Peggie Pelosi
Founder and CEO

Peggie Pelosi has spent her career inspiring international business leaders through her speaking, coaching and writing—all based on 20 years of personal sales success.  Her greatest inspiration, however, has come from corporate philanthropy—a means for companies to move forward by giving back.

At the peak of her sales career, Peggie was brought in as VP of Network Development (Sales) for USANA Health Sciences (usna- NASDAQ).  Peggie immediately saw that while USANA’s products were solid and the people were great, the corporate culture was hampering bottom line results.

In an effort to inspire the company and its employees, Peggie created a partnership between USANA and the Children’s Hunger Fund that reinvigorated the company. The next few years brought staggering results. Not only did company-wide contributions to the charity grow 10 fold, sales increased dramatically resulting in a 3000% increase in USANA’s share value.

Strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) made the difference, and Peggie wanted to share what she had learned. Peggie left USANA to establish ORENDA; a strategic CSR consulting company dedicated to helping companies leverage the power of CSR to create a meaningful connection between people and the places they work. Peggie Pelosi is also a sought after speaker to businesses, business groups, business schools and non-profit organizations on Corporate Karma; How business can move forward by giving back.

Peggie is on the Board of Directors of Children’s Hunger Fund (Canada) and is an active humanitarian, having spent time working in Central America, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and in the inner city of her hometown of Toronto.

Just for fun: Peggie has 2 beautiful labradoodles, 5 fabulous sons, and one adorable grandson. She studied Music Business Administration and co-produced Jazzman, a 10 part documentary series profiling Canadian jazz musicians, for BRAVO!.

Jonathan Pelosi
Managing Partner

Jonathan is directly responsible for designing and implementing ORENDA’s revenue growth strategies as well as overseeing the day to day operations of the company’s sales organization.

Jonathan brings nearly a decade of sales and business development experience to ORENDA. He held key positions in several start-ups including one of North America’s first interactive mobile media companies, toMarket Inc.  As head of sales and development at toMarket Inc. Jonathan secured instrumental financing and exceeded sales quota projections for the companies pilot project launch.

As an active humanitarian, Jonathan has participated in a range of international initiatives from rainforest conservation programs in the Amazon to orphanage rebuilding projects in Uganda.

Jonathan is a Deans Honors List graduate and recipient of the Entrepreneurship Certification from the Richard Ivey School of Business where he received his Honors in Business Administration (HBA). During his academic tenure, Jonathan also studied management abroad at The Hong Kong University.

Just for fun: Jonathan studies kung-fu and kickboxing 3 times a week with Canadian kickboxing legend Sifu Lou Paul Giuliani.

Michael Pelosi
Managing Partner

Michael Pelosi is ORENDA’s  Account Manager, facilitating our corporate/cause partnerships. Since joining the ORENDA team, Michael has focused on building the corporate infrastructure needed to maintain ORENDA’s rapid growth while ensuring that quality remains high during these times of expansion. Along with Jonathan, Michael shares responsibility for ORENDA’s day-to-day operations. His global point of view nicely complements ORENDA’s needs as a youthful and growing consulting practice with a highly diverse client base.  

Prior to joining ORENDA, Michael immersed himself in sales as an independent distributor with Isagenix International, one of North America’s fastest growing nutritional companies. As a young executive, he motivated and led his sales team to consistent success. Prior to Isagenix, he pursued his true passion, volunteering abroad. His travels took him to Ggaba, a small fishing village in Uganda, to work at an orphanage; Hoi An, Vietnam to teach English, math, and basic computing to children, and Nairobi, Kenya to teach at a government school. On top of his hands on volunteering, Michael has raised thousands of dollars for the great NGO’s he has worked with through photo exhibits, showcasing the photo journals from his travels. Michael has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University.

Just for fun: In 2007 Michael was chosen as the model for the East Asian launch campaign for ROOTS Clothing. 

Heather McKelvey
Communications and Account Management

A combination of education, business experience and involvement in the community inspired Heather to explore career opportunities within the field of Corporate Social Responsibility, which led her to ORENDA. Heather has recently completed her MBA at the Sobey School of Business with concentrations in Marketing and Management Consulting.   During her studies Heather published a paper about the impact that Corporate Social Responsibility has on the consulting profession and wrote a Masters Research Paper on how companies can strategically market their social initiatives.

After obtaining her Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University, Heather spent eight months traveling in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.  Upon her return she joined Rogers, Canada’s largest wireless provider, in the marketing department.  There she was accountable for event management, regional promotion execution, sponsorship selection and implementation, in-depth market research and analysis, and graphic design.  During her time at Rogers Heather successfully supported multiple sales teams, helping them to surpass their quotas each quarter before returning to school. Throughout she has been involved in a number of very rewarding volunteer experiences; the most significant being a three week trip to Sri Lanka building homes for tsunami survivors.

Just for fun: Heather is also keeping busy planning for her September wedding. 

Meredith Kennedy
Business Development and Account Manager, West Coast

While completing a Bachelor of Applied Science at Queen's University, Meredith had the opportunity to volunteer for a summer developing a water distribution project in Guyana. This life changing experience ignited her passion for working with organizations to become more socially conscious. Meredith completed an MBA at UBC's Sauder School of Business and then began consulting with organizations with a focus on developing and implementing sustainable business practices.

Meredith has gained valuable experience in conducting research to determine the current state of an organization. She is skilled at facilitating workshops, performing strategic audits, and designing and implementing change initiatives. She enjoys working with organizations who are open to reviewing their corporate strategy with the goal of improving their long term sustainability, and therefore viability.

Just for fun: Meredith is a founding partner of S4S, an organization that builds online collaboration workspaces. 

Kate Buggeln
Program Advisor

Kate Buggeln helps individuals and organizations find the path to sustainable and satisfying growth.

Over a 25 year career as a retail and consumer goods leader, Kate has worked over the globe with internationally established retail leaders, medium sized and start-up companies. Notably she was the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Coach early this decade, a time of remarkable brand growth for the fashion accessories company. Today she advises executive teams on growth strategy and serves on the boards of Noble Biomaterials, a premium high performance fabric manufacturer and Dress Barn Inc. (DBRN), one of the leading U.S. women's specialty retailers. Prior boards include Circles Inc and Spire, two lifestyle services companies.

But Kate’s passion since 2004 has been helping entrepreneurs in developing nations grow their businesses and make a profit. Kate has led nine missions to Rwanda and Afghanistan for Bpeace where she serves on its board and directs Bpeace's efforts in Rwanda. Since 2002, in post conflict countries like Rwanda and Afghanistan, Bpeace accelerates the ability of women entrepreneurs to build small and medium size businesses central to society's recovery and peaceful future.

Helping a new generation of leaders emerge in these countries is among the most fulfilling of Kate’s work. But equally satisfying has been helping individuals and companies reap long lasting personal and financial rewards from volunteering. Indeed, as a business woman and as a not for profit leader, Kate has seen corporate philanthropy as not merely a force for social change but the great untapped financial resource on the P&L.

Just for fun: Kate has two spirited 4-legged children --- two dogs named Puck and Cupcake, and one remarkable husband. When not traveling the world, she can be found in the mountains with skis or bikes under foot.