Pathways to Prosperity: Canada

Immigrant demographics, poverty reduction strategies or affordable housing, pop-up shops and nonprofit advocacy are all in a day for Diane Dyson.

As a community-based social researcher, interested in issues of neighbourhoods and poverty, she is Director, Research & Public Policy at WoodGreen Community Services, a large neighbourhood-based multiservice agency and thought leader in Toronto. She is currently the community co-chair of the Toronto Network of the SSHRC-funded research project, Building Migrant Resilience in Cities.

Diane has led research on neighbourhood wellbeing, community hubs, the informal economy, employment precarity, immigrants, older adults, and housing. In earlier times, Diane was a research analyst at United Way Toronto, where she co-authored Losing Ground and worked on the Strong Neighbourhood strategy. She also worked at Ryerson University.

Diane’s community contributions include work with Social Planning Toronto, the Toronto District School Board, People for Education and the Federation of Metro Tenants Associations. Having grown up in Montreal, Diane speaks a few languages badly. Diane blogs at www.belongingcommunity.wordpress.com and tweets at @Diane_Dyson.