2009 Maytree Leadership Conference

Agaton, Celina

Communications Consultant

Celina Agaton is an advocate for social technology and sustainable partnerships for social benefit organizations. She developed a program to provide low cost and free technology tools and resources to support Volunteer Toronto’s community of 400 non-profit organizations. She speaks to community groups about the benefits of social innovation and cross-sector collaboration. Celina has a background in communications and is a contributor to the sequel to Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything.

Argo, Ed

Speakers’ Bureau Coordinator, Toronto People with AIDS Foundation

Ed has been actively involved in working within the HIV/AIDS community for over 15 years. He is a strong believer in the philosophies of the United Nation’s Program on HIV/AIDS – “The G.I.P.A Principle” (Greater Involvement of People Living with AIDS). Ed has trained volunteers to facilitate peer support groups for people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. He has also co-created and co-facilitates the foundation module of the Ontario AIDS Network’s People Living with HIV/AIDS Leadership Program. He currently works at the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation as the Speakers Bureau Coordinator and teaches part-time at George Brown College.

Bardeesy, Karim

Reporter, The Globe and Mail

Karim Bardeesy, the son of immigrants from Egypt and England, grew up in Bathurst, New Brunswick. He has a BA from McGill University and a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He has extensive experience in government and politics, having worked as a special assistant to the Ontario Minister of Finance, an assistant in the Ontario Liberal Party’s 2003 election campaign, and for several MPPs. He has worked more recently in journalism, as a reporter at the Globe and Mail and editorial assistant at The Big Money, and has been published in the Washington Post, Toronto Life, Slate, and Corporate Knights magazine. Karim studied public narrative with Marshall Ganz, its main theorist and an organizer for Barack Obama. He has been leading, assisting with, or devising public narrative training sessions for government officials, activists, and students in the United States and Canada since 2007.

Costantino, Terry

Principal, Usability Matters

Terry’s path to becoming a principal at Usability Matters began with the realization that her Masters Degree in Information Studies, completed with the intention of becoming an art librarian, would also serve her well in the personally fascinating world of digital information. Terry had previously worked in advertising, publishing, and as a gallery director, leading a number of information needs assessment projects along the way, until the “new media” revolution presented the chance to work exclusively in the digital arena. She was then engaged by Bell Canada’s Communications Department as an internal consultant to senior management on myriad web-based programs. From there, she went on to become an Information Architect at ICE, an integrated digital communications and entertainment firm before becoming a founding member of Usability Matters.

Cruikshank, John

Publisher, The Toronto Star

John Cruickshank is the Publisher of the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest newspaper. John is the 9th publisher in the newspaper’s 117-year history.

John has enjoyed a distinguished career in newspapers and television in both Canada and the United States.

Prior to his appointment as the Star‘s Publisher in November, 2008, he served as Publisher of CBC News since September, 2007, where he was responsible for all English language television, radio and online news. Before joining the CBC, he was Publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times and Chief Operating Officer of the Sun-Times Media Group, based in Chicago, from 2003 to 2007. Prior to being named Publisher of the Sun-Times, he was Vice President, Editorial, from 2000 to 2003.

John is also a former Managing Editor of The Globe and Mail and former Editor-in-Chief of The Vancouver Sun. He has also worked for The Montreal Gazette and started his journalism career with the Kingston Whig Standard.

Born and raised in Toronto, John is a graduate of Trinity College at the University of Toronto.

Howell, Julia

communications consultant

Julia Howell is the founder of Community Investment Partners, a Toronto-based consultancy that builds and promotes philanthropic programs. Her 20-year track record in communications, nonprofit management and grant-making gives her a 360-degree perspective on the field of philanthropy. As a writer and corporate communications specialist, her foundation and corporate clients benefit from the seamless integration of subject-matter and technical expertise.

Hughes, Dean

Dean Hughes is VP, Community Development for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation. Dean is responsible for overseeing the Foundation’s annual giving, special events, online and media programs. Dean has been a fundraiser and not-for-profit marketer for 15 years, working with some of the biggest charities in the UK and Canada.

Jain, Ravi

Program Director, Schools without Borders

Ravi Jain was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. He trained at LAMDA in London, England, graduated with honours from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and is a recent graduate of the two-year program of Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris. Ravi’s training includes Commedia dell’arte in Italy, Noh/Kabuki Sweeden with Abel Solares, as well as with Ann Bogart and the SITI Company and various members of Theatre De Complicite.

As an actor Ravi has worked internationally. As a director Ravi has directed various pieces in Athens and Paris, as well as Classics like Antigone, Hamlet and Othello in New York City. Ravi has taught extensively in Singapore, Brazil, Kenya, Italy, Canada and the US, teaching workshops in physical theatre, devising theatre, mask, clown, commedia, and storytelling as independent workshops or with companies.

Ravi is also program director of Schools Without Borders and uses theatre to bridge divides with youth from all backgrounds, races and classes.

Ladd, Deena

Coordinator, Workers’ Action Centre

Deena Ladd has worked for the past 18 years to improve wages and working conditions for workers of colour, low-wage workers and immigrant workers, who are often the most marginalized and vulnerable. Currently Deena is the co-ordinator of The Workers Action Centre working with predominantly low-waged immigrant workers and workers of colour in contingent jobs that face discrimination, violations of rights and no benefits in the workplace.

Lewington, Jennifer

Reporter, the Globe and Mail

Born on a farm in southern Ontario, Jennifer Lewington broke into journalism with a scholarship for summer reporting at the London Free Press in 1967. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario and Columbia University, Jennifer started her career with the Financial Post in Ottawa, then moved on to the Montreal Gazette (in Montreal), the Canadian Press (in Ottawa) before joining the Globe and Mail in 1981.

In 1984, when posted to Washington, Jennifer became the Globe‘s first female foreign correspondent, winning a National Newspaper Award. In 1991, she was named a Neiman Fellow at Harvard University before returning to the Globe in Canada to write about education and later about urban issues.

Jennifer is currently Toronto City Hall Bureau Chief, reporting on news and features of interest to residents.

Moore, Sean

Policy and advocacy trainerSean Moore is one of Canada’s most experienced practitioners, writers and teachers on public-policy advocacy. He has more than 30 years experience in public-policy and advocacy (i.e. lobbying) related to local, provincial/state and federal government affairs.

For the last year, he has been extensively involved in helping numerous associations and corporations prepare for their compliance with the new provisions of the federal Lobbying Act.

Sean also serves as a SiG Fellow in support of the Social Innovation Generation (or “SiG”) Initiative sponsored by the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation and its partners, the PLAN Institute of Vancouver, the University of Waterloo and the MaRS Discovery Project in Toronto.

For more than 12 years, he was the Ottawa-based Public-Policy Advisor and Partner at the national law firm of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP. He has also worked as a Washington, DC-based government-relations advisor on state and federal issues in the United States.

Today, Sean has a limited consulting practice and is involved in on-going study and exploration of the nuts and bolts of organized attempts to influence decisions of government by all elements of society.

In his semi-retirement, he develops and conducts professional-development training in advocacy for industry and professional associations, NGOs and even governments.

Murphy, Tim

Former Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Canada, Tim Murphy is currently a partner in the downtown legal firm, McMillan where his practice focuses on transactions with a public component with a particular emphasis on public private partnerships and on assisting governments and the private sector on broader public policy issues. In a wide array of areas, including infrastructure, energy and health care, Tim brings extensive experience in the public sector. As Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Canada, Tim provided strategic advice and direction to the Cabinet, the Prime Minister and to senior levels of the public service. His public sector experience also includes serving as Chief of Staff to the Finance Minister of Canada, as a Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario and as a strategic advisor to governments at all levels.

As a lawyer, Tim has advised national and international clients in diverse areas including government procurement, finance, construction law, infrastructure and renewable energy, and bid practices generally. IFLR 1000 ranks Tim as a “Leading Lawyer” in Project Finance.

Tim is currently teaching the Law and Policy of Public Private Partnerships at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and was recently a sessional professor of Securities Regulation at the Queen’s University Faculty of Law.

Pazira, Nelofer

Nelofer Pazira is an Afghan-Canadian filmmaker, writer, journalist and human rights activist. She was the lead in Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s Kandahar which was based on her story (2001) and co-directed and co-produced Return to Kandahar. She directed and produced Audition and has recently written and directed her first dramatic feature Act of Dishonour.

A Bed of Red Flowers: In Search of my Afghanistan is Nelofer’s first book (2005), published by Random House Canada. As a journalist, she has worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio and Television. She has also written for Sight & Sound (the British Film Institute Magazine), Elm Street, Maclean’s, The Ottawa Citizen, The Toronto Star, The Independent (UK), Panorama (Italy), and El Semanal (Spain).

Nelofer has served as PEN Canada’s president since 2006. She’s set up a charity – Dyana Afghan Women’s Fund (www.dawf.ca) - in memory of her friend to provide education and skills training for women in Afghanistan.

Rowe, Robin

Robin Rowe is Director of Public Affairs at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital and one of the world’s leading research centres. Robin is responsible for overseeing CAMH’s corporate communications program, including media relations and reputation management. A seasoned communications professional, Robin has worked in both the public and not-for-profit sectors focusing on issues of health and affordable housing.

Singh, Sonia

Organizer, Workers’ Action Centre

Sonia Singh is an organizer with the Workers’ Action Centre (WAC), a worker-based organization committed to improving the lives and working conditions of people in low-wage and unstable employment. WAC brings workers together to to fight for fair employment and to provide leadership in our struggle for fairness and dignity at work.

Struthers, Marilyn

Program Manager, Province-Wide, Ontario Trillium Foundation

Marilyn Struthers is a Program Manager in the Province-wide Program of the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) where she has worked since 1999.In her daily work, she evaluates stories of how, with a Trillium grant, organizations plan to change the world. She holds an MA in adult education with a focus on organizational development and participatory approaches in the not-for-profit sector. She has worked in community and organizational development, and research for thirty-five years in fields ranging from: the arts, violence against woman, mental health service development and planning, children’s, environmental and First Nation’s issues. Her writing and research has included story-telling on women’s issues, financing and funding in the nonprofit sector, and Aboriginal/non Aboriginal alliance building.

Wiens, Mary

Specials Producer, Metro Morning – CBC Radio

Mary Wiens is an award-winning journalist and producer who can be heard weekdays on CBC Radio One’s # 1 morning show, Metro Morning on 99.1 FM in Toronto. Mary studied journalism at Ryerson University and has been with the CBC for 25 years. Her career began as a copy clerk at the CBC studios on Parliament Street in Cabbagetown, Toronto and then as a news reporter for radio before she moved into Current Affairs programming on shows such as Sunday Morning, Later the Same Day and Ontario Today.

For the last 10 years you have heard Mary’s voice and compelling stories broadcast on CBC Radio One 99.1′s METRO MORNING. Her reporting series, “Growing Up Without Men” about absent fathers, and the Gabriel Award winning “Stolen Children” – portraits of First Nation’s men and women who survived the Residential School system – are examples of universal stories and themes that Mary shares with us through the lens of the diverse communities that make up Toronto. Series like “Green Grows Up” looks at new green retrofit technologies for high-rise buildings and informs us about innovations and new ideas that are shaping our city for the future. Mary has a deep commitment and is actively involved in her downtown Toronto community. Her passion about this city is clear through the stories she shares with her listeners and how she lives each day in Toronto.

Wulff, Christopher

Communications Officer, Social Planning Toronto

Christopher Wulff is a bit of an anachronism having come of age deeply engaged with both online technology and offline social change. He’s an early adopter and frequent discarder of social media tools, always testing for their utility in the community building context. Having worked in immigrant and refugee serving nonprofits for seven years, he is now the Communications Officer with Social Planning Toronto and the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction. Christopher regularly speaks at community service sector conferences on how social media and networking tools are changing the dynamics of the nonprofit workplace and advises organizations on the appropriate and impactful use of new technology to effect change in client services and advocacy campaigns.

Yashinsky, Dan

Dan Yashinsky is the author of Suddenly They Heard Footsteps – Storytelling for the Twenty-first Century. In l999 he founded the Toronto Festival of Storytelling. He has performed and taught at festivals around the world. In l999 he received the Jane Jacobs Prize for his work with storytelling in the community. He is currently the recipient of a Chalmers Arts Fellowship, doing research on story-listening. He is also, with Lisa Pijuan-Nomura, the founder/director of F.O.O.L. – festival of oral literatures.

Zeidler, Margie

President, Urbanscape

Trained as an architect, Margaret Zeidler is the Founder of Urbanspace Property Group Ltd. As a mission-driven real-estate developer, Urbanspace specializes in the adaptive reuse of old buildings to provide space for artists, cultural producers, social innovators, and entrepreneurs and helps foster an inspiring integration of commerce, culture, and community (“the three C’s” as they have come to be known in the buildings). The company’s first project, 401 Richmond, contains a vibrant and diverse urban community of 130 artists and micro-entrepreneurs located in the old garment district of downtown Toronto. Another project, the Robertson Building, houses Toronto’s largest community of social entrepreneurs and innovators (well over 100 organizations). Margie co-founded of the Centre for Social Innovation in 2004 and the Centre for City Ecology in 2007, both located at the Robertson Building. In 2003, she was awarded the Jane Jacobs Prize established to honour Toronto’s “unsung heroes”. And in 2005 she received the Toronto Untitled Arts Award for “Best Friend of the Arts” and the Order of Ontario. www.urbanspace.org.