Meet Our Team

Michael Cvitkovic was named president and chief executive officer of Abilities Centre on January 16, 2024. 

Cvitkovic has been a fixture of the Canadian sports scene since the late 1990s, helping build some of the most successful sport and recreation brands in our country, including the Toronto Raptors Basketball Club, Tennis Canada, Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, and most recently, launching the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) since its inception in 2019. 

He has also provided leadership to underserved communities while bringing greater awareness to sport within Truth & Reconciliation as the General Manager of the successful 2017 North American Indigenous Games in Toronto. A proud supporter of parasport, Cvitkovic was the Press Chief for Team Canada at the 2010 Paralympic Games.

During his career, Cvitkovic has successfully produced award-winning marketing and communication campaigns, balanced multi-million-dollar budgets, and worked with community partners, stakeholders, and staff to create unique and inclusive environments for members of the community through sports and recreation.
 

Ross Ste-Croix joined Abilities Centre as its Chief Operating Officer on January 30, 2022. From November 1, 2023 through February 29, 2024, he served as the Centre’s Interim President & Chief Executive Officer, and has now returned to his role as COO.

Ste-Croix has spent his career mostly in the sport and disability sectors, working for Waterski & Wakeboard Canada, the Canadian Lacrosse Association, and Special Olympics Canada before spending a year as a Sport Consultant with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. His time with the Provincial government launched his leadership journey, which began with Executive Director roles at Athletics Ontario and WindReach Farm, a full-accessible farm that provides programming for individuals with disabilities. 

In 2019, Ste-Croix served as the Sport Chair on the Games Organizing Committee for the Special Olympics Invitational Youth Games, overseeing the delivery of five sport competitions for a total of 2,000+ participants from all over the world. Currently, he sits on the advisory board for Axcessiom Technologies, a tech start-up that is developing a prototype to assist drivers with disabilities.

In his career, Ste-Croix has developed an expertise in the financial management of charitable organizations, capital reserve planning, human resource management, policy development, and strategic planning. He is an advocate for reform in disability policy and enhanced accessibility of built environments and workplace policies and procedures. 
 

Three words that best describe Natasha:

Hard- working, passionate and solution-oriented.

What’s Natasha's role and connection to the cause? 

Natasha is a passionate and a highly skilled fundraising professional. With 20+ years of experience in the charitable sector, she is purpose driven to raise money and create impact for Abilities Centre through sustained, innovative and meaningful partnerships. She wants to create positive change and see progress in the areas of accessibility and inclusion.
Natasha is donor-centred and committed to building strong, long-term relationships with individuals, community, and corporate partners. With a background in fundraising events, campaigns, sponsorship, and corporate and community development she is excited to create an environment of philanthropy at Abilities Centre. 

What academic work set Natasha up for success? 

Natasha is a graduate of York University and holds a Double Honours BA in Cultural Anthropology and Communications.

Interesting tidbit:

Outside of the office, you can find Natasha spending time with her husband, son and dog. She enjoys trying out new cuisines, reading, music and travelling.
 

Three words to describe Larissa: 

Kind, Organized and Genuine. 

What's your role and connection to the cause?

Larissa comes to the Abilities Centre from a career in sport administration in both provincial sport and university athletics.  Larissa manages and supports the department leads for programs and services by driving innovation and fostering a genuine, person-centred environment that values and encourages teamwork, inclusion, and accountability.  She is passionate about evaluating and building infrastructure and frameworks to streamline processes and create efficiencies within our programs department.  

What academic work set you up for success?
Larissa has a Master’s Degree in Sport Management from the University of Ottawa and a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Kinesiology from Western Ontario.

Interesting tidbit
Larissa enjoys playing tennis, baking, and exploring local parks and playgrounds with her young daughter. 

Three words that best describe Emilie:

Curious, kind, and loyal

What’s Emilie's role and connection to the cause? 

Emilie is an academically trained researcher whose desire for serving others led her to join the not-for-profit sector. She started collaborating with persons living with chronic diseases and disabilities early in her career and is passionate about finding ways to serve these communities through research. Since then, she has continued to find ways of advancing research in this field with partners across Canada. Her goal as Director of Research is to ensure that the programs and services at Abilities Centre have a long-term impact on participants. Before joining the Abilities Centre team, Emilie worked on research projects that aimed to better understand the physical activity experiences of persons with disabilities and individuals living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 

What academic work set Emilie up for success? 

Emilie has her Ph.D. in Kinesiology Sciences from McGill University, where she conducted research on program implementation and evaluation in individuals living with chronic disease, as well as explored behaviour change and motivation in persons with disabilities. She received her B.Sc. in Kinesiology with a Minor in History from McGill University as well. 

Interesting tidbit:

Emilie loves to travel, and her favourite activities are hiking and reading books. 

Contact:

emichalovic@abilitiescentre.org
T: 905 665 8500 ext. 105

Three words to describe Bronwyn?

Determined, passionate, loyal

What's Bronwyn's role and connection to the cause?

Bronwyn started at Abilities Centre in 2021 as a placement student and knew she wanted to continue her journey with an organization whose values aligned with her own. In her current role as Manager, Physical Literacy & Education, Bronwyn leads a dynamic team who work to share Abilities Centre’s vision and mission towards inclusion with regards to physical literacy development and physical activity opportunities. She works closely with educators, camp staff, and recreation professionals to expand their understanding in how to plan and deliver inclusive programming. Bronwyn is passionate about using strength-based approaches to create pathways for individuals of all ages and abilities to find activities they love. 

What academic work set Bronwyn up for success?

Bronwyn has a Master of Arts degree in Kinesiology from Western University, where she researched the unique experiences of Canadian women competing in wheelchair rugby. She continued on to earn her graduate diploma in Therapeutic Recreation from Mohawk College. Therapeutic recreation continues to inform her practice today as she strives to ensure recreation is a positive, accessible, and lifelong pursuit for all. She received her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Health Studies at Queen’s University, which set her up for success in understanding and appreciating a holistic approach to health. 

Interesting tidbit

Bronwyn previously worked in outdoor education. She loves being outside and exploring Ontario’s beautiful provincial parks. 

Three words that best describe Tracy:

Caring, Passionate, Charismatic 

What’s Tracy's role and connection to the cause?  

Tracy has been with Abilities Centre since the doors opened in 2012 and knew at a that point in her career that Health & Wellbeing at Abilities Centre was always going to be a part of her life. Her passion for helping everyone to connect socially or physically at the centre was her plan from day one. 

Tracy is responsible for the outstanding quality and inclusive Health & Wellbeing fitness programming for all ages and abilities; she also sets her standards to the highest to make sure we deliver outstanding customer excellence to our centre and community partners.   

Coming from the UK (Scotland)  Tracy, along with her two children had a few barriers to cross on their journey to becoming part of Canada’s wonderful diverse and inclusive country. 

What academic work set Tracy up for success?  

Tracy has been in the Health & Wellness industry for over 25 years. Coming from a strong leadership background she has multiple certification in many streams in all fitness trends, from many fitness industries,  she also holds a BSc (Hons) diploma from Strathclyde University in Leadership & Management, through Fitness, Sports & Development, she is also an Exercise Physiologist. 

Interesting tidbit  

Being an Oshawa Generals hockey fan, she loves to go to local games, she also loves to travel on vacations to different countries and on her spare time you will find Tracy on her motorcycle.

Contact:

tmahon@abilitiescentre.org
T: 905 665 8500 ext. 200

Three words to describe Arnetia: 

Personable, Passionate, Perceptive

What's Arnetia's role and connection to the cause?

Arnetia is the go-to for all things HR. She started as a Durham College placement student in 2016 and stayed on as a volunteer to gain more hands-on experience in the field, before officially joining the team in 2017. Over the last 6 years, she has worked her way up the ranks from Coordinator to Manager, learning to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of HR while keeping AC compliant and ahead of best practices in the process. In addition to her time in HR, she has many years of experience in Customer Service and Team Leadership, gained from previous employment and volunteer positions. A creative person by nature, she enjoys collaborating with, and learning from, coworkers on how to make Human Resources more accessible and inclusive, while bringing a fresh perspective and a more personal approach to HR.

What academic work set Arnetia up for success?

 Arnetia holds a Bachelor’s of Commerce in Business Management from Ryerson University, majoring in Global Management, minoring in Organizational Leadership. She also has a Human Resources Graduate Certificate from Durham College and received her Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation in 2020. She continues to invest in education and knowledge through webinars as she pursues the Certified Human Resources Leadership (CHRL) designation next.

Interesting tidbit

With her parents and brother, Arnetia immigrated to Canada from Guyana when she was 3; she now lives in Peterborough ON with her husband, whose family immigrated from Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica.

Contact:

achin@abilitiescentre.org

Three words that best describe Mariam:

Enthusiastic, Diligent, Personable

What’s Mariam role and connection to the cause? 

In 2021, Mariam joined Abilities Centre as a Senior Coordinator for the Adult Day Program, Thrive. Currently moved into Manager role to continue to make a positive and meaningful impact at Abilities Centre for the DSO community accessing community participation. 

What academic work set Mariam up for success?
Mariam has a Diploma from Humber College in Recreation and Leisure Services, a decade of experience in personal training and aquatic fitness. With a passion for helping others, Mariam transitioned into developmental services focusing on Adult Day Program for the past 20 years. Mariam is thrilled to have both her passions met with Abilities Centre’s mission. 

Interesting tidbit:
Mariam is one of 6 children, the only girl in the family. Joys the great outdoors, usually lost at a hiking trail and can be found at a garden section at a hardware store. Loves spending quality time with her husband and 2 kids and trying new foods.