Shelly D’Mello
Chief Executive Officer

Shelly D’Mello is a skilled relationship builder, a collaborative coach who takes a strength-based approach to team and community development, a creative thinker, and a visionary leader. With over 25 years of experience in private, government, and non-profit organizations, Shelly is an inclusive and transformational leader whose strengths include strategic planning, financial acumen, organizational development, and organizational change management.

A self-proclaimed entrepreneur, Shelly is backed by a degree in Economics from York University, an international MBA from England, is a member of HRPAO (Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario) and holds a Certificate in Adult Training and Development from the University of Toronto.

She has held executive and management positions in organization in sectors including settlement and integration, management consulting, information technology, education, and health care.

Born in Guyana, South America, Shelly is passionate about women in leadership, and has created curriculum and facilitated workshops that empower immigrant women and entrepreneurs to create a meaningful life in Canada. Over the last 13 years, Shelly has immersed herself in the settlement and integration sector in Toronto, Ontario designing, developing, and delivering programs and services to newcomers, immigrants and refugees. These programs give voice, opportunity, and recognition to the important contributions of immigrants to Canada while addressing barriers to integration such as language, credential recognition, access to employment, mental health and wellbeing, and housing.

Shelly is a founding board member of Aurora House, a transitional home for survivors of modern slavery, and is the Treasurer of the Workforce Housing Non-Profit Corporation, a non-profit initiative working towards addressing how home ownership and control of the “roof over one’s head” is the best way to break the cycle of poverty, build equity, and create self-respect.

Tricia Khan
Director of Development

I am a philanthropic and program-development leader with over 20 years’ experience advancing humanitarian, community, and environmental initiatives worldwide. Before joining ICA, I led cross-sector programs that united communities, donors, and partners to advance equity and sustainability.

I see fundraising as a form of collective possibility—connecting people who care with causes that drive change. Inspired by the ocean, natural landscapes, and diverse voices of Greater Victoria, I’m committed to helping build a future where newcomers are celebrated and everyone can thrive and belong.

Todd Kitzler
Associate Director of Adult Learning

As the Associate Director of Adult Learning, I oversee the delivery of all learning and training at ICA for clients, community members and partners, and ICA staff.

I started teaching EAL overseas in 1986 and have been working at ICA since 1993. During my time with ICA, I have worked as a LINC Instructor, Head Language Instructor, Language Services Manager, and Acting Immigrant and Refugee Services Manager. After I started teaching English at ICA, I quickly realized that helping newcomers adjust to living in Canada is very important work.

ICA teaches newcomers the practical language tools needed, as well as information about local people, cultures, government, and employment to help them and their families thrive in Victoria.

Nahla AlSayah
Associate Director of  Client Experiences

As the Associate Director of Client Experiences, I ensure clients feel welcomed and supported throughout their integration and settlement journey. I lead with a client-centered approach that strengthens ICA’s core services and enhances the overall newcomer experience.

Since joining ICA in 2019 as a RAP Worker, I have advanced to RAP Team Coordinator and later RAP Manager, overseeing programs that connect refugees to housing, education, employment, and medical supports. I have worked closely with my team to streamline processes and improve transitions to settlement services.

As an immigrant, I am passionate about fostering inclusion and advocating for equitable opportunities that help newcomers thrive in Canadian society.

Florentien Verhage
Associate Director of Employer and Community Partnerships

Building community relationships is central to my role at ICA. I am responsible for enhancing employer engagement and community collaboration to celebrate and create better opportunities for newcomers in our region. I oversee ICA’s employment services components, the Greater Victoria Local Immigration Partnership (GVLIP), and research emerging community needs.

My interest in equity work started when working in academia in gender studies and philosophy. Born and raised in the Netherlands I have studied and worked in the UK and the US before arriving in Canada. As an immigrant myself, I feel passionate about collaboratively building a community that welcomes newcomers and is dedicated to an equitable approach to inclusion and participation.

Fanny Ngom
Immigrant and Refugee Services Manager

In my role as Immigrant and Refugee Services Manager, I oversee several teams supporting newcomers of all statuses as they build their lives in Canada. With over 10 years of frontline social work experience, and as an immigrant myself, I am deeply committed to helping newcomers navigate the challenges of resettlement.

My journey began in France, working in an emergency shelter for denied asylum seekers, an experience that shaped my lifelong dedication to this field. For the past three years at ICA, I’ve been fortunate to learn from clients, colleagues, and community partners about the realities faced by newcomers in the Greater Victoria region.

I am passionate about fostering inclusive, welcoming spaces where immigrants and refugees feel seen, supported, and empowered because I believe diversity is not only a strength but a pathway to thriving communities.

Sika Patton
Language Services Manager

As the Acting Language Services manager, I am responsible for overseeing and supporting the LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) program, the childcare program, the assessment team, and the Language Services administrative support team.

I began as an EAL teacher in 2004 and taught various levels of LINC classes at ICA starting in 2011. I also worked as Head Language Instructor from 2016-2022.  Helping newcomers become comfortable, confident, and successful in their lives in Canada has been inspiring and rewarding.   I am committed to working to meet the diverse needs of our clients so that they can achieve their goals. It is also a pleasure to work alongside the dedicated and passionate ICA staff. I look forward to supporting the Language Services department’s objective of helping newcomers thrive in Canada.

Paulina Grainger
Manager of Arts, Equity and Community Engagement

As the Manager of Arts and Community Engagement at ICA, my role is to develop and implement community based programs that support greater cultural competencies through anti-racism training programs like Tools for Equity as well as other community and arts engagement programs focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.

I joined ICA in 2012 and as a Black, immigrant woman of colour, with a deep connection to community and broad knowledge of the many systemic barriers faced by refugees and newcomers to Canada continuously informs my work. I use an innovative approach of art-based practices to explore critical social issues around equity, justice, diversity and inclusion, for which I was honoured to receive the BC Multiculturalism Award in 2016. My background includes experience as a community organizer, activist, arts administrator, actor, general manager of PUENTE Theatre, storyteller and TV and radio producer for International Advertising Agencies in Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Billie Tes (she/her)
Manager – Employee Engagement and Equity

As a human resources equity designer, relationship builder, and social justice leader I have witnessed the impact employers can make on their employees when the workplace cultures’ systems and processes center the employee experience. If employees have a positive experience in the workplace, it has a ripple effect on the organization, the larger community, and the sector.

Born in Canada, with an Afro-Caribbean father who immigrated from Barbados and a European mother, I’m a second-generation immigrant and this intersectionality of mixed-race ancestry informs my practice. I am an active volunteer in a variety of roles including as a cast member of ICA’s 2019 im:print performance, member of the Sexual Assault Response Team at the Victoria Sexual Assault Center and Vancouver Island Youth Get It Community Council at Coast Capital Savings Credit Union.

I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with a Major in Gender Studies and a Minor in Philosophy alongside a Diploma in Intercultural Studies and Practice. I am passionate about how people work together, what systems enable or inhibit building connection with one another and how we can work towards a sense of belonging for everyone.

In my free time I love to attend community events and am a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, crafter, and outdoor enthusiast. I strive to be a gentle visitor gardening on Quw’utsun unceded, ancestral, and traditional lands of the Hul’qumi’num people, in Duncan BC.

Quinton Gordon
Manager – Strategic Engagement

As the Manager of Strategic Engagement at ICA, my role is to develop, implement and oversee ICA’s communications strategies across all departments, including our client and community services.

My background includes working internationally in Costa Rica, New Zealand and the UK, for more than 25 years, helping tell the stories and share the impact of organizations in social, cultural and environmental sectors. Joining ICA’s leadership team in 2018 offered me the opportunity to focus my efforts on ICA’s mission–to support newcomers in Greater Victoria, while working alongside the community to address issues of racism and build a strong community that celebrates our diversity and provides the opportunity for us all to thrive–means I spend each day working towards values that I believe in.

Karen Gomes
Finance Manager

As the Finance Manager at ICA, I oversee financial operations to support our mission of assisting immigrants and refugees. My journey with ICA began in 2019 as a client, giving me a unique perspective and deep empathy for those we serve.

I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from Brazil and worked in criminal law before immigrating to Canada in 2008. Since then, I’ve worked in public practice accounting, operated a business in Victoria for eight years, and earned a Post-Degree Diploma in Business-Accounting. As a CPA candidate and immigrant myself, I’m passionate about using my skills to foster a supportive and inclusive environment for newcomers.