John founded the Democratic Engagement Exchange in 2017. John’s passion for democratic engagement started while biking across North America when strangers from all walks of life took pity on a sweaty teenage kid and opened up their homes, shared a cold drink, provided him a hot shower and shared a little of their lives. 

Since then, John has had the opportunity to work for the US Congress, exhibit photos at the United Nations, and lead national engagement efforts for organizations like the Samara Centre for Democracy and Pathways to Education.

Through these professional and personal experiences, John continues to be reminded of the wisdom that resides in our communities when we take the opportunity to engage and listen.

To learn more about John and other efforts to foster democracy, visit the Faculty of Arts.

Catherine brings a diversified professional background in public policy, community engagement, fundraising, and project management in the public and non-profit sectors. Catherine’s experience ranges from developing creative outreach campaigns for minority linguistic groups in Ontario, to supporting experiential learning opportunities for marginalized youth across Canada, to connecting and convening with over 250 of Canada’s top policymakers, leaders and deciders on pressing policy issues. 

Having grown up in Ottawa and spent most of her time around Parliament, Catherine had an early appreciation for Canadian politics and the importance of citizen participation. She has dedicated her career to building new relationships with the goal of achieving meaningful and sustainable change in her community. Catherine aims to support Canada’s future leaders by being involved in impactful democratic engagement opportunities. 

Catherine holds a Honours BSocSc in Conflict Studies and Human Rights and a Masters of Arts in Political Science from the University of Ottawa. Her studies focused on national security and democracy in Canada, examining issues of violent extremism and radicalization. She joins The Exchange from the Public Policy Forum where she was involved in supporting the development of public policy recommendations while leading stakeholder engagement. 

Since her undergraduate studies, Catherine has been volunteering for various organizations in Ottawa and Toronto. She is also an active member of the Toronto running community. She has completed multiple ultra-marathon relay challenges for charity and hopes to transition to triathlon racing in the near future.

Ashley joined the Democratic Engagement Exchange in 2020. She is passionate about building a culture of democracy in Canada. With a foundational education in the Humanities, Ashley believes in the importance of big ideas, education and meaningful action. In her career so far, she has had the opportunity to work for Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada in Ottawa and for the Faculty of Laws, UCL in London, UK.

Her experience in the Canadian co-operative movement has strengthened her belief in the importance of community engagement and participatory democracy in various aspects of our personal and political lives.