Recognizes Ten Who Symbolize Leadership in Toronto Region's Past, Present, Future
TORONTO, Nov. 27, 2012 /CNW/ - Leaders from across the Toronto region met today to mark a decade of driving collaborative solutions that have shaped our communities, strengthened our environment, and bolstered our economy. The Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance today commemorated ten years of convening city-builders to take action, while kick-starting a new decade of driving change. The organization announced 10 Faces of CivicAction to celebrate people who have been leaders among leaders, and to symbolize the spirit and initiative the region needs to prosper and thrive.
More than 150 rising and established leaders from the business, public, labour, academic, and not-for-profit sector joined CivicAction Chair John Tory and CEO Mitzie Hunter at a breakfast event. Also in attendance were the DiverseCity Fellows, rising city-builders who were selected to be part of CivicAction's leadership accelerator program, one of its hallmark initiatives.
CBC News Toronto's Dwight Drummond moderated a panel of CivicAction volunteer leaders who identified the keys to accelerating our city-region's prosperity: regional collaboration; empathy; and the courage to make the tough decisions.
Panelists included Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival, Gabrielle Scrimshaw, Co-Founder/President, Aboriginal Professional Association of Canada and 2011 DiverseCity Fellow, and Mike Pedersen, Group Head, Wealth Management, Insurance, and Corporate Shared Services, TD Bank Group, and CivicAction Board member.
"CivicAction has succeeded as a platform for people who understand in their collective DNA how to bring all parts of society around a table to solve problems, seize opportunities, and make great things happen," said Mitzie Hunter, CEO of CivicAction. "We know governments alone cannot make a city-region great, bound as they are by electoral cycles and especially in these volatile times. We know that business and civil society care about the future of our region, and we want to see more collaboration by our political and civic leaders to ensure our region thrives."
"CivicAction has established a powerful model of city building that comes from collective leadership," said John Tory, Chair of CivicAction. "This is an important occasion to celebrate a decade of launching some of Toronto's highest-impact initiatives - such as SARSFest and Luminato, and now our 'What Would You Do With Your 32?' campaign. We are thrilled to applaud the people who have helped establish and develop CivicAction and to our emerging leaders who are pushing our region to greater heights. Through the Faces of CivicAction, we are recognizing leadership and celebrating our past, present, and future."
The 10 Faces of CivicAction were selected from the thousands of volunteers that have engaged with CivicAction's work for a decade, helping establish shared fact bases, and creating non-partisan, solution-oriented initiatives and organizations. These 10 people are rising and established leaders who represent a cross-section of these volunteers and reflect the diversity of the Toronto region, CivicAction's initiatives, and key moments in its history:
Their stories of leadership have been captured on the CivicAction site and Facebook page to inspire others to leverage CivicAction as platform to create new possibilities and prosperity in the life of our region.
About CivicAction
For the past 10 years, the Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance (CivicAction) has brought together senior and rising leaders from all sectors to tackle some of our region's toughest social, economic, and environmental challenges. Led by a Board of Directors and a 75-leader Steering Committee, CivicAction sets a non-partisan agenda, builds strategic partnerships, and launches campaigns, programs and organizations that drive our region's prosperity. For 2012-2013, CivicAction is acting on three priorities: accelerating regional transportation; enhancing the region's economic performance; and fostering inclusion and resilience. For more information visit: civicaction.ca, @CivicActionGTA
Image with caption: "CBC News Toronto's Dwight Drummond moderates a panel of CivicAction volunteer leaders who identified the keys to accelerating our city-region's prosperity: regional collaboration; empathy; and the courage to make the tough decisions. From left to right: Mike Pedersen, Group Head, Wealth Management, Insurance, and Corporate Shared Services, TD Bank Group, and CivicAction Board member; Gabrielle Scrimshaw, Co-Founder/President, Aboriginal Professional Association of Canada and 2011 DiverseCity Fellow; Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival, and Dwight Drummond. (CNW Group/CivicAction)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121127_C3961_PHOTO_EN_21287.jpg
Image with caption: "CivicAction's 10th Anniversary: John Tory, Chair of CivicAction, and Mitzie Hunter, CEO of CivicAction. (CNW Group/CivicAction)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121127_C3961_PHOTO_EN_21286.jpg
Image with caption: "Gabrielle Scrimshaw, President, Aboriginal Professional Association of Canada; Nan DasGupta, Partner and Managing Director, Boston Consulting Group; Andrew Graham, Senior Director, Insurance, PC Financial; Gillian Smith, CEO, Institute for Canadian Citizenship; Mike Pedersen, Group Head, Wealth Management, Insurance, and Corporate Shared Services, TD Bank Group; Pat Capponi, Facilitator, Voices from the Street; and Orlando Bowen, Executive Director, One Voice, One Team. Missing: Patrick Dillon, Tony Gagliano, and Ratna Omidvar (CNW Group/CivicAction)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121127_C3961_PHOTO_EN_21285.jpg
SOURCE: CivicAction
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