What do we do?
Established in 2016, Toward Common Ground is a collective of community organizations working together to improve well-being across Guelph and Wellington County.
We produce, centralize, and make sense of data to identify shared needs—and we take collective action in response to those needs. By working together across organizations and sectors, we can amplify our individual impact and make our community a better place for everyone.
Our work is situated in Guelph and Wellington County, on treaty lands and the traditional territories of the Anishnaabe, Attiwonderonk, Haudenosaunee, Petun, and Wendat peoples. We recognize that many of the challenges our community faces today come from the history of colonialism and its enduring institutions, practices, and ways of living. We must reshape these institutions and practices to repair harm and make our community a more inclusive and just place for everyone.
Our staff team
Caroline Folkman | she/her
Manager
Claire Bowley | she/her
Research and Community Planning Associate
Our steering committee
The Toward Common Ground Steering Committee guides our work by identifying collective needs and opportunities for working together to address those needs.
Glenna Banda | Co-chair
United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin
Daria Allan-Ebron | Co-chair
Family & Children’s Services of Guelph and Wellington County
Helen Fishburn
Canadian Mental Health Association – Waterloo Wellington
Joanne Young Evans
Compass Community Services
Melissa Kwiatkowski
Guelph Community Health Centre
Luisa Artuso
County of Wellington
Glen Lombard
City of Guelph
Matthew Tennenbaum
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health
Laura Adam
Guelph Family Health Team
Emmi Perkins
Guelph Wellington Ontario Health Team
Lyndsey Thomson
Community Engaged Scholarship Institute
Executive Director
The Guelph Community Foundation