Our Team

Our Team

Staff

Black-and-white portrait of a woman with long dark hair, smiling, wearing a white shirt and dark jacket, against a plain background.

Laura Lavie

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Laura has two decades of experience in the charitable sector, and through philanthropy and public campaigns, has facilitated partnerships and programming in social services, the arts, and journalism. Prior to joining The Globe and Mail Foundation, Laura was head of philanthropy at The Walrus, and has led fundraising for Luminato, Aga Khan Museum, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto, Child Development Institute, Michael Garron Hospital, and others.

Rachel Verbin

SENIOR COORDINATOR, PROGRAM AND OPERATIONS

Rachel has spent her career working in the media and in the non-profit arts sector. She has held positions at The Canadian Press as a photo archive manager and at The Image Centre at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) as an administrator, project manager and freelance curator. Rachel is also a photojournalist; her photographs have been published by most major Canadian media outlets. She has an MA from TMU and a BFA from OCAD University.

Black and white headshot of Chris Donovan.

Chris Donovan

PHOTOJOURNALISM PROGRAMMING LEAD CONSULTANT

Chris Donovan is a photojournalist, artist, and educator based in Saint John, New Brunswick. He holds an MFA in Documentary Media and is a PhD candidate at Toronto Metropolitan University. His work has been exhibited at galleries including The Image Centre in Toronto and the National Gallery of Canada, and regularly appears in newspapers such as The New York Times and The Globe and Mail.

Consultants

Joshua Knelman

WHAT IS HIS ROLE AT THE FOUNDATION?

Joshua Knelman is a Co-Founder of Artful Strategies, founding Director of the PEN Canada Graeme Gibson Talk and a multi-award-winning writer. He is a dynamic communications specialist who has contributed to numerous initiatives with leading media, cultural and educational organizations across Canada, (including The Walrus Magazine, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and PEN Canada: could cut for space). His journalism work has received multiple National Magazine Awards; his books have been published in multiple countries and earned him the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction.

Mike Hyttinen

WHAT IS MY ROLE AT THE FOUNDATION?

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