Events

"Tyler writes fantasy novels that get kids and teens engaged in reading and helps children increase their confidence, critical thinking, and long-term academic success through reading more books voluntarily. He established Snure Stories and published his first teen fantasy novel, The Jewels of Fate, in 2019 when he was a senior high school student. His second novel, The Sword of Sorenth, quickly reached #8 on Amazon's bestseller list for its category. He has presented at over 50 conferences, online summits, schools, libraries, boards of education and podcasts. Many of his speaking engagements can be found on his website https://www.snurestories.com "

Having joined Homes First Society over two decades ago, Michael is currently a Manager of Development, focusing primarily on creating affordable and supportive housing. He started as a front-line worker at the innovative StreetCity, which closed in 2003 but laid the path for Strachan House, the influential, deeply-supportive program serving many of Toronto’s most complex tenants. Michael was the Life Skills worker at Strachan for nearly 15 years.

He left Strachan to manage The Rooming House Project, a joint venture with Dixon Hall and Ecuhome providing services to tenants of Toronto Community Housing buildings in the Cabbagetown area. After several years he returned to Homes First to eventually become their Director of Housing and Shelters, helping oversee the organization’s crisis response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent significant expansion of shelter capacity, including several large hotel programs.

Prior to Homes First Michael had extensive experience in both shelters and supportive housing. Graduating with a degree in Communications from his hometown University of Windsor, he has also worked as a free-lance writer, in radio. and in community engagement and public relations with various organizations such as the AIDS Committee of Windsor.

Asma Khan is dedicated to developing innovative research to inform policies and designs that foster healthy, equitable, inclusive, and resilient cities. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto Scarborough, where she pursued a double major in Health Science and City Studies. Her research interests lie at the intersection of health and geography, with a focus on addressing determinants of health and exclusionary practices through urban social policy, urban displacement, and inclusive urban design.

Asma currently serves as the Director of Research and Development at SMILE Canada - Support Services, where she leads research-informed initiatives to advance culturally safe practices for supporting newcomer children and youth with disabilities and their families, with the goal of enhancing service delivery and promoting equity within healthcare, education, and social service sectors.

Previously, Asma served as a Community and Stakeholder Relations Assistant at the City of Toronto, where she facilitated collaboration between stakeholders and constituents to inform policy solutions addressing housing insecurity, spatial immobility, and the displacement of low-income communities. She also contributed to research with the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, analyzing Toronto’s regulatory framework to explore innovative approaches to the City’s housing affordability crisis.

Across her work in multiple sectors, Asma advocates for the meaningful inclusion of equity-deserving, underrepresented groups in the context of rapid urbanization and growing social exclusion.