USP Alumnus, Ian Hepburn-Aley
After graduating from Innis College with a double major in Urban Studies and Environmental Studies, Ian Hepburn-Aley worked for 4 years with the Toronto-based non-profit, FoodShare. Here he worked as a community food animator, building community capacity in low-income neighbourhoods to run community kitchen, markets, and gardens. His main focus was on supporting urban farms, helping start a one-acre teaching farm at Bendale BTI high school in Scarborough, and a non-profit farm called FoodCylces. Recently Ian began working with his partner Lindsey as a co-ordinator of a community development and global education organization called Casa Canadiense in Managua, Nicaragua. Casa Canadiense supports Nicaraguan farmer’s co-operatives, indigenous groups, women’s organization, and arts groups with community initiatives. Casa also builds solidarity between Canada and Nicaragua by acting as a space for Canadians to come and learn about issues affecting the lives of people living in Central America. Ian tells Innis College he’s grateful for the skills and perspectives he developed in the Urban Studies Program. They have served him well in his work, both in Toronto and Managua.