Grassroots Festival of Music & Dance, Photo by Alexis Kane Speer
   
Special Projects
Amy Goudge is a Toronto native with a BAH in English and Art History from Queen’s University. With a passion for both community outreach and art, and particularly the intersection between the two, Amy believes that art can stimulate positive social change and community development. Her interests have led her to positions at the Neighbourhood Arts Network, Art City St. Jamestown, XPACE Cultural Centre, and Ryerson’s Modern Literature and Culture Research Centre. Amy is thrilled to be a part of the STEPS Emerging ARTivist Program, and is excited to promote community engagement and creative expression in Thorncliffe Park.
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Mariko Nguyen is currently working for SO! Financial Renovations and is the operations manager for The Wise Directory. She has completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at Ryerson University with a major in Hospitality & Tourism Management and a minor in Human Resources, as well as a certificate in Fundraising & Volunteer Management certificate from George Brown College. Mariko wants to encourage building a stronger community, to have a smaller impact on the environment and to contribute to the local economy. She believes the STEPS Initiative plays an important role in bringing the community together to positively impact our everyday lives through art.
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Nick Fenn is a currently completing his PhD in Philosophy at York University. His research focuses on biology, feminism, language and the intersection between the three. Of particular interest to him is the potential language and knowledge have to empower marginalized groups through legitimizing the perspectives of those excluded by more dominant knowledge producing practices.  Being a part of STEPS is important to him as he believes that it is important that public spaces are used positively to empower and enrich the lives of the people that use them.  Nick is similarly interested in teaching and education, and works as a freelance journalist in his spare time.

Amanda Lane is a recent graduate of York University where she majored in anthropology. She became interested in the STEPS Initiative because she is believes that more public art spaces are needed to build stronger communities. In her spare time, Amanda enjoys reading, writing sci-fi, and creating paper crafts.

 Sam Mickelson was born and raised in Vancouver and has been in Montreal at McGill since the fall of 2007. This September he will be entering the fourth year of his degree in History and Urban Systems. His academic interests include modern British and American history, urban planning history, and urban geography. In his spare time he enjoys cooking, reading, playing tennis, going for bike rides, and traveling. He is really excited to be working with STEPS because he believes that public art initiatives have enormous potential to transform urban areas and empower communities. He is also excited to connect with and learn from individuals who share his interest in urban planning and sustainable development.

Victor Ngo is a student at The University of British Columbia in Vancouver studying Human Geography and Urban Studies. He is interested in urban issues and policy such as New Urbanism, public transportation and how municipal governments can be more transparent and utilize open data to enable citizen engagement and participatory planning. Governing his work is a belief that we are the stewards of our cities' public spaces and it is in our best interest to protect and foster their growth as the site of everyday democracy, shelter, and play to ensure healthy, livable cities. Working with STEPS, Victor wants to explore the role art plays in building capacity for community engagement and fostering a closer connection to local public spaces. Victor loves working with data and maps and hopes to pursue a career in urban planning or law. 
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Elizabeth Lista is completing a Master’s degree in the Communication Studies department at McGill University. She has a background in Cultural Studies and World Religions. Her research explores the spatialization of diasporic Hindu identity in Ontario, and the relationship between constructions of sacred space and Canadian multiculturalism. Her wider interests include sacred and public space in urban contexts, urban life and citizenship, affect theory, immigration studies, and discourses of multiculturalism. Elizabeth has been involved with STEPS since June 2010, providing writing and research skills as well as support for larger project development goals. She was born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario.
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 Kathleen Dodd-Moher is currently enrolled in her final year of studies in the accelerated honours Translation program at Glendon College. Given her prior degree in Art History, she is quite excited by the prospect of being able to combine her linguistic skills and artistic passion in a meaningful and helpful way with STEPS. Among other things, Kathleen likes to watch and listen to french films and music, collect language reference books and dictionaries, bake, paint, travel and run.
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Evan Landman is a third year Geography student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, originally from Portland, Oregon. His academic interests revolve around the idea of the city- in particular, transportation planning. In his spare time, he volunteers with an environmental education program in Oregon, works at a vegan activist summer camp, occasionally helps publish a zine, swims a lot, and drinks too much coffee. Evan is excited to be part of the STEPS team, and has enjoyed learning about the vast diversity of practices involved in the advocacy for public space across Canada.

Alanna Webber
Grassroots Festival of Music & Dance, Photo by Alexis Kane Speer
 
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