By Tumelo E. Phali | Posted: March 30, 2005
Susan Panchan is the engine within the Leda Serene Films and Caribbeantales financial administration – she is responsible for all financial supervision including bookkeeping and budget administration.
She holds a Business Diploma in Business Administration after qualifying in 1987 from The Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto.
When she is not crunching figures or reconciling budgets in the office Susan has an equally demanding task as a volunteer worker managing and co-ordinating community projects where her financial management savvy has been extensively employed in fundraising activities.
An organizer and business administrator of note, she has helped get a number of adult and children’s projects off the ground - from conceptualization to completion.
She joined Leda Serene Films and Caribbeantales in 2003 as a General Manager responsible for the day-to-day operation of the two media divisions, which entailed establishing conducive working relationship with stakeholders.
Susan is in the process of stepping up several rungs on the management ladder as she is currently working towards a Bachelor Of Administrative Studies through York University.
We managed to distract her attention from her financial reports for a brief postprandial interview.
Could you share with us, in brief, your childhood background?
I was born and raised in Toronto as an only child. Both parents were immigrants from West Germany, they came to Canada in 1951 (after the war).
What does your work as general manager at Caribbeantales entail?
The work is as interesting as it is varied. Human Resource management, financial management, project co-ordination, line producing and other collateral duties.
What, in the main, do you like about the job?
I love the fact that Caribbean Tales is doing a job that in my opinion is vital to the community. Informing, educating and entertaining about the wealth of talent and history that the Caribbean offers to the world. I am also honored to work with such fine women as Frances-Anne Solomon, Anne Marie Stewart and the rest of the members of the Board of Directors. Every month we meet I am inspired by their contributions to the team.
At the end of the day I am proud that I am part of this organization.
You have done the same work for many other companies and organizations before, how has your experience been like working with non-profit entities like Caribbeantales whose mission is to showcase cultural values?
I particularly enjoy working with Caribbean Tales because I strongly believe in what they are trying to do. I have children of Caribbean descent and I find it extremely important that they be exposed to literature and culture that is rich and positive. There is more to being Caribbean than hip-hop and the beach. Through the website, the newsletters and the documentary series, they are opening their eyes to new role models, strong, smart, educated leaders in the Caribbean community.
Caribbeantales’ main mission is preservation and celebration of literary heritage and oral culture. What do these themes mean to you in your own background?
As I mentioned my family is from Germany and I have very fond memories of my grandmother telling me stories about raising a family during the war, stories of my grandfather (who died before I was born) which brought him to life for me and stories my late mother shared with me about her experiences growing up during bomb raids and famine. I have a very strong sense of what it means to be German even though I was born here and I try to pass this on to my own children who I hope will continue the tradition.
Can you tell us about the Literacy Outreach program you sponsored?
I was involved in a Reading Circle for children of all ages. I sponsored the event because I strongly believe that reading, story telling and literature in general is of vital importance to children in this generation. They are growing up with video games, DVD's and computers and are losing the benefits that books can bring. I volunteered my time as a one-on-one reader with the children as well as donated prizes as incentives for the children to attend and to continue attending.
What other community project are you currently working on?
Currently I am involved with fundraising for youth sports organizations. I am also a firm believer that children today need to exercise their bodies as well as their minds. My own children participate in a variety of competitive sports; basketball, soccer and diving and I try to support them by being actively involved.
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2002-2005