Our Team 

Leslie Woo

Chief Executive Officer

A tri-sector leader with over 25 years of experience building sustainable communities and shaping urban development in Canada’s fastest-growing urban region. Leslie was appointed CEO of CivicAction in 2020. For over two decades CivicAction has been mobilizing established and rising leaders to steward a future for the city and to actively respond to current urban crises. Before joining CivicAction, Leslie served as Metrolinx’s Chief Planning and Development Officer. An experienced planner, architect, and community activator, she is a 2023 Top 25 Canadian Immigrant awardee and named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2017, a 2019 Toronto Power Woman by Bisnow, Spacing Toronto’s Transit Changemaker in 2016 and Canada’s Women’s Infrastructure Network’s inaugural 2015 Outstanding Leader. Leslie uses her voice and platform “shebuildscities” to amplify and celebrate other women city builders.

Chris Adams

Controller

Chris runs an accounting firm based out of MARS that serves primarily start-up technology companies along with other Toronto-based non-profit organizations. He has served as CivicActions CFO since 2009 supporting the CivicAction Board of Directors and Finance Committee. Chris lives in Etobicoke with his family and enjoys commuting by bicycle along the waterfront in the warmer months.

Susan DeLisle

VP Philanthropy

Motivated by the belief that every person deserves an equitable opportunity to thrive and succeed, Susan has focussed her career on marshalling the support of key stakeholders to affect change at some of Canada’s top academic, health, and research organizations to drive positive change. She has a passion for the city and wants to see the region – and those who live in it – have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

As a member of our Executive Management Team, Susan is responsible for developing and executing CivicAction’s revenue generation plan, managing key partnerships and relationships, and building and fostering teamwork within CivicAction.

Emma Hosein

Program Manager, DiverseCity Fellows

Emma (she/her) has more than six years of experience in the non-profit sector, in those years she worked on various projects striving to build community strength by facilitating access to resources, knowledge, and networks in the Greater Toronto/Hamilton Area. Joining the team early in 2022, Emma’s work at CivicAction contributes to her long time interest in working toward cultivating meaningful equity in urban spaces.

Emma holds an MSc in Gender, Development, and Globalization from the London School of Economics and Political Science where her research looked at the ways in which public policy measures impact women’s economic empowerment in unplanned urban settlements. Before that she completed her Honours BA from Victoria College at the University of Toronto. In addition to her degrees Emma has earned certificates in Public Policy Analysis and Modern Diplomacy from the London School of Economics and the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies, respectively.

When she’s not at work you can find Emma out for a run, searching for the best gluten free food in town, or helicopter parenting her two cats.

Amreen Kalsi

Executive Coordinator

Amreen has a rich and diverse set of experiences across multiple sectors ranging from not-for-profit organizations to healthcare. She completed her Master’s in Business Administration from Australian National University, Canberra. She has worked in numerous marketing, brand activations and partner engagement initiatives with some of the biggest healthcare names in India. She also led the marketing initiatives for the largest dental chain in India. Prior to joining CivicAction, she worked with TRIEC (Toronto Regional Immigration Employment Council) where she supported the CEO in driving the organization’s objectives as well as managing projects and partnerships in the DEI space.  As a new immigrant and mother, Amreen is passionate about newcomer settlement and building safe and inclusive communities.

In her spare time, she loves to spend time with her toddler son and try the variety of food that Toronto offers, especially brunch places. She loves to travel and is always planning her next place to visit.

Daniel Lynn

Senior Director, Operations

Danny leads the overall Operations of both CivicAction and the Leadership Foundation. With over 20 years experience in the private sector, he has held multiple operational roles managing diverse teams across North America. A firm believer in servant leadership, as well as continuous, iterative improvement, and operational excellence, with the goal of “always doing it better”.

As a proud 2018/19 DiverseCity Fellow, Danny’s passion for civic engagement and inclusive communities, along with his “need to solve problems”, led him to join Team Action in January 2022.

Most days, you can find Danny on the Hamilton escarpment hiking the Bruce Trail with his dogs, or if the weather agrees, an open road on the motorcycle.

Taher Mahmood

Bookkeeper

Taher is a CPA US professional. He has worked for the Chris J. Adams Accounting Firm for over seven years and provided bookkeeping services for CivicAction since 2010. He enjoys living in downtown Toronto with his wife.

Yasmine Mohamed

Director – Activation

Yasmine Mohamed is a Director on CivicAction’s Activation team, where she leads the design and implementation of new programming, while also managing projects related to scaling and evolving existing programs. Yasmine is an experienced program leader, joining CivicAction from the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, where she provided strategic and operational leadership in shaping digital civic engagement projects that supported tens of thousands of new Canadians across Canada. Prior to this, Yasmine was the Director, Canoo, where she led the design and execution of a national program connecting new Canadian citizens to more than 1,400 arts and culture spaces across the country, used by +70,0000 new citizens annually.

Yasmine currently sits on the City of Toronto’s Programming Advisory Group for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility supporting the city’s strategy for community engagement at Toronto’s history museums, and in 2019 was named one of the Top 21 Young Impact Leaders in Canada by Future of Good. With an academic anchoring in environmental racism (including an MA in Geography and Environmental Studies) as well as a diploma in Refugee and Migration Studies and certifications in user experience project management, she is well equipped to do the important work of building more equitable and inclusive cities. Yasmine enjoys spending time with her nephew, Aydin, and looks forward to camping and portaging every summer in Algonquin Provincial Park.

Stacey Murie

Manager, Corporate Affairs

Stacey is a non-profit leader with over a decade of experience driving social impact. She has a proven track record of successfully managing complex projects and events that help solve urgent crises in our communities. As the Manager of Corporate Affairs, she is responsible for helping CivicAction navigate major transitions to deliver on our mission to build more liveable, inclusive cities. In 2023, Stacey led the planning and execution of CivicAction’s quadrennial Summit.

Prior to joining CivicAction, she served as the Manager of Development & Communications at Horizons for Youth, a shelter for at-risk and homeless youth in Toronto. She has also worked at MADD Canada, UNICEF Canada, and The Stop Community Food Centre. She completed a master’s degree at the University of Toronto and her research analyzed the intersections between food insecurity, gender, and race in Toronto.

In her free time, Stacey enjoys hiking and biking, spending time with friends and family, and cooking new recipes.

Masood Qadri

Operations Analyst

Masood is passionate about unraveling intricate data puzzles to drive strategic business outcomes. With a background in quantitative analysis and a keen eye for detail, he enjoys working with complex data and conducts in-depth studies to drive informed business decisions. Masood thrives in immersing himself in data sets, extracts meaningful insights, and translates them into actionable strategies. He enjoys growing his analytical skills to unravel patterns, identify trends, and offer solutions that positively impact the organization’s performance.

Jodie Rawn

Vice President – Activation

A member of the CivicAction team since March 2015, Jodie is an executive member of the CivicAction and the CivicAction Leadership Foundation leadership team. She leads all aspects of program development and advancement and is responsible for multi-year and long-range planning, outcome analytics and participant experience. Prior to this, Jodie led the launch of the CivicAction Leadership Foundation in 2016 and was responsible for the delivery of programming within the Foundation with a focus on identifying and preparing next-gen leaders.

Prior to CivicAction, Jodie held progressively senior roles with the Ontario government in key areas including marketing/communications, issues management, strategy, organizational transformation and leadership development. A graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, she has completed certificate programs at both the Rotman & Schulich Schools of Business and is a past graduate of the Ontario government’s Leadership Development Program.

In 2019, she was recognized with a Star Metroland Media Urban Hero Award in the Social Issues category and, in 2020, co-founded the Hayden’s Hope Foundation to raise awareness of childhood cancer and support pediatric oncology families in southwestern Ontario.

Shobi Sivaraj

Manager, Partnerships & Development

Shobi Sivaraj is a skilled project manager and fundraiser with over a decade of experience in the social impact sector. She specializes in the planning, execution and analysis of multi-channel campaigns. Shobi values collective care, collaboration, equity and justice. Throughout her career, she has focused on bringing an anti-oppression lens to her work and team environments. In her free time, Shobi can be found playing with her niece and nephews, walking by the river or going for brunch.

Anam Zakaria

Project Manager, DiverseCity Fellows

Anam has been working in the non-profit sector for the past 12 years, leading programs across different fields including culture, education, immigration, volunteerism and civic engagement. Alongside her work as a development professional, Anam is an oral historian and author of three books and won the 2017 KLF-German Peace Prize. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Hill Times and Al Jazeera among other media outlets and has been taught in South Asia, UK and the US. In 2021, The Gender Security Project recognized Anam as one of 100 women from the Global South working in the fields of foreign policy, peacebuilding, law, activism and development. Anam is an Asia21 Young Leader and is passionate about bridging divides and addressing prejudice. When she’s not working, Anam can be found watching standup comedy or finding her next favourite spot to eat.