For the entire schedule and to register to attend, visit www.taaguelph.com/summit
Speaker List (As of October 7th - Subject to Change)
David T. Fortin, University of Waterloo
Topic: Shaping Cambridge: Equitable Transit-Oriented Development by Design
Description: Discussing how design principles are shaping transit-oriented development in Cambridge.
Bio: David Fortin is a Professor at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, where he teaches design, theory, and history. He is currently a Canada Research Chair and was the first Indigenous person to lead a school of architecture in Canada when at the McEwen School of Architecture (Laurentian University). In addition to his academic work, David maintains a design practice that primarily collaborates with First Nations and Métis communities across Canada. His approach blends traditional knowledge systems, critical theory, and spatial storytelling—asking not just what architecture looks like, but what relationships it creates, sustains, or restores. He has served as co-curator for Canada’s official representation at the Venice Architecture Biennale—first in 2018 and again in 2023—both times helping to frame the global conversation around decolonization and the critical role of Indigenous design moving forward. David’s research spans topics like Indigenous housing, land-based design thinking, and what he calls “critical relationalism”—a framework for reimagining architecture as a discipline rooted in relationship: to land, to people, and to the stories that connect them.
Andrea Bidgood, Bicycle Mayor of Guelph
Topic: Imagining Guelph as a Transit-Oriented Community
Description: In this session, we will imagine the future of living and moving around Guelph, exploring what the community will feel and look like in 10 years.
Bio: Andrea Bidgood is the first Bicycle Mayor of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, where her advocacy work lives at the intersection of community care, equity, and infrastructure; helping vulnerable road users be seen, heard, and protected in the spaces they navigate. Whether organizing inclusive bike rides or humanizing local policy, Andrea’s goal is to make cycling feel safe, inclusive, and possible for anyone who wishes they could ride. As a lifelong cyclist who has navigated her own share of barriers, Andrea brings a deep, personal understanding of the challenges many riders face on the road. Her lived experience fuels a strong commitment not only to share her own story, but to actively listen to and amplify the voices of those too often excluded from mobility conversations. She works to build platforms that empower these communities to influence the decisions that shape their streets, their connections, and their communities.
Christopher Greyson-Gaito, TAAG/GCAT Member
Topic: Imagining Guelph as a Transit-Oriented Community
Description: In this session, we will imagine the future of living and moving around Guelph, exploring what the community will feel and look like in 10 years.
Bio: Chris Greyson-Gaito is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at McMaster University, where he researches ecology and economics. He has been a member of GCAT and TAAG for about five years and is the author of the policy document "Removing Parking Minimums: A Key Step Towards An Affordable, Healthy, and Sustainable Guelph."
Mike Macolongo, Associate Director, Environmental Defence
Topic: Fixing the Broken Transit Funding Model
Description: This session will examine why Canadian transit systems are trapped in cycles of underfunding and service cuts, and how this undermines riders and cities alike. We will explore alternative funding models and policy solutions that can create stable, equitable, and sustainable transit systems that actually meet the needs of communities.
Bio: Mike’s love for nature was instilled while roaming the woods on the family farm that borders the Hall’s Pond wetland complex, formerly in Puslinch Township, Wellington County. His first campaign was at the age of 14, when he was the sole delegate at a Guelph City Council meeting pushing for a hunting ban within the city limits. Early in his career, Mike worked for several environmental organizations including the Ontario Environment Network and Evergreen. He then joined the Province of Ontario, where he worked for three separate Ministries over almost 20 years. Mike never left environmental advocacy, having started organizations such as Protect Our Moraine in Guelph and the Greenbelt West Coalition in the Grand River Watershed. After he left the Ontario Public Service, following the Premier Ford government’s announcement that it was going to carve up the Greenbelt, Mike started a grassroots campaign called “Keep the Greenbelt Promise” with the Guelph-based Water Watchers. Mike loves to read, travel, cycle, ski and swing a hammer.
Geoffrey Keyworth, Manager of Transportation Planning, Region of Waterloo
Topic: Barriers to Transportation
Description: An exploration of Barriers to Transportation in the Region of Waterloo and Beyond.
Bio: Geoffrey Keyworth is the Manager of Transportation Planning at the Region of Waterloo. He's been working on and off at the Region since 2008, with other roles at the City of Guelph, the City of Vancouver and the City of Port Moody. He managed the development of the Region's 2018 Transportation Master Plan, Moving Forward, and contributed to various other high-level plans including the City of Port Moody's Transportation Master Plan, and the Broadway Plan and the Jericho Lands Plan in Vancouver. Geoffrey is passionate about the intersection of needs forecasting, urban planning, and community engagement in helping communities transform to meet challenges such as climate change and transportation equity. When not in his natural habitat, he is likely walking the dog or ferrying small humans to dance.
Zera Koutchieva, f.u.n. food uniting neighbours
Topic: Transportation and Accessing Food
Description: In this session, we’ll explore how access to nutritious food and reliable transportation can strengthen community connection and wellbeing. Together, we’ll imagine what it looks like when food programs are designed not just to feed people, but to empower them—reducing barriers, restoring dignity, and creating opportunities for neighbours to move forward together.
Bio: Zera Koutchieva is a community food organizer in Guelph, passionate about creating inclusive spaces where nutritious meals and reliable transportation go hand in hand with building connections. She works with Food Uniting Neighbours (f.u.n.) to support community members with access to food, food literacy, transportation support, and other community resources. With the f.u.n. team, she helps develop, implement, evaluate, and redesign initiatives that improve food access, food literacy, community connection, and community wellbeing. Zera also advocates on behalf of community members for equity and dignity in food access programming and services, while contributing to fundraising and partnership efforts that strengthen the work of f.u.n. Through her efforts, she helps ensure that food programs are not only about eating, but also about sharing, learning, and moving forward together.
Peter Miasek, Transport Action Ontario
Topic: VIA Rail and Alto High-Speed Rail
Description: An update on the Alto High-Speed Rail project (Toronto-Montreal) and VIA Rail, including plans and status for southwestern Ontario.
Bio: Peter Miasek is a retired chemist who worked for over 30 years in the oil industry. He is now actively involved in numerous advocacy initiatives for sustainable transportation and improved urban planning and serves on the Board of Directors for Transport Action Ontario.
Andrew Pulsifer, Executive Director, TTCriders
Topic: RapidTO Bus-Only Lanes
Description: The fight for dedicated transit lanes in Toronto. This will be a play-by-play of the debate around RapidTO dedicated lanes on Bathurst and Dufferin Streets.
Bio: Andrew Pulsifer is the Executive Director of TTCriders, a membership-based transit advocacy group in Toronto. With over a decade of experience as a political organizer, fundraiser, and activist, he works to advance affordable, reliable, and accessible public transit. TTCriders has won key victories for riders—including fare freezes, discount fare programs, and dedicated transit lanes—through grassroots organizing. Andrew is committed to building a stronger movement for transit justice across Toronto.
Isaac Ransom, Neuron Mobility
Topic: How Shared Micromobility is Reshaping Canadian Cities
Description: Shared micromobility programs are reshaping the urban landscape across Canada. Today, there are dozens of programs across Canada, including some right here in the Greater Toronto Area. This will provide an overview of the shared micromobility landscape in Canada and explore Canada's only multi-jurisdictional shared micromobility program in the Region of Waterloo.
Bio: Isaac is Head of Corporate Affairs at Neuron Mobility, Canada’s leading shared micromobility operator. Previously, Isaac served as a senior advisor to the Mayor of Toronto and later forged a successful career in municipal relations, helping organizations navigate the complexities of local government in Canada and Australia. Isaac holds a Master of Business Administration from Monash University, a Master of Communication from the University of the Sunshine Coast and a Bachelor of Arts from Acadia University.
Rodney Chan, TriTag
Topic: From concerned rider to transit champion: how to (re)build transit advocacy movements
Description: My experiences from community organizing, urban planning studies, and co-op work in transportation planning has given me diverse perspectives on how to grow transit advocacy participation and build transit campaigns to successfully advocate for change. I will share my journey and learnings from previous campaigns, discussing optimal ways to recruit volunteers, build relationships, develop campaigns, use social media, and much more.
Bio: Rodney is currently a 4th-year urban planning student at the University of Waterloo and has worked co-op terms in transportation and transit planning. Originally from Toronto, he rode public transit since he was young and became increasingly frustrated, leading him into advocacy with TTCriders. Since moving to Waterloo for university, he has revived Tri-Cites Transport Action Group (TriTAG), having shared advocacy wins like stopping transit cuts twice. He was also part of a coalition that successfully brought back night transit, led by Damian Mikhail at UWNDP. TriTAG is currently running a campaign named IONize, to expand more LRT throughout Waterloo Region.
Tom Strickland, Cycling Advocate / CycleWR
Topic: Cycling Lessons from Waterloo Region
Description: This session will talk about some recent developments in Waterloo Region cycling, and how they might apply in the Guelph environment. These include signed wayfinding strategies, a model to rank the priority of potential new cycling facilities, and the Cycling Guide app to help plan safe cycling routes.
Bio: Tom is a retired actuary, and a Board member of CycleWR, a cycling advocacy group in Waterloo Region. He led a team that developed a detailed spreadsheet model to rank the value of the many potential cycling routes in the Region, with a focus on equity. The project was awarded the Wheels of Change award in 2022 from the Share the Road coalition, and the Local Climate Action award from Sustainable Waterloo Region in 2023.
