How can Land Trusts, Research, or Community Benefits help with Housing Advocacy?

Please join us on Thursday November 25th, 2021 in an online panel on housing advocacy. We will chat with Chiyi Tam, development manager of Kensington Market Community Land Trust; Sean Campbell ED of Union SD Cooperative; Kumsa Baker, Toronto Community Benefits Network, and Salomeh Ahmadi instructor and researcher at Humber College. The panel will share their tools and processes with advocacy and housing.

Speakers’ Focus

Chiyi Tam is an urban planner and community organizer who will discuss navigating community building and advocacy through Land Trusts in Toronto. As well as approaching activism as an anti-displacement strategy for racial and economic justice.

Kumsa Baker is Director, Community Benefits Campaigns with the Toronto Community Benefits Network (TCBN). He will discuss how social procurement through community benefits can enhance economic well-being of neighborhoods and how to navigate the advocacy process of Community Benefits.

Sean Campbell, Executive Director at Union Co-operative. Working to buy residential and commercial properties in Waterloo Region for permanent affordability through community ownership. The Co-operative was founded in response to rising rental rates in Waterloo Region that are becoming unaffordable for a growing share of residents and local businesses.

Salomeh Ahmadi, instructor and researcher at Humber College. She will share how the right approach to research can help build empowerment and engagement through community based participatory research (CBPR). As well as how to leverage it to further sustainability through strategic collaborations and advocacy.

Bios

Chiyi Tam is an urban planner and community organizer raised in Vancouver, on unceded Coast Salish lands and waters, in the translation between places and culture. She is currently the development manager of Kensington Market Community Land Trust in Toronto. She also organizes with Friends of Chinatown Toronto, which is also exploring a community land trust as an anti-displacement strategy for racial & economic justice. She frequently consults with groups regarding social enterprise legislation, governance and cooperative strategies. She aims to reciprocate knowledge into community.

Kumsa Baker is the Director of Campaigns at the Toronto Community Benefits Network (TCBN). The TCBN is a 120 member – and growing – coalition of community organizations, grassroots groups and social enterprises, labour unions, construction trades training centres and workforce development agencies. The goal is to negotiate Community Benefits Agreements as part of new urban infrastructure and development projects in Toronto. Kumsa’s expertise includes community planning and research, community engagement and public policy advocacy. In his spare time, Kumsa volunteers at various community, youth and sports initiatives and serves on the board of Neighbourhood Legal Services in Downtown Toronto. https://www.communitybenefits.ca/

Sean Campbell, Executive Director (He/Him), is the Principal of Scaled Purpose, a management consultancy for non-profits, charities, and co-operatives. He is an instructor at Wilfrid Laurier University. Sean is the Treasurer at the Fourth Pig Worker Co-operative, a Director at Hold the Line, and a Partner at Social Venture Partners Waterloo Region. Sean holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Master of Environmental Studies at the University of Waterloo. Sean is currently a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Waterloo where he researches the governance and financial strategies of community organizations. You can reach Sean at sean@unionsd.coop or read more https://www.unionsd.coop/whoweare

Salomeh Ahmadi, (she/her), BHSc, CYCP, MBA, is a professor, consultant, researcher, and activist. Currently, she’s leading a 3-year federally granted study on housing affordability and community based participatory research. She teaches in the fields of social services, child and youth care, police foundations, and community development. She is interested in issues related to equity-seeking groups, and the interrelations across health, community, justice and socio-economics. She is passionate about social justice, learning and holistic well-being. She has spoken at conferences and panels on various topics concerning community development and is open for partnerships and creative collaborations. More about the project .// or connect on Twitter https://twitter.com/salomeha