Rosemarie Powell
Rosemarie Powell is the Executive Director of the Toronto Community Benefits Network, co-founder of the Canadian Building Diversity Institute and Owner of Big on Green Property Management. She has been a passionate advocate for social, economic, and environmental justice for over 20 years and has advanced equitable approaches to policy development and implementation at various levels of government. Building on TCBN’s initial success of negotiating Ontario’s first Community Benefits Framework for the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, Rosemarie led the coalition through subsequent campaigns to secure community benefits for the Finch West LRT, West Park Healthcare Centre and Rexdale Casino Woodbine expansion.
In so doing, she has forged strategic partnerships among community, labour and industry leaders across Canada to unlock thousands of good jobs in construction and hundreds of millions in local and social procurement opportunities through investment in public infrastructure and urban development for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour with a focus on youth, women, and newcomers. Her community engagement and environmental advocacy work earned several awards for leadership and imagination.
