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 Dilya engrossed in her favourite competitive cooking show, posing on her yoga mat, or pushing herself to try new things.
To learn more about Dilya, read her spotlight below.
I speak (other than English) …
Shugni, my mother tongue and Spanish.
I was born in …
Khorog, Tajikistan.
But I currently live in … (city/region and let us know why you love it there!)
The Annex in Toronto. I love living in a quiet enclave of the city so close to downtown; it’s the best of both worlds.
I spend most of my free time… (Tell us about your passions and what you do for fun!)
Practicing Yoga, cooking, reading fiction and travelling.
The issues in our region that keep me up at night are…
Poverty and inequality and the complex ways these two forces affect people’s lives.
My greatest city-building accomplishment to date is …
Charing the Toronto Youth Food Policy Council helped me connect with and support an incredibly interesting and engaged group of young people interested in pushing forward various issues related to food security in Toronto.
One characteristic every leader should possess is …
The ability to encourage and promote the talents of others. The leaders I have always admired and strive to emulate have been the ones that create space for others, show generosity with their time and knowledge and acknowledge growth and leadership in others.
One thing I do to ensure I continue to grow and develop as a leader is…
Do things I’ve never done before, especially if they make me feel uncomfortable. Facing my fears and jumping into the deep end have always yielded the greatest return and given me the confidence to try again and again.
If you want to get more engaged in your city or community you should ….
Volunteer! My most rewarding experiences have been joining a group of like-minded people in my community and working towards a common goal.
One surprising thing about me/little known fact is… (can be personal or professional!)
I love competitive cooking shows!
To me, leadership means…
Identifying and encouraging the strengths of those around you.
Diverse leadership is important because….
Complex problems can only be cracked with the input of people from a variety of experiences, ideas and backgrounds. Encouraging true and meaningful diverse leadership is not only important but it’s the best way to produce results that positively affect the most number of people and create long lasting change.
To me, an inclusive city/region/GTHA looks like…
A place where everyone sees a piece of themselves reflected back at them. A place where stigma and discrimination are not a part of people’s lives. A place where people are able to meet their basic needs in a dignified way.
The impact I hope to see through my term with the ELN is…
Momentum and excitement about positive change from the ELN.