14 Women Accelerating Action in Urbanism
Group of people crossing busy street in Montréal, QC (photo by: Nicole Roach).
International Women's Day (IWD) is a global celebration of women's achievements across society, the economy, culture, and politics. It is a reminder of how far we have come in the fight for gender equality, and how much further we still need to go to ensure a world where women are not only included, but thrive and hold influential roles.
This year's theme, "Accelerate Action," perfectly aligns with Women in Urbanism Canada’s (WIUC) mission. Achieving gender equity in city-building requires bold, immediate steps—not just recognition, but real policy shifts, funding, and leadership opportunities for women and gender-diverse people. Despite progress, urban spaces remain largely designed without considering women’s safety, mobility needs, and caregiving responsibilities. It’s time to change that.
To honor the contributions of those pushing for more inclusive and equitable cities, WIUC proudly highlights 14 remarkable women and gender-diverse people who have significantly impacted Canada's urbanism sector, driving positive change in housing, mobility, public space, equity, and more. Our selection process involved nominations from board members, members, and the public. The criteria for selection focused on expertise, impactful contributions, dedication to advocacy and innovation, inclusive representation, and regional diversity across Canada.
These are the voices reshaping our cities, and the leaders who are accelerating action in urbanism:
Shawna Lewkowitz
London, ON
PhD Candidate in Geography and Environment, Western University
Highlight: A researcher and consultant on gender equitable cities and urban spaces
Shawna Lewkowitz is a third-year PhD student in Geography at Western University, with decades of experience in civic engagement, city-building and equity work. She’s the founder of the non-profit Women & Politics and the Past President of the Urban League of London. She also works as a Research Associate with the ParkSeek Project on policy. She is a collaborator, community organizer and educator who has over 20 years of experience facilitating, designing and managing education training and community programs, and working on issues of gender and equity. Her current areas of focus involve gender, government and cities, as well as experiential education and campus-community collaborations.
Learn more about Shawna’s work on her LinkedIn profile.
Leslie Woo
Toronto, ON
CEO of CivicAction and Founder of She Builds Cities
Highlight: A leader, community activator and experienced planner and architect mobilizing action toward sustainable urban development.
A tri-sector leader with over 25 years of experience building sustainable communities and shaping urban development in Canada’s fastest-growing urban region. Leslie was appointed CEO of CivicAction in 2020. For over two decades, CivicAction has been mobilizing established and rising leaders to shape a future for the city and to actively respond to current urban crises. Before joining CivicAction, Leslie served as Metrolinx’s Chief Planning and Development Officer. An experienced planner, architect, and community activator, she is a 2023 Top 25 Canadian Immigrant awardee and named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2017, a 2019 Toronto Power Woman by Bisnow, Spacing Toronto’s Transit Changemaker in 2016 and Canada’s Women’s Infrastructure Network’s inaugural 2015 Outstanding Leader. Leslie uses her voice and platform “She Builds Cities” to amplify and celebrate other women city builders.
Learn more about Leslie’s work at the CivicAction Leadership Foundation.
Nyasha Harper-Michon
Toronto, ON
Director of Programs at CP Planning and Board Member of 8 80 Cities
Highlight: A dynamic thought leader sought out by international organizations to advise and build momentum for the development of more inclusive and successful urban spaces.
Nyasha Harper-Michon is a purpose-driven architect, built environment expert, business strategist, and climate and social action advocate who thrives at the intersection of cities, design, inclusion, sustainability, and technology. Nyasha is a LinkedIn Top Voice Green and Director of Programs at CP Planning, an urban planning non-profit that uses a human rights-based approach to support affordable housing development and inclusive economies for marginalized communities. She also has experience working in international architecture and design studios, most recently as a Senior Manager, Strategic Development at UNStudio. She has written columns and articles for the magazines Azine and deArchitect, and has an essay, “The City of Archtivists”, published in the book 18 Perspectives on Designing Cities for All as part of the Pakhuis de Zwijger’s programme Designing Cities for All (DCFA). Nyasha’s impact is felt through her advisory roles on the boards of 8 80 Cities and Passive House Canada, non-profits dedicated to equitable, sustainable urban development and climate-resilient building standards.
Learn more about Nyasha's work at CP Planning and on her website.
Amanda O’Rourke
Toronto, ON
Executive Director at 8 80 Cities
Highlight: An advocate for equitable mobility and accessibility of public spaces such as parks and playgrounds for people of all ages.
Amanda O’Rourke is the Executive Director of 8 80 Cities. She has over 20 years of experience leading strategic planning, partnership development, and managing high-impact teams. She has led diverse, equitable mobility and public space projects in cities and towns in North America, Europe, and Australia. Amanda is a sought-after thought leader, writer, speaker, and experienced facilitator. She enjoys working collaboratively with city governments and community partners to make it easier for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to walk, bike, take public transit, and build a sense of belonging and connection in public spaces. Amanda holds a Master of Science in Urban Planning from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology from Queen’s University. She is Co-Chair of the Children Play and Nature Committee for World Urban Parks, an Advisory Board Member to Healthy Places By Design, and a proud mom to three energetic kids who inspire her work and continually inform her approach to city building and placemaking.
Explore more of Amanda’s work with 8 80 Cities.
Shannon Lohner
Edmonton, AB
Chair at Paths for People
Highlight: An accessibility and justice researcher with a focus on urban planning and sociospatial equity analysis.
Shannon Lohner is a student affairs professional currently working at the University of Alberta. They graduated with a BSc in Psychology, with additional certificates in Sustainability and International Learning. Much of their work revolves around community development and seeing the first-hand benefits of creating intentional communities, which has inspired Shannon to pursue further studies in Urban Planning in the future. In their personal time you can find her exploring Edmonton’s patios, tackling a new knitting project, taking new craft classes, and tending to her community garden plot.
Learn more about Shannon’s work with Paths for People.
Patty Wiens
Winnipeg, MB
Bicycle Mayor of Winnipeg
Highlight: A prominent community figure who actively advocates for better snow maintenance and protected rails, empowering women to embrace the joy of cycling.
Through her work with Bike Winnipeg, Patty Wiens advocates for a more connected bike network and better snow maintenance of bike lanes and protected trails. She continues to work on this front as Newsletter Editor and Board Secretary. As Bicycle Mayor of Winnipeg, she wants to elevate education and change attitudes towards bicycle commuting in the car-centric city. As a Brazilian woman living in Winnipeg, she went through a transformative journey from a fair-weather cyclist to a dedicated winter commuter and advocate for cycling. With the support of her partner and the local cycling community, she overcame challenges, including cold weather and snowy conditions, by embracing e-bikes and documenting her experiences on YouTube.
Learn more about Patty’s work as the Bicycle Mayor of Winnipeg on her website.
Alison Stewart
Toronto, ON
Bicycle Mayor of Toronto and Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at Cycle Toronto
Highlight: An ardent supporter of cycling for women and gender-diverse people of all ages, spreading awareness on the joy, as well as practical aspects of biking.
Alison began her journey as a cycling advocate in 2013 to manage the stress of these situations and turn a negative into a positive by being an agent of change. Her mission is to encourage more women, their friends and people over 40 to discover the practicality, enjoyment and affordability of biking. In 2024, she founded Femmes&Friends, a collective of women who enjoy riding and want to share that joy with other women of all ages, abilities, identities, and incomes to ride without fear of judgment or competition. As the Bicycle Mayor of Toronto, she seeks to establish an Executive Committee composed of diverse communities with social justice values to collaborate and co-create programs that will contribute to connecting women and under-represented groups to the tools, resources and community of support they need to get them riding a bike confidently, safely and joyfully.
Learn more about Alison’s work as Bicycle Mayor of Toronto and with CycleTO.
Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher
Toronto, ON
Post-doctoral Researcher at U of T's Data Sciences Institute
Highlight: A multidisciplinary voice in the field of data analysis for cycling and advocate for bike-share programs in cities.
A cycling activist, Bonsma-Fisher is studying traffic patterns as part of her post-doctoral research at the University of Toronto’s Data Sciences Institute, an institutional strategic initiative that is a tri-campus hub for number crunchers across disciplines. Her current research focuses on the question: At any point in Toronto, can you cycle to essential destinations – grocery stores, health care and schools – within 30 minutes, using only bike lanes and traffic-calmed roads? She also co-founded the U of T Coders group to give researchers across all disciplines a chance to learn the basics of programming and teach each other new techniques through hands-on, member-led tutorials. Bonsma-Fisher’s turn toward sustainability-oriented research around cycling came naturally. As a student, she relied on her bike to commute to campus and was all too familiar with the challenges of being a cyclist in a car-focused Canadian city. Upon moving to Ottawa, Bonsma-Fisher joined the board of advocacy group Bike Ottawa, where she contributed data analysis to report on how the COVID-19 crisis has influenced cycling trends and advocated for a bike-share program.
Explore Madeleine’s work on studying the impact of bicycle infrastructure at University of Toronto.
Hana Aman
Ottawa, ON
Operations Director (Co-Executive Director) at City for All Women Initiative (CAWI)
Highlight: A strong contributor to the communities pushing back against gender inequality, outdated social norms and spatial injustice in cities.
Hana Aman provides operational oversight and support across all projects and operational tasks at CAWI. She helps amplify their impact and support their members. Hana enjoys being part of eye-opening conversations on complex underlying issues within our society. Before moving to Canada in 2019, Hana worked at a primary school as an educator, an academic advisor and an administrator. She enjoyed teaching young girls to seek higher academic and economic statuses and encouraged the change of social norms and views of women within her community.
Learn more about Hana’s work at City for All Women Initiative.
Sarah Gelbard
Ottawa, ON
Post-doctoral Researcher at uOttawa and thought leader in spatial justice
Highlight: A dedicated researcher shedding light on the potential of shared public spaces and inclusion of minority groups to address housing insecurity in cities.
Dr. Sarah Gelbard recently completed her Ph.D. in Urban Planning at McGill University and has master and bachelor degrees in architecture from Carleton University. Sarah is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Criminology at the University of Ottawa, working on the bi-directional relationship between criminalization and housing insecurity from an abolitionist and feminist perspective. This work draws on her doctoral research in spatial justice, radical community-based planning and storytelling. She is also engaged in a number of advocacy and activist activities that encourage the reappropriation and appreciation of shared public space through tactical interventions, installations, and writing. Socio-cultural equity, diversity, and justice for minority and alternative groups are key themes in her work. She is the former Housing Development Coordinator at the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (2021-2022).
Learn more about Sarah Gelbard’s work at uOttawa and on her website.
Carolyn Whitzman
Ottawa, ON
Researcher and Author on Housing in Canada
Highlight: A renowned author and well-established educator on the factors affecting the ongoing housing crisis in Canada.
Carolyn Whitzman is a professor and author, co-author or editor of six books related to ‘the right to the city’ in both a contemporary and historical perspective. These include Home Truths: Fixing Canada's Housing Crisis (UBC Press, 2024), Clara at the Door with a Revolver: the scandalous Black suspect, the exemplary white son, and the murder that shocked Toronto (UBC Press, 2023), Building Inclusive Cities: Women’s Safety and the Right to the City (Routledge, 2013), among others. She is also the author or co-author of over 100 book chapters, articles and reports on housing policy, children’s independent mobility, women’s safety, and disability rights. She frequently provides policy advice to local, state and national governments and to the UN. She is the Expert Advisor to the Housing Assessment Resource Tools Project.
Learn more about Carolyn’s work on housing in uOttawa, UofT and the HART project at UBC.
Lucia Blanco
Calgary, AB
Landscape Architecture Consultant at Sustainable Calgary
Highlight: A creative practitioner addressing playful designs in public spaces.
Lucia Blanco is a Mexican interior architect from the University of the Americas Puebla (UDLAP) and is currently pursuing a Master of Landscape Architecture at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture in Calgary. She has worked for several years in the Government of Mexico City’s experimental urbanism office, the Laboratory for the City (LabCDMX), where she co-led a series of public space interventions and design guidelines centred on the concepts of urban play and learning. In 2019, she received the Chancellor Cuthbertson Environmental Design Graduate Entrance Scholarship, with which she has been able to extend her practice into the design of playful environments for children living in cities. At Sustainable Calgary, Lucia explores new possibilities to integrate playful landscapes into Calgary’s streetscape.
Learn more about Lucia’s work at Sustainable Calgary.
Eunice Wong
Toronto, ON
Lead Researcher at Monumental and Steering Committee member at Jane’s Walk
Highlight: An award-winning urban designer focusing on inclusive city design, community engagement, and storytelling for equitable urban development.
Eunice is an award-winning urban designer, researcher, registered planner, illustrator, studio instructor, and all-around curious person. They’re currently the Lead Researcher at Monumental, a Toronto-based social purpose firm working to advance equitable urban development and inclusive city-building. Coming into this role, Eunice was most recently at the architecture firm Perkins&Will as an associate and senior urban designer, with deep expertise in community engagement, land use planning, public realm design, built form testing, and transportation design. They also led various research efforts around gender equity, public space, public health, and the host of the Inhabit podcast. Eunice is always thinking about the human experience and opportunities for storytelling, balancing both quantitative and qualitative design approaches. They are passionate about intersections—in human identities, between planning and people, urbanism and nature… and the design of intersections.
Learn more about Eunice’s work at Monumental and Jane’s Walk.
Claire Basinski
Kitchener, ON
Chair of Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI)
Highlight: An acknowledged leader in the field of engagement and integrated strategic planning in relation to mobility and transportation.
Claire Basinski is a Registered Professional Planner and Certified Public Participation professional who is passionate about strategy at the nexus of land use planning and infrastructure with a focus on human behaviour and mobility. She has worked on numerous functional master plans throughout Ontario and beyond. In October 2024, Claire and co-founder, Kate Whitfield, formally launched Take Consulting Ltd., a women-owned, Ontario-based consulting practice focusing on providing innovative solutions that help to bridge the gap between and provide future-focused solutions to integrated transportation and land use planning. Previously, she served as the Canadian Planning Principal for Alta Planning and Design.
Learn more about Claire’s work at Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI).
Beyond International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day 2025 is a moment to celebrate, but the work doesn’t stop here! The trailblazing women and gender-diverse leaders we’ve highlighted continue to drive change—and they need support to amplify their impact.
You can play a role in advancing gender equity by investing in the women and organizations leading this movement. You can show your support for them (and us!) by learning more, following their journeys, subscribing/following, becoming a member, and/or making a donation.
Together, we can accelerate action and ensure even more women, gender-diverse people, and allies shape our cities for the better—today, tomorrow, and beyond IWD 2025. We look forward to seeing many more women, gender-diverse people, and allies advancing gender-equity in their communities between now and IWD 2026.
