UTAA President Brings International Perspective

Paul Cadario (BASc 1973) may not live in Toronto – he’s a senior manager at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. – but the new president of the University of Toronto Alumni Association (UTAA) still feels a close affinity to his alma mater. And during his two-year term as president, Cadario aims to strengthen the ties between the alumni community and U of T. “We need to look at alumni engagement as a lifelong activity,” he says.

In particular, Cadario sees an opportunity to raise the association’s profile internationally and with young alumni. This will mean looking at ways to engage grads beyond their college, faculty or division. “The student experience at the university today is related to other aspects of students as people, whether it’s ethnic groups, the gay and lesbian community, or membership in clubs or sporting organizations,” says Cadario, who is the first openly gay president of the UTAA and the first president to live outside of Toronto.

At the divisional level, he’d like to expand on existing areas of alumni involvement. Cadario himself served on the dean’s advisory board for the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. “There are enormous opportunities for alumni to enlist and support the work that President Naylor has led on the student experience.”

Cadario has a long history of involvement with the University of Toronto. He was an alumni governor on Governing Council from 1985 to 1994, is president of the Associates of the University of Toronto and is an advisory board member for the School of Public Policy and Governance. He is also a mentor for the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management.

Former UTAA president Michael Deck (MBA 1990) handed over the reins to Cadario at the UTAA’s annual general meeting in June. The following members of the board of directors were elected for a two-year term: Matthew Chapman (MBA 2000), the former senior vice-president of operations at Workbrain Corporation; Francoise Ko (BSc 1997 St. Michael’s, MSc 2001, PhD 2006), a senior analyst at Courtyard Group; Bonnie Stern (BA 1969 New College), cookbook author and founder of the Bonnie Stern School of Cooking; Eira Thomas (BSc 1991 UTM), the CEO and a director of Stornoway Diamond Corporation; and Evelyn Sue Wong (BSc 1972 New College, MBA 1974, MIR 1980), an employee relations consultant in Singapore.

The other UTAA board members this year are: president Paul Cadario; treasurer Carl Mitchell (BSc 1984 St. Michael’s), chief information officer of MED e-care Healthcare Solutions; Cynthia Good (BA 1974 UC, MA 1975), director of the Creative Book Publishing Program at Humber College; Rudyard Griffiths (BA 1993 Trinity), founder and director of the Dominion Institute; and Lorraine McLachlan (BA 1994 UTSC), president and CEO of the Canadian Franchise Association. Wendy Cecil (BA 1971 Victoria), chairman of the President’s International Alumni Council, and Rivi Frankle (BA 1968 UC), interim vice-president and chief advancement officer at the University of Toronto, are ex-officio members.