Leadership
Board of Directors
Karel Vredenburg
President and Co-Founder
Karel has had a long career as a design executive, most recently as a Global Vice President at IBM. He is an Industry Professor at McMaster University’s DeGroote Schools of Business and Medicine, where he teaches Innovation by Design to EMBA students, health leaders, and board directors. He has served on the Board of Directors for the IBM Employee Charitable Fund, was Vice President of the VegTO Board of Directors, and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Food for Climate League.
He co-founded and led several large-scale global initiatives, including the COVID-19 Design Challenge with the World Design Organization and Design for America, and the Future of Design Education Initiative alongside design visionary Don Norman. These efforts demonstrated that large-scale, volunteer-driven design-for-good projects can have outsized impact. Insightful conversations with award-winning filmmaker Carly Williams sparked the breakthrough idea of combining research and design with storytelling and filmmaking to tackle major global challenges. That vision led to the founding of Habits for a Better World, which they now lead together.
Karel did undergraduate, masters, and doctoral studies at the University of Toronto initially in cognitive science and clinical psychology which later led to research, specialization, and his life-long passion for, practice in, and leadership of design and research.
Carly Williams
Filmmaker, Producer, and Co-Founder
Carly is a Toronto-based filmmaker and producer. Collaborating with iconic brands including Microsoft Design, Pantone, Nike, UN Biodiversity, Harvard, Yale and more to produce documentary films which have screened at major design festivals including SXSW, DesignTO, NYCxDesign and more. Her first film The Garden of Secrets (2016, The Green Channel) on Biomimicry premiered at Cooper Hewitt's Smithsonian Museum, and was shortlisted for multiple Fastco World Changing Idea Awards. Carly was recently the Assembly Editor on BlackBerry (Paramount 2023).
Carly co-founded Habits for a Better World with Karel Vredenburg and co-leads it with him. She holds a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Melbourne and Queen’s University, and an Honors BA in Film/Cinema/Video Studies from Queen’s University.
Nicole Fich
Vice President and Treasurer
Nicole is an investment professional with over 16 years of experience spanning investment banking, private equity and private credit. Most recently, she was a Partner at Penfund, a boutique private credit firm with approximately $3 billion of assets under management, where she co-led the underwriting and portfolio management functions.
Nicole currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of We Animals and previously served as a Director and Treasurer of VegTO. She holds a BA in Honors Business Administration (with distinction) from Western University.
Emma Vredenburg
Secretary and Project Manager
Emma is a sustainability and placemaking professional with over a decade of experience designing and leading programs that connect people, nature, and community. At Evergreen Canada, her work has focused on activating public spaces, supporting local food systems, and curating climate-focused programming, while championing inclusive and community-led solutions. Passionate about plant-based living, animal welfare, and environmental justice, Emma brings a systems-thinking approach to building a more sustainable and compassionate future.
She holds a BA in Environmental Ethics and Human Geography from the University of Toronto and a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Copenhagen.
Board of Advisors
Nital Jethalal
Economist and Policy Director
Nital is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Institute for Future Food Systems (IFFS), a nonprofit that mobilizes knowledge, solutions and networks to accelerate the transformation of food systems. He regularly advises a wide range of food and agriculture stakeholders on policy, procurement, and engagement strategies.
Previously, Nital served as Director of Economics and Policy at Plant-Based Data. His work in food systems began in 2008, in strategic policy at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, where he contributed to Canada’s first national agricultural policy framework.
Nital is a Director on the board of the Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank and Studio89 and recently stepped down as President of VegTO, where he just co-launched Canada’s first national Veganuary campaign.
He holds a BComm in International Trade and Business, and an MSc in International Economics from Queen’s University.
Alex Ciccone
Vice President
Alex Ciccone is a mission-driven business leader with over a decade of experience in partnerships, sales strategy, and brand development across the health, wellness, and sustainability sectors. He currently serves as Vice President of Business Development at Vegandale, where he has helped scale one of North America's largest vegan festivals and built partnerships with leading consumer packaged goods, lifestyle, and wellness brands. His work centers on aligning business success with positive social and environmental impact.
A longtime advocate for veganism and holistic wellness, Alex brings both strategic insight and lived experience to his advisory work. As a board member with Habits for a Better World, he is passionate about helping individuals and organizations adopt simple yet powerful habits that foster personal growth and systemic change.
He holds an MBA from York University.
Antonella Mintegui
Account Manager
Antonella is a multidisciplinary professional with expertise in international trade, law, and business analytics, and has specialized knowledge in subtle, high-impact methods for inspiring behavior change.
She holds a PhD in Law from UDELAR, the University of the Republic in Uruguay.