Tia, Executive Director

Tia has been a volunteer with Youth Action Network since 1998 (which is clear from how much stuff is crammed into her mailbox at the YAN office). Through the years she’s worked on various projects including the Resource Action Centre and Forum Magazine. Through her involvement with YAN, Tia has become committed to grassroots youth activism on social and environmental justice. She has a weakness for dark chocolate and is an original Facebook resister.

Bayan, Co-Chair

Prior to joining YAN, Bayan has been involved in activism throughout high school. As a part of the Empowered Student Partnerships (ESP), Bayan collaborated with the Toronto Police Service in order to provide better safety in Toronto’s schools and to raise awareness among students. From there, Bayan has expanded her horizons by working for YAN, combining her goal for having a career in the finance field with her interests with youth activism. Bayan likes watching old and international films. She also likes learning about new things and listening to instrumental music. Bayan likes to argue which can be tiring sometimes.. but for her it’s fun. Overall, she’s very positive and enjoys being a part of YAN.

Linda, Co-Chair

At 15, Linda is the second youngest member on the YAN Board of Directors. She loves to discover music at all ends of the musical spectrum, and manages to find a reason to play songs while doing anything. Linda has a soft spot for romantic novels, namely the Twilight saga, and plans on seeing all future movies that Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen) will star in. Outside of YAN, she is also a part of her school’s newspaper and yearbook committee, as well as social clubs such as R.A.C.E and Cancer Society. She strives to contribute positively to the community in every step of her life, and happens to be a member of the Thornhill Youth Council—a council that holds annual events to raise money for community causes. Although Linda’s not yet sure what lies beyond high school for her, she always keeps this inspiring quote in mind: “it is not what you do, but how much love you put in the doing.”

Alisa, Equity Director

Alisa is particularly interested in young people activism about: violence against women, queer issues, and ‘mad’ (psychiatric consumer/survivor)/disability concerns. When she’s not consumed by (or procrastinating) school responsibilities, Alisa practices her coping strategies of grocery shopping and going for walks. With YAN, she is currently involved in the coordination of FORUM as well as revising the bylaws and anti-oppression policy. Alisa hates pictures and hasn’t yet found something to upload here…

Ming Yi, Volunteer Director

Ming Yi is the only newcomer youth in YAN, and now she is in her third year of high school as well as in Canada. Before joining YAN, she has been part of YMCA Newcomer Youth Leadership Development program (NYLD). This was the place she began to explore her new city and country, and she has always been grateful to the program for providing her countless amazing opportunities. Apart from these groups, Ming Yi is also an active volunteer at Toronto Public Library and Toronto Environment Volunteers. Indeed, one of her biggest interests is environment. She tends to apply the 3Rs herself and in the meantime, tries to influence people around her to take actions and make a difference! She loves school a lot since she values knowledge and skills. Of course, she has a life too! She loves the TV show, “Being Erica” for its novel ideas and storyline, and enjoys music and jogging very much!

Anika, Director of Outreach

Anika is a grade 12 student who aspires to one day become a world famous journalist. She is currently the chapter leader for her school’s Best Buddies chapter, an organization in which students are paired with those with intellectual disabilities. Anika is truly inspired by this cause. In addition, she is a member of her school’s newspaper commitee and also a member of the Trinity theatre Leadership team. She also loves sushi, and Korean movies. She hopes to help more youth be involved in their community and take charge on issues that they find important.

Vivek, Secretary

Vivek, at 14, is not only the youngest member on the YAN Board of Directors, he is also the only male on the board. Although young, he seems a much mature person than his age would indicate. He is an energetic person and loves to do anything that involves physical movement. He especially loves to play badminton, golf, and volleyball. He is in his first year of high school, and hopes to join, possibly even create one of his own, many of the clubs at his high school. Vivek also loves reading, and though he tries to read all types of books, he especially likes fantasy and classic books. He finds all technology interesting, and loves to spend hours just tinkering around on his computer. And he does all of this while listening to blaring music on his big studio headphones. He is very broad-minded and has an opinion on almost everything. Vivek is looking forward to his new high school life and approaches all tasks with this motto: “What you can do tomorrow, you can do today and what you can do today, you can do right now.”

Debbie, Communications Director

The past few years before joining YAN have really been eyeopening for Debbie especially concerning youth activism and community engagement. She has had the opportunity to work with various projects and communities both in and outside of the country.  She also loves visual design and exploring with innovative communication means. One of her goals is to find a way to effectively combine the two. She loves her 3 r’s; reading, reggae, and roti. Aside from that, she is encouraged by the phrase “Limitless Imagination” because it lends the opportunity to apply knowledge in innovative ways.

Jiawen, Director of Outreach

A passionate environmental organizer in her community and school, Jiawen loves to explore nature and the world around her. She is described by her friends as highly energetic and always having a smile on her face. At YAN she is a communications director and is elated to engage youth about activism and promote YAN. Outside of YAN, she is a part of the St. James Town Youth Council which hopes to provide unique opportunities to youth as well as organize amazing events like Talent shows, March Break “Camp Reality”, Jane’s Walk and many more. There she learned invaluable skills in community organizing, public speaking and the potential that’s out there. She gets excited at the sight of a nice pen on an art store shelf and has a love for the Rubik’s cube family. As an avid shutterbug, she hopes to document the world around her, one photo at a time. To her, there is nothing like sitting down and talking to a friend, writing in a beautiful notebook and immersing yourself in new things every day. She will challenge you to a game of tennis, any day, even if it’s snowing.

Abirami…Bio coming soon

Yana…Bio coming soon

Romina…Bio coming soon