Maytree Policy School
The Maytree Policy School is designed to support policy professionals from the non-profit sector to build skills and resources to enhance their ability to influence public policy and strengthen the policy capacity of their organization. Meet the alumni and learn about their work.
Catherine Belshaw
Policy and Program Writer, Native Child and Family Services
Catherine Belshaw is the Program and Policy Writer at the Native Child and Family Services of Toronto, a multi-service Indigenous organization striving to provide a life of quality, wellbeing, caring, and healing for children and families in Toronto’s Indigenous community.
Ekua Asabea Blair
CEO, Massey Centre
Ekua Asabea Blair is the Chief Executive Officer of the Massey Centre for Women, a client-centered infant and early childhood mental health organization providing support for pregnant and parenting adolescents and their children.
Graham Brown
Policy Analyst, John Howard Society
Graham Brown is a Policy Analyst with the John Howard Society of Ontario (JHSO), a non-profit organization promoting the fair and humane treatment of all incarcerated persons and the effective integration into the community of those in conflict with the law.
Janet Butler-McPhee
Director of Communications and Advocacy, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
Janet Butler-McPhee is the Director of Communications and Advocacy for the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, an organization that promotes the human rights of people living with, at risk of, or affected by HIV or AIDS, in Canada and around the world.
Kat Clarke
Lead, Advocacy (GTA) and Specialist, Government Relations (Ontario), CNIB
Kat Clarke is Lead, Advocacy (GTA) for CNIB, a non-profit organization providing community-based support, knowledge, and a national voice to ensure that Canadians who are blind or partially sighted have the confidence, skills, and opportunities to participate fully in life.
Geordie Dent
Executive Director, Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA)
Geordie Dent is the Executive Director of the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations, the oldest and largest tenant federation in Canada, which advocates for better rights for tenants.
Carissa Di Gangi
Senior Manager, ABC Life Literacy
Carissa Di Gangi is the Senior Manager of ABC Life Literacy Canada, a national non-profit organization that works with business, government, and communities to create and share free literacy programming for adults and families.
Judy Duncan
Executive Director, ACORN
Judy Duncan is the founder and Executive Director of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) Canada, an independent national organization of low- and moderate-income families working to effect policy change on social issues affecting members through community organizing.
Christine Durant
Director, Poverty Roundtable Hastings Prince Edward
Christine Durant is the Director of the Poverty Roundtable Hastings Prince Edward, a non-profit organization created to address the causes of poverty in Hastings Prince Edward counties and broaden the community’s capacity to do so by working together.
Katie German
Director of Programs, FoodShare Toronto
Katie German is the Director of Programs at FoodShare Toronto, a non-profit organization working with communities and schools to deliver healthy food and food education.
Maggie MacDonald
Manager, Advocacy and Government Relations YMCA
Maggie MacDonald is Manager, Advocacy and Government Relations for YMCA Canada, a charity that helps Canadians lead healthy lives.
Tesfai Mengesha
Executive Director, Operations Success Beyond Limits
Tesfai Mengesha is Executive Director, Operations at Success Beyond Limits, an organization that supports youth in the Jane and Finch community to improve their educational outcomes.
Sara Middleton
Director, Community Impact, United Way Middlesex
Sara Middleton is Director, Community Impact at United Way Elgin Middlesex, a local United Way working to improve lives and build community by engaging individuals and mobilizing action.
Jessica Mustachi
Ontario Campaign 2000 Coordinator, Child and Family Poverty Campaign 2000
Jessica Mustachi is the Ontario Campaign 2000 Coordinator with Family Service Toronto, which works with individuals and families destabilized by precarious socio-economic circumstances and/or mental health, to achieve greater resilience and stability in more just and supportive communities.
Colette Prevost
Director, Advocacy & Communications, YWCA Toronto
Colette Prevost is the Director of Advocacy and Communications at YWCA Toronto, an organization by, for, and about women and girls. The YWCA’s programs promote equality, economic security, and lives free from violence.
Melanie Redman
President & CEO, A Way Home Canada
Melanie Redman is the co-founder and President and CEO of A Way Home Canada, a national coalition of organizations dedicated to preventing and ending youth homelessness. Melanie also leads the National Learning Community on Youth Homelessness, a pan-Canadian community of practice consisting of youth serving organizations across the country.
Rekha Sadasivan
Director, Strategic Initiatives, Dignitas International
Rekha Sadasivan is Director, Strategic Initiatives for Dignitas International, a Canadian medical and research organization working to innovate sustainable solutions to global health challenges and advance the right to health for marginalized and underserved communities.
Ya’el Santopinto
Director, Research and Partnerships, Centre for Urban Growth and Renewal
Ya’el Santopinto is the Director of Research and Partnerships at the Centre for Urban Growth and Renewal (CUG+R), a non-profit organization advocating for supportive policy frameworks around the maintenance of Canada’s affordable apartment housing supply.
Dusha Sritharan
Campaigner, Climate Change, Toronto Environmental Alliance
Dusha Sritharan is a Climate Change Campaigner with the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA), a non-profit organization advocating for a clean, healthy, and equitable Toronto.
Jamie Stuckless
Executive Director, Share the Road Cycling Coalition
Jamie Stuckless is the Executive Director of Share the Road Cycling Coalition, a provincial cycling advocacy organization working to build a bicycle-friendly Ontario.
Nithya Vijayakumar
Senior Advisor, Transportation Policy and Planning, Pembina Institute
Nithya Vijayakumar is Senior Advisor, Transportation Policy and Planning, at the Pembina Institute, a non-profit organization providing policy research leadership and education on climate change, energy issues, green economics, energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy, and environmental governance.