Tonya Surman

Tonya Surman is the founding executive director of the Centre for Social Innovation – a dynamic convergence space whose mission is to catalyze, connect and support new ideas that are changing the world. CSI provides shared space to 180 social mission groups, acts as a community centre for social innovators and provides a home to several incubated projects. CSI was awarded the ‘City Innovation’ award from the Canadian Urban Institute in 2009 and Tonya was recognized as a ‘Leader in Social Change’ from the Canadian New Media Awards in 2009. In 2010, Tonya became a Global Ashoka Fellow for her work at CSI. www.socialinnovation.ca Previous to CSI, Tonya was the founding Partnership Director for the Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment www.healthyenvironmentforkids.ca, whose work, in part, led to a new legislative framework to manage chemicals and the banning of Bisphenol A in baby bottles. Tonya has been creating and leading social ventures since 1987 and has built her body of knowledge around multi-sectoral collaboration and entrepreneurship for social change.  She currently co-chairs the Ontario Nonprofit Network and the Social Enterprise Council of Canada.