CEO MONTHLY / CANADIAN CEO OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2024 5 Civic Engagement CEO of the Year 2024: Leslie Woo Founded in 2003, CivicAction is a leading civic engagement organisation on a mission to elevate civic engagement to build liveable and inclusive cities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton regions. Renowned for its history of making waves with bold actions and impactful change, CivicAction demonstrates a unique ability to convene a diverse array of civic leaders and individuals with lived experiences to co-create solutions to the region’s most pressing challenges. Helmed by CEO Leslie Woo, the organisation has made significant meaningful contributions to its community under her leadership. As Leslie receives recognition in the Canadian CEO of the Year Awards 2024, we take a closer look at the ways in which she has led CivicAction to success. For over two decades, CivicAction has been dedicated to building the collective leadership capacity of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area – or GTHA – by effectively preparing and empowering rising leaders. The organisation provides free, highimpact leadership programmes that open doors, minds, and opportunities for thousands of diverse ringleaders within the GTHA. Designed to inspire and educate, these world-class programmes have successfully built inclusive leadership and prepared the leaders of tomorrow for their future responsibility. With more than 25 years of experience in building sustainable communities and shaping urban development, Leslie Woo is a tri-sector leader on a mission to enact change. Appointed as CEO of CivicAction in 2020, Leslie steers a dedicated team, and works alongside a passionate board to catalyse action on urban challenges by forming partnerships across all sectors. An experienced urban planner, architect, and community activator, Leslie held senior executive roles in the provincial public service sector prior to her appointment at CivicAction. Her illustrious career includes a 12 and a half year as Chief Planning Officer at Metrolinx, and two years as Chief Development Officer with Infrastructure Ontario. Before joining Metrolinx, Leslie was the key author of the Province of Ontario’s first ever growth management plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the fastest growing metropolitan region in Canada. As a CEO, Leslie views her work as not merely a job, but a vocation. She utilises her intellectual curiosity to cultivate inclusion as a team coach, naturally inspiring and engaging others on issues that collectively impact the future of the GTHA. “I took on my current CEO role in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Leslie reflects. “The pandemic changed both the work environment and the role of leaders, at a scale that could never have been anticipated. Like many others in the not-forprofit sector, I had to lead the organisation with the Board to recalibrate strategic priorities. The organisational focus shifted to support rising leaders more deeply, especially those from Indigenous, Black, and racialised communities.” Prior to taking on the role at CivicAction, Leslie had achieved great change, even establishing two firsts; a regional growth management policy, playing a key role in implementing the Places to Grow Act, a legislation that has governed growth in Canada’s largest metropolitan area for more than two decades. As well as this, Leslie saw remarkable success in creating a regional integrated transportation plan, which helped justify the legislation and secured over $60 billion in transit expansion capital expenditures. She managed the public and stakeholder engagement and building consensus from elected leaders, developers, environmentalists, businesses, and residents across the region. Not only has Leslie significantly impacted regional planning and transportation, but she has also championed women’s leadership in the industry. Within the infrastructure and land development sectors, Leslie has been instrumental in initiating women’s leader networks to support and profile women city builders. Throughout the course of her career, it has been made clear that Leslie is here to shake up the region. Through involvement in civic initiatives, strong networking skills, and delivering quality educational programmes, Leslie is working relentlessly to ensure a better future for the GTHA. As for the future of CivicAction, Leslie tells us, “The state of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area’s liveability is at risk.” Moving forward, the organisation will continue to collaborate with decisionmakers, catalyse more action and train the next generation of leaders to aid in combatting the risks. Leslie herself will be focusing on establishing a legacy for her work, more specifically, “Being able to share my learnings, as well as supporting up and coming leaders.” Leslie is on a straight trajectory to excellence, with no signs of slowing down. In the upcoming months, Leslie will continue on her philanthropic mission to enhance the lives of the GTHA community, a mission that has earned her the apt title of the Civic Engagement CEO of the Year 2024. Contact: [email protected] Company: CivicAction Web Address: https:// leadership.civicaction.ca/ Aug24523
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