Narinder Dhami (she/her) is the President of The Sonor Foundation (currently on leave). She leads the Foundation’s strategic direction, working to advance systems change in our priority areas by mobilizing capital, partnerships, and cross-sector collaboration. 

Narinder is an award-winning social innovator who has built, designed, and scaled ventures across sectors and geographies. Her work spans philanthropy, impact investing, and social entrepreneurship, bringing depth, rigour, and a systems-level perspective to advancing social impact in North America and the Global South. She has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 and as a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader. 

In addition to her work at The Sonor Foundation, Narinder is the Founder of New Power Labs, where she continues to serve as a board member. In partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), she designed and led LEAP | Pecaut Centre for Social Impact, a venture philanthropy fund that mobilized private sector expertise to scale high-impact nonprofit interventions across Canada.  

Narinder was also the founding Executive Director and architect of Rise, a collaboration between the University of Toronto and CAMH that provides microfinancing and mentorship to entrepreneurs with mental health and addiction challenges. She led the initiative from pilot to expansion across Ontario and was awarded the University of Toronto’s Excellence Through Innovation Award for the program. 

Her experience in the Global South includes work in microfinance with La Première Agence de Microfinance (PAMF) across Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mali, and in impact investing with Acumen in Ghana and Nigeria. She later founded Marigold Capital, a boutique impact investing fund with a gender and social equity lens. 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Narinder partnered with South Asian community leaders to launch the India COVID-19 Relief Fund, creating a trusted and effective channel for rapid philanthropic response. 

Narinder is a lecturer at Toronto Metropolitan University and the University of Toronto, where she has contributed to the development of curriculum in microfinance and impact investing. She serves on multiple boards including Community Foundations of Canada, New Power Labs, Black Opportunity Fund Capital and Venture for Canada and is an investor and advisor in a number of social ventures and impact initiatives. She has previously served on the boards of the Canada Forum for Impact Investment and Development, Acumen Canada, and The Circle.  

Narinder holds a BASc in Electrical Engineering and an MBA in Strategy and Finance from the University of Toronto. She is known for her systems-oriented approach, ability to bridge sectors, and commitment to advancing equity through innovative uses of capital. Her work is grounded in a belief in the power of partnerships, the importance of shifting power to communities, and the role of bold, adaptive leadership in driving lasting social change.