Jane’s Walk Team

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Jane Farrow, Paul Hess, Emmy Pantin, and Eranthie Mendis at the Thorncliffe Park Walkability Study, Toronto 2009.

“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”
— Jane Jacobs, ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities’

Staff and Advisors

Jane’s Walk Advisory Committee
The nine members of the Advisory Committee are a varied and experienced group of thinkers, writers, teachers, urbanists and philanthropists:

Max Allen has been a radio (and occasionally television) producer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation since 1971. In 1975 he co-founded the Textile Museum of Canada, where he has curated 180 exhibitions ranging from the bark-cloth of Papua New Guinea to the war rugs of Afghanistan. In 1997 he edited “Ideas That Matter: The Worlds of Jane Jacobs.” He is president of the Grangetown Condominium Corporation in Toronto, and a member of the board of Energy Probe and Probe International.

Alan Broadbent is Chairman and CEO of the Avana Capital Corporation, Chairman of The Maytree Foundation, and the author of “Urban Nation: Why We Need to Give Power Back to the Cities to Make Canada Strong”. In support of its investment activities, Avana initiates and funds various civic engagement projects to strengthen the public discourse on sustaining civil society, including: the Jane Jacobs Prize, which celebrates “unsung heroes” in the Toronto Region; the Institute for Municipal Finance and Governance at the Munk Centre, University of Toronto; and Ideas That Matter, an organization to convene discourse on progressive ideas concerning the public good. Alan is also Chairman of several related organizations, including the Caledon Institute of Social Policy (co-founded by Maytree in 1992), Tamarack - An Institute for Community Engagement (co-founded in 2001), and Diaspora Dialogues, which supports the creation and presentation of new writing that reflects the diversity of Toronto. Alan is Chairman of the Tides Canada Foundation; advisor to the Literary Review of Canada; Co-Chair of Happy Planet Foods; Member of the Governors’ Council of the Toronto Public Library Foundation; Senior Fellow of Massey College; and Member of the Order of Canada and recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal.

Eli Malinsky has spent the past seven years exploring collaboration and networks within civil society. His interest in the sector began with a four-year stint at Imagine Canada, the country’s pre-imminent research institute on the nonprofit and voluntary sector. In 2005, Eli joined the Centre for Social Innovation to help fulfill the organization’s strategic and programming vision. The Centre for Social Innovation is a hub for Toronto’s social mission sector, providing shared space and services to over 80 organizations, as well as a variety of capacity building programs and incubation services. Connecting the Dots is based on Eli’s graduate research in the York University and Ryerson University Communication and Culture Program in Toronto, Canada.

Michael Murray is the Popular and World Music Officer at the Ontario Arts Council. His previous experience includes heading up UrbanArts as Executive Director, and at the forefront of emerging cultural alternatives for youth such as STEP UP, a dub poetry experience for young Toronto artists. He initiated the beats.mind.movement project, a cultural and non-profit learning experience in the underserved northwest Toronto neighbourhoods of Weston and Mount Dennis. Michael is a graduate of the Schulich School of Business (York University) MBA program with a specialization in Arts and Media Management. Prior to business school, Michael graduated from McGill University’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology. Michael has been a writer, producer, singer and trumpet player in the musical genres of Nu Soul, House and Reggae both for his own projects (Atomic Brothers) and for others (Equalizer, Souljazz Orchestra and Whiteroom). Michael was a member of the delegation that accompanied the Governor General on her state visit to Brazil, making international connections on technology and social change in the arts. He is an inaugural member of the Canadian chapter of the National Black MBA Association. He also plays the trumpet.

A Toronto native, Chi Nguyen Chi Nguyen has over a decade of experience in developing community development programmes for young women and children. She has worked with public sector and not-for-profit clients to design engagement and consultation processes, and was a founding Director at MASS LBP. Chi is currently working with the CBC, rolling out new initiatives related to their diversity and inclusion strategies. In recent years, her work has focused on public engagement, women and politics, women’s health, civic education and political literacy. Chi has been recognized for her contributions to improving the lives of women and girls throughout Canada by the Governor General (2004) and the YWCA of Greater Toronto (1999). In 2009, she was one of the inaugural DiverseCity Fellows. She serves as the Chair of the Canadian Women’s Health Network, as well as on the boards of directors for St. Stephen’s Community House, Toronto Women’s City Alliance and Story Planet. In her free time, she likes to race streetcars on her bicycle, eat delicious food, run and quilt.

Ann Peters recently retired from Maytree, a Toronto-based charitable foundation committed to building strong civic communities in Canada. In her capacity as Senior Manager, Leadership, she was responsible for coordinating Maytree’s leadership programs which included Leaders for Change, The Public Policy Training Institute, Five Good Ideas, the Annual Leadership Conference and DiverseCity, an innovative partnership between Maytree and the Toronto City Summit Alliance to diversify Toronto’s leadership landscape. Prior to joining Maytree, she worked for Ideas That Matter which convenes and publishes on issues related to the importance of cities in the Canadian context. The work of Ideas that Matter is also inspired by the ideas and principles of Jane Jacobs and awards the annual Jane Jacobs prize. Ann has also worked in the areas of urban planning and nonprofit housing as well as ten years in the education field.

Netami Stuart is a landscape architect and certified arborist who plans and designs parks for the City of Toronto. She was previously a project manager and landscape designer at PMA Landscape Architects. She has led walks during the past two Jane’s Walks. Netami is committed to producing accessible, beautiful and functional public spaces in collaboration with the communities that will use them. She has a deep and thorough understanding of the nuts and bolts of planning, designing and constructing walkable places. Netami’s practice has focused on natural environment and urban forest restoration, transportation landscapes, and facilitating community input into the design and management of public space. Netami is a member of the Friends of the West Toronto Rail Path and has sat on the steering committee of Active18 and the board of the Community Bicycle Network. She also writes for and sits on the Editorial Board of Ground magazine, a quarterly publication of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects.

Linda Weichel brings 20 years of experience at Canada’s largest employee-owned public relations firm, Media Profile, to her position as Vice President, Partnerships, CivicAction.
Linda is responsible for developing and ensuring the successful execution of CivicAction’s strategy for initiating and sustaining relationships with its partners and stakeholders in its work to advance the Greater Toronto region.
Linda also oversees CivicAction’s environmental initiative, Greening Greater Toronto and its projects including the Living City Report Card and the office building energy efficiency challenge Race to Reduce. Linda draws on her business leadership, communications expertise, and passion for city building as she drives a coordinated effort across sectors to support a region that flourishes through environmental action and innovation by its leaders and diverse communities.

Margie Zeidler is president of Urbanspace Property Group, specializing in the adaptive reuse of old buildings that house artists and social entrepreneurs, including 401 Richmond and the JAS Robertson Building located in downtown Toronto. Ms. Zeidler sits on the board of the TIDES Canada Foundation. She is the recipient of the 2003 “Jane Jacobs Prize”, the 2004 Toronto “Best Friend of the Arts” Award, and she received the Order of Ontario in 2005. She was also involved with Active 18, a residents group advocating for sustainable development in the Queen West Triangle of downtown Toronto.

Jane’s Walk Crew and Facilitators

Rani Sanderson is the Operations Coordinator for Jane’s Walk. She has worked for over 15 years as a film programmer, video artist and VJ in many countries, cities, islands, clubs, events, festivals and concerts around the world. More recently, she received her Master in Environmental Studies, concentrating on community arts and development and environmental education. She is discovering how to combine her technical and creative skills with her passion for environmental, social, and humanitarian issues. Rani currently facilitates digital storytelling workshops, working with organizations such as DSto, Luminato, Story Planet and Regent Park Focus, where she gets to work with amazing people from all over the City of Toronto. She recently started up a new digital storytelling project called Ice Cream Truck Stories and will be taking an exciting mobile media lab on the road. She loves looking at maps and listening to stories, and is a keen walker, who loves to spend her free time wandering around the City on foot, exploring all the streets, parks, neighbourhoods, alleys and stories Toronto has to offer.

Josh Fullan is the Director of Jane’s Walk School Edition. He is a teacher at the University of Toronto Schools, an independent high school affiliated with the University of Toronto. He is on the steering committee for People Plan Toronto and the co-chair of the Annex Residents’ Association’s Transportation Committee. Josh began as a facilitator and guide for Jane’s Walk in 2008, and has since organized and supervised youth-led walks throughout the GTA, while consulting for walks in other cities. He is the founder of the school programs Jane’s Club and Jane’s Walk School Exchange, and the creator of a park maintenance program which allows high school students to complete their community service hours by renewing and maintaining city parks. He is also the co-creator of the VoteTO16 campaign, an initiative of Better Ballots. Josh has written about youth and urban space for Spacing and Torontoist.

Dara Gellman is a Toronto East-ender, video installation artist, arts educator, cultural worker, travel enthusiast and condiment obsessive. In between bouts of DIY renovating her Leslieville home with her partner Jackie, she finds time to work on her art practice, watch nearby kestrels and hawks, and plan her next trip. Dara dreams of one day hosting a Jane’s Walk that is just about food, or even better, just about condiments. Dara does not wear purple boots like Emmy, though she is artistic.

Mia Hunt does lots of things for Jane’s Walk including design, layout, walkability mapping, and community walk facilitation. She has a multidisciplinary background in design, planning, and community engagement. Originally from Victoria, Mia has a BFA in Design Art from Concordia University and a Masters in Planning from University of Toronto, specialising in Urban Design and Social Planning. Mia has long been involved with the Planners Network; she has organised public lecture series, participated on urban design juries, and volunteers with a number of local social agencies. These activities have allowed her to explore her recurring interests in social and environmental justice, media studies, material culture, urban change, education, and planning. Mia is currently doing her PhD in London, England.

Wendy Mendes is the coordinating writer of the Jane Jacobs primers posted on our website. She holds a PhD in urban geography from Simon Fraser University. Wendy is an urban aficionado who researches and teaches about local governance, policy-making, sustainability and participatory decision-making, with a specialization in urban food security. She is currently Adjunct Professor at the School of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia, Research Associate at Ryerson University’s Centre for Studies in Food Security, and Social Planner for the District of North Vancouver. In addition, Wendy is a not-so clandestine aerial acrobat who likes to dream up ways to promote circus arts as a vehicle to realize more vibrant and inclusive public spaces.

Andrew Pask is the co-writer of our Jane Jacobs primers. He is the director of the Vancouver Public Space Network, a grassroots non-profit that works on advocacy, education and outreach about Vancouver’s public realm. He was trained as a planner and anthropologist, and has worked on community planning matters across Canada. He can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)