Bill Young, President
Joanne Norris, Director of Social Returns
Chris Crowell, Director of Investments
Karim Harji, Manager / Partnership Development
Sean Van Doorselaer, Special Advisor

Bill Young, President

Prior to founding SCP in 2001, Bill spent twenty years in the private sector leading high growth, entrepreneurial organizations. He was CEO of Hamilton Computers, a publicly traded computer company, which grew from $15 million in revenue to $250 million under his leadership and was sold to GE Capital. Bill was also the CEO and subsequently the Chairman of Optel Communications Corp (later Axxent) which was a leading CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) in the Canadian telecommunications market when he left in 2000.

Bill began his career as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young and holds an Honours BA from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He currently sits on the Boards of Inner City Renovations Limited, Ecotrust Canada Capital, and the Advisory Board of the Coady Institute.

Joanne Norris, Director of Social Returns

Joanne has been Director of Social Returns at Social Capital Partners since 2002. Before joining SCP she worked domestically and internationally on community economic development initiatives with government and non-government organizations such as the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Canadian Business Resource Centre and the Canadian Youth Business Foundation. Joanne has also worked as a business consultant and trainer for start up entrepreneurs.

Internationally, Joanne has worked on projects in India, Ukraine, Cuba, Indonesia, Mexico and Ecuador. She has written and published on issues concerning employment, entrepreneurship, tourism and gender relations. Joanne is a former founding board member of the Canadian Community Investment Network and the former Vice President of World Literacy of Canada (WLC), a Toronto-based non-governmental organization supporting literacy and community development in Canada and South Asia

Joanne has an MA in International Development Studies from the University of Guelph and a BA in Sociology from the University of Victoria.

In 2007, Chris founded East Coast Connected (ECC) – an organization dedicated to promoting “brain circulation” between Ontario and Atlantic Canada, allowing each region to benefit from the best of what the other has to offer. In his role as president, Chris forged strong relationships with provincial governments, economic development agencies, businesses and academic institutions across Atlantic Canada and initiated the annual Atlantic Business Summit in Toronto. For his work with East Coast Connected, Chris was named Dalhousie's Outstanding Young Alumnus of 2008.

Chris holds a BA (Honours) in Mass Communications from Carleton University and a Bachelor of Laws and an MBA, both from Dalhousie University. He is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, a founding director of Business for the Arts - ArtsScene, sits on the board of the Canadian Women's Hockey League and is part of the Toronto City Summit Alliance's Emerging Leaders Network.

Karim is also a Senior Research Associate at the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation at Carleton University, with interests in corporate social responsibility and social finance. He founded socialfinance.ca, an online platform for the community of people and organizations that are actively trying to advance the development of a social finance marketspace in Canada. Karim also advises the Canadian Social Entrepreneurship Foundation, and is a member of the Emerging Leaders Committee of the Canadian Community Economic Development Network.

Karim previously worked as a Social Finance Program Officer at the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation, where he explored innovative ways in which corporations engage with, and invest in, communities. He also worked with the Community Economic Development Technical Assistance Program (CEDTAP) on issues related to social impact assessment, blended value, and program evaluation. Other work experience includes human rights at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), microfinance in Pakistan, and community health in Kenya. Karim holds a Masters degree in Public Administration with a focus on International Development from Carleton University, and an undergraduate degree in Economics from McMaster University.