We want to extend our gratitude to André Vashist, Director Social Innovation for his 5+ plus years at Pillar Nonprofit Network. André started off as a volunteer connecting new co-tenants to Innovation Works and then took on a role to grow VERGE Capital.
André has sparked and grown many projects at Pillar including the most recent Women of Ontario Social Enterprise Network and the launch of the new VERGE Breakthrough Fund. André has facilitated collaboration into new communities, networks and spaces and brought a Social R&D (research and development) lens to our work and community. We have benefitted from Andre's capacity to lean into what is emergent in the innovation sector while cultivating his awareness of how systems work and interlock.
By focusing his attention on new areas, André wants to consciously create natural openings for others to grow in Pillar and as he continues to grow alongside the organization. This is an opportunity to look at other projects from new vantage points and harness his skills in equity, social finance, network development, facilitation of collaboration and scaling impact.
André will be remaining in London and will continue to be engaged with Pillar, Innovation Works and our community. Stay connected by connecting with him on LinkedIn. We wish André much success.