Our Team
Building flourishing cities through thought leadership.
Our team members bring a diversity of perspectives, talents and experiences to city building.
Evergreen's Leadership Team provides the strategic direction to propel our organization forward, ensuring our programs build flourishing cities where all can thrive. They are experts in their fields, called to time and time again to share their expertise through interviews, speaking engagements and conferences.
Go to the profile for Geoff Cape, MM, CM
Chief Executive Officer
As founder and CEO, Geoff oversees the idea development and relationship building that advances Evergreen’s mission to create flourishing cities. Working with the Board of Directors and Executive Team, he sets overall strategic direction, goals, and priorities while maintaining…
Go to the profile for Kathleen Buzek, CPA, CA
Chief Financial Officer
Kathleen oversees Evergreen’s finances and fiscal responsibilities. She manages Evergreen’s internal and external financial reporting and designs the systems and solutions to ensure the organization is financially resilient. Kathleen’s work allows Evergreen to be adaptable and…
Go to the profile for Orit Sarfaty, MUP
Chief Program Officer
Orit provides the visionary leadership to develop the programs needed to further strengthen Evergreen as an internationally recognized leader in placemaking. Orit’s work is guided and informed by the organization’s overarching goal: to drive urban innovations that make Canadian…
Go to the profile for Lois Lindsay, MA
Acting Advancement Officer
An 18-year ‘veteran’ of Evergreen, Lois brings deep institutional memory to her work, as well as a breadth of experience in program design and management, strategic planning, and fundraising.
She holds a Master’s degree in Geography as well as a BA from the University of…
Go to the profile for Lucia Piccinni
Program Director
As Program Director at Evergreen, Lucia works with community, staff and stakeholders to design and implement inclusive, innovative community and social enterprise programming. With oversight over multiple local and national projects, Lucia is passionate about connecting people,…
Go to the profile for LeaAnne Ross
Director, Communications
LeaAnne oversees Evergreen’s communications team and overall brand identity. She works to tell Evergreen’s story, finding compelling ways to communicate our mission to make cities flourish. LeaAnne ensures that when Evergreen partners with like-minded city builders, our story…
Go to the profile for Martin Canning
Executive Director, Smart Cities
Martin oversees Evergreen’s local and national programs that put into action our vision for flourishing cities. He makes sure that Evergreen adapts to the needs of the communities it serves and that programs evolve and grow to take advantage of new opportunities. Martin works to…
Go to the profile for June Au, CPA, CMA
Director, Finance
June joined Evergreen in April 2015 and provides operational and strategic leadership for the finance department, including oversight of Evergreen’s accounting operations, financial analysis, reporting and budgeting processes. June served a variety of progressive positions in…
Go to the profile for Melanie Francis
Director, People & Culture
As Evergreen’s Director, People & Culture, Melanie leads Evergreen’s Human Resource and Volunteer & Engagement teams, with the goal of making Evergreen the best possible place to work and volunteer. Melanie is constantly inspired by the amazing skills and ideas of her…
Go to the profile for Jaspal Singh
Director, Information Technology
Jaspal has over fifteen years of experience in technology, serving at a diverse range of organizations in industries including law, wealth management, manufacturing and government.
He is passionate about his approach to engaging with users and stakeholders, and aims to listen…
Go to the profile for Mary Desjardins, MBA
Program Director
As a Program Director at Evergreen, Mary is responsible for a portfolio of programs on issues ranging from affordable housing supply to Toronto’s ravine system.
Before joining Evergreen, Mary spent more than a decade working in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). As an…
Go to the profile for Suzy Wilcox
Director, Development
Suzy brings a mix of non-profit and corporate experience to Evergreen. After graduating from Princeton University, Suzy worked in Marketing and Development at several US arts organizations, including the American Dance Festival and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing…
Go to the profile for Alison Herr
Program Director
Alison joined Evergreen in 2021. As a Program Director, her portfolio includes both national and local programs focusing on community resilience and civic commons. She also provides support to the ongoing growth and development of Evergreen’s program and impact evaluation…
Go to the profile for Helen Burstyn
Board Chair
Helen Burstyn has enjoyed a 40-year career in government, business, academia, broadcasting and community service.
Helen spent much of her professional career in government, serving as the Chair of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Deputy Secretary of the Premier’s Council and…
Go to the profile for Jamison Steeve
Secretary, Chair – Program Committee
Jamison has spent almost 20 years working in the public policy arena. He brought a thoughtful and results oriented approach to his role as the Executive Director at the Martin Prosperity Institute and the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity, two of Canada's leading…
Go to the profile for Andy Chisholm
Board Director
Andy is a member of the Board of Directors of Royal Bank of Canada and RBC Group Holdings LLC. Prior to that he spent most of his career at Goldman Sachs & Co, which he joined in 1985 in New York. He served in a variety of progressively more senior leadership roles within the…
Go to the profile for Renée Gomes
Chair – Governance and Nominating Committee
Renée is a Registered Professional Planner and Senior Vice President of Development at DiamondCorp. She is a champion of creative, multi-sector approaches to city building and has led numerous strategies for advancing public policy objectives through commercially successful real…
Go to the profile for Carole-Ann Hamilton
Board Director
Carole-Ann has dedicated her time and efforts in making socio-economic impact on a national level over the past several years. She contributed to the Ontario Trillium Foundation where she sat on several panels namely, Ontario Communities, Youths and Francophones. She is actively…
Go to the profile for Shabin Mohamed
Board Director
Shabin is a Chartered Professional Accountant and non-profit director. Shabin has volunteered on various non-profit boards over the past 15 years including as a trustee of the Art Gallery of Ontario and a director of the Toronto International Film Festival. She currently serves…
Go to the profile for Andrea DelZotto
Vice Chair
Andrea DelZotto understands that building is as much about creating community as it is about construction. As a member of the founding family of Canada’s leading condominium developer, Tridel Group of Companies, Andrea has been immersed in the residential construction industry…
Go to the profile for Tom Milroy
Board Director
Mr. Milroy is a director of Generation Capital Limited, a private family office located in Toronto. He is a director of APi Group, where he serves as a member of the Audit Committee and as chair of the Compensation Committee, and a director of Interfor Corporation, where he…
Go to the profile for Abhijeet Rege
Board Director
Abhi Rege is the Head of Marketing, Canadian Banking at TD Bank, and responsible for the development, management and execution of marketing strategies for all Canadian lines of business.
He is an inspiring leader with over 20 years of experience building and leading high…
Go to the profile for Tracey Sobers
Board Director
Tracey is Chief Operations Officer and Project Director at Curious Public. Over the course of her career, Tracey has served as a communications planner, strategist and executive advisor, where building and maintaining effective relationships have underpinned all of her work with…
Go to the profile for Upton Jeans
Treasurer and Chair – Finance and Audit Committee
Upton is the Chief Financial Officer at OPTrust. He previously held the senior positions at Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), Global Vice President Finance and Chief Accountant at Sun Life Financial, and progressively senior positions at General Electric,…
Go to the profile for Hibaq Gelle
Board Director
Hibaq Gelle is an award-winning tri-sectoral leader in the areas of community development, policy development, and stakeholder engagement.
Hibaq is passionate about equity and inclusion and is committed to improving outcomes for the most marginalized. She has a decade of…