Board of Directors

Colleen Cirillo, Secretary

Rewilding Communities Coordinator, David Suzuki Foundation

Colleen has spent many years in the world of nature interpretation, protection and restoration, including 12 years at Toronto and Region Conservation and 2.5 years at Ontario Nature. From October 2015 to July 2020, she was director of education at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Currently she coordinates the Butterflyway Project for the David Suzuki Foundation. Colleen has served on many boards and committees, including the LEAF board from 2005 to 2008. She was thrilled to return in 2019.

 

Tenley Conway, President

Professor, Geography, Geomatics and Environment, University of Toronto, Mississauga

For over a decade, Tenley has focused on the way residents and local groups interact with the urban forest in the Toronto area to better understand urban ecosystem dynamics. She has a BSc from Cornell University and a MSc and PhD from Rutgers University.  Tenley is also involved with the scientific and research committee of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and the environmental education charity EcoSpark. She has served on the LEAF board since 2017.

 

Stuart Grant, Treasurer

Business Services Manager, Semi-retired

Stuart managed a successful small corporation in midtown Toronto and has also served with local non-profit organizations since the 1990’s. He has brought administrative and financial experience to the LEAF board, serving since 2007.

 

Darby McGrath

Research Scientist, Nursery and Landscape, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre

Darby is a Research Scientist and Program Lead at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.  She works with the nursery-landscape supply chain including helping improve tree establishment in challenging urban settings. She has a MES and PhD from the University of Waterloo. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo and Brock University. Darby was extremely excited to join the LEAF board in March of 2020.

 

Danijela Puric-Mladenovic

Assistant Professor, Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto

Danijela is an Assistant professor at the Institute of Forestry and Conservation at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto. Danijela holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Forestry and Landscape Architecture from the University of Belgrade (Serbia) and a PhD. from the Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto. She is a member of the Canadian Urban Forest Network (CUFN) Steering Committee and is also an adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo. Danijela's ongoing research is related to strategic, multi-purpose forest monitoring, community-based forest stewardship, and integrated spatial planning for forest conservation and restoration in settled landscapes.

 

Ying Qu

Senior Director of Tax, Altus Group Limited

Ying started her career as a financial auditor with Ernst & Young in 2009. After 7 years in audit, she transferred to EY's transaction tax team to work in mergers & acquisitions and gain further experience in law, HR and strategy. She now works for a real estate software & consulting company as the global head of tax. Outside of work, Ying loves to hike and garden and is passionate about preserving our natural environment.

 

Nicholas Charalambu

Director, Regulatory Change Management & Regulatory Content, RBC.

Nick has worked in financial compliance for the past decade at some of Canada’s biggest banks. He is a qualified lawyer and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2017.  He has a B.A. from the University of Toronto and an LL.B. from the University of Bristol (UK). Nick previously volunteered for LEAF and is excited to join the LEAF board in 2022.

 

Stacey Bowman

Senior Resource Recovery Program Analyst at the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority of Ontario

Stacey has spent ten years working in urban forest and environmental management, communications and policy in various positions with municipalities and the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. She holds a Masters of Forest Conservation from the University of Toronto, and parents two young urban forest enthusiasts. Stacey was excited to bring her experience and enthusiasm to the LEAF Board in September 2022.

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