Written by Jelena Lazarević. Jelena is the Senior Communications Advisor on our CivicAction Team. She is always looking for ways to contribute her strong digital media and graphic design skills to a variety of causes. When she’s not tweeting away, you’ll find her traveling, behind the camera, or indulging in good food. Find out more […]
What's New
Interested in knowing what we’ve been up to? You’ve come to the right place! Below, you’ll find updates of our recent events, see what our members have been up to, and discover what others are saying about us and our programs.
Event Recaps | Program Updates | ELN Spotlight | DiverseCity Fellows | News Releases | In the News | Fellows in Focus
“Walk It Talk It”? Provincial party leaders court youth vote at Laidlaw Foundation Youth Town Hall
Written by Seher Shafiq. Seher is the DiverseCity Fellows Program Manager at our CivicAction Leadership Foundation. She is extremely passionate about civic engagement and was heavily involved in get-out-the-vote efforts during the 2015 federal election, so expect to see her tweeting and sharing information and thoughts on the upcoming elections! Find out more about her here. […]
Flexing your mentorship muscles
Written by Alyssa Lai. Alyssa is a 2018-2019 ELN Communications Lead, 2017 DiverseCity Fellow and Digital Marketing Coordinator at Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation. Find out more about her here. — In my ten years in Canada, I’ve had many mentors, both formal and informal. I’ve benefited tremendously from mentorship in many different ways. From helping me understand cultural […]
Black on Bay Street author Hadiya Roderique joins ELN for some vital and mind-expanding Real Talk
Written by Sean MacKay. Sean is a 2018-2019 ELN Communications Lead and Managing Editor at BuzzBuzzHome. Find out more about him here. — Like so many of those who read Hadiya Roderique’s Black on Bay Street essay in The Globe and Mail, I was blown away by her powerful story of representation, exclusion, and oppression, at […]
Message from the Managing Director: The power of volunteerism.
By Jodie Rawn For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been that girl. You know the one – on student council, coordinator of any and all school events, active in campus life (go WLU!), member of every employee engagement committee I could find…yep, THAT girl. I was a joiner in every sense of the […]
ELNers Bridge the Know-Do Gap
Post written by Nima Ranawana. Nima Ranawana is a current ELN Executive Committee Member and Consultant of Corporate and Financial Practice at Environics Communications. Nima also serves as a Volunteer Advisor to the non-profit organization Sri Lankans Without Borders. A food enthusiast who is curious about anything cultural, Nima loves discovering new restaurants in Toronto. […]
ELN Talks Mental Health: Reversing Three Layers of Stigma
Post written by Abhishek Sarathy. Abhishek is a current ELN Executive Committee Member and Senior Manager of Creative Services at Sun Life Financial Canada. He is also a member of United Way Toronto & York Region’s GenNext Cabinet and a CultureLink mentor for newcomer volunteers at Luminato Festival. He often reflects on his Indian heritage and time […]
CivicSpark Public Policy Case Competition: University Students tackle Affordable Housing
Post written by Nataliya Pekar. Nataliya is a fourth year Civil Engineering student at the University of Toronto, and is currently in the process of completing a 16-month work term with the City of Toronto’s Pedestrian Projects Unit. When she’s not studying, she spends her time contributing to the U of T community as […]
ELN Art-Works: My three takeaways
Post written by Arjun Lombardi-Singh. Arjun is a current ELN Executive Committee Member and Communications Manager at RBC. Working and living in the heart of Toronto, he is always on the lookout for the people, places and organizations that contribute to the vitality of urban life and showcase the diversity of our region. Alongside his professional career, […]
Message from the CEO: Great Leaders Build Great Cities
It’s no secret that our region is proud of its diversity. Home to over 200 ethnicities and 140 languages, half of our population was born under another flag. Diversity sets us apart from other cities, especially at a time when many people around the world are currently being seized with the reality that some cities […]
ELN Rings in 2017 with a “Snowcial”
On January 26th, the ELN gathered at Facebook Canada’s new office to celebrate the network’s accomplishments in 2016 (including its 10 year anniversary!) and to ring in the new year! ELNers had the opportunity to connect and reconnect with members of the network while enjoying some refreshments, great music and great company. Check out pictures from the […]
Happy New Year from the ELN Co-Chairs
Happy New Year ELN members! We hope everyone had a chance to reflect and re-energize over the holiday season. This holiday was special for both of us as we spent time with our young children – it was a wonderful time to get grounded and inspired about what’s to come and to remind ourselves why investing […]
Message from the CEO: Recognizing Civic Leadership
Both around the globe and here at home, 2016 was one for the history books. Whether it be lengthy and sometimes contentious elections in jurisdictions around the world, the welcoming of more than 35,000 Syrian refugees in communities across Canada, or historic provincial and federal commitments to infrastructure spending in our region, the events that […]
ELNx – Celebrating 10 Years of the ELN…Together!
On August 17, new and long-standing members of the ELN gathered at the newly-renovated Labatt Brewery to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Emerging Leaders Network. What a sight to see such a diverse group of passionate rising leaders come together to share stories, laugh and make new connections! CivicAction CEO Sevaun Palvetzian and former […]
Sparking New Ideas: CivicSpark members meet City Champions
At CivicAction, we understand the magic that can happen when rising leaders are supported & empowered. It’s one of the reasons we love CivicSpark – a pilot initiative launched last year by University of Toronto students Edwin White-Chacon, Sara Urbina, and Joe Becker-Segal in partnership with CivicAction targeted at engaging undergraduate students more directly in […]
Emerging leaders talk transformation in Toronto’s East Harbour
On Thursday July 28th, ELNers had their say on the potential transformation of the east downtown Toronto area known as East Harbour. The tour (which included a behind the scenes look at the former Unilever Soap Factory) was part of a series of consultations that the developer is hosting to see how arts, culture and […]
We the EAST! Next Gen Leaders Head to Durham Region!
On June 27th, the ELN travelled east to connect with leaders and learn about the exciting work taking place in Durham Region! Co-hosted by the Economic Development & Tourism Division of Durham, a group of 30+ ELNers took the GO Train to Whitby where they received an interactive tour of some of Durham Region’s most innovative organizations including the Lakeridge […]
A Message from the 2016-2018 ELN Co-Chairs!
Dear ELNers, Thank you for the warm welcome you’ve given us since we were announced as the new co-chairs of CivicAction’s Emerging Leaders Network – we are thrilled to work with (and on behalf of) all of you to develop, connect and activate the GTHA’s future leaders over the next 2 years! We’re excited to […]
We are excited to announce the 2016/2017 ELN Executive Committee!
With a wide array of passion, skills and expertise, this year’s committee will work with your ELN Co-chairs to run thoughtful and engaging programming, strengthen & grow the membership & capacity of the network and recognize and profile the city-building contributions and talent of members. Meet your 2016/2017 ELN Executive Committee: Events & Programming Leads Arjun Lombardi-Singh – Media Relations Advisor, RBC Carley Smith – Communications & […]
ELNshowcase 2016: And the winner is….!
On Thursday, May 5th, five teams of emerging leaders presented rapid-fire project pitches at the 3rd annual ELNshowcase – a Dragon’s Den-style event to support the incubation of new and unique city-building ideas. Congratulations to Get Outside! Toronto Parks + Trails App which took home the grand prize package of $1500, 100 hours of co-working space at the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), […]
Celebrating Rising Leaders in the GTHA!
On February 23rd CivicAction celebrated emerging & established leaders that have and continue to champion city-building and hold a passion to see our region reach its full potential. The Lifetime Achievement Award for Civic Leadership was awarded to Ratna Omidvar who has been a consistent champion for equity & diversity through her work as Executive Director of Global Diversity […]