Claude Bergeron is a former president of the Carleton Village Residents’ Association and a member of the Advisory Working Group created by City Council to work with the architects and the TPS.

Jody Berland, professor in the Department of Humanities, York University, has published widely on cultural studies, Canadian culture and communication theory, music and media, culture and the environment, and the cultural technologies of space. Latest research, Virtual Menageries.

Alejandra Bravo is Manager of Leadership Programs at a private foundation. She is a member of the Toronto District School Board’s Inner City Advisory Committee, Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games’ Community Engagement Council, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Ontario advisory board, a board advisor of Art Starts, and a past member of the Toronto Board of Health. Alejandra has worked as political staff at the provincial and municipal levels and has run for city council in Toronto.

​Teresa Casas can be found every Saturday at the Wychwood farmers market where she lumps and sorts evidence of local history with passers-by to create the stories of the Wychwood Barns.

Elizabeth Cinello is involved in community art projects in Toronto’s west end. She writes, performs and creates multidisciplinary events. She co-founded Art Starts.

Zena Curwain is a Toronto-based photographer, and compulsive baker. Zena Curwain Photography

Gilberto Fernandes is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of History at York University. He is co-director of the Portuguese Canadian History Project | Projeto de História Luso-Canadiana. Read Gil Fernandes’s blog here. 

Robert Fisher teaches historical linguistics at York University and is coordinator of the Bethune College Writing Center. You can view his poetry and stories at poetryofrobertfisher.com.

Liz Forsberg is the Managing Director of Art Starts.

Lucas Gindin is a Toronto based filmmaker. For the past eight years he has focused on exploring production methods based on digital compositing, as well as working for hire as a director, cinematographer, editor, and compositer. http://www.lucasgindin.com

Schuster Gindin is a photographer and multi-media visual artist whose work has been exhibited in galleries, libraries, schoolyards and storefronts, books, the Toronto newspapers and on tour in North America. She founded and curated the SideSpace Gallery (2006-2012).

Matthew J.W. Higginson is an emerging fine-art and social-documentary photographer based in Toronto. Focusing on edges, intersections and common experiences, his analog photography seeks a reevaluation of our relationship with the world and communities that surround us. Matthew’s work has been featured in publications such as The Grid, Globe and Mail, and NOW Magazine, and in solo and group exhibitions across the Greater Toronto Area. matthewjwhigginson.com @mjwhigginson

Alex Ioannou is a Toronto photographer working on a variety of projects ranging from commercial and editorial pieces to bands and personal work. His clients have included Toronto Tourism, Puma, Yorkdale Mall, Interior Design Show, Report on Business, Azure, ROM, Designlines, Avenue Road, Mini Cooper, Arts and Crafts. Contact: 647.204.6976 alexioannou46@gmail.com Instagram: @rearwindowphoto

Chris Ioannou is the co-owner of Boxcar Social – a wine and espresso bar at Yonge and Davisville in Toronto. Until recently he was the lead singer and guitarist of the band Little Creatures and now performs solo regularly at the Madison Avenue Pub. He loves to cook, design and build.

Miria Ioannou is a consultant to non-profits in organizational development and fundraising. She shares her time between Toronto and the Greater Philadelphia area. Miria Ioannou & Associates. 

Paul Kahnert is a retired Toronto Hydro worker and former spokesperson for the Ontario Energy Coalition, 2001-2010.

Jo Lampert, born in Toronto, now lives in Brisbane Australia where she works as an academic at the Queensland University of Technology. She has a husband, two kids and two cats: all dual citizens.

Peggy Lampotang was born in Mauritius and lives in Canada. She has a Creative Writing Certificate from University of Toronto. Her non-fiction writing has been published in The Globe and Mail and in college textbooks by Nelson Education. Her short story has appeared in Facing Challenges, a collection of stories, and her novel The Coral Heart was published in February 2014. Peggy is a writer, artist, and photographer who works from Toronto.

Myra Leibu is the Special Projects Manager of Art Starts.

Colin Leys is a retired professor of political studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and an honorary research professor at Goldsmiths, University of London. His current preoccupation is the fight to preserve publicly-funded and publicly-provided health care.

Mary Li is a writer, editor, and information designer. She co-founded a community arts festival and a neighbourhood street celebration, and is currently a member of FLAP, Toronto’s bird rescue organization. Mary enjoys bringing family and friends together to enhance bonds of friendship and build sweet memories.

Kurt Lund is a Toronto photographer.

John McCormick is an ArtsCan Circle volunteer currently acting as its Executive Director. Born in Toronto to a musical family, he spent several years touring and recording music and, following a law degree, fell in love with community development, a passion he has pursued for the past 25 years.

Bob McLelland shares his time between Toronto and Vancouver and often travels to Asia.

Mary Lou McQuillan is a former music teacher with the Toronto District School Board. She gives private music lessons, is currently looking for work in the County, and until she finds her niche there she can be found in the garden.

Robyn Mitchell is an experienced public relations strategist with a penchant for social good. She is currently living in Seattle supporting the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Lillian Necakov-Avalos is Head Librarian at the St. Clair/Silverthorn branch of the Toronto Public Library, and runs the Boneshaker Reading Series. She has been writing and publishing for over 30 years and has had five full-length poetry books published. The latest is Hooligans published by Mansfield Press.

Christine Newman is a transgender woman in her 50s active in LGBTQ communities.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Inspire Awards, a member of the Police LGBTQ Community Consultative Committee and on the Advisory Board of the Get It Right Campaign. She is one of the faces of this campaign, facilitates discussions and a group for middle-aged transgender women, writes for Inspired Media, and speaks about transgender issues to groups small and large. She can be found on many social media platforms by her own name or @HeyWriterGrrl.

Winnie Ng is a labour rights activist and scholar. She holds the CAW-Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy at Ryerson University.

Gordon Nore is an educator, writer and queer activist living in East York, Ontario, with his wife Blanche and several dogs.

Debbie Nyman teaches teachers. She writes educational arts resources for the classroom.

Anya Orzechowska, formerly an editor and currently an artist,  divides her time between Dubai, Palma de Mallorca and Toronto. www.anya-gallery.com

Linda Perez is a retired Elementary School Administrator with the Toronto District School Board. She is always happy to mentor new teachers and administrators. She can cook eggplant 37 ways.

Vincenzo Pietropaolo is a professional documentary photographer living in Toronto. He is the author of 10 books of photography including “Not Paved With Gold”, a collection about the life of early Italian immigrants to Toronto; “Harvest Pilgrims: Mexican and Migrant Farm Workers in Canada” and “Invisible No More: A Photographic Chronicle of People with Intellectual Disabilities”. Vincenzo Pietropaolo Photography.

Rebecca Pinkus is a Toronto-based photographer, writer, and educator – and a bit of a foodie – who loves finding the links between rural and urban life, especially when it comes to food and community. Her photography emphasizes natural light and shadows, and aims for an overall “organic” look. She is inspired by farmers’ markets and talented chefs, as well as by industrial and natural design. Rebecca’s work has been shown in cafes and galleries in Toronto, and her images have appeared in numerous publications. She also was privileged to work as a Research Associate for Edward Burtynsky: Oil (exhibit and book).

Cookie, AKA Roscoe, moved to Ontario from Manitoba at a ripe age after a career in EKG Technology and another in acting. While exploring a career in voice over work she and husband Kevin had two daughters and she discovered that managing farmers markets is the best and most satisfying job of all.

Jessica Rovito is a Children’s Librarian living in Toronto, whose most recent publication “Research Virtuoso: How to Find Anything You Need to Know” was included among The Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Best Books for Kids & Teens 2012. Her most recent publication is Superbrain: The Insider’s Guide to Getting Smart.

Jonah Schein was elected at the MPP for Davenport in October 2011.  Before he was elected, Jonah worked for many years in the Davenport community and across Toronto as a teacher, social worker, and community organizer.

Sarah Shartal is a Toronto lawyer.

Minda Sherman is a Human Resources professional who has worked in both the public and private sectors for local and international firms.

Bengt Skoggard was born and educated in the USA.  Started training at the Zen Buddhist Temple in 1983 in Toronto with Zen Master Samu Sunim.  Now lives in Prince Edward County with his wife where he is trying to build a rotary engine that runs on hydrogen peroxide.  He also has renovated his drive shed into a zendo where he leads weekly meditation practice.

Larry Swartz is an author and professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. He grew up in Toronto’s West end.

Marlene Webber is a Toronto freelance writer and speaker. She specializes in mental disorders, including ADHD, fetal alcohol, conduct disorder, early trauma and attachment problems, as well as other disorders over-represented in adoptees and prison populations.

Ricki Wortzman is an educator who is currently coaching new and veteran teachers. She has written a variety of educational resource materials as well as trade books for young children.

Shubo Yang is a visual artist and recent graduate of OCAD University.

Sima Sahar Zerehi   prof_ journalist_new media buff_photographer in training & immigration/labour/human rights activist who really wants to be an artist. Sima also writes for Shahrvand Publications, the largest Farsi language publication in North America. @SimaSaharZerehi