Expert Sources
Members of our Board and staff are frequently called upon to provide expert commentary on breaking news and other issues. They are a key source for journalists looking for expert opinions - they know and understand the issues. Print, radio, and television news outlets have profiled COSTI in news stories dealing with immigration and settlement issues; language and skills training; specialized employment programs for youth, adults, and internationally trained professionals; problem gambling; housing support for families; mental health issues; and women and seniors' issues.
For more information, or to speak to one of our experts in a particular area, please call 647.827.1291.
Profiles
MARIO CALLA
Executive Director
JOSIE DI ZIO
Senior Director of Planning and Program Development
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Retired, Bruno formerly held the positions of Immigration Appeals Court Judge, and Citizenship Judge; and acted as Chair for the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
Bruno’s extensive volunteer and community activities include serving as a Member of the Executive Board of the Federation of Calabresi Ontario, and Coordinator for fundraising activities for the Mission Project in Tanzania of the Precious Blood Fathers and for the Carmelite Sisters. He is a founder of the National Congress of Italian Canadians, and a former Member of the Board of St. Michael's Hospital. Bruno is the recipient of the Government of Ontario Outstanding Achievement Award, Cross Pro Ecclesia Et Pontifice, Ordine Al Merito and the Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy awarded by the Government of Italy.
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Mario J. Calla, BA, MSW, has been the Executive Director of COSTI Immigrant Services since 1987.
COSTI is a community service agency that has been providing a broad range of services to immigrants and refugees in the greater Toronto area since 1952.
Mario is involved in his community on a volunteer capacity. He is past-President of Social Planning Toronto, serves on the Board of TRIEC and Chairs its Board Development and Governance Committee, has served as Vice-President of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants and Vice-President of International Social Services of Canada and is currently on the Board of the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, among other activities. Mario has served on the Minister’s Roundtable on Fair Access to Regulated Professions and on the Minister’s Advisory Group on Mental Health and Addictions for the Province of Ontario.
Mario has been recognized for his work with a number of awards including the Newcomer Champion Award by the Province of Ontario, the Queen Elizabeth II Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals and the Calabria-America Prize in Taurianova, Italy.
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Josie Di Zio has thirty years’ experience in Senior Management of agencies serving newcomers.
She was the Executive Director of the Working Women Community Centre, an immigrant women’s agency in downtown Toronto for ten years. Josie joined COSTI in 1999 as the Director of Employment Services and is currently the Senior Director of Planning and Program Development.
Josie was a longstanding member of the Board of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI), where she held positions President and Treasurer. Josie has represented the community-based sector at the National Settlement Council, the Service Delivery Advisory Group to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, the Youth Justice Advisory Committee and was a member of the national Voluntary Sector Advisory Committee to Service Canada. Josie has served on a number of community Boards including Cecil Community Centre, Canadian Multilingual Literacy Centre and the National Congress of Italian Canadians – Toronto. Josie is a graduate of York University majoring in socio-cultural Anthropology.
YASMINE DOSSAL
Director Social Services
VINCE PIETROPAOLO
General Manager, Family and Mental Health Services
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Yasmine joined COSTI in her present position in 2002.
With a Masters in Psychology and teacher training certification from England, Yasmine came to Canada from Pakistan in 1999, following a twenty-five year career in teaching and educational administration in both Iran and Pakistan, where she was also responsible for educational program development. Prior to leaving Pakistan, Yasmine was the Regional Director for the largest private network of schools in South Asia. She has supervised a number of educational projects funded by the World Bank, IMF, CIDA and the Aga Khan Foundation.
Yasmine has served as Chair of the Investment and Fundraising Committee of the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) and co-chair the Immigration and Settlement Working Group of the CCR. She is a member of the Board of the Social Planning Council of York Region as well as being a member of the Social Inclusion Working Group which is part of the Central Planning Table of the Peel Newcomer Strategy Group. In the past, Yasmine served as Co-Chair of the South Asian Community Services Network - York Region, member of the Woman Abuse Council, and Treasurer of the Board of the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA).
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Vince has been with COSTI for 15 years. He is currently the General Manager of COSTI’s Family and Mental Health Services, and oversees COSTI’s Problem Gambling Services.
Vince works with ethnocultural communities in program development and implementation in the areas of mental health, domestic violence, and problem gambling. He currently sits on the Ethnoracial Coalition: Access to Addiction Services; Toronto Addictions Implementation Committee; CAMH Problem Gambling Advisory Committee; the Problem Gambling Special Populations Committee; the North York Specialized Courts Advisory Committee; and the High Risk Consultation Team.
