Meet Our People

Amanda O’Rourke is the Executive Director of 8 80 Cities. She has over 20 years of experience leading strategic planning, partnership development, and managing high-impact teams. She has led diverse equitable mobility and public space projects in cities and towns in North America, Europe, and Australia. Amanda is a sought-after thought leader, writer, speaker, and experienced facilitator. She enjoys working collaboratively with city governments and community partners to make it easier for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to walk, bike, take public transit, and build a sense of belonging and connection in public spaces. Amanda holds a Master of Science in Urban Planning from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology from Queen’s University. She is Co-Chair of the Children Play and Nature Committee for World Urban Parks, an Advisory Board Member to Healthy Places By Design, and a proud mom to three energetic kids who inspire her work and continually inform her approach to city building and placemaking.

aorourke@880cities.org
Phone:+1-647-800-5226

Shannon is a multidisciplinary urban designer and community development planner with 15 years of experience working in collaboration with communities across the globe. She has extensive experience managing projects and developing policy and best practice frameworks working with citizen groups, local governments and NGOs in North America, West Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia. Before returning to Toronto, Shannon was based in Jerusalem, working on issues of contested urban space and raising her young daughter.

In her role as Director of Programs and Development, Shannon brings strong project management, community engagement and facilitation, applied strategic and systems thinking, storytelling, research, and analysis skills to the organization, as well as a passion and skill for urban design. Shannon has created audio and performative urban art installations using the intangible elements of memory and culture to question public space and the forces that have shaped it; this work has sparked dialogue and attempted to create future urban possibilities. Shannon holds a MSc in Building and Urban Design from The Bartlett School of Planning at University College London and a BA in Development Studies and Economics from McGill University.

slawrence@880cities.org
Phone: +1-289-212-3530

Camila is a communications professional with over ten years of experience in strategic communications, advertising, social media and qualitative research for different industries in North, Central and South America. Her interest in the not-for-profit sector has allowed her to explore and gain experience in NGO administration and operations. Camila leads 8 80 Cities’ communications strategy tied to the organization’s mission, vision and strategic goals. As part of her administrative role, she supports her team in the logistics of projects and programs. She works closely with the Executive Director and the Manager of Finance to push the organization forward in alignment with its strategic goals.

She is excellent at establishing solid and trustworthy relationships with vendors, service providers, clients and her team.

Camila is also a published writer and performer. Outside of work, you’ll find her writing, working on various art projects, and exploring Ontario’s small towns and cities, antique markets, and bookstores.

curiona@880cities.org

Phone: +1-647-800-5255

Verina joined 8 80 Cities as Manager of Finance in April of 2024.  She brings a lengthy and solid accounting background and many years of experience in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. She is highly knowledgeable in all of the accounting segments and has a deep understanding of database systems. She also has great experience in data management and statistical reporting. She is a math-oriented person and enjoys challenges when working with numbers.

Having spent part of her life in the Mediterranean and being a social person, Verina brings a unique perspective to city building.

She has a bachelor’s degree in “Financial Accounting”.

When she is not working with numbers, Verina enjoys social environments and likes to spend time with her friends, neighbours, and relatives. Being hands-on, she can be found deep into crafting or tending to her garden. She also enjoys hikes in nature and loves discovering and learning about the surrounding greenery—she could always find something new to add to her garden!

vmuharremi@880cities.org
Phone: +1-289-212-3556

Jiya Benni joined 8 80 Cities in April of 2021. A great believer in the power of collaborative planning and placemaking in city-building, she is passionate about creating equitable, sustainable, and resilient cities. Jiya holds a Master’s in Urbanism from TU Delft, The Netherlands and a Bachelor’s in Architecture from the University of Kerala, India. Outside work, you will find her writing on her blogs ‘Contemplating Urban Matters’ and ‘Patient Caterpillar’, making collages or taking long walks and hikes with her partner.

jbenni@880cities.org
Phone: +1-647-800-5590

Joanna Delos Reyes is a community and cultural planner with a decade of experience working with communities across the GTHA. She has worked across different fields in the social service sector (community health, youth shelters, immigration and settlement, and community arts) and equity consulting. In her most recent roles, she has managed community engagement portfolios for various parks and recreation centers, and public sector strategic plans.

Drawing on her diverse experience, Joanna delivers and manages projects guided by sound analysis and creative engagement methods. She’s a connector, bridge builder and strong believer in the power of collective action and care for people, places, and our environment.

Her academic work focused on DIY (do-it-yourself) spaces, gender, performance and emergent strategies in youth-led organizing is featured in Northwestern University Press’s ‘Diasporic Intimacies’ (2017) and the Marvellous Grounds online anthology on queer of colour space-making (2023). Joanna holds a Master of Environmental Studies from York University.

jdelosreyes@880cities.org
Phone: +1-647-800-5957

Tennesha is an urban planner and nighttime safety advocate who has joined 8 80 Cities in 2023. In 2021, Tennesha was selected to participate in 8 80 Cities’ 2021 Ontario Community Changemaker (OCC) program and has since created her own public space initiative, Are You Afraid of the Dark T.O?, where she explores how to create public spaces that are welcoming and safe for women & girls at night using LED-lit seating installations. Her installation has been featured in a laneway in Brampton, ON as part of Activate Downtown Brampton and Downtown Kitchener’s first-ever pop-up park.

Tennesha believes in creating cities that reflect the diverse needs and lived experiences within them, especially that of women and youth. She is passionate about finding new and exciting ways to make public spaces more accessible, day or night. When she isn’t curled up with a good book, she loves venturing out to the trails and public parks in her local community, especially at night. Tennesha holds a Bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Toronto Metropolitan University.

tjoseph@880cities.org
Phone: +1-289-212-3553

Praneti Kulkarni is an art and culture professional with a decade of experience in design, production, and project management. She has led and participated in multiple teams in India, the UK, and Canada, transforming spaces using art and design. Praneti believes that art, combined with collaboration, can drive positive social change.

Praneti built a strong design foundation with a degree in Retail and Exhibition Design from India and furthered her knowledge with an MA in Narrative Environments from the UK, where she was introduced to placemaking and learned to create immersive experiences.

In her free time, she loves exploring the city on her bike or foot, always with a trusty old film camera in hand to capture moments that are otherwise intangible.

pkulkarni@880cities.org
Phone: +1-289-212-3527

Raisa Hossain is an environmentalist and urban designer who brings an interdisciplinary perspective to her work. Her original academic interests were rooted in understanding cities’ environmental challenges and the ethical discourse surrounding sustainability. Over the years, her studies and experiences deepened her passion for creating solutions that integrate environmental awareness into city building.

Raisa completed a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies, Geography, and Ethics from the University of Toronto. In pursuit of expanding her knowledge, she discovered a newfound love for urban design, a field that allows her to merge her environmental knowledge with creative problem-solving. She is mainly dedicated to designing cities that prioritize people, making urban spaces more inclusive, accessible, and sustainable. Growing up in the GTHA, Raisa experienced firsthand the gaps in public spaces within her own neighbourhood, which motivated her to reimagine the public realm as a vibrant and welcoming space for everyone. Her vision combines a people-centred approach through an environmental lens to create holistic and meaningful urban environments.

Beyond her professional and academic interests, Raisa enjoys experimenting with new cooking and baking recipes. She values quality time with her cat, friends, and family and exploring her neighbourhood while discovering new food and experiences.

rhossain@880cities.org
Phone: +1-289-212-3559

Gil Penalosa is passionate about cities for all people. Because of his unique blend of experience, pragmatism, and passion, many cities worldwide seek his leadership and valuable advice. He has worked in over 350 Cities.

Gil is the Founder and Chair of the successful Canadian non-profit organization 8 80 Cities and the founder of Cities for Everyone. In 2022, he ran for mayor of Toronto. In 100 days, he received 100,000 votes and changed much of the conversation. Currently, Gil is an academic chair at the Norman Foster Institute for Sustainable Cities and an Expert Advisor to the International Society for Urban Health. He also runs his consultancy, Gil Penalosa & Associates.

Gil was elected twice as chair of World Urban Parks. He holds an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and received a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Faculty of Urban Planning at Swedish SLU. In 2023, Gil was voted to Planetizen’s Top 100 Most Influential Contemporary Urbanists at #13.

Judy Noordermeer is a marketing and communications leader with over 25 years of experience developing innovative communications and marketing strategies that drive social impact. As Director of Communications and Partnerships at Wellesley Institute, a non-partisan think tank, she works to improve health and health equity in the Greater Toronto Area.

Before joining Wellesley Institute in 2023, Judy worked for high-profile employers in the non-profit health, research and academic sectors, including the University of Toronto, SickKids, Ronald McDonald House Charities Toronto and Arthritis Society Canada. Her track record in branding, corporate communications, digital marketing, media relations, advocacy, fundraising and event planning has earned her more than 10 national and international awards.

Judy holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, with a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies, from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Arts in Journalism from Western University.

Ana-Francisca is an architect with nearly 20 years of experience specializing in transit design that prioritizes accessibility, user experience, and placemaking. As Principal at Arcadis and Practice Group Manager for the Transit Architecture Studio, she leads the design of large-scale transit stations and transit-oriented developments in Canada and internationally. Her work bridges technical expertise with creative insight, enthusiasm and humour, inspired by her background in the performing arts.

Ana-Francisca is the Chair of the Toronto Society of Architects and an inducted Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and the Academy of Architects in Mexico. The Urban Land Institute has also recognized her as a Women’s Leadership Initiative champion. A passionate advocate for inclusive and sustainable urban mobility, she frequently speaks at conferences and workshops and mentors emerging design professionals.

Megan has spent most of her career working to mobilize local-level net-zero and resilience action. Her dedication to consistently moving forward and evolving the practice is a testament to her firm belief that local action does move the world. Megan is a natural consensus builder who ensures that varied perspectives and opinions are reflected in consultations, decisions and outcomes. As Executive Director of ICLEI Canada she regularly applies her skills working with municipal staff, elected officials, community groups, businesses, and other government partners from across Canada and internationally.

Since 1999, Megan has helped build the field of municipal emissions management, from emissions accounting and target setting to action implementation and monitoring. Currently, Megan is working in emerging areas related to climate budgeting and climate-related financial disclosures, where she is leading various working groups to advance this field. Over the last two decades of work, Megan has sat on numerous national and global committees, including the Federal Sustainable Development Advisory Council, UNEP’s Global Environmental Outlook, ECCC’s Core Planning Team on Species at Risk in the Urban Development Sector, and MaRS’ Municipal Impact Investment Fund.

While Megan now lives with her family in downtown Toronto, she grew up in a small town in Northern Ontario, both experiences shaping her love of nature and big cities.

Jerry Koh is a systems innovation and systemic design leader with over 20 years of experience working across governments, nonprofits, and multinational corporations in Canada, the US, and Asia. As the principal of Nice Futures Corporation, Jerry collaborates with purpose-driven organizations to tackle complex challenges in communities and cities. His work spans areas such as building inclusive smart cities, accelerating municipal climate solutions, fostering youth development, reducing poverty, and enhancing community well-being. Using systems thinking, human-centred design, and strategic foresight, Jerry helps organizations develop, test, and implement sustainable solutions that drive meaningful change.

Jerry serves on the volunteer boards of Goodwill and Making Art Making Change, contributing his expertise to advance circularity and foster inclusive community growth. He supports the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s (AMO) Healthy Democracy Project, helping municipalities identify challenges, prototype solutions, and scale successful approaches to strengthen democratic engagement across Ontario’s municipalities. Jerry is also actively involved with New Power Labs, where he works to unlock capital for underfunded leaders and communities.

Previously, Jerry served as the Director of MaRS Solutions Lab, Canada’s first public and social innovation lab at MaRS Discovery District. He also led scenario planning at Ontario’s Ministry of Health, helping navigate complex strategy and policy challenges. Jerry holds an International MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University. He brings a unique blend of strategic vision, creativity, and collaborative problem-solving to his work, driving systemic change and inclusive growth.

Nyasha Harper-Michon is an ‘Archtivist’ dedicated to raising awareness, empowering others, and uncovering actionable solutions to accelerate the transition towards equitable, just, resilient, and regenerative cities and communities. She is currently the Director of Programs at CP Planning, a Toronto-based non-profit focused on affordable housing and equitable land use for marginalized communities. Her expertise spans sustainable land use, strategic development, relationship building, and thought leadership namely as a LinkedIn Top Voice Green.

Nyasha’s career includes founding board membership with WomenMakeTheCity, advising on DEI for the City of Amsterdam, and roles at international firms like UNStudio. A speaker at events such as the World Congress of Architects Copenhagen and the Smart City Expo World Congress Barcelona, she collaborated with UNESCO Green Citizens and has been featured in the UNESCO Courier, UN-Habitat, and the UN Forest Podcast.

Nadha Hassen is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, in partnership with Park People. She is a public health and environmental studies scholar focused on healthy and just spaces. Nadha’s community-engaged research explores health and social equity in different environments and takes an interdisciplinary approach focusing on intersectional anti-racism. Her doctoral research examines the experiences of racialized people in Toronto’s public greenspaces and the links to well-being by exploring concepts like equity, access, safety and belonging. She has a PhD from the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change (York University) and a Master of Public Health from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (University of Toronto). As a health researcher, she has worked at both policy and community levels and enjoys working at the intersections of research, policy, and practice.

David is the Director of the Urban Studies program at the University of Toronto. His teaching, research and advocacy focus on supporting city-building and access to planning tools for communities and individuals who have historically been marginalized from this work. His current projects include (1) working to use co-design methodologies to improve housing for independent refugee youth and (2) documenting and learning from grassroots initiatives in food and health justice during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, São Paulo and Brighton, UK. He is an active member of the Moss Park Coalition working to advocate for policies and programs to ensure that current Moss Park residents are part of the planning and vision for this rapidly changing neighbourhood. He is originally from Seattle where he worked in an emergency shelter for homeless youth. He came to Toronto to pursue an MA and then PhD in Geography at the University of Toronto.

Kay Matthews, since 2011, is the Executive Director of the Ontario BIA Association representing 300+ BIAs in Ontario. She has spent 20+ years in BIA management, 10 years in an Urban BIA and 5 years in a Rural BIA. Having worked in the Heritage and Arts sectors in Mississauga for 10 years, this brings her total Community Development experience to more than 30 years. Kay has overseen three Accessibility Projects for OBIAA, the Investment of BIAs Project and Ontario’s Digital Main Street Grants Project. Kay speaks at various events, facilitates Strategic Planning and teaches Governance to BIAs. Kay additionally has organized and executed large-scale events such as the Bread and Honey Festival, Mississauga’s Carassauga and Santa Claus Parades and the annual BIA Conference.