Our Team

Public Interest builds unique teams for each new project with members of our staff and our frequent collaborators. We frequently partner with other not-for-profit organizations and consultants, ensuring that the right mix of experience and knowledge is brought to each new endeavour.

President

Sean Meagher

Sean Meagher has been President of Public Interest since 2002. During that time, he has managed a host of innovative projects for the not-for-profit and public sectors. Sean has also developed public policy in areas as diverse as food security, child poverty, seniors’ services, tax policy, employment programs, youth services, and recreation.

Tony Boston

Tony Boston has been an associate at Public Interest since 2003, and has 20 years’ experience in the field of community development in Toronto. Prior to beginning his consulting practice in 1996, he began his work in community development as a social worker in urban renewal projects in Scotland and then as a community organizer in the Regent Park neighbourhood.

Alex Dubé-Goss

Alex has worked with communities in Halifax, Mexico, and Toronto as an engagement worker, organizer, and facilitator. In Toronto, he has worked with the Ralph Thornton Centre in South Riverdale and the ACE Program at Jane and Finch. Alex uses a variety of art forms, including mural-making, to engage adults and youth, and to identify and address their key issues in their community. He has launched and led community development, social justice, and democratic reform organizations.

Effie Vlachoyannacos

Effie Vlachoyannacos has worked on a variety of community outreach and engagement programs and is an active resident of Scarborough. As coordinator of the Scarborough Civic Action Network, she organizes the annual Scarborough Community Summit, facilitates issues-based working groups,and supports emerging campaigns such as the campaign to raise the minimum wage in Ontario to $10 per hour. Effie is also involved in Save Our Structures (SOS), a community engagement campaign in which she is working with tenants in Toronto CommunityHousing developments to address the issue of funding for much-needed capital repairs.

Heather Fussell

Heather Fussell joins Public Interest with a background in public policy research and a focus on collective action. Over the past 15 years, Heather’s interest in how communities can mobilize for change has taken her to Ghana, Montreal and Vancouver. Her most recent position with the Centre for Civic Governance in Vancouver allowed her to research and write on a number of issues affecting communities and municipal governance. Heather holds a Masters in Public Policy and Public Administration from Concordia University.

Renée Devereaux

Renée brings a background in international project management and adult education to her work at Public Interest. Her work has focused on the role that non-formal and popular education processes can play in community development. Her professional practice has allowed her to explore these processes in a variety of contexts including many years of leading an education-focused non-profit organization on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.

Renée holds a Master of Adult Education degree from St. Francis Xavier University.

Julia Drydyk

Julia has over five years experience in volunteer coordination, administration and event management within the non-profit arts sector. While working at the Ottawa Fringe Festival, Julia coordinated hundreds of volunteers each year. She also has experience as a researcher for the African Canadian Social Development Council where she studied the impacts of the ten-year residency requirement for social security benefits regarding recently immigrated seniors in Canada. Julia holds a B.A. in Political Science and Women’s Studies from York University.

Larissa Gregorovich

Larissa has 10 years experience in program administration and an extensive background in systems solution design. She has worked on health related projects as a part of the Public Interest team, such as the Flemingdon Health Centre Satellite and the City of Toronto pesticide use prevention project.

Prior to working at Public Interest, Larissa worked at Casey House Hospice where she gained tremendous experience, particularly in engaging with community members as well as with community partners. Larissa holds a BFA from Concordia University.

Rebecca Price

Rebecca has been actively engaging and challenging communities for over 10 years. Her vast experience working in various communities has taken her to communities in Montreal, Jamaica, Toronto and Washington D.C. While in Washington D.C she worked as a researcher for TransAfrica Forum, researching the impact of American foreign policy and its impact on Africa and the Diaspora. In Toronto, Rebecca has worked with The Learning Partnership and Pathways to Education helping society’s most vulnerable youth to see, be and reach their potential.

Jill Marzetti

Jill started working with Public Interest in 2007 and works as a consultant on progressive issues and campaigns. She is also currently chair of The Four Villages Community Health Centre in Toronto’s west end.

Chris Watson

Chris Watson has an extensive background in communications and strategic analysis. Working largely in the field of politics, his experience includes federal, provincial and municipal election campaigns over more than 20 years. He was the Federal Secretary of the New Democratic Party in Ottawa from March 2002 until November 2004. Chris worked for a senior Ontario cabinet minister during the 1990s and later worked with the Ontario NDP in Opposition. He also worked for a number of years in the trade union movement and with NGOs.