Mikey Ain, President

Michael was born in Toronto and grew up near Don Mills in North York.  After coming out in high school, Michael sought out opportunities to volunteer with LGBTQ2S+ student groups, community organizations and businesses to raise awareness of queer identity and diverse initiatives across Canada.  A year after coming out, Michael's own family marched beside Toronto Pflag at the Toronto Pride Parade to show their support and allyship - it left a lasting impact. 

Michael joined Toronto Pflag's board of volunteers in 2010 to help enhance our charity profile, produce fundraising events, sustain peer-support services and offer his own allyship to volunteers navigating critical issues faced by LGBTQ2S+ families. 

David Deslauriers, Treasurer

David is retired after a 30-year career in investment banking in Toronto and New York and is focused on personal pursuits in volunteering, consulting and mentoring. As a seasoned financial executive, David brings considerable expertise in client relationship management, finance and risk management, and as a trusted advisor on strategic and governance matters. David is currently volunteering on several community boards in a variety of capacities. David lives in Toronto with his husband, Nicolas Burbano Diaz.

Kathy O’Connell, Secretary

Kathy’s background is in Cognitive Neuroscience. After learning she has a transgender family member, she discovered the huge positive impact that family support has on trans young people. Despite horrifying statistics about the high risk of suicide among trans youth, she learned that on average, the mental health of trans youth with strong parental support does not differ from their cisgender peers. She is involved in online support groups that help parents of trans youth and kids understand how to provide that support.

Kathy is the Webmaster for TorontoPflag.org. She is also Toronto Pflag’s Secretary, and the tech host for our online meetings.

Giselle Bloch

Giselle’s lifelong passion for helping others began at age 14, when she volunteered at a children’s center to engage with severely disabled youth. Over the past 40 years, she has enjoyed volunteering with many organizations.

Giselle and her husband Alan are the proud parents and vocal allies of three unique adult children, two of whom are LGBTQ2S+. One is trans and one is gay. They also have two precious grandchildren (so far).

Giselle chairs the Support & Education Committee. Through Toronto Pflag, she focuses on keeping families together by offering her experience, support and compassion to LGBTQ2S+ folks and their families, and by educating people on LGBTQ2S+ issues. She often takes that further and meets/speaks with parents one-on-one. Giselle also co-facilitates TRANSceptance, a monthly peer support group for parents of trans folks, hosted by CTYS. When Giselle is not volunteering and advocating for the LGBTQ2S+ community, she runs a personal training business and spends as much time as possible with her precious family.

STEPHANIE WOOLLEY

Stephanie is happily retired from a 30+ year career in software development at IBM.

She is now focused on giving back to her community as Vice-Chair of the Toronto Trans Coalition Project which works to improve employment opportunities for the trans community, as the co-founder and host of the transSocial Collective social group, and a volunteer and facilitator at Toronto Pflag.

Stephanie is also a member of the Board of Advisors of Captains and Poets and serves on the Trans Pride committee of Pride Toronto.

She is a loving mum to 3 beautiful cats, and an avid film and theatre fan.

JOEL KADISH

Joel recognized the need for a different approach with dads of LGBTQ2S+ youth, as an alternative (or supplement) to our regular monthly support meetings. He created and runs the Dads Night Out event. He's also a lawyer, so he often contributes a legal perspective to the Board's discussions and decisions.

Brenda Whitell

Brenda will be taking the lead on the Volunteer Committee, matching up folks who are interested in volunteering with tasks that need doing.

LISA DEL COL

Lisa sought out her local Pflag chapter when her 14-year-old child came out as transgender / nonbinary in 2015. The next year she joined her Oklahoma group as a board member and meeting facilitator until early 2020.

Returning to Canada that same year she joined Toronto Pflag where she continues to put her passion for LGBTQ2S+ education and advocacy to work as a board member, workshop presenter, and support meeting facilitator.

Gary Ludwig

Originally from the North End of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Gary has spent the last four decades working in the areas of brand strategy and identity with a number of leading national and global firms. He also spent ten years teaching branding, typography, and graphic design at Canada’s acclaimed OCAD University, as well as lecturing at various other institutions and venues in Canada and the USA.

A husband and a father of two, he became involved with Toronto Pflag in 2015 shortly after his daughter came out as trans. Gary looked to the group to help broaden his understanding of the journey his family was embarking on by hearing about the experiences of others. He still finds his engagement with the people of Toronto Pflag to be a continuous source of enrichment and enlightenment, so he is excited to be able to give back by joining the Board and helping in the organization’s important works.

Jaden Peng

Jaden (Hsin-Yun Peng) was born in Taiwan and moved to Toronto in 2015. Jaden devotes her time to the LGBTQ+ movement in Taiwan since 2004 and in Canada she continues her work in building a community for migrant queer families. Jaden works to connect newcomers with local resources and provide them with support.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, she understands how important it is for parents and LGBTQ+ members to support one another and share life together. By joining Toronto Pflag's board, she hopes to provide resources to people in need and to create resources that are accessible to LGBTQ+ people and their families.