Studio Y is a fellowship program based at the MaRS Discovery District for promising young social entrepreneurs under the age of 30.

I was a member of the first cohort of the program. It was a timely opportunity as I just returned to Toronto after seven years in Halifax and was keen to connect into Ontario's innovation ecosystems and understand the landscape of civic innovation and public engagement in Central Canada.

Studio Y offered the opportunity to do just that, allowing me to contribute to many projects of MaRS and its partners, including: Labs for Systems Change, 100in1, GovMaker, and aiding design, planning and facilitation of 12 additional events and a variety of public talks (including a talk at TEDxRougeRiver)

It also created space for my own learning, sharing, and reflection, through participation in a variety of skill development programs in topics as wide ranging as project management, design thinking, anti-oppressive practice, systems thinking, arts-based facilitation, graphic facilitation, public speaking, etc.