Board of Directors

Cindi Alexander has a long history in the healthcare sector as a Public Health Nurse & Parent Support Facilitator, Healthcare Manager, Program Director and Clinical Director. Cindi is working with the Institute for Change Leaders on the Sense of Belonging Project, a pilot initiative created to develop skills for opportunities for post-secondary student leaders to build a better sense of community on their campuses. 

Bob Gallagher has a long history as a communications specialist, queer activist, political strategist and academic. He co-founded the Campaign for Equal Families and Canadians for Equal Marriage. Bob also helped found the Gay Lesbian Bi Youth Line and for years was a director of Buddies In Bad Times Theatre. As a political strategist and consultant, Bob has managed numerous election and issue campaigns municipally in Toronto, provincially at Queens Park and at the federal level. Bob’s graduate studies were in political economy at the University of Toronto, studying with C.B. Macpherson, Steven Lukes and Michel Foucault. For years, he taught social theory and public policy at Trent University. Currently, Bob is the Head of Communications and Political Action for the United Steelworkers.

Judy Skinner is a retired accountant (CPA-CGA), working for many years as a Manager of Financial Planning at the City of Toronto where with a team of Analysts she managed the City’s budget process for the Parks, Forestry & Recreation and Economic Development and Culture programs, as well as City agencies governed by separate boards - the Toronto Police Service, Toronto Public Library, Exhibition Place and the Toronto Zoo.

Judy Skinner was a Director of Bread and Roses Credit Union in 1979, serving as president (chair) from 1981 until 1994, continuing as a director until 1997. Judy has served as Board Chair of the Toronto Municipal Employees Credit Union since 2007, beginning as a Director in 2000 until its amalgamation with Alterna Savings in 2019. She was on the board of Oxfam Canada.

Judy is a Treasurer of Church Isabella Residents Co-operative, Treasurer of Toronto Consort (an early music group), Board member of Karma Coop and member of the Finance & Audit Committee of Cooperating Housing Federation of Canada.

Imran Sarwar has been engaged with ICL since early 2024 when first introduced to the organization after moving to Canada. Over the last year, he has participated in many of the skill development sessions, gotten to know other facilitators and team members through these gatherings, and most recently has stepped up to make change happen by joining the board. 

"I value the relations I have built over the last year with other ICL members that have helped me in understanding / navigating the political and social landscape in Toronto and Canada, and have given me a sense of community. I also appreciate the organization's willingness, at this juncture, to redefine itself in a way that best serves its people and centers the voices and values of its members. Over my career I have enjoyed building organizations and institutions that value equity, justice, and empathy, primarily with non-profits in Pakistan and more recently through my work with Leading Change Network. I believe that ICL serves a critical role in providing space for a range of progressive ideas, and at the same time bringing relational organizing to more communities. That mandate excites me and I trust that others in the team are willing to take on the challenging and rewarding work of building an organization that lives out its values."

Robb has been with ICL as a facilitator and coach since 2019, teaching alongside our founder Olivia Chow at Toronto Metropolitan University.

"I have been involved in strategic planning, visioning, and organizational design and change for over 20 years with strong focus on gender and cultural equity. I believe that ICL is a prime collective to contribute to new directions in social change in the current climate, and am happy to offer any insights from my experiences in that effort."

"I first took the 3-month course with Olivia at Ryerson in 2017, as part of my job as a campaigner at a journalists' rights nonprofit. I was hooked immediately. I put what I learned to work at my job and saw the impact it had right off the bat. [see here for more: https://www.changeleaders.ca/press_freedom]. I began to volunteer with ICL, helping with the website and comms, and started shadow facilitating, taking any opportunity I could to continue learning and engaging with the material.

From 2018 onwards I participated in many dozens of trainings, first as facilitator and then frequently as instructor. I began to work part-time on staff in 2019 as communications manager, and joined full-time in 2020, while continuing to teach trainings. During this time I was involved in some capacity in almost every aspect of ICL's operations, including curriculum design, fundraising, grant writing, project management, facilitator coordination, website design, social media, and partner development and teaching. I took Marshall Ganz's Leadership, Organizing and Action online course through the Harvard Kennedy School in June 2022. I moved from Toronto to Vancouver Island in 2021, and left the ICL staff in early 2023 when I began working full time as a union organizer here in BC. This current work grows directly from the experience at ICL, and I couldn't do any of it without the lessons I learned here.

In short: I spent years of my life working at ICL because I believe deeply in the power of what we teach.

It's an extraordinary experience to work with a group of people, most of whom have no individual or institutional power, and start to see a sense of hope and confidence grow as they learn to tell their own story, understand how to link up with others, identify the levers they could use to move decision makers, and develop a plan to win. I've seen deeply moving personal transformations take place as people share their stories and develop new solidarity with their peers. I believe this is how we will develop the collective leadership that will win the radical changes to our society and economy that we desperately need."

"I first joined the Black Youth Leadership Program as a student in 2020, and transitioned into a facilitator role later that same year—a role I’ve proudly held ever since. In 2021, I also took on the position of Communications Officer within ICL, where I, in part, contributed to strengthening the organization’s bilingual presence by helping improve the French translation of the ICL website.

Over the past several years, I’ve had the chance to grow within the Institute for Change Leaders—as a student, facilitator, and communications officer. These roles have shaped not only my leadership skills but also deepened my understanding of what it takes to build bridges across difference, whether linguistic, generational, or cultural.

As a bilingual Black woman and future physician from the Outaouais region, I bring a unique perspective rooted in community care and inclusive communication. I’ve seen firsthand how language can either open doors or create barriers, and I’m committed to ensuring that ICL continues to be a space where everyone feels seen, heard, and empowered—regardless of background.

I believe in this organization’s mission, and want to contribute meaningfully to its next chapter."

"When I moved to Toronto just over a year ago, Professor Marshall Ganz introduced me to the team, who very kindly welcomed me to join ICL. Since then, I have participated in workshops as a facilitator and conducted trainings for the facilitators.

I believe in people-powered change and I believe that the world today needs it desperately. We know that a society is stronger when its individuals know how to organize amongst themselves. For me, ICL is that hope that can lead this work in Canada. As an educator who has been in the social entrepreneurship space for over a decade, when I discovered the practice of community organizing through Marshall Ganz, I didn’t first understand it. But I stayed long enough to learn, practice and teach this skill and I can see how it truly makes the difference between a people-led world and a world where people are exploited.

I have joined the board of ICL to contribute to the strengthening of this work here in Canada. While this is a challenging time, I believe it is also an incredible opportunity to chart a hopeful and stronger future. My skills developed through experience in leading, scaling and fundraising for projects would allow me to contribute to ICL with folks within the org who truly understand the mission and vision of this important work. As someone who is also fairly new to this country, I bring a helpful ‘outsider’ view that may allow us to recognize opportunities and gaps that may have been overlooked. Having lived and worked in over 7 countries, I bring a global network of peers who can bring opportunities and perspectives beneficial for strategizing and scaling. With mentorship from Marshall Ganz and the Leading Change Network, I am well-positioned to leverage the resources within this ecosystem to help propel ICL to its next stage of growth.

I look forward to working with the ICL community – veteran, alumni, and new members – to build a sustainable organization that leads this important work in Canada."

"I took my first ICL weekend way back in 2016/2017 and it was so life-changing that I essentially never left! I started as a facilitator, in particular facilitating for my own community of Early Childhood Educators. As a direct result of my work with ICL I started working as a community organizer with the association of Early Childhood Educators. As I grew my experience with organizing, and my confidence with facilitating, I was able to take on the role of lead facilitating/teaching ICL. Because I use the principles that ICL teaches in my daily work I have been able to add some examples of real world application to my teaching.

Being involved with the Institute for Change Leaders has been life changing for me, right from the start. That first session with ICL made me believe that I could *do something* about the situations that troubled my heart, and it gave me hope. I have been a Community Organizer for the last 6 years, I have used the principals that I learned in my very first ICL weekend workshop every day. Now, I am on the board of ICL as an act of service and gratitude to an organization that has been so important to me.

I see organizing as the most effective way that care and hope can be consolidated into action. I have seen the power of organizing to make life-changing wins, and to hold communities together in times of loss and uncertainty. I believe that ICL can and must expand outwards to help more people turn care and hope into action. I also believe that ICL can create spaces where organizers can come together, share knowledge, think deeply, and find care."

"I joined ICL in 2016 after participating in Building Skills for Change. I worked with Olivia and Ben D.W. as a Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant until early 2020, while completing my PhD studies at TMU, and after my part-time employment at ICL, I continued teaching our curriculum with MOFIF and facilitated some training as well.

My background is in economics, education, and governance. I earned my PhD from TMU, where I co-founded and led the Graduate Students’ Union through a five-year effort to secure graduate student representation and services. I’ve taught, mentored, and worked across sectors — as a strategy consultant, board member, economics instructor, and now as Director of Research at SIMA.

I've joined the Board because I want to help ICL continue to grow and keep doing what it does best: Training community organizers and driving change in our communities. I bring a mix of policy, strategy, and organizing experience, and am proud to support ICL’s next chapter."