Canada's Placemaking Community

Gabriela is a creative thinker and curious learner who aims to expand our collective imagination and support people who spark change. Before joining the Healthy Communities Initiative, Gabriela worked internationally in the fields of social business, community engagement, and inclusive innovation. She combines an ability to think strategically with her dedication and skill to design relational and caring processes.

You can find Gabriela cross country skiing or hiding behind a book in her free time. From Barcelona, she currently lives in Toronto, ON – the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

Gay is a collaborator who thrives on building networks and developing innovative programs while problem-solving and evaluating on the go. Passionate about working with communities and individuals towards positive change, she combines experience in policy advocacy, project management, web communications, and community outreach as the Community Partnership Lead with Canadian Urban Institute.

Gay co-ran a successful Pop-Up Shop Project as part of an ongoing community economic development initiative along Danforth East in Toronto, and she co-authored an open source Pop-up Shop Retail Strategy e-book as part of Toronto Metropolitan University’s writing team! She lives and works in Vancouver, BC, the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Naomi is a passionate storyteller and community-builder who sees relationships as the starting point for change. Completing her master’s degree in social justice education, she combines the desire for equitable and care-oriented social structures with an understanding that relationality and reciprocity underscore thriving, resilient communities. She believes that through listening and sharing our stories, we develop pathways of understanding, empathy, and care that can bring our creative imaginings into realities.

She resides in Toronto, the traditional territory of many nations including  Mississaugas of the Credit, the the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.