RAEGAN SWANSON (she/her)
Executive Director
Raegan has been the Executive Director since 2016. She holds a BA from Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface and a Masters of Information from the University of Toronto iSchool. She has worked as an archivist at Library and Archives Canada, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute and as the Archival Advisor for the Council of Archives New Brunswick. She is currently working on her PhD focusing on the role of community archives in Indigenous communities. She is a member of the Steering Committee on Canada’s Archives Taskforce to respond to the “Calls to Action” Report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and co-chair of the ACA’s Indigenous Matters Working Group.
STEFANIE MARTIN (she/her)
Archivist
Stefanie has been involved at The ArQuives since 2018. She holds a BA in Sociology from Toronto Metropolitan University and a Masters of Information from the University of Toronto. Stefanie was the Archives Assistant in 2018 and later on became a collections volunteer. In 2019, Stefanie was an intern at the Hamilton Public Library where she developed their 2SLGBTQ+ community archives. She has also worked in non-profit and grassroots organizations serving Filipino youth, newcomers, and migrant workers in the Greater Toronto Area and Manitoba.
Her research interests include community archives, activism and political record-keeping and migration and labour.
DANIEL PAYNE (he/him)
Reference Archivist
Daniel holds a Masters of Library and Information Sciences and a Masters of Arts in Musicology from Western University, as well as a Bachelor of Education from the University of Windsor. He has recently served as part time Social Sciences & Humanities Librarian at York University and a Sessional Lecturer at the University of Toronto’s iSchool, where he teaches a graduate-level course he developed in Art Librarianship. Between 2002 and 2021, he was Head of Reference and Instructional Services at the OCAD University Library, where he used studio-based pedagogy to activate library services. His research interests include exploring the history of art and design education, using art exhibitions as information literacy, and understanding how the Mi’kmaq teaching of Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing) can activate research models using Indigenous Knowledge Systems. Daniel is also principal cellist with Counterpoint Community Orchestra, the world’s longest standing 2SLGBTQ+ orchestra.
Email Daniel at queeries@arquives.ca for information about visiting The ArQuives’ collection for research. Email him at referencearchivist@arquives.ca for any other inquiries.
JADE NELSON (they/them)
Volunteer Coordinator
Jade works as the Volunteer Coordinator. They have worked and volunteered in various not-for-profit roles and volunteer management positions since 2018. They hold a Master’s in Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies from York University and a BA (Hons) in History and Sexual Diversity Studies from the University of Toronto. Their research focuses on the translation and development of identities, knowledge, memories, and publics through fashion, dress and style.
BAILEY (they/them)
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Bailey is an evaluation consultant, arts programmer and creative educator focusing on inclusive data, storytelling and futurities. They hold a Masters in Postcolonial Culture and Global Policy. When not consulting or programming, Bailey dabbles in queer film festival programming and volunteers as a crisis responder supporting individuals in distress across Canada.
JORDAN SAROYA (he/him)
Administrative & Operations Coordinator
Jordan has served as the Administrative Assistant since January 2020. He holds a BA (Hons) from the University of Toronto, where he studied Human Geography and Women & Gender Studies. He has worked in various administrative capacities and LGBTQ2+ community spaces.
NICO MARA-McKAY (they/them)
Project Coordinator
Nico coordinates a nationwide community consultation and strategic planning initiative at The ArQuives, funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada. They are also historian, writer, editor, and curator whose work examines the histories of gender and sexuality through the lenses of embodiment and identity. Nico hold a Master’s degree in History from the University of Guelph and an Honours Bachelor of Arts in History and Art History from the University of Toronto.
PATRICK TAYLOR (he/him)
Collections Specialist
NATASHA FISHER (she/her/elle)
Digital Archivist
Natasha holds a Master of Information Studies from McGill University, where she specialized in community and queer archives, as well as emerging technologies in the archival field. In 2024, she received the Association of Canadian Archivists’ (ACA) Emerging Voices Award. She has been active with the ACA since 2022, serving as the McGill ACA’s chapter Coordinator for two years. Natasha is also the founder and current League Archivist of the Montreal Roller Derby archives, where she oversees everything from collection processing to public exhibitions. She has also volunteered and collaborated with a number of organizations dedicated to queer history and visibility, including Les Archives gaies du Québec and QPIRG McGill.
Email Natasha at digitalcollections@arquives.ca for information about The ArQuives’ digital collections, processes, and policies.
TOBARON WAXMAN (they/them)
Community Outreach Archivist, Trans Collections
As Community Outreach Archivist, Tobaron stewards the Trans Collections. They also outreach to family and partners within trans communities, and other High Priority Groups. Tobaron specializes in active collecting personalized to each donor’s needs. Tobaron produces events and exhibitions for The ArQuives that showcase trans knowledge keepers, activating Trans Collections in relation to history, current events and trans culture. Tobaron is the primary contact for potential donors, museums, curators, educators, and the general public about our Trans Collections.
Tobaron is also a critically acclaimed interdisciplinary artist, developing non-binary thought, transsexual knowledge and pluriversal strategies to grapple with issues of border, body sovereignty, migrancy and nation/state. Tobaron has lectured at CU HongKong, Goldsmiths, SOAS, OCADU, NYU, Bilgi Istanbul and others. Since 2013 Tobaron creates Intergenerational LGBT Artist Residency; a combined curatorial, relational/live art, and sociopolitical praxis. Tobaron’s photography and performances have received multiple awards from Canada and Ontario Arts Councils, fellowships from ICI Berlin, FranklinFurnace, AkademieDerKünst and the inaugural Audience Award of Jewish Museum NYC for the endurance performance ‘Opshernish’, recently accessed by Leslie Lohman Museum.
Please email tobaron@arquives.ca about creating your personal archive, or the archive of your trans-led organization/group.
ZOE MACK (she/her)
Archives Assistant
Board of Directors
Co-Chair, Secretary
Lisa Freedman
(she/her)
Lisa Freedman is a recently retired lawyer with a passion for advocating for LGBTQ2+ rights. With a 22 year distinguished career in governance management positions at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Lisa brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the table.
Lisa finished her professional career as an Adjudicator on the Social Benefits Tribunal from 2012-2017.
In addition to her professional achievements, Lisa has been actively involved in the LGBTQ2+ and feminist communities as a volunteer. She was a collective member of Broadside: A Feminist Review, a monthly magazine that made significant contributions to feminist journalism in the 80s and 90s. In 2012, the collective reunited to establish a dedicated website and publish a compilation of the best feminist journalism from Broadside, resulting in the book “Inside Broadside: A Decade of Feminist Journalism” by Women’s Press in 2019.
One of Lisa’s most notable accomplishments was her involvement in a landmark legal case in 1996. As one of four non-biological mothers, she fought for the rights of same-sex couples to bring joint adoption applications. Their efforts led to a groundbreaking ruling that the Child and Family Services Act of Ontario violated Section 15 of the Charter. This ruling made Ontario the first province to legalize adoption for same-sex couples. To celebrate this victory, Lisa’s family was honoured as one of the Grand Marshals of the Pride parade that year.
Co-Chair, Treasurer
Katie Glowach
(she/her)
Katie Glowach is a litigator at Adair Goldblatt Bieber LLP, where she advocates for clients in a broad range of high-stakes disputes. Katie holds a JD from the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University and a Bachelor of Commerce from Saint Mary’s University, where she majored in Finance and Computing & Information Systems.
A proud queer woman from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Katie has been building inclusive spaces throughout her legal and academic journey. Among other positions and community volunteer work, she served as the equity officer for Saint Mary’s University and the Co-Chair of OUTLaw at Dalhousie. Katie currently serves on her firm’s Inclusion Committee and is deeply engaged in Toronto’s 2SLGBTQIA+ legal community. Katie is particularly passionate about organizing events, building community, and making space for queer joy and solidarity in the legal profession, which historically hasn’t made room for it.
In addition to Katie’s role as Co-Chair and Treasurer of The ArQuives, she serves as the chair of The ArQuives’ Finance Committee and Human Resources Committee.
Vice President
Kelvin Kung
Kelvin Kung is a trained historian with three degrees from McGill University’s Faculty of Engineering and School of Architecture: a Bachelor of Architecture, a Master’s of Professional Architecture, and a Post-Professional Master’s Degree in Architectural History and Theory; with Alberto Pérez-Gómez, S. R. Bronfman Professor, Order of Canada; Martin Bressani M.Sc.(Arch.)(MIT), Ph.D (Paris-Sorbonne University); performing archival work with primary treatises (1300s to 1900s) at the McGill Rare Books Library. Kelvin served with the Society of Architectural Historians (founded 1940 at Harvard University); collaborated with historians from Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, National University of Singapore, Hong Kong University, etc., sharing LGBTQ+ history. Kelvin chairs the relocation committee, serves on the Ad Hoc Committee for initiates supported by Women and Gender Equality Canada.
Kelvin’s work includes: Canada’s first net-zero aquatic centre (Canadian Architect Award of Excellence), time at architectural firms who built the Wellesley Community Centre, Pan Am Aquatic Centre and the Cooper Koo Family YMCA in Toronto’s historic Church-Wellesley Village; King City Community Centre (hockey rinks, athletics, community); East Gwillimbury (swimming pools, libraries, community art galleries, and outdoor gardens.)
Kelvin has mentored LGBTQ+ youth at The 519, been a keynote speaker at Microsoft, Osler, and Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. Kelvin runs with FrontRunners, an LGBTQ+ athletics group the heart of the Village with over 200 members, and has received the FrontRunners’ Favourite Newcomer Award, determined by a democratic vote of its membership.
Director
Lucas Wilson
(he/him)
Lucas is the Justice, Equity, and Transformation Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Calgary. He holds graduate degrees from McMaster University, Vanderbilt University, and Florida Atlantic University. His academic work has appeared or will appear in Modern Language Studies, Canadian Jewish Studies, Flannery O’Connor Review, The Journal of Jewish Identities, and Studies in Jewish American Literature and in edited collections published by The MLA, SUNY Press, The University of Alabama Press, and DIO Press. He is currently working on a book about the children of Holocaust survivors (under contract with Rutgers University Press); an edited collection about the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors (under contract with Lexington Books); and an edited collection of stories of conversion therapy survivors (Jessica Kinsley Publishers). His public-facing work has appeared in The Advocate, Queerty, LGBTQ Nation, and Religion Dispatches, among other venues.
Director
Ryan McCann
(he/him)
Ryan brings nearly a decade of experience in corporate reputation management, media relations, public relations, thought leadership, and storytelling. As a Corporate Communications Manager at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), he takes great pride in his work as a strategic and creative writer, relationship builder, and supporting campaigns and initiatives with organizations creating an impact within 2SLGBTQ+ communities across Canada. He volunteers his time as the lead for LCBO’s Pride Network Employee Resource Group, championing safe and inclusive spaces where everyone can be their authentic selves. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto with a double major in Art History and Professional Writing & Communications. He has also acquired a post-graduate certificate from Humber College Media Studies in Public Relations and earned certificates for the Emerging Leaders Program and Inclusive Leadership Program.
Director
Ray Welsh
(they/them)
Director
Keith Bennie
(he/him)
Keith Bennie is the Vice President of Public Programming at the Toronto International Film Festival, where he leads five areas of audience engagement: TIFF Cinematheque, public programs, youth programs, community impact, and library and archives. He is an arts education leader, with previous experience at the Ontario Science Centre, Theatre Museum Canada, and the International LGBTQI Youth & Student Organisation. Bennie teaches about public programming at Humber College and was selected as a Toronto Arts Council Leaders Lab fellow.
