Jessica Kirk  (She/Her)

Executive Director

Jessica Kirk is a community organizer and cultural curator based in Toronto, whose creative practice is rooted in racial justice and community care. Jessica is the Executive Director at Wildseed Centre for Art & Activism, an artist-run centre that serves as fertile ground for Black creativity and organizing in the city. During her previous time at the Writers’ Union of Canada, she initiated BIPOC Writers Connect, a literary mentorship program for emerging Black, Indigenous and racialized writers. She is also co-founder of multidisciplinary collective Way Past Kennedy Road. Jess is a recent MA thesis graduate in Social Justice Education from the University of Toronto (OISE). Her writing has appeared in The Canadian Geographer, Cartographies of Blackness and Black Indigeneities, and This Magazine.
Photo Credit: Angelyn Francis.

Shorna James  (She/Her)

Finance Director

Shorna James has worked in the Charitable Non-Profit Sector in a Financial Management role since 2004. Shorna earned a diploma in Accountancy – Business studies from Humber College in 1996 and has pursued studies through the Chartered Professional Accountants – Toronto and through York University Bachelor degree program over the years.

She has worked in the Gender-based Violence, Mental Health, Addiction and Religious sectors, and with a Foundation that deals specifically with supporting Indigenous communities on Turtle Island by addressing environmental issues.