ELN Executive Committee member Marchael Cunanan spends his days working as an Accountant at Pivotal, a tech software company. Passionate about building up the next generation of leaders, Marchael has worked on youth engagement and civic involvement with Peel Children and Youth Initiative, Western University Student Success, and the ELN. When he’s not looking at spreadsheets or volunteering, he’s catching up on sports, boxing or checking out a new read.
To learn more about Marchael, read his spotlight below:
I speak (other than English)…
Tagalog and a dialect called Kapampangan. Both native to the Philippines.
I was born in…
Lubao, Pampanga, a small town in the north region of the Philippines. I moved to Canada with my family when I was eleven.
But I currently live in…
The hustling and bustling downtown Toronto, where I overlook the Gardiner and on most days can give you a better a traffic update than the local news network.
I love that I’m a stone’s throw away from a lot of things and I can always get involved with what’s happening in the city by simply walking there.
I spend most of my free time…
Filling my bookcase, staying active, and cheering on Toronto’s sports teams.
My perfect Sunday in the summer consists of heading down King West for a morning boxing class, catching up with friends, watching the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, and winding down the day with a good book.
The issues in our region that keep me up at night are…
Will I be able to afford the place that I’m sleeping in right now? It’s a scary thought that the continuous rise of housing costs in the city may put the basic need of housing out of reach for a lot of people including myself. The future of our environment also relies on the example that developed nations set. Every week when I see massive garbage dumpsters from just my condo filled with waste, I get scared about the example we’re setting for the rest of the world when we have a clear capability to do more.
My greatest city-building accomplishment to date is…
I once organized a speaking engagement with a keynote speech by former Prime Minister Jean Chretien in my community. To help make that accessible to so many people was a really proud moment for me as he left a lasting impression on everyone who attended. Dare I say, I hope one of the people who attended in that room runs for Prime Minister one day!
One characteristic every leader should possess is…
Every leader should also be a good follower. People can always get behind someone who can put themselves in the shoes of others, no matter how different their perspective is, and know when to step back and let others lead. And being a good follower only works when a leader can actively listen, be curios and be empathetic.
One thing I do to ensure I continue to grow and develop as a leader is… Continually participating in professional development and meeting fresh faces, all while nurturing old relationships. In University, a lot of the people I met who wanted to make a difference were all from different walks of life. I’ve found the same post University, but found it so much harder to meet people from different places and spaces which is why I make an effort to go out to new events and try to meet people I wouldn’t come across in my every day.
If you want to get more engaged in your city or community you should….
Meaningful city-building is when a small group of people that care get together and with their drive and passion do their best to influence greater decisions. To get engaged find those people that care about the same things you do. Start with an organization you are familiar with and browse their online footprint. You’ll likely find other organizations you may not have heard about, but share similar mandates to ones you already know. It’s as easy as pulling out your phone.
One surprising thing about me/little known fact is…
If you pay close attention, you can spot me in a music video that won the Much Music Video Awards Song of the Summer…but you’ll have to guess which one.
A hobby or talent of mine that people may not know a lot about is…
I like to clean and fix shoes. I think that I may have been a cobbler in a past life.
To me, leadership means…
Rolling up one’s sleeves when the team needs help and knowing when to cast a vision and leave the team alone.
Diverse leadership is important because…
A continuous cycle of homogeneous leadership won’t breed or attract a new set of perspective. If we want to create new ideas both in business and to solve some of our region’s biggest issues we have to make sure there’s a seat at the table for every perspective. The magic of innovation happens when different people come together and riff off of each other. But to get to inclusive leadership we need to move away from “Diversity and Inclusion” and towards equity.
This means actively removing the barriers that are preventing people from being at the table vs. only putting people at the table for the sole sake of representation. While representation is important, we need to ensure we’re also tackling the root of a lack of diverse leadership.
To me, an inclusive city/region/GTHA looks like…
When change doesn’t just come from the people who are elected into office, but from every pocket of the region. I believe the intersection of innovation is when diverse ideas are embraced and they work.
The impact I hope to see through my term with the ELN is…
Bringing Mississauga, the city where I grew up in, more into the fold with regards to city-building activities and ELN. There’s a lot more that Mississauga can offer the region and likewise I think Mississauga has many ways it can grow and learn from other areas of the region.