Jack Layton Leadership School

Olivia Chow 

Ryerson University's Distinguished Visiting Professor Olivia Chow (she/her) is the Founder and Director of the Institute for Change Leaders, (external link)  since March 2015. Olivia has a certificate from Marshall Ganz Leadership course from Harvard Kennedy's School Executive Program and has taught over 3,500 people across Ontario. She empowered many women to make a difference through teaching Feminist Community Organizing at George Brown College’s Assaulted Women and Children Counselling and Advocacy Program for six years. Until 2015, Olivia held elected offices for 30 years as a school trustee, City Councillor, and a Member of Parliament. She has tirelessly championed for a universal early childhood education program, a national public transit strategy, and fair immigration policies.

Reena Tandon 

Dr. Reena Tandon (she/her) has led the Ryerson Faculty of Art's Community Engaged Learning & Teaching (CELT) initiative since 2010. In 2014, Dr. Tandon was selected as the DiverseCity Fellow by Civic Action, Toronto. She serves on the National Steering Committee of the Canadian Alliance for Community Service-Learning. Dr. Tandon has served on the governance boards of Sherbourne Health Centre, South Asian Women’s Centre and the Mission Committee of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. Dr. Tandon taught across universities in New Delhi and Toronto including at the University of Toronto and Ryerson University. She has worked in the capacity of Program Director in the community sector in Toronto and has worked as a consultant to organizations such as the UNFPA and the World Bank. Dr. Tandon is co-author of the book, Immigration and Women: Understanding the American Experience - Finding Agency, Negotiating Resistance and Bridging Cultures.

Ken Moffatt 

As the Jack Layton Chair, Professor Ken Moffatt (he/him) aims to help students explore their sense of engagement in justice issues. With a focus on social democracy and student engagement, the work of the Chair includes working against social exclusion. Ken is particularly interested in imaginative possibilities for social change.  The Layton Chair provides  a space where students and community members can meet to try out their passions for social justice and experiment with multiple modes of personal and political expression. Professor Moffatt brings to this position his research expertise in the effects of neoliberalism and new managerialism on policy and education; community-based, culturally-focused social interventions; as well as critical reflective practice and pedagogy. His book Postmodern Social Work: Reflective Education and Practice is about practice and subjective engagement  in the context of social and economic precariousness. 

Cathy Crowe 

Cathy Crowe (she/her) is a long-time Street Nurse who works in the area of social justice nursing. She is a frequent guest lecturer and commentator on subjects related to advocacy, activism and social justice. Cathy has been the recipient of numerous awards including five honorary Doctorates in Law, Science and Nursing, an international Human Rights Award and the prestigious Atkinson Economic Justice Award. Cathy is also a ground-breaking author (Dying for a Home: Homeless Activists Speak Out) and documentary filmmaker (Home Safe Calgary, Home Safe Toronto). Her work is the subject of a moving documentary Street Nurse by filmmaker Shelley Saywell. Today she is a Distinguished Visiting Practitioner in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University. She received the Order of Canada in 2018. Cathy’s website is www.cathycrowe.ca (external link) 

Carlos Idibouo

Originally from Côte d'Ivoire, Carlos Idibouo (he/him), who identifies as queer, feminist and gender non-conforming, has been living in Canada for the last 14 years. For 15 years he has been taking an intersectional approach to working on strategies to develop youth leadership at regional and international level. In 2016, Carlos co-founded the House of Culture for Human Diversity, a feminist-led organization based in Côte d'Ivoire, with the mandate to utilize cultures and  the arts as a powerful tool to strengthen youth leadership. House of Culture for Human Diversity also addresses issues related to diversity and inclusion.  As a project consultant, Carlos has managed projects related to human rights; gender-based violence; sexual and gender diversity in LGBTIQ communities; women’s and children’s rights. He has worked on an advocacy agenda for global access to HIV prevention and treatment strategies.  Lately, Carlos has also been working on strategic approaches to addressing the trajectory of patriarchy and how harmful masculinities manifest themselves within the LGBTIQ communities.

Waubkunii Kwe 

Waubkuniikwe (she/her) is a member of Wasauksing First Nation, band of Three Fires Confederacy. As a Nishinaabekwe, Waubkunii Kwe’s culture is rich with knowledge and ways of seeing, feeling, knowing and doing that inform and engage Nishinaabe inenimowin (thought). This life flows throughout all of her work, as a helper (social worker), singer, daughter, sister, and aunt. She enjoys opportunities to share, learn and engage with like-minds. She has graduated with a Masters in Social Work but considers herself a helper within and for her people. Her strength is community development rooted in Anishinaabe ways of knowing, doing and being. She is also an Aunty to many nieces and nephews who are her greatest teachers. She enjoys sharing her learning journey, and gains from these opportunities for further growth. 

Mike Layton 

Mike Layton (he/him) has been a Toronto City Councillor since 2010. As City Councillor he works to protect and improve city services, and preserve the diverse character of the city's neighbourhoods. He champions affordable housing, investment in arts and culture, Aboriginal issues, and better public transit and cycling infrastructure. He has been a strong voice in making Toronto a leader in combating climate change. Prior to being a councillor, he worked at Environmental Defense, one of Canada's leading environmental charities. He has an urban planning degree and is an adjunct professor at York University. 

Notisha Massaquoi

Notisha Massaquoi (she/her) is a health equity activist and an anti-Black racism educator and researcher. For the past 21 years, she served as the Executive Director of Women's Health in Women's Hands Community Health Centre for Black women and Women of Color. Her Research and Publications focus on access to health care for Women of Color as well as the impact of HIV/AIDS on African and Caribbean Women. She serves on several research councils including the Toronto Central LIHN Research and Education Council and the Research Committee of the Association of Ontario Health Care Centres. Her latest book is a co-edited Anthology entitled Theorizing Empowerment: Canadian Perspectives on Black Feminist Thought.

Twitter (external link) 

Ben McCarthy 

Benjamin McCarthy (he/him) is a sound artist and composer from Toronto, Canada. Otherwise an autodidact, he learned engineering fundamentals from Grammy Award winner Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade). His pop project Pale Eyes has played in venues across North America, and reached the top ten on Canada's college electronic music charts. He is also a collaborator with SpekWork, a studio exploring new political narratives through game design. SpekWork is a collaborative effort of Cat Bluemke, Ben McCarthy, and Jonathan Carroll, post-secondary instructors teaching from the intersections of art, labour, and emerging technologies. His sound design work has been performed  at Toronto's Factory, Buddies in Bad Times and Daniels Spectrum theatres. His podcast Precariat Content, like much of his work, explores the fraught allegiances and critical power of aesthetic form married to political content. Exploring class, gender, and the artist's complicity with systems of power, McCarthy works fragments of field recording and found sound into music that slips in and out of generic idiom. He also teaches courses on labour history and the connection between art and labour at George Brown College in Toronto, Canada.

Bandcamp (external link) 

Instagram (external link) 

Soundcloud (external link) 

SpekWork (external link) 

Theo Nazary 

Theo Nazary (he/him) is a Strategic Planner for Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre. Since joining the Centre in 2017, Theo has worked with the Council Fire's Board Designate and other colleagues to collaboratively plan, design, develop, engage and implement various mandates and projects undertaken by the Centre. Leveraging his education and work experience, Theo has been instrumental in the Centre’s partnership with the City of Toronto for the development of the Spirit Garden on the southwest corner of Nathan Phillips Square. A graduate of McMaster, Ryerson, and University of Toronto with a professional certificate in Project Management, Theo has been involved with research on the Impact of Digital Technology on First Nations Participation and Governance (McMaster University, 2015) as well as the Internet Voting Project for Ontario (UToronto, 2014). Theo’s Doctoral dissertation will use autoethnography and Community Action Research (CAR) to negotiate his role as a recent Immigrant / Settler to Turtle Island and his experience working at an Indigenous cultural centre in one of Canada’s largest diverse & priority neighbourhoods – Regent Park. 

Brandon Rhéal Amyot 

Brandon Rhéal Amyot (they/them) is an activist, writer, and life-long learner. Growing up in Simcoe County for most of their life, they have been involved in various causes and communities over the past 10 years with a focus on the 2SLGBTQ+ community, Indigenous community, the student movement, and local social-political causes. Brandon Rhéal was a founding member of Fierté Simcoe Pride, serving in several including President (2017-2019). They served a term as Student Trustee at the Simcoe County District School Board. At Lakehead University they are a member of the Lakehead University Student Union as well as a member of the Board of Governors.  Brandon Rhéal also has a diploma in Aboriginal Community and Social Development from Georgian College.

LinkedIn (external link) 

Twitter (external link) 

Kiké Roach 

Kiké Roach (she/her) is the Unifor National Chair in Social Justice and Democracy at Ryerson University. She has served as an Executive Member of: the National Conference of Black Lawyers, the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, the Women’s Coalition for Employment Equity, and Mpenzi: Black Women’s International Film and Video Festival. As a civil rights lawyer, she has advocated for accountability and reform in policing and detention for many years, representing community organizations. She was a regular commentator on current and legal affairs for CTV News and has appeared as a spokesperson on a variety of issues. She is co-author of the book Politically Speaking. Kiké has designed and led workshops for the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, and the United Steel Workers among others. She has addressed audiences across Canada and in the United States on issues of anti-racism, feminism, and progressive change.

https://www.ryerson.ca/socialjustice/

Tara Farahani

Tara Farahani (she/her) is a Toronto-based interdisciplinary professional, with expertise in social advocacy and the arts. With a decade’s experience in the social sector, she has researched, written and advocated on issues relating to race, gender-based violence, cyber sexual violence, youth, mental health, disabilities and LGBTQ communities. She is a facilitator, writer and artist. 

Tara has worked in the realms of research, communications and facilitation with organizations across Toronto, including the City of Toronto, St. Stephen’s Community House, Ryerson University, and Social Planning Toronto, among others. She has been featured on Metro Morning Radio, CBC News (external link) , and Flare Magazine (external link)  for her work on cyber-sexual violence, as well as the Ryerson Alumni Magazine (external link) , and the Toronto Star (external link)  for her professional writing and advocacy work. She has also authored diverse bodies of writing with published features in Huffington Post Blog, Journal of Critical Anti-Oppressive Social Inquiry, and Springer International Publishing.

In 2018, Tara was the successful recipient of CUE’s 2018 Writing Program bursary to work on her upcoming non-fiction prose book, I Had a Very Happy Childhood. In 2018, Tara Farahani was appointed the Jack Layton and John C. Eaton Chair’s 2018-2019 Artist-in-Residence at Ryerson University, exploring what it means to honour our lived experience through the writing form in her project From Under the Rug. 

Ontario Hong Kong Youth Action

Ontario Hong Kong Youth Action (OHKYA) was formed by a group of youths who come from diverse backgrounds, with some pursuing their post-secondary education, and others entering the workforce, all residing in Ontario who are concerned about Hong Kong and other places being threatened by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Our goal is to inform and connect communities surrounding concerns about social issues in Hong Kong and Canada, build a province-wide Hong Kong youth community, and raise political awareness through various campaigns.