Jennifer Chan (she/her)
Founder, CEO & Story Caretaker
Jenn is second-generation Chinese-Canadian, a Mama, a partner, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a struggling idealist, a pandemic-induced extroverted introvert, and a recovering perfectionist aka super Virgo.
Jenn’s thinking was partially shaped by her Bachelors in Architectural Science from Ryerson University, her Masters of Design in Strategic Foresight and Innovation from the Ontario College of Art and Design and her life MBA of running her own design-driven community engagement consultancy since 2007
Jenn finds joy in starting new crafty hobbies, gets a bit obsessive doing it as much as possible until she becomes bored and moves on. (She is also a fan of run-on sentences)
Erica Wright (she/her)
Director of Operations
Erica’s education and career started with a brief stint in Healthcare, followed by Business Management, Immigration and Settlement, research on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and eventually consulting on the same. This meant consulting with organizations and governments on creating equitable strategies, and leading community consultations on addressing oppressive policies and instances of racism.
Now, she has a fancy title at the DIA which, in practice (she thinks), translates roughly to “figuring out what needs to be done, to get to where we want to go.” The first part comes from data – collecting, organizing, evaluating and responding to it. The second part comes from people – caring about them, and listening to what they have to say.
P.S. Erica was born and raised on the land named Tkaranto (which you might colonially know as Toronto). She is the child of immigrant parents from Jamaica and Philippines, respectively. She is a Capricorn and is told that that means she works too hard, and her current artistic hobby is photography.
Mathura “Temwa” Mahendren (she/her)
Story Caretaker, Minister of Memes & Meditation, previously Program Manager of The Stories of Us
Mathura is a storyteller by nature and design researcher by nurture. As the daughter of asylum-seeking refugees fleeing state-sanctioned genocide in Sri Lanka, now residing on stolen land on Turtle Island, the desire to reconcile the dissonances within her lineage often manifests in her work.
Her parents’ love survived oceans of distance across indefinite periods of time, the poverty of starting anew in a foreign land, and the sudden and premature loss of their firstborn, and she is intimately aware of the ways in which our ability to move through difference, discomfort, grief, change, and growth is deeply intertwined with how and how deeply we were taught to love. To that end, love is both the method and the madness that underpins all of her bodies of work.
Her practice is rooted in a commitment to designing and sharing tools, frameworks, and brave spaces that can hold relationships through difference, discomfort, grief, change, and ultimately, growth.
Our Board of Directors
Trevor Haldenby (he/him)
President and Secretary
Trevor Haldenby is an imaginative futurist and entrepreneur with 10 years of experience in business innovation, strategic foresight, and digital storytelling. Interactive Producer at Canadian Film Centre (2004), Habbo Hotel (2006), Earth Rangers (2008). Special presenter and guest artist at TED, CBC, World Future Society, and Autodesk University.
His MDes research in Foresight at OCAD took scenarios and trend forecasts off the written page, and brought future to life through immersive and interactive experiences that integrate social media, physical artifacts, and live performances.
He founded The Mission Business, which creates events, participatory workshops, and games that use play to unlock strategic insights about the business environment of tomorrow. TMB’s clients include Autodesk, Microsoft, Ubisoft, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Alexandra Tamiko Da Dalt (she/her)
General Member
Alexandra Tamiko Da Dalt is a communications specialist with experience teaching and working with nonprofit organizations and foundations in Canada, the United States, Argentina, and Timor Leste. She has a Bachelors Degree in Social and Cultural Analysis with a concentration in Gender and Sexuality Studies from New York University, and holds an MA in International Educational Development with a focus on Peace and Human Rights Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Alex is a member of Millennial Womxn in Policy, and has volunteered with the International Rescue Committee and Human Rights Watch. She is passionate about forwarding human rights through storytelling and compassionate conversations about complex issues.
Alex likes losing track of time in secondhand bookstores and trying out new cookie recipes.
Jennifer Chan (she/her)
Staff Member
Jenn is the CEO & Co-Founder to the Department of Imaginary Affairs and now on our Board of Directors. Jenn’s extensive background designing, developing and implementing participatory and co-design based programming within the nonprofit and social innovation sector has given her a unique set of skills to lead this organization.
Our Partners
Our work is not possible without the additional time, talent, treasures and testimonies of many.