Faces of ELN

Meet Dilya Niezova, a passionate city builder who works to strengthen the connections between our region and its residents. In her day to day, Dilya supports Torontonians on social assistance as a City of Toronto employee and is concerned with the ways that poverty and inequality impact people’s lives. In her spare time, you might catch […]

Meet Alyssa Lai. Alyssa was born in Malaysia but now calls Hamilton her second home. Since arriving to Canada in 2008, she’s worked and volunteered for more than 10 nonprofits and continues to sit on numerous boards. A former DiverseCity Fellow and current ELN communications lead, Alyssa wields her public relations background as a tool to […]

Meet Benjamin Bongolan. Originally from Mississauga, Benjamin now works in Toronto at The 519, where he strives to support communities and impact issues like equity, racism, homophobia, and the challenges of the immigration process. Benjamin wants to build a city where everyone has equal access to supports and feels proud of who they are. To learn more […]

Justin Wiebe is Métis and was born in the Métis Homeland and Treaty 6 Territory in Saskatoon, lived on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil Waututh Territory in Vancouver. He is most interested in resolving the inequality that continues to plague our region, and thinks there’s much more work to be done to strengthen relationships across differences […]

During the day, Emily Mills juggles a variety of communications tasks from sponsorship negotiations to event planning, while working behind the scenes in the most diverse and competitive market in the country. She is also the founder of How She Hustles – a network of 5,000 diverse women that continues to grow by word of […]

Duaa Mohamed a former CivicAction staff member is a strong social and youth advocate who aspires to help empower youth by creating opportunities and breaking barriers. She currently works with the Youth Livelihood’s Team at the MasterCard Foundation as a Program Analyst. Throughout her career, she has worked to empower disadvantaged youth with several local non-for-profit […]

Brandon Hay is the founder of the Black Daddies Club, where since 2007 he has reached and engaged over 6,500 Black fathers and children. He founded the support group because he realised that there was a real lack of parenting resources for him and other fathers in his community. Today, the group works to support Black […]

Arjun Lombardi-Singh is a dynamic public relations and communications specialist with experience in both the non-profit and private sectors. Right now, Arjun is at RBC working as a Manager, Corporate Communications, Personal and Commercial Banking. As someone who both works and lives in the heart of Toronto, he is always on the lookout for the […]

This month, we pass the ELN member spotlight to Carley Smith Debenedictis—a jack-of-all-trades communicator. After six years with the MS Society of Canada, Carly found the endzone with Canadian Football League, helping it celebrate the 100th Grey Cup, before delivering for Canada Post as spokesperson and media liaison. Now, she’s at the City of Mississauga […]

There’s something big going on in Mississauga – so let’s shine the ELN spotlight on a member who calls this city home! Alex Lach is a long standing ELN member and currently Director of Outreach at Many Feathers Co-Op. A passionate city builder, Alex has led outreach and relationship building projects for a number of business […]

In honour of this past weekend’s International Youth Day, this month we are shining a spotlight on a phenomenal woman doing inspiring work to ensure youth thrive in our communities. Introducing Stefany Hanson – a current CivicAction Diversity Fellow and Manager of the Youth Challenge Fund and Youth Initiatives at United Way Toronto and York Region. […]

This month, the ELN spotlight lands on Matt McNama – 2016 Events and Programming Lead on the ELN Executive Committee.  Matt is a marketing and communications professional with a passion for problem-solving and tackling big issues. Matt is an avid cyclist, marathon runner, and yoga enthusiast who volunteers his time and energy to organizations like Pride Toronto, as […]

This month, the ELN spotlight lands on Jay Pariseau–2015/16 DiverseCity Fellow and a Senior Diversity Recruitment Consultant at CIBC. Jay’s dedication to the Indigenous community has been a key part of his leadership journey–something that also influences his day job at CIBC where he led the design and launch of a national Indigenous mentorship program […]

This month we are shining a spotlight on new ELN executive committee members Nima Ranawana and Abhishek Sarathy! Nima and Abhishek come to the ELN executive committee as communications leads and will be helping us find better and more effective ways to get our word out to the ELN.  With a passionate (Scorpio) personality and […]

This month we are shining a spotlight on ELN member Harvey Lam – a management consultant at Accenture Strategy, and a former corporate lawyer. When he’s not navigating the corporate world, he uses his skills in the community. Most recently, he’s been responsible for Fundraising & Partnerships at The Rumie Initiative, an initiative that won the recent Google […]

This month we are shining a spotlight on Hibaq Gelle– community connector, youth advocate and civic rockstar!  Hibaq is currently leading Community Benefits work in Rexdale, is a member of the Premiers Council on Youth Opportunities, the Toronto Youth Equity Strategy Expert Panel and the recipient of CivicAction’s 2017 Emerging Leader Award for Civic Leadership.  Full name…Hibaq […]

This month, we also introduce you to Zakaria Hassan Abdulle– Member of the Premiers’ Council for Youth Opportunities, community connector and an advocate for youth across our region. Learn more about his leadership accomplishments, what he believes an inclusive GTHA looks like, and how reading helps him continue to grow as a leader!   Full name… […]

This month, we also introduce you to Idil Burale, Senior Associate at MaRS Solutions Lab. Learn more about her leadership accomplishments, what she feels are pressing issues in our region, and what she believes an inclusive GTHA looks like!   I was born in … Somalia And I currently live in … Toronto, a vibrant […]

This month, we also introduce you to Alicia Rose– Manager of Community Investment Programs at Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) and DiverseCity Fellows Alumni. Learn more about her leadership accomplishments, what she feels are pressing issues in our region, and what she believes an inclusive GTHA looks like!   I was born in …Toronto And […]

This month, we also introduce you to Rudayna Bahubeshi– Communications manager at Inspirit Foundation and current DiverseCity Fellow! Learn more about her leadership accomplishments, what she feels are pressing issues in our region, and why she loves her city so much! I was born and raised in…..Ottawa. And I currently live in …Toronto- I moved here […]

This month, we also introduce you to Adaoma Chinyere Patterson – President of the Jamaican Canadian Association and Alumni DiverseCity Fellow. Learn more about her leadership accomplishments, what he feels are pressing issues in our region, and why inclusive leadership matters. I was born in … Winnipeg And I currently live in …Brampton Diverse leadership […]