Advisors
I am held in care, criticality and candour by these lovely and highly competent humans
Adil Dhalla-Kim
Founder, Reset
Adil Dhalla-Kim is a Co-Founder and Executive Director of Reset, a community that imagines a world where community is the foundation of collective well-being.
Informing and inspiring Adil's path are countless teachers and professional experiences including being the former Board Chair for the StopGap Foundation, the Executive Director at the Centre for Social Innovation, the Managing Director at Artscape's Launchpad, the Executive Producer of Toronto for Everyone, a Community Organizer on the Obama campaign, the Maestro for Project Ukulele Gangsterism, a Facilitator of One Big Hug and a Co-Founder of My City Lives, one of the world’s first mobile video applications.
Adil is a DiverseCity Fellow, a New Economy Fellow and most recently was identified as a Positive Deviant by the Wolf Willow Institute.
Alyssa Becker
Chef, Manager of Special Projects at Community Foundations of Canada
Stefan Hostetter
Director of Programs and Community at The Centre for Social Innovation
Chef Alyssa Becker entered the Toronto culinary scene after graduating from George Brown College in Toronto in 2008. While completing the Chef Training program and the post-graduate French Culinary Arts program, she studied alongside chefs in Toronto, Montreal, and France.
Over the past 15 years, Alyssa has assisted in the opening of several restaurants and businesses in the city of Toronto.
Most recognizably, Alyssa was the Executive Chef at Wasan Island, an International conference centre in the Muskoka that hosts non-for profit and charitable organizations within the sector. Here, she worked side by side for over a decade with organizations concerned with environmental sustainability, health, education, and food/water security. Alyssa had the deep honour to cook for guests from all over the world and experienced firsthand how food can be a superpower to spark joy and curiosity and to transport and transform people.
Being of Guyanese and German mixed heritage, Alyssa is highly driven by the international food scene in Toronto and has been greatly influenced by her time travelling. Having spent time in over 30 countries, each experience has allowed her to immerse herself in different cultures and cuisines and apply this invaluable knowledge to her craft.
Stefan Hostetter is a life long environmentalist, storyteller, and community builder. Currently working with the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) as the Director of Programs and Community. He's always looking for new interesting projects to jump into. Outside of CSI, he is the Treasurer of the Toronto Climate Action Network. Cohosts the Green Majority, a nationally syndicated radio show that covers environmental topics. And co-produces the Stories We Don't Tell, a monthly storytelling series and podcast that dives into the parts of people's lives society often is happy to leave untold.
Kayonne Christie
Sociologist
Ryan Ram
Principal at Matrix360
Chris Derksen
Senior Research Scientist, Climate Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada
Kayonne Christy is a Jamaican-Canadian sociologist whose work lies at the intersection of migration and urban studies. As an interdisciplinary, justice-oriented scholar, Kayonne views research and pedagogy as powerful tools for positive social change. Her published work spans a range of contemporary social issues, including medical racism, urban inequality, medical education, and the impacts of COVID-19 on society. Beyond her research, she has designed and facilitated social justice–oriented courses, professional workshops, and faculty development seminars for medical professionals within and outside of the university, and has delivered training on qualitative research methods to community organizations in the GTHA. Kayonne is currently completing her PhD in Sociology at The University of Michigan.
Ryan is someone who cares deeply about people and the communities they build—both inside organizations and out in the world. At Matrix360, he leads Strategy & Engagement, helping companies in the commercial real estate and development industry strengthen their teams, evolve their culture, and rethink how they attract, support, and grow talent. His approach is straightforward: listen to people, understand what’s really going on underneath the surface, and create pathways that allow everyone—not just a select few—to succeed. He also co-founded the CREED Council and the RealStories Speaker Series to give underrepresented voices a platform and a place to be heard.
He’s spent years listening to stories, having tough conversations, learning from community leaders, and challenging the assumptions built into workplaces and industries. His mission is simple: share what he’s learned, have honest dialogue about systemic issues, and help leaders move toward real, meaningful change—not just performative promises.
Ryan has shared his insights through talks and panels with organizations like ULI Toronto, the Real Estate Institute of Canada, the Canadian Institute of Planners, TMU, Informa Canada’s Springfest & RealLeaders conferences, the Schulich Real Property Alumni Association, and the Canadian Association of Urban Finance Professionals.
Chris Derksen is a senior research scientist with the Climate Research Division of Environment and Climate Change Canada and holds adjunct faculty appointments at the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University. He is a world leading expert on snow, with expertise spanning conventional observations, remote sensing, and climate model analysis. His research activities focus on the role of snow cover in the climate system, and the implications of climate change on snow, including freshwater availability, Arctic ecosystems, and the carbon cycle. Dr. Derksen has a leadership role in the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative – Snow project, responsible for the evaluation and application of new multi-decadal time series of satellite derived snow cover datasets. He is a co-chair of two international climate model intercomparison projects to advance understanding of how well the current generation of models simulate land surface processes. Dr. Derksen is the science lead for a new satellite radar mission focussed on terrestrial snow cover currently under development at the Canadian Space Agency. Between 2016 and 2018, he was responsible for the development and validation of land surface freeze/thaw products for the NASA Soil Moisture Active/Passive mission. He has contributed to numerous climate science assessments. Dr. Derksen was a lead author of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate and was a lead author of Canada© Changing Climate Report, the first climate science assessment specifically produced for Canada. He continues to work in the Canadian Arctic and has participated in more than 25 snow and sea ice measurement campaigns across the Arctic, focused on the validation of airborne and satellite remote sensing products. Dr. Derksen has increasingly focused on science communication and public outreach on climate change science. He has over 150 peer reviewed publications and is a co-editor-in-chief of The Cryosphere.
Dr. Salina Abji is a Sociologist with over 20 years of experience in social justice research, education, and evaluation. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Toronto and a Master’s degree (MSt.) in Women’s Studies from Oxford University.
As a scholar and educator, she has published ten peer-reviewed research studies on citizenship and migration, gender-based violence, and social justice activism in scholarly journals like Citizenship Studies, Signs, Social Politics, and Studies in Social Justice.
As a consultant, she has published over 20 community-based research studies advancing knowledge of systemic barriers and gaps as well as promising practices being developed by non-governmental organizations in Canada. She has evaluated over 60 programs and services using trauma-informed and intersectional evaluation methods. As a grant-writer, she has helped bring in over $42M in government and private foundation funding.