Jack Layton Leadership School

Ken Moffatt

As the Jack Layton Chair, Professor Ken Moffatt aims to build community-oriented engagement at Ryerson through a multi-disciplinary approach. He is particularly interested in politics, sociology, educational theory, social work, queer theory, and creative arts. Professor Moffatt brings to this position his research expertise in the effects of neoliberalism and new managerialism on policy and education; community-based, culturally-focused social interventions; mechanisms of power contributing to social inclusion and exclusion; as well as critical reflective practice and pedagogy.

Olivia Chow

Ryerson University's Distinguished Visiting Professor Olivia Chow is the Founder and Director of the Institute for Change Leaders, external link (external link)  since March 2015. Olivia has a certificate from Marshall Ganz Leadership course from Harvard Kennedy's School Executive Program and has taught over 3,500 people across Ontario. She empowered many women to make a difference through teaching Feminist Community Organizing at George Brown College’s Assaulted Women and Children Counselling and Advocacy Program for six years. Until 2015, Olivia held elected offices for 30 years as a school trustee, City Councillor, and a Member of Parliament. She has tirelessly championed for a universal early childhood education program, a national public transit strategy, and fair immigration policies.

Mike Layton

Mike Layton has been a Toronto City Councillor since 2010. As City Councillor he works to protect and improve city services, and preserve the diverse character of the city's neighbourhoods. He champions affordable housing, investment in arts and culture, Aboriginal issues, and better public transit and cycling infrastructure. He has been a strong voice in making Toronto a leader in combatting climate change. Prior to being a councillor, he worked at Environmental Defense, one of Canada's leading environmental charities. He has an urban planning degree and is and adjunct professor at York University. 

Kiké Roach

Kiké Roach is the Unifor National Chair in Social Justice and Democracy at Ryerson University. She has served as an Executive Member of: the National Conference of Black Lawyers, the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, the Women’s Coalition for Employment Equity, and Mpenzi: Black Women’s International Film and Video Festival. As a civil rights lawyer, she has advocated for accountability and reform in policing and detention for many years, representing community organizations. She was a regular commentator on current and legal affairs for CTV News and has appeared as a spokesperson on a variety of issues. She is co-author of the book Politically Speaking. Kiké has designed and led workshops for the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, and the United Steel Workers among others. She has addressed audiences across Canada and in the United States on issues of anti-racism, feminism, and progressive change.

Jake Pyne

Jake Pyne is an academic and activist in the trans community in Toronto. Over the past 18 years, Jake has worked on projects to improve trans community access to shelters and emergency services, health care, and family law justice, as well as projects to build support for gender independent kids and trans youth. Jake's doctoral research was focused on the current generation of trans youth, some of whom are blocking puberty and transitioning young, and his dissertation posed questions about how their futures and forms of life have become thinkable in this time and place. As a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Guelph, Jake is currently studying the intersection of autistic and trans experience and the implications for how humanness is understood.

Notisha Massaquoi

Notisha Massaquoi is a health equity activist and an anti-Black racism educator and researcher. For the past 21 years, she served as the Executive Director of Women's Health in Women's Hands Community Health Centre for Black women and Women of Color.  Her Research and Publications focus on access to health care for Women of Color as well as the impact of HIV/AIDS on African and Caribbean Women. She serves on several research councils including the Toronto Central LIHN Research and Education Council and the Research Committee of the Association of Ontario Health Care Centres. Her latest book is a co-edited Anthology entitled Theorizing Empowerment: Canadian Perspectives on Black Feminist Thought.

Waubkuniikwe

Waubkuniikwe is a member of Wasauksing First Nation, band of Three Fires Confederacy. She has recently graduated with a Masters in Social Work but considers herself a helper within and for her people. Her strength is community development rooted in Anishinaabe ways of knowing, doing and being. She is also an Aunty to many nieces and nephews who are her greatest teachers. She enjoys sharing her learning journey, and gains from these opportunities for further growth.

Cathy Crowe

Cathy Crowe is a long-time Street Nurse who works in the area of social justice nursing. She is a frequent guest lecturer and commentator on subjects related to advocacy, activism and social justice. Cathy has been the recipient of numerous awards including five honourary Doctorates in Law, Science and Nursing, an international Human Rights Award and the prestigious Atkinson Economic Justice Award. Cathy is also a ground-breaking author (Dying for a Home: Homeless Activists Speak Out) and documentary filmmaker (Home Safe Calgary, Home Safe Toronto). Her work is the subject of a moving documentary Street Nurse by filmmaker Shelley Saywell. Today she is a Distinguished Visiting Practitioner in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University. She received the Order of Canada in 2018. Cathy’s website is www.cathycrowe.ca (external link) 

Reena Tandon

Dr. Reena Tandon has led the Ryerson Faculty of Art's Community Engaged Learning & Teaching (CELT) initiative since 2010. In 2014, Dr. Tandon was selected as the DiverseCity Fellow by Civic Action, Toronto. She serves on the National Steering Committee of the Canadian Alliance for Community Service-Learning. Dr. Tandon has served on the governance boards of Sherbourne Health Centre, South Asian Women’s Centre and the Mission Committee of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. Dr. Tandon taught across universities in New Delhi and Toronto including at the University of Toronto and Ryerson University. She has worked in the capacity of Program Director in the community sector in Toronto and has worked as a consultant to organizations such as the UNFPA and the World Bank. Dr. Tandon is co-author of the book, Immigration and Women: Understanding the American Experience - Finding Agency, Negotiating Resistance and Bridging Cultures.