Chester ES School Council Trustee Candidate Q&A

What makes you qualified to be a trustee? 

I am uniquely qualified to be a Trustee because I have extensive experience with both grassroots community organizing and provincial governance and politics.  The listening, problem-solving, and advocacy skills that I have developed as a long-time community organizer are foundational to how I intend to fulfill the role of Trustee, as I believe that a Trustee’s top priorities are to be accessible and accountable to their local public school communities, and to be a fierce advocate for their communities’ needs.   I have a track record for effecting change at the local level, such as expanding the Market Lane JSPS Fun Fair (to learn more, please see answer to Question 5 below).

As education falls under the jurisdiction of the provincial government, I believe that knowledge of provincial governance is absolutely critical to being a highly effective Trustee.  Having worked as Constituency Assistant to my local MPP, I have extensive casework experience, helping individuals and families to navigate not only the education system (including services for students with special needs), but also ODSP, Ontario Works, and Ministry of Health programs and benefits.  I have provided constituents with the resources to advocate for themselves to the provincial government, and, when necessary, I fought for them.  I think this is one of the most important roles that I am qualified to take on as Trustee - providing expert system navigation support to TDSB families.  

What is your connection to Ward 5 (Spadina-Fort York/Toronto-Danforth)?

I have strong connections to both Spadina-Fort York and Toronto-Danforth, the two ridings that now comprise the new TDSB Ward 5.  I live in Spadina-Fort York, having called the Esplanade neighbourhood home for 20 years.  I am currently on the board of the Longboat Area Residents Association (LARA) and am its representative to the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association (SLNA).  I served as Co-Chair of the Market Lane JSPS School Council from 2022-2024 and continue to be a passionate advocate for local students and families, both in the Esplanade neighbourhood and across Spadina-Fort York.  Alongside MPP Chris Glover, I fought the proposed Billy Bishop Airport expansion and mobilized families concerned about its potential impact on local schools.  I have also collaborated with MPP Glover to organize a Youth Council and to help vulnerable communities access food and other essentials.  I have developed good working relationships with Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik and her team, as well as with local leaders at School Councils, residents’ associations, BIAs, and community service organizations across Spadina-Fort York.  

In 2024, my child entered the TDSB’s Middle French Immersion program and began school at Dundas JPS; she now attends Queen Alexandra MS. Our family received a truly warm welcome into these Toronto-Danforth school communities, as well as into the wonderful after-school program and summer camps at the Ralph Thornton Community Centre.  I went on many field trips with my child’s classes and Dundas JPS and volunteered at the school’s annual Fun Fair.  Because of the relationships I’ve developed with families, educators, and community workers in Riverside, the neighbourhood now feels like a second home.  I also have close family ties to the William Burgess ES school community in East York.  I have a good working relationship with Toronto-Danforth MPP Peter Tabuns and his team and have collaborated with their office on events including a joint Spadina-Fort York/Toronto-Danforth community meeting this past April on the future of recycling in Ontario.  

I believe that the relationships that I have built across both Spadina-Fort York and Toronto-Danforth communities will provide a solid foundation from which to serve constituents across Ward 5.  I find joy in local relationship-building and am excited to continue to build new community connections. 

What do you see as the most important role of a trustee? 

As of October 1, 2026, the TDSB is still under the supervision of the provincial government.  I do not know when this situation will change.  Furthermore, if and when the provincial government does end its supervision of the TDSB, it remains to be seen how the TDSB will define the roles and responsibilities of its 12 elected Trustees.  

That said, I believe that there are two key roles that a Trustee can and should serve, no matter how the TDSB defines Trustees’ role(s) going forward:

1. Expert System Navigator: A Trustee can help parents and caregivers to navigate the public education system and problem-solve how to best advocate for their children’s needs.  Trustees can facilitate communication between parents and caregivers, educators, school administrators, and board superintendents. 

2. Education Policy Advisor: A Trustee can inform Members of Provincial Parliament about systemic issues and challenges in Ontario’s education system, based on data and testimony that the Trustee gathers from local students, parents and caregivers, educators, Principals, and community organizations.  Trustees can work in collaboration with one another - both across the TDSB and across Ontario - to amplify key issues to MPPs at Queen’s Park, including the Minister of Education and Shadow Minister of Education.  

What is the largest challenge you anticipate and how will you face it? 

The single largest challenge that I know I will face if elected Trustee is the provincial government’s egregious failure to properly fund our public schools.  The scale of the underfunding of public education in Ontario is staggering: under the current government, there has been a $6 billion inflationary cut to annual funding.  

I will face the challenge of the provincial government’s chronic underfunding of public education by:

• Communicating directly with parents and caregivers, educators, administrators, and community organizations to accurately identify the unique needs of each Ward 5 school. 

• Collaborating with my fellow TDSB Trustees to design community-informed, fiscally responsible, equity-focussed strategies to allocate the Board’s resources in ways that address our local schools’ needs as comprehensively as possible, given the size of the budget allocated to the TDSB by the province.  

• Mobilizing students, parents and caregivers, and community leaders to stand up for our public schools, and unite our local public education advocacy efforts with those of other communities across Ontario. 

If elected, what are your top 3 priorities?

1. Be accessible to Ward 5 students, parents and caregivers, educators, school administrators, and community leaders and to help all Ward 5 constituents to navigate the public education system.  

2. Advise Members of Provincial Parliament on systemic issues and challenges in Ontario’s education system.

3. Energize and mobilize students, parents and caregivers, and community members from all across Ward 5 to stand up for public education.  

What is an example of a change you have affected in your local school? 

From 2022 to 2024, I was Co-Chair of the School Council at Market Lane JSPS, which was part of the Model Schools for Inner Cities program.  My experiences in the Market Lane school community gave my education advocacy work a sharp focus on equity.  This focus empowered me to deliver results for the school community.  

In 2023, our School Council had an incredibly tight budget and faced post-pandemic parent and caregiver engagement challenges.  The school Fun Fair, our biggest community event of the year, was on the edge of being cancelled. 

I innovated a new model for organizing the Fun Fair, whereby I connected with local non-profits and presented them with the opportunity to build relationships with local families at the event.  I built partnerships with organizations such as the Toronto Public Library, the Children’s Book Bank, Charlie’s Free Wheels, Repair Cafe Toronto, and George Brown College.  Together we held a joy-filled Fun Fair in David Crombie Park on a budget of approximately $500, and more importantly, at NO COST to the over 200 students who attended.  As of 2026, Market Lane PS continues to use this community partnership model to organize their Fun Fair, and the event keeps growing in popularity every year.