Fred Alvarado is a talented filmmaker and journalist from Honduras, known for his fearless storytelling and deep commitment to culture, politics, and social justice. With a sharp investigative eye, Fred has reported on issues ranging from freedom of expression to grassroots resistance. He received PEN Canada’s Writing Without Fear Award in 2015 and the Toronto Arts Council’s Newcomer and Refugee Artist Mentorship Grant in 2022. Now based in Toronto, Fred continues his work as a community journalist with the Focus Media Arts Centre, in Regent Park Toronto.

Heli Bhavsar is a Journalism student at Centennial College who enjoys writing, reporting and poetry.

Dr. Nicole Blanchett is an associate professor of Journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University, researching newsroom practice. She heads the Canadian Journalistic Role
Performance team, is a leader in the SSHRC funded Explanatory Journalism project, co-director of the Local News Research Project, and is part of Canada’s Worlds of Journalism Study. She formerly worked as a television journalist.

Leah Borts-Kuperman is an award-winning freelance journalist based in North Bay, Ontario, focused on stories at the intersection of environment, agriculture, and public interest. Leah’s work has been published by The Narwhal, CBC, Canada’s National Observer, and The Walrus, among others.

Gordon Bowness is a freelance writer and editor based in Toronto. His last full-time gig was as the executive editor of Xtra Magazine. He is currently working as a consultant with The Philanthropist Journal on its approach to journalism.

Brian Capitao is a Toronto journalist and freelancer.

Maria Laura Chang is a migrant award-winning journalist working as Program Manager spearheading initiatives that promote gender equality and human rights. She co-leads the Venezuelan Women Journalist Network.

Adam Clare is Lead Game Designer at Wero, makes transformative games that try toimprove the world and how engage with it.

Andie Crossan is the Executive Director of the Global Reporting Centre and an Assistant Professor at the School of Journalism, Writing, and Media at UBC. She is a veteran radio journalist with over 30 years of experience. She’s reported from over 20
countries and has been based in the U.S. and the U.K. Andie has worked for the BBC World Service, CBC News, Associated Press, and NBC News.

Elisha Dacey is the Managing Editor of Future of Good. A journalist for 25 years, she has worked in newsrooms big (Global, CBC) and small (Castanet, rural weeklies.)

Melissa DiPento is a journalism educator and multimedia editor based in Brooklyn, NYC. With extensive experience teaching at Rutgers University, The City University of New York, and others, she has developed expertise in curriculum creation and delivery,
focusing on engagement journalism to better serve marginalized communities.

Marqus Downey is a rising student journalist from Centennial College. His greatest strengths involve writing, editing, and interviewing.

Yara El Murr is the managing editor at The Green Line. She’s an award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker with experience covering grassroots movements, climate change, migration and post-war society in Lebanon. Her work now focuses on hyperlocal community-driven journalism in Toronto.

Stan Flemming is the owner and publisher of Leaside Life, a hyper-local monthly publication that has served the Leaside community in Toronto for over 15 years. A committed entrepreneur and community advocate, Stan is passionate about using local journalism to foster meaningful connections, celebrate neighbourhood voices, and strengthen civic engagement. Through Leaside Life, he continues to champion the value of place-based storytelling in an ever-evolving media landscape.

Melissa Fundira is a podcast producer for The New Humanitarian, a digital newsroom dedicated to reporting from the heart of conflicts and disasters. She is currently producing and hosting Power Shift, a new podcast that pairs decision-makers in aid and philanthropy
and those whose lives and work are affected by their decisions for honest one-on-one dialogue about the sector’s persistent inequalities.

Dr. Jacqui Getfield is passionate about engagement in health and education spaces. She has founded MUMMA because she believes in the work that mothers (the family and communities) must do to educate, and ensure the well-being of, the current and future generations. Dr. Jacqui Getfield can be reached at mummacanada@gmail.com

Teresa Goff, a journalist and educator at Durham College, specializes in experiential learning, social impact assessment and community-driven storytelling. She developed a Social Impact Dashboard to measure community change and collaborates on equity-
focused initiatives integrating media, research and education.

Marinus de Groot was Executive Director Waterloo Region Arts Council 2001-11; programming and development Commons Studio at The Working Centre 2012-20. Arts & Culture columnist for WR Record 1997-2019. Recipient of Arts Awards WR Lifetime
Achievement Award for 2019. Current involvements: founder Home Range Story Kitchen; host Promenade community radio magazine; author The Evening Muse, a Substack newsletter.

Cassie Haggerty is a journalism student at Durham College and a creative writing student at Trent University. She is published in the Orono Weekly Times and The Chronicle!

David Harmes is a co-founder and the current Executive Director of Midtown Radio Inc – the not-for-profit organization that operates Midtown Radio KW. David is responsible for the development and implementation of the station’s strategic plan; ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; and building relationships with community partners and stakeholders. Outside of this project, David teaches Public Relations and Communication Management at Conestoga College, and is a past Chair of the City of Kitchener’s Downtown Action & Advisory Committee.

Kanina Holmes is an associate professor at Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication. She lives and works in the Yukon and Ontario. From 2022-2025 she was an executive producer with CBC North in Whitehorse. She’s the founder of Stories North, an experiential learning initiative for journalism students. Kanina’s research combines wild pedagogies, poetic inquiry, and love letters.

Adonis Huggins is the Executive Director of the Focus Media Arts Centre. After graduating from the Community Worker Diploma Program at Toronto’s George Brown College in 1988, Adonis moved to Nova Scotia to pursue a BA in Theatre at Dalhousie University. During his time there, Adonis performed in lead roles with a Black theatre company associated with the Nova Scotia Black Cultural Centre. The theatre company was founded to highlight Canada’s racist past and present contemporary issues faced by Black communities in Eastern Canada. The experience would serve as a major influence in Adonis’s later work. Adonis returned to Toronto in 1991 to work with a newly formed resident group in Regent Park anxious to develop arts-based interventions for youth and to deal with stigmatization of Regent Park. This group would evolve into the Focus Media Arts Centre engaging residents in print, radio and video productions about the community.

Nicholas Hune-Brown is an award-winning magazine writer and Executive Editor at The Local, an online non-profit publication that tells in-depth stories from corners of Toronto too often overlooked.

Aia Jaber is a first-year Master of Journalism student at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is passionate about storytelling, with a focus on cultural identity and urban affairs. When she’s not working, she’s looking for the best iced mocha in the city.

Natasha Jackson is a student journalist for the Toronto Observer at Centennial College.

Jessica Johnson is a senior fellow at the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, and the project lead for “What Should the CBC Be?”

Manal Khan is a human rights and culture writer, published globally, on the issues of gender, mental health, drug harm reduction and health. Khan recently moved to Toronto from New York City and is trying to find a community of journalists and understand the Canadian culture around reporting on domestic issues. Khan also has a Masters in Journalism from New York University.

Alice Nahyeon Kim is a PhD student at the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on diasporic media, platform studies, and minority journalism in multicultural societies. Specifically, she examines how digital platforms shape the practices of diasporic media. Kim has also been working as a diasporic media reporter for Arirang Korea TV, a Korean diasporic media outlet based in Toronto that airs through OMNI TV.

Lara King is a program coordinator and professor of journalism at Humber in Toronto. She teaches long form, design, and investigative journalism working with the next generation of journalists turning out award-winning publications.

Ben Kirshenblatt is a journalism student at Centennial College.

Matthew Konhauser is a Master of Journalism student at Toronto Metropolitan University. He is also currently interning at the Globe and Mail for the National Desk, and will be interning at CBC for the Investigative Unit.

Magda Konieczna is an associate professor of journalism at Concordia University. She helped launched Documenters Canada – talk to her if you’re interested in getting involved! She’s a former city hall reporter in Ontario and taught journalism in the U.S. for many years before returning to Canada.

Rob Lamberti has been a professor of journalism at Humber College/Polytechnic for 18 years. I also worked at newspapers in Thunder Bay and Toronto for about 30 years.

Clément Lechat (he/him) is a Master’s student in journalism at Concordia University. His research focuses on issues of representation and participation in the media. He contributed to launching the first Documenters Canada site in Toronto and is working to expand the network to other locations across the country and study this new form of collaboration between journalists and citizens.

Pearl Leung is a freelance consultant who supports news businesses with product and audience strategy. She is interested in how news organizations are evolving to meet the needs of today’s audiences—and how audiences can, in return, help sustain their
favourite news organizations.

Anita Li is publisher and CEO of The Green Line, an award-winning news outlet in Toronto that delivers community-driven solutions journalism. She also serves as Journalism Innovator-in-Residence at Toronto Metropolitan University. With over two decades of industry experience across North America, she is recognized for her expertise in community-driven journalism, news entrepreneurship, and media innovation.

April Lindgren is a professor emerita/adjunct professor at the School of Journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University and the founder and co-director of the Local News Research Project. She established and led the Local News Data Hub, a reporting initiative (2021 to 2025) that trained early-career data journalists and shored up local journalism by supplying newsrooms with data-driven stories. Lindgren co-created and manages the crowd-sourced Local News Map, which tracks changes to local news ecosystems. Her research also investigates local news poverty, the role of local journalism as critical community infrastructure, and philanthropic support for journalism. Earlier this year The Walrus published her story examining what happens on the ground in communities across Canada when local news is in short supply.

Adrian Ma is an associate professor of journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University’s The Creative School. His research interests include immersive storytelling, digital news engagement, and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in journalism education contexts. He is also a freelance writer and radio documentary producer.

Susana Mas is the founder of Verifiably, an independent online news startup. As an independent journalist and a digital media literacy trainer, she has focused on supporting the capacity-building of community groups that serve immigrants and newcomers to navigate mis – and disinformation online. She has over 15 years of experience in journalism, including 10 years working as a Parliamentary journalist for CBC (online and radio) and CTV. Susana is fluent in French and Spanish.

Julie McCann is a journalism professor at Algonquin College.

Tyrone MacLean-Wilson, a long-time resident of Regent Park, Toronto, is a multimedia specialist  with two decades of experience working with the Focus Media Arts Centre (FOCUS). Supporting in video and audio production and editing; as well as coordination of blogging, website content management, print magazine and e-newsletter publication and social media content development. Among his many duties Tyrone coordinates Radio Regent, a local internet radio station featured on iHeart Radio and produced by FOCUS and its volunteers.

Archie McLean is an associate professor at Mount Royal University where he teaches digital journalism and communications.

Marichka Melnyk is a 30+ year veteran broadcast journalist with experience working in US and UK bureaus of the CBC, in both radio and television. Most of her career has been in local current affairs radio programming, reflecting issues and events close to home for various Ontario municipalities.

Ruona Meyer is a journalist and researcher whose academic research covers power dynamics within transcontinental investigative journalism networks, with sections published in special issues of African Journalism Studies (March 2020) and Journalism (December 2024). Her recent roles as consultant and trainer include services to Germany’s state-owned DW Akademie, the European Journalism Center, King’s College London, and the European Network of Equality Bodies. In November 2024, she received the University of Bayreuth’s 2024 Prize for Outstanding Reporting on Africa in German-language Media and is the first Nigerian journalist nominated for an Emmy (2019).

Ravindra Mohabeer is an associate professor and chair of the School of Journalism at TMU. Prior to returning to Toronto in 2022, he spent 13 years living and teaching on Vancouver Island observing the interconnectedness of dis/engaged communication practices and the life of communities.

Shirley Moore is the director of marketing for the Investigative Journalism Foundation. Shirley is a storyteller and marketer who worked at Shopify and has held senior roles specializing in marketing strategy and growth. She is also a filmmaker and worked at CBC Radio as a journalist.

Bernardo H. Motta is an associate professor of journalism and founding director of Communities of Hope Civic Media at Roger Williams University. A former lawyer from Brazil, Motta has nearly 30 years of experience working with environmental justice and community-centered journalism and engagement. Motta also directed the USF Neighborhood News Bureau covering the Black neighborhoods of South St. Petersburg, Florida, between 2015 and 2020.

Dawar Naeem is a video journalist with Regent Park TV, part of Focus Media Arts Centre. With a 2014 diploma in Film and TV from Pakistan and strong skills in editing, Dawar captures powerful community stories through the lens—highlighting local voices, events, and issues that matter. Working with the Focus Media Arts Centre in Regent Park, Toronto, Dawar uses media to inform, inspire, and connect the Regent Park community.

Tyler Nagel is a journalism instructor at SAIT in Calgary. He is currently completing his PhD at the University of Groningen, with a research focus on journalism in rural and remote communities.

Dr. Gabriela Perdomo is Assistant Professor at the School of Communication Studies at Mount Royal University, where she leads the Community-Centred Journalism course. She is also editor-in-chief at J-Source and co-creator and host of the Spanish-language podcast Periodémica.

Mirko Petricevic is the co-ordinator (chief ink-stigator) of the grassroots advocacy group Ink-stained Wretches. Since forming in 2020, the group has been working to build a culture of appreciation for quality journalism in aid of democracy. Mirko worked at The Waterloo Region Record from 1986 – 2014 as a photographer, reporter and copy editor before pivoting to work in communications for various public institutions.

Elisabeth Pfeiffer is a journalism professor at Durham College, and is writing her PhD dissertation on comics journalism (Memorial University)

Sahaana Ranganathan is the Engagement Reporter for The Green Line. She has produced work for TVO, J-Source and the Review of Journalism.

Daniel Reale-Chin is a Toronto-based journalist with experience reporting on business, mental health, suicide prevention and artificial intelligence. He was previously The Globe and Mail’s inaugural Black Journalism Fellow between 2023-2024. Now a freelance writer, he regularly reports on health and human-interest stories; his bylines include The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star and Paper Magazine.

Shirley Roburn is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at York University in Toronto, Canada. She researches the public storytelling strategies used by Indigenous communities and their civil society allies in order to reframe controversies over energy infrastructure development in terms of issues of land and water, food, and cultural sovereignty. More recently, her work has focused on low-carbon media and research practices, and on on-line digital journalism startups use of data visualizations in digital storytelling that foregrounds social inequities related to health and environment.

Thiveha Selvanesan is currently studying journalism at Durham College specifically in the Mass Media journalism program, and enjoys taking photos and meeting new people. Juan Suarez is a Latine, queer, bilingual Journalism and Political Science student with a strong interest in political analysis, global affairs, governance, public policy, and social and economic justice.

Elise Stolte has 20 years of experience in journalism. Now a community engagement producer at CBC, she works as a bridge to help communities get involved in the conversation through workshops and special projects. That has included outreach by text message, First Person writing workshops, a collaborative project with local East African communities, and coordinating a national Citizen’s Agenda approach to election coverage.

Orisa Thandi is currently getting her master’s in the digital innovation of journalism studies, at Concordia University. Her special interests include decolonizing journalism education and citizen journalism.

Mariela Torroba Hennigen is a Master of Journalism student at the Toronto Metropolitan University. She has published both news and narrative journalism stories, along with her memoir book and launched her own podcast. She will be interning at the CBC’s As It Happens radio show this spring.

Ryan Venezia does senior comment moderation on the community team at the New York Times.

Mike Wise is a journalism professor and program coordinator at Humber Polytechnic in Toronto. Before joining academia, he enjoyed a 32-year career at the CBC, working as a reporter and television news anchor. His current work focuses on transforming Humber’s journalism graduate certificate into a competency-based program.

Andrea Yu is a Toronto-based freelance journalist. She writes about life, culture, real estate, travel and business for Toronto Life, The Globe and Mail, Cottage Life, Chatelaine and Maclean’s. She particularly enjoys human interest stories and the as-told-to story format.

Dr. Sherry S. Yu is Associate Professor in the Department of Arts, Culture and Media, with a graduate appointment at the Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. She is the author of Diasporic Media beyond the Diaspora: Korean Media in Vancouver and Los Angeles (2018, UBC Press) and the co-editor of Ethnic Media in the Digital Age (2019, Routledge) and The Handbook of Ethnic Media in Canada (2023, McGill-Queen’s University Press).