Introducing Tova Davidson, Our Incoming Executive Director

Back in June, we announced Sustainable Waterloo Region was launching the search for our next Executive Director – someone to build on the organization’s exponential growth over the past five years, and propel it into its next chapter. Today, we have exciting news to share. On behalf of the community representatives that guide the direction of Sustainable Waterloo Region – the organization’s Board – we’re thrilled to announce Tova Davidson has been hired to lead Sustainable Waterloo Region into the next leg of the journey. Tova comes us having grown into increasingly senior positions at The Letter M Marketing (based in Guelph), most recently serving as Vice President. She brings both an entrepreneurial mindset, as well as an ability to oversee the operations of Sustainable Waterloo Region. And most importantly – she gets our culture and she’s over the top excited about our strategic direction. Tova takes the reins at an exciting time for SWR:

• Our flagship program, the Regional Carbon Initiative, has now had five straight years of both growth in both overall membership and organizations that have set carbon reduction targets
• Waterloo Region’s first-ever Climate Action Plan was unanimously approved by area Councils last month, meaning this year our attention can shift to working with the area municipalities, REEP Green Solutions and the Region on implementing this broad plan
• After a two-year pilot period, the TravelWise program is now transitioning to incorporate setting targets in single-occupancy-vehicle travel reductions as part of its structure, and beginning on February 1st we will be a lead partner in the program, alongside the Region
• Having launched the organization’s first strategic plan in November of last year, we continue to dive into exciting new conversations that run the gamut from publicly available electric-vehicle charging infrastructure across Waterloo Region, to a net-zero incubator building to house this community’s growing sustainability cluster

It feels fitting then – at a time of such a surge in momentum – to bring in an experienced leader that has been part of similar growth just down the road. Mike has been asked time and again over the past six months what it feels like to “pass on his baby”. Each time the answer has always come with a clarification: this organization was never Mike’s. It has always belonged to the community. It has always been about building a movement. And we’re all proud of this movement that has been catalyzed over the past five years. This is an audacious organization that has followed through on big goals. We’re confident that Tova will lead the organization – and the wider sustainability network in Waterloo Region – to even greater heights. Tova’s official start date is Monday January 27th, at which point she will begin shadowing Mike for several weeks. If you’d like to get in touch, she’d love to hear from you (tova.davidson@sustainablewr.ca). And we’d love for you to drop by and meet her in-person at our upcoming open house (The Tannery – 121 Charles St W, Suite 329B, Kitchener), anytime between 4-6pm on Tuesday, February 4th. All the best, Mike Morrice                               Barry Colbert Executive Director                       Board Chair