The 2025 LSJC cohort includes leaders from across sectors in the GTA who are working on social justice issues including food insecurity, Queer rights, housing insecurity, and more.
Learn more about each project and meet the teams below.
The “Affordable by Design” initiative is tackling by North York West’s housing crisis by driving policy reforms and pioneering modular, containerized, and 3D-printed homes. Through innovation and advocacy, we’re exposing affordable housing and shaping a more equitable future
Team members:
Anjelica Ramsewack
Dael Vasquez
Mohammed Fuad Mekhail Bari
This project seeks to address food insecurity among youth in Rexdale by implementing sustainable, community-led solutions. Through youth-led gardening programs, advocacy training, and cross-sector collaboration, we aim to empower young people to combat food desserts and drive systemic change. Partnering with grassroots organizations and engaging in public health, social work, and urban planning sectors, we strive to create lasting, equitable access to healthy food in community.
Team Members
Anab Mohamud
Ayan Hashi
Chelsea Ghansah
This project explores the diversity of delivery riders – app-based couriers, gig workers, Bike Brigade volunteers – to re-frame the narrative of what a “Toronto cyclist” is and increase visibility for vulnerable and essential service providers. We leverage the power of the arts for cultural change to raise public awareness and build cross-movement partnerships
Team Members
Lanrick Bennett Jr.
Danielle Griscti
Rachel Wang
Boxes for Our Sisters is a project dedicated to ensuring that women and gender-diverse people serving federal sentences have access to personal belongings while in custody. Our mission is to provide the resources, in the form of “pen boxes” necessary for them to feel their best and maintain a sense of dignity while incarcerated in Canadian prisons.
Team Members
Amy Hall
Ashleigh Addison
Julia Laine
This project hopes to identify challenges individuals face while living on the streets, how best to address the barriers by management and front-line staff, and what hands-on resources they can use to access services in the community.
Team Members
Andrea Da Silva
Calvin Maclean
Paljor Tsering
The lack of a sector-wide succession strategy that prioritizes racialized leadership is a major challenge for organizations. Without adequate leadership support, burnout increases, strategic planning falters, and organizational agility diminishes, while racialized senior staff face internal conflicts impacting their mental well-being when intersectionality is not prioritized
Team Members
Heena Dholakia
Sakina Hussain
Nicki Fong
Our team is deeply committed to social justice and aims to work more effectively with marginalized communities. We focus on advancing food security, housing security, and employability, particularly for people of colour and other marginalized groups in the GTA. This includes empowering women to thrive in the face of biases and ensuring that everyone feels included and valued at work.
Team Members
Hajra Merchant
Karen Ta
Susanne Rodrigues
The Cinema Connect project is a space for forging deep bonds and offering LGBTQIA2S+ newcomers an opportunity to express themselves through the art of cinema. Participants will reflect on their journeys, pain, and joy, sharing their experiences with a unique group of people who truly understand and empathize.
Team Members
Faisal Ibrahim
Khalil Rantissi
Ramilla Hettiarachchi
Our projects focuses on equitable play infrastructure to create inclusive, safe, and accessible urban spaces for children and the elderly. By prioritizing car-free neighbourhoods and community-centered design, we aim to foster intergenerational connection and a sense of belonging in cities like Toronto.
Team Members
Anahita Nahoomi
Eman Abdelsabour
Nada Jamal
This project explores and develops a scalable head leasing model to provide stable housing for homeless and at-risk Black youth in Peel. Its replicability will enable other organizations in the sector to adopt and implement similar solutions for long-term housing stability.
Team Members
Ben Bempah
Dagma Koyi
Laura Awosanya
Recent funding cuts and rising anti-immigration sentiments have created significant challenges for asylum claimants and refugees in the GTA, delaying access to essential services and employment. Raising awareness of their contributions and fostering inclusivity are key to overcoming these barriers. By advocating for equitable access to support systems, this project empowers refugees and asylum seekers to build sustainable lives and thrive in their new communities.
Team Members
Jahmoyia Smith
Manisha Roopnarine
Pauline Kirkpatrick
Recent funding cuts and rising anti-immigration sentiments have created significant challenges for asylum claimants and refugees in the GTA, delaying access to essential services and employment. Raising awareness of their contributions and fostering inclusivity are key to overcoming these barriers. By advocating for equitable access to support systems, this project empowers refugees and asylum seekers to build sustainable lives and thrive in their new communities.
Team Members
Amy Cheng
Athalonia Blackwood
Mandana Attar Zadeh
Patience Chirinda
Our team project aims to support Black youth, aged 15 to 30, in successfully reintegrating into society after incarceration.
Team Members
Brendalee Cox
Shameune Matthew
Ronald Stoddard
Street Smarts Rising and Thriving of the Next Generation empowers youth to overcome obstacles, including food insecurity, through mentorship, education, and life skills training. We inspire the next generation to rise above challenges and thrive in their communities.
Team Members
Chantelle Cruzat-Whervin
Mike Jonathan
Trevaun Douglas
We aim to create an employment pathway for internationally trained clinicians in East Toronto, providing Canadian experience that can lead to full-time jobs and support social integration. This is in collaboration with Michael Garron Hospital, East Toronto Health Partners, and TNO – The Neighbourhood Organization.
Team Members
Razia Rashed
Sadia Zafar
Sara Shearkhani
Ubuntu Connect amplifies the voices of equity-deserving individuals, ensuring their lived experiences shape inclusive urban policies and programs using shared stories and data.
Team Members
Abdulah Aziz Ssali
Caroline Owashaba
Peniel Rwendeire
Uptown Climate Conversations host conversational and collective visioning climate events in North York, leaning into arts and creativity to serve the community in Uptown Toronto. Our major goals are convening community and uplifting youth and BIPOC voices in local advocacy.
Team Members
Maria Torres
Vargas Muzhi Chang
Victoria Wang