We were very fortunate to have such a dedicated and passionate team in 2021. These wonderful people made all of our tremendous achievements and impact possible.

Thank you to our:

2021 Board of Directors

Kristal Au-Yong, Co-Chair
Christopher Davenport, Co-Chair
Zlata Huddleston, Secretary
John Landry, Treasurer
Mark Baker, Director
Jannine Krish, Director
Lambert Morvan, Director
Tina Osen, Director
James Rausch, Director

2021 Staff Team

Jennifer Wilson, President & CEO
Aniska Ali, VP Strategic Partnerships & Impact
Lori Collinge, Executive Assistant & Office Manager
Lisa Norton, National Program Manager
Jordan Donovan, Development Manager & Program Facilitator, GTA
Naveen Abeysinghe, Manager, Communications
Glenn Marais, Remote Programs Lead
Heather Prost, Regional Lead Western Canada
Mackenzy Willis, Regional Lead GTA
Emilie De Caen, Program Facilitator GTA
Monte Neufeld, Program Facilitator, GTA
Alejandro Lazzari, Program Co-Facilitator Western Canada
Sarah Thompson, Program Co-Facilitator Western Canada
Lavinia Butuza, Substitute Facilitator, GTA
Shahla Lafeer, Substitute Facilitator, GTA
Rachel Scrivo, Substitute Facilitator, GTA
Zoe Cheng, Marketing Assistant
Sarah Mughal, Evaluations Consultant

2021 Artist Educators & Community Speakers

Minhaj Ali Khan
Tayman Armatrading
Aileen Bahmanipour
Iris Benedikt
Selina Boan
Morgan Bocknek
Christie Carriere
Aiken Chau
Cassandra Cross
Bug Cru
Kurt Cuffy
Desiree Dawson
Tristan D’Souza
Yasmine El-Hamamsy
Em/Pen
Robin Frigeri
Alexandra Henao on behalf of Fuerza Migrante
Megan Fulton
Chantelle Gabino
Felix Gilliliand
Trevor Goodyear
Alyssa Harms-Wiebe
Taylah Harris-Mungo
Jennyfer Hatch
Alia Hijaab
Connie Ho
Gloria Hope
Ceilidh Isadore
Michelle Jamieson
Charlene Johnny
Cynthia Jumenez-Hicks
Lynette La Fontaine
Alexandra Lainfiesta
Andy Lee
Brintha Manoharan
Jonathan Mason
Beverley McEwan
Meghan McKnight
Brennan Murray
Anushka Nagji
Roza Nozari
Mimi O’Bonsawin
Rod O’Hara
Alia Omelaniec
Jennifer Parr
Cindy Paul
Lee Pham
Amal Rana
Darla Rasmussen
Courtney Revie
Marion Roberts
Neena Robertson
Trey Robinson
Matt Rosen
Lorraine Roy
Sofia Sanchez
Devon Serket
Mike Shara
Ideet Sharon
Yi Shi
Robyn Sidhu
Lela Stairs
Eddy van Wyk (a.k.a. xoma-leon phîlip babur)
Joaquin Varela

A huge thank you to all of our volunteers and former team members!

from our President & CEO

Wow, what a year!! The gratitude that I as an individual, and we as an organization, feel for your commitment and support this year is enormous. While standing in the face of so many changing landscapes and the growing needs of our students, you continued to stand with us. You recognized that the young people we serve matter. You committed to them. Our students, who needed you more than ever, heard your response. Because of you, we were able to meet the needs of young people across Canada in a way that is far greater than ever before.

For the past 24 years we have been supporting children and youth to thrive, for the past three years we have been singularly focused on how to do this with increased continuity of service, comprehensive supports and growth. This year, new and increased commitments from funders propelled momentum to the work that we have been doing to make this possible. As we continue our work, we look to our soon to be released 3-year strategic plan to bring a new level of sophistication to our model, and scale to our targets (both financial and those of impact). With strong fundamentals of planning and strategy, and an iterative approach that is nimble to the ever changing needs of our students, but solidly focused on the learning outcomes identified in our theory of change model and national curriculum, we are ready for the next chapter of growth.

We know there are thousands upon thousands of young people who need us. We know that our combination of leadership development curriculum and the arts is unique and the approach we take is effective. We know that we have the infrastructure ready to scale. We know that we need you, our supporters, partners, families, volunteers, and stakeholders to stay steadfast in your commitment to help us change the lives of more young people across Canada. Let’s do this together.

from our co-Chairs

Despite all of the challenges that arose in 2021, it was a year of strengthening for our organization. Financially it was a banner year with record revenues and a very healthy net position which increased our reserve, offering us improved sustainability.

We also strengthened our position as a leading program provider for young people in more communities across Canada. We deepened relationships with school boards both new and existing, as well as other community partners. We increased our number of communities served across Canada by 240%.

Finally, we strengthened our internal infrastructure. New talent and leadership were added to our Board of Directors and staff. Skill set gaps were closed and we are now well positioned to take DAREarts to the next level of service and impact.

from our new Chair

Tina Osen

I am so excited and honoured to take on the leadership role of Chair of the Board of Directors. DAREarts is poised for exponential growth and increased impact on the young people we serve. Thanks to the dedication of my predecessors and our CEO, we now have the team we need to scale up our organization and programs.

2022 will see us launch a new strategic plan and brand identity that will carry us forward with intention and purpose. Thank you to SVP Consulting for supporting us with the creation of our Strategic Plan and to Art & Mechanical for their wonderful work in the early stages of our new brand identity. I am so excited to unveil these important items at our spring RISE Youth Leadership Award event which is tentatively planned in-person for June.

We expect to experience new record highs in students served, communities served and revenue in 2022. I truly believe that the sky is the limit for our organization. I am beyond eager to take on my new role in leading this amazing team to new heights.