playing with her 2 children at the park or hosting a potluck dinner at their home.
Lauren White - Treasurer
Lauren White joined ACF Board as Treasurer in 2024. She brings 8 years public accounting experience and now works at OLG in Vendor Management. Lauren was raised in Sault Ste. Marie and went to Carleton University where she graduated with a BA Degree in Sociology and a Minor in Psychology. She then went on to earn a Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Resources from St. Lawrence College. After graduating, she moved back to SSM where she worked in banking and went back to school once more to earn both a Certificate in Business and a BA Degree in Accounting from Algoma University.
Outside of her passion for accounting, you can find her most weekends with her husband and Australian Shepherd Mabel on the shores of Lake Superior at their tiny off-grid cabin or enjoying some camp time on St Joseph’s island.
Tamanna Rimi - Director
Tamanna joined the Algoma Community Foundation in June 2020 as Treasurer. She is a researcher with a particular interest in community development and family financial well-being. Tamanna has lived and traveled in many different countries and places and enjoyed building meaningful connections with the people around her. She has found working for communities and having a positive impact on them is the most rewarding part of her career in academia.
Tamanna is thrilled to be a part of ACF and hopes to make a meaningful contribution to the community. She is a Ph.D. candidate at Iowa State University and holds an M.S. in Economics from Tufts University, USA. She is also a proud mother of a young boy.
Krista Bissiallon - Director
Krista Bissiallon is French/ settler and Anishinaabe kwe from Bawaating (Sault Ste. Marie, ON), with roots in Mississauga First Nation. She is a graduate of the Community Economic and Social Development program out of Algoma University and continues to live in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
She has filled many community development roles, holding positions with Youth Social Infrastructure, Young Leaders Circle, and Northern Lights Collaborative. Currently, she is co-chair of the Algoma Community Foundation, and a Program Manage with the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
As a facilitator and dreamer, Krista has spent the last several years in various avenues of community development, with a strong focus on supporting young people doing positive change work in her own community, across Ontario, and in some contexts across Turtle Island. Krista is inspired by the good work of young Indigenous folks in her region. She brings her passion for people, learning, social justice and community development to her own practices in pursuit of just futures for all.