Former Controller Sushma worked at Furniture Bank for over 5 years before leaving to pursue her professional career growth. Sushma started at Furniture Bank in 2011 as a Bookkeeper. She was determined to use this as an opportunity to work her way up and grow her career.
“After working over a year, I asked for job title changed from bookkeeper to Finance Co-ordinator; I was taken for granted and this is one of the barriers newcomers face – not getting recognition for their skill sets and being judged based on your appearance and language spoken”
“Many thanks to Dan for believing in me and giving me further opportunities. It isn’t easy finding a mentor like him, someone who doesn’t set any boundaries, letting you fly freely. It was a wonderful period in my life, I learned new skill sets and became a better version of myself”.
“I have great memories with Natasha and Tammy. Furniture Bank is a great place to work; with a growing mindset and a positive working culture.”
Sushma worked her way up from a Bookkeeper to a Finance Manager to a Controller. ”I was challenged by Dan to involve myself in various financial activities including interactions with the board, working on new projects, performing various cost benefit analysis and other areas of the operation. I’m grateful that Furniture Bank provided support to earn my CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant) designation. It added tremendous value in my professional and personal growth.”
“When I first came to Canada from Nepal, my daughter was fourteen months old, she’s now twelve, in seventh grade.”
Migrating to Canada along with her family and trying to find a job in Toronto was challenging to say the least. Sushma was in survival mode, desperately taking any job she could. It wasn’t easy at all. Shortly after working in numerous fast food restaurants, she knew she was not cut-out for it. She didn’t have the skills to work in such environments and wasn’t familiar with the culture. Sushma recalls her experience at Select Sandwich, “I had trouble with the eggs and toasting the bread. I didn’t know how to do the job, I never worked in an environment like that.”
After leaving Furniture Bank, she worked at Women’s Habitat, The Learning partnership and currently works as the Director of Finance at Toronto Artscape Inc., a not for profit that makes space for creativity and transforming communities.
Sushma only has working experience in Not for Profit/ charitable sectors in Canada. She believes in giving back to the community and sharing her skills in meaningful ways. Sushma also served on the board of a charity, Settlement Assistance and Family Support Services (SAFSS) as a Treasurer.
Sushma Subdedi, CPA, CGA: Former Controller
Sushma added “One of my passions is to dance; eventually I found some time to become a Zumba instructor. I offered classes to my peers which helped build trust and significantly improved communications”.
