Our facilitator will be Mike Balkwill. Mike is an independent community organizer (the job Obama made famous), facilitator and community development consultant.Mike is currently organizing leadership groups in thirty communities around Ontario, in support of the Put Food in the Budget Campaign, co-sponsored by the Social Planning Network of Ontario and The Stop Community Food Centre.
Mike has led many projects including:
- Provincial outreach coordinator and project coordinator with the Environmental Justice Organizing Initiative www.enjoi.org
- Organizing the campaign to stop the development of an incinerator for radioactive waste proposed for Brampton, Ontario.
- Leading the process of developing the participatory budgeting process (modelled on the Porto Allegre Brazil process) for the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (2001/2002);
- Consulting with the ‘Strathmere Group’ of major ENGOs to explore long-term social movement strategy in Canada (2007);
- Facilitating the Canadian Environmental Networks’ 2008 National Assembly and Board strategic planning retreat (2008, 2009).
- Mike has also conducted social movement seminars for Nature Canada and Wilderness Canada.
- Led the successful two-year campaign to remove mould from all school portables in Peel Region, Ontario, and secure $50 million in rehabilitation and new construction.
Mike is a part-time Instructor in York University’s School of Social Work teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in community development.
Mike is the co-author, with Bill Lee, of Participatory Planning for Action, a guide to tools to use with groups in conducting action research projects. Mike is also the publisher of Pragmatics of Community Organization (Commonact Press), which is used as the text for community development in universities and community colleges across Canada.
Mike has two sons – Daniel and Brendan – and lives in Toronto.
