Sabina Ali

Executive Director

Sabina Ali is one of the founding members of the Thorncliffe Park Women’s 

Committee. She has worked to build the capacity and economic opportunities of residents and manages a wide variety of food, art, fitness, markets and garden programs. She is the recipient of the Elizabeth Coke award for excellence in leadership in 2011, the 2014 Jane Jacobs Prize for her work in transforming the city through innovative thinking, dedication to community development, and passion for hard work, and the 2014 Phenomenal Woman Award. She was  also selected as one of the Top Ten Torontonians to get the things done by Globe and Mail. In 2017 she received an award for excellence in Civic Action and the MP’s Sesquicentennial Citizenship Award. She is also an active member of Toronto Food Policy Council.

Stephanie Chartrand

Business and Community Development Officer

In the capacity of Business and Community Development Officer, Stephanie is responsible for researching, developing, and implementing unique business strategies for our projects that draw on the strengths of the community. With more than 10 years of leadership experience, she works on developing training programs unique to the community and their needs. Stephanie also looks for opportunities to grow our connections within our Toronto community by reaching out to partner with organizations and seeking external funding opportunities. She has a passion for working with food, which led her to our organization in hopes to address issues like Food Insecurity and promote Food Justice

Megan Whitney

Market Garden Coordinator

Megan is the Garden Coordinator. She is responsible for facilitating activities at the organization's garden sites including: collaborating with garden leaders and organizations to build a network of community members to participate in garden projects, identify and apply for external funding opportunities, and act as a resource on site to support all participating garden members. 

Zartasha Zainab

Communications  & Events Coordinator

Zartasha is the Events and Marketing Coordinator. She is responsible for overseeing events and ensuring that they are being run smoothly, and creating promotional materials She designs event posters and manages the different social media platforms including designing posters, newsletters, pamphlets and doing event photography and videos. She became involved with TPWC after becoming acquainted with Sabina at an event hosted by Toronto Youth Food Policy Council on food security and urban agriculture within communities of Toronto.

Areej Ahmed

Garden & Market Worker

Areej Hashmi is working as the Garden and Market Worker. 

She has been volunteering since she was in grade 9 with TPWC with all aspects of the team including providing assistance with the garden, the market, the different bazaars and events.  The market is an initiative that provides entrepreneurial opportunities in micro enterprises such as food, ware, handicrafts etc and helps create a sense of community in the city to revitalize the RV Burgess Park neighborhood. Areej provided customer service, helped with staffing during events and ensured rules and regulations were being followed. She helped support the Garden Coordinator by helping out with planting and various garden program.

Bilal Syed

Garden Assistant

Bilal Syed is working as the Garden Assistant. He enjoys his time in nature and believes that it’s a great way to get de-stress. He is primarily responsible for helping with garden activities at the two community gardens - one  at RV Burgess Park and the other located behind the library and at 35 Thorncliffe Park Drive.

Shahida Shamsi

Community Support Worker

Shahida is a Community Support Worker and an entrepreneur. She has been involved with TPWC as a vendor at the Friday Market for the past 2 years and has been helping with various programming with TPWC and is serving as a peer leader. Prior to coming to Canada, she used to work as a health inspector in which she assisted her community, reported their health needs and delivered medications.

Iman Ahmed

Park Cafe Assistant 

Iman Ahmed is a Park Cafe Assistant and helps the Cafe Chef in preparing meals. She is from the Pakistani-Canadian community at Thorncliffe Park area and has been living here for the past 7 years. She is a recent graduate from highschool and believes the Park Cafe is a wonderful way to bring the community together.

Amna Ahmed

Park Cafe Assistant

Amna Ahmed is the Park Cafe Assistant. She has been actively engaged with TPWC for the past 4 years. She offers high standards of  customer service, manages the Point of Sales system and also assists the chef in meal preparation.

Nahed M. Tasneem

Park Cafe Assistant

Nahed Mohammed Tasneem is the Park Cafe Assistant Chef. She assists with preparing fresh foods, helping out with the meal program and other events to help the Thorncliffe community.