About Us

Cassandra is a designer who works at the intersection of urbanism, education and social impact. She has a bachelor’s degree from OCADU and a master’s degree from Lund University in Sweden, where she explored the role of design in creating inclusive and sustainable cities. She has worked with various design studios in Toronto and abroad, such as Zeidler, SvN, Janet Rosenberg and Studio, Loop Design for Social Good and Planit. Cassandra is also passionate about laneway revitalization and has collaborated with various organizations such as VTLA, Lanescape and The Laneway Project to advocate for policy changes, design interventions, and better community engagement. She also has extensive experience working with Business Improvement Areas in the downtown core. Cassandra is currently working at The School of Cities, The Yonge and Dundas Businesses Improvement Area and teaches a course – Art, Architecture and Public Space at OCADU.

Carlos is a journalist and social psychologist whose focus lies in advocacy and policy-making. He comes from a 20-year career in PR, Marketing, and Partnerships, mostly at Google – with working experiences in Latin America, North America, and Asia.

In Brazil, he co-founded three nonprofits that work towards a more sustainable and democratic approach to public spaces and urban mobility, and was then elected for consecutive terms to the Urban Policy and the Traffic & Transport city councils in Sao Paulo (Pop. 12M), from 2015 to 2021.

Now based in Europe, Carlos left the private sector for a Masters in Public Policy at Oxford, following his passion for a new approach to the urban environment and his experience of championing the topic locally and internationally.

Celia Beketa is a design researcher who puts participatory and co-creation methods at the centre of her practice. She hopes to bring a human-centred lens to the design of just and equitable cities and challenge assumptions about who has a voice at the table for critical urban planning decisions. She acts as the ‘global co-chair’ of Jane’s Walk—she is currently pursuing her Masters in Urban Studies and over the next two years will be living in four cities across Europe. In her work at Doblin Canada, she helped private and public sector organizations better understand their users (for instance, customers, employees, or residents), and design their services around their needs. She was previously on the Steering Committee of the Toronto Public Space Committee. In her spare time you can find her either in the audience or on the stage of a community theatre production.

Jenny Foster loves her city, and has worked in the non-profit world for over 12 years. After being inspired at an early age by her grandmother, she has devoted her life to her community and has held fundraising roles across various sectors, including education, food security, social services, and politics. Currently Manager, Foundation Partnerships at CNIB. She also has a strong history of volunteerism. She held the role of Executive Director at West Hill Harvest, a local Scarborough charity, for over 10 years and currently sits on the Board of the Housing Help Centre. She is an avid reader and writer, and an award-winning yoga teacher. Jenny holds a BA in Political Science from The University of Toronto and a certificate in Fundraising Management from Seneca College, and is a Certified Fundraising Professional.

Jiya Benni is an urban designer and is currently Project Manager at 8 80 Cities. She grew up in India and lived in the Netherlands before moving to Canada in 2016. She holds a Master’s in Urbanism and a Bachelor’s in Architecture. A great believer in the power of collaborative planning and placemaking in city-building, she is passionate about creating equitable, sustainable, and resilient cities. Outside of work, you will find her writing on her blogs ‘Contemplating Urban Matters’ and ‘Patient Caterpillar’, making art or taking long walks and hikes with her partner.

Priya is an architect, academic and an urbanist. She is currently facilitating the development of two strategic plans for large Ontario school districts, community engagement for the City of Vaughan, and an international multi-city survey on child rights in sport. In her parallel design work, she navigates an expanded field of design in an attempt to understand its potential as a political, social, economic, technological and spatial practice. Her creative spatial practice ranges over various scales and media, with some notable projects exhibited at a national exposition, museum and web series. Priya brings 8+ years of experience between industry and academia, and is an alumnus of the Fulbright Program, Parsons School of Design, and Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. She is new to Toronto, keen to learn of its neighborhoods by moving through them and interacting with communities. She communicates fluently in English, Urdu, Hindi and Sindhi.

Sarah is equal parts community builder and explorer with a strong background in community development approaches and a strong passion for facilitating meaningful engagement. Sarah has a professional background in the non-profit sector, having worked with organizations that support grassroots organizing and cross-sector collaborations and networking. When not working, you can find her exploring parks and greenspaces as a hike guide and leader, encouraging accessibility and representation in outdoor spaces.

Selam Eyob is an urban planner at Brook McIlroy where she works on a range of development projects, stakeholder and community engagement and College/University Campus Master Plans. Selam’s passion lies at the intersection of public health and urban development. Selam contains a strong background in research, development processes and community development and engagement. Selam strives to create communities that are diverse, equitable and sustainable through human centered practices. Her academic background – Bachelors of Health Sciences from Simon Fraser University and Masters in Environmental Studies with a specialization in Urban Planning have merged together to provide her with a strong understanding of the connection between health and the built environment. She has experience working with several grassroot organizations such as TTC riders and has experience in the non-profit sector in which she spent several years working as a community development coordinator prior to pursuing her Masters in Urban Planning.

Wesley is a multidisciplinary artist with a passion for community building, collaborative design, public space and queer advocacy. Wesley Reibeling is co-chair of the Jane’s Walk Steering Committee. Additionally, Wesley is Toronto Program Manager at Park People, he sits on the advisory board at Urbanminds and is currently creating a podcast and participatory theatre show that focus on city-building, community consultations and equitable futures. Wesley holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies from York University and is currently working toward a Community Engagement Certificate at TMU where he was a recent mentor to the TMU SURP program. Outside of the city-building sphere, His art practices focus on community-based art and his interest lies in how community-building and art practices can foster and build a sense of belonging.