We live here. We work here. We love here.
The Toronto Public Space Initiative team are people who live, work, and play in Toronto and share a passion for making public space truly ‘public’ in this City. We are interested in the growth and prosperity of the public realm and aim to ensure that it continues to be a central part of the city now and into the future.
Bill Cowen, technical director
Bill is an arts enthusiast who turned to technology because of the
money, fame and glory it brings him. He specializes in building collaborative networks for community based organizations, believing strongly in potentials of net-neutrality and the benefits of open-source software. In Toronto, he enjoys bicycle lanes, especially the ones along College St., as well as the paths along the waterfront.
Isabel Cascante, research director
Isabel is interested in issues of public space as they pertain to the democratization, empowerment, and betterment of civil society and the public sphere. She used to seek solace from the bustling city along the Harbourfront and the Toronto Music Garden. Now she embraces the bustle and spends her free time discovering and exploring the chaos of so-called ‘kid friendly’ spaces. Isabel holds a PhD in Latin American Literature and Cultural Studies from the University of Toronto.
Gus Liapis, general projects manager
Gus is a Geography instructor and ACL with the TDSB. He is interested in maintaining uncommercialized public spaces and empowering students to be active citizens locally and globally. Gus has taught internationally in Dubai and South Korea and has been involved in many international development programs through his teaching. He enjoys public spaces in the east end of the city, primarily in the Riverdale and Beach area.
Katina Schell, artistic director
Katina is a graduate from Laurentian University, as graphic designer, with a minor in fine arts and creative writing. She works full-time as a graphic designer, and she is always looking at sharpen her savvy skills in the design business. Also, she believes that we need to use the tools to create the type of positive change we want.
Board of Directors
Stephen Young, president
Stephen is a teacher and founder of the Civics Education Network, an organization dedicated to improving the teaching of civics and politics in Ontario’s schools. He was also a long time member of the Toronto Public Space Committee, where his work focused on issues of CCTV cameras and privacy in public space as well as ‘place making’.
Bruce Gavin Ward, secretary
Bruce is highly engaged in Toronto’s civic community as well as public spaces, helping to set up the Toronto Centre for Active Transportation as well as the Toronto Bike Union. In addition, Bruce has held integral and leading roles in the Community Bicycle Network, the Dupont Improvement Group, and Architecture for Humanity Toronto.
Felix Chakirov, treasurer
Felix Chakirov holds a BA and MA from the University of Toronto. He is currently enrolled in the JD program at the Osgoode Hall Law School. His professional interests include Immigration, Constitutional and Human Rights laws.
Board of Advisors
Dave Meslin
Meslin embodies community engagement in public space and has founded numerous community organizations including the award winning Toronto Public Space Committee, Reclaim the Streets, WhoRunsThisTown, City Idol, the Downtown De-Fence project, Dandyhorse Magazine, the Toronto Cyclists Union, Better Ballots, WindFest, and the Ranked Ballet Initiative, as well as co-founding Spacing magazine. This is in addition to his history of successful advocacy work on outdoor advertising issues.
Tim Grant
Tim chairs the Harbord Village Residents’ Association, one of the most active in Toronto on public space issues. In recent years, he co-chaired the Downtown West Solar Energy Project and Tower Power Toronto and launched the Harbord Street Pumpkin Festival. For the past 20 years, he has edited Green Teacher magazine, and has spoken widely on environmental education across North America and Asia. A candidate in the 2011 provincial election, Tim remains the Transport Critic for the Green Party of Ontario.
Sean Martindale
Sean Martindale is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary artist and designer currently based in Toronto, Canada. His interventions activate public and semi-public spaces to encourage engagement, often focused on ecological and social issues. His playful works question and suggest alternate possibilities for existing spaces, infrastructures and materials found in the urban environment. Frequently, Martindale uses salvaged goods and live plants in unexpected ways that prompt conversations and interaction. Sean works directly with multiple Toronto communities, and finds it impossible to pick just one favourite public space.
Terry A
Terry has been instrumental in leading and organizing Toronto’s Guerilla Gardening for years. Through community engagement and volunteerism, Guerilla Gardening beautifies neglected and run down public spaces with fresh plants, flowers, and shrubs – showing what a little self-help and determination can do to improve public space at little cost.
Raj Bharati
Raj studied law at Osgoode Hall and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University. He is currently on the board of the Toronto Cyclist Union as treasurer.