Our team
co-founders
ExChange is sponsored by a generous anonymous donor who is inspired by the lifetime of ministry and social justice work of Rev. John Arlen Bonnar (he, him) of St James United Church who is part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community himself. This special projects fund is dedicated to supporting people who are refugees, Indigenous people and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and organizations.
Arlen, in partnership with St James United Church Executive Director Jacky Lalonde (she, her), earmarked part of this fund to develop an intergenerational project to support 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. They invited Melissa-Ann Pereira Ledo (she, her, they, them), local queer community arts organizer, consultant and facilitator, to co-create, alongside several local 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations, what we now know as the exChange project.
This is a non-religious community-led arts project.
Staff
These talented folks are the paid staff of the project:
Melanie Garcia (she, her): Content Creation and Social Media Specialist – melaniegarcia.ca
Chris Lau (he, him): Communications Coordinator – chrislauphoto.ca
Jacky Lo (he, him): Outreach Coordinator and Program Management Assistant – jacky-lo.com
Melissa-Ann Pereira Ledo (she, her, they, them): Project Manager and Teaching Artist Lead – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaannledo
Teaching Artists
These passionate artists from various media have been or will be involved in helping to design and facilitate activities during events:
Sabrina Bejba (she, her)
Luca Cusmano (they, them)
Falicia Decontie-Green (no pronouns)
Morris Fox (he, they)
Quinlan Green (he/him)
Elizabeth Diane Labelle (no pronouns)
Le Lin (he, they)
Shelagh McNally (she, her)
Melissa-Ann Pereira Ledo (she, her, they, them)
Jacky Lo (he, him)
Andrea Palmer (she, her)
Heidi Rubin
Advisory Committee
These generous individuals bring unique knowledge and skills to guide our project:
AJ (All pronouns)
Casey Burkholder (She/her)
Bruce Cameron (He/him)
Shelagh McNally (she/her)
Mary Miedema (she/her)
Billie Schultz (She/Her)
Daniel Wylie (he/him)
