Gillian Perera Email & Phone Number

Toronto, On, Ca

Toronto, On, Ca

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Advisor, Community-based Participatory Research & Engagement

Transforming traditional strategic engagement strategies in a client-facing role, I executed 5 cornerstone municipally-funded community development projects with 100+ online and in-person events impacting residents across Toronto's 40 priority neighbourhoods.This work bridged knowledge gaps with municipalities, academia and the private sector. It redesigned transactional consultation processes into reciprocal collaborative processes for better policy-making. Most importantly, institutions had the opportunity to develop trust and mutual understanding with communities that had been excluded from the decision-making structures that impacted them.

Toronto, Canada Area

In this role, I successfully wove together a 70+ member-led network of changemakers. I achieved this by nurturing relationships with local leaders on the ground in communities they called home. Then, I strategically contextualized and amplified their work in order to connect them to change-makers of other communities with shared interests and challenges. By intentionally providing cohort-level capacity building and encouraging peer support, they gained the ability to define their own collective goals and long-term impact.The Local Champions Network (LCN) is an autonomous group of skilled, passionate community builders from across Toronto’s Neighbourhood Improvement Areas. Combining hyperlocal perspective with an understanding of municipal systems, LCN members build bridges between neighbourhoods and the systems and decision-making processes that impact them.Check out members of the Local Champions Network here: https://connectedcommunities.ca/project/local-champions/

Toronto, Canada Area

Promoted internally from project lead to coordinator after 6 months.The Local Champions Project was a program designed to elevate community-building efforts of grassroots leaders in Toronto's Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs) and Emerging Neighbourhoods.It was an innovative certification model that recognized and built upon lived experience as foundational expertise and positioned grassroots leaders to play critical roles in strategic processes.The curriculum included capacity building that focused on municipal systems, human rights and effective collaboration, and included microgrants for participants to further their neighbourhood-based work.

Toronto, Canada Area

Proposal Editor (Freelance)• Performed final editing and/or formatting of 9 English language proposals (30 page documents) and 5 French language proposals within Global Affairs Canada (GAC) framework for annual humanitarian call for complex crises.

Toronto, Canada Area

Survey Designer (Freelance)Developed hypotheses, testing scenarios and country-wide survey methodology and data analysis plans to be implemented by 6 country offices across two continents.Project: Survey methodology and data analysis plan for baseline surveys in 6 developing countries.• Supported in the development of a data analysis and methodology plan for nutrition and health assessments in Ethiopia, Kenya, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria.• Recommended survey indicators and target population groups for level of data collection based on client’s survey objectives and geographic area.• Drafted five complete survey questionnaires, including enumerator guidelines, developed from survey indicators.• Proposed sampling strategy including sample size calculation for priority target population groups and method for selection of clusters with support from epidemiologist.• Drafted tools and documents for country-level survey planning processes including: questionnaires comprising all indicators for individual- and facility-level data collection; survey protocols and tracking matrix for survey costs; and guidance note with quality check recommendations during survey implementation.

Toronto, Canada Area

Promoted internally from program intern to survey design advisor after 6 months.Project: SMART Methodology (Standardized Monitoring and Assessment in Relief and Transition)• Developed technical understanding of the SMART Methodology to plan field surveys, train survey teams, analyze collected data, disseminate results and assess overall quality of surveys in emergency and development contexts using Emergency Nutrition Assessment (ENA) software.• Supported ACF-Kenya country office to conduct county-wide health and nutrition survey by improving mobile questionnaire tools, training enumerators on the use of ODK Collect, supervising field data collection and analyzing results.• Assisted in the planning and coordination of annual SMART Global Assessment Working Group meeting and SMART Survey Manager training in Kenya.• Drafted technical progress updates as quarterly reports and rendered simplified versions for subject matter experts and the broader sector, respectively.

Toronto, Canada Area

Promoted internally from program intern to survey design advisor after 6 months.Project: SMART Methodology (Standardized Monitoring and Assessment in Relief and Transition)• Generated various communication material including SMART Annual Report and project summaries with infographics and case studies for donors and stakeholders.• Developed SMART communication strategy emphasizing the utilization of social media platforms and campaigns.• Utilized Mail Chimp, Survey Monkey, Twitter, LinkedIn and third-party forums to prepare and share key project documents, newsletters and correspondence with stakeholders and the general public.• Updated project website (smartmethodology.org) using WordPress and reported Google Analytics data.

Accra, Ghana

Supervised and troubleshooted the field research activities of multiple staff teams engaging in weekly, community-based data collection and management of more than 800 participants across 38 communities of southern Ghana.Project: Trial for the Reduction of Infant Undernutrition through Modified Feeding (TRIUMF) • Through public-private partnership, coordinated activities of four key implementing partners in the large-scale efficacy trial of a high-quality complementary food supplement for infants.• Monitored and supported all field research activities including community-level program implementation and data collection for an endline (E) sample size of 892 infants aged 6-18 months in 38 communities of southern Ghana.

Tamale, Ghana

Project: Greater Rural Opportunities for Women (GROW) - DFATD International Youth Internship Program• Led the development of GROW Nutrition Strategy to increase nutrition awareness and skills of 20,000 rural, smallholder farming families with a focus on maternal and child health.• Created implementation strategy of food and nutrition activities to align with donor compliance requirements and overall project goal, outcomes and indicators using Results-Based Management (RBM).

London, Canada Area

Project: FOR HEALTH Childhood Obesity Pilot Study [in partnership with YMCA]• Identified barriers, opportunities and strategies to influence healthy behaviours of obese preschoolers by performing literature reviews of nutrition, physical activity and psychosocial/behavioural interventions using reference manager Zotero.• Developed multi-component group session plans from evidence-based methodologies that target parents and caregivers, incorporating monitoring and evaluation components.

London, Canada Area

Project: Prediabetes Initiative and Partnership [in partnership with St. Joseph’s Healthcare]• Supported program participants during nutrition education sessions and cooking workshops to improve their knowledge and skills in achieving a healthy, active lifestyle and prevent disease progression.• Performed anthropometric, body composition measurements and dietary recalls with participants.

Toronto, Canada Area

• Provided administrative support to Certified Occupational Health Nurses, Physiotherapist, and Physician of the Occupational Health & Wellness Department.• Updated all hospital staff’s confidential medical charts, health records and inter-departmental spreadsheets for immediate access in the event of an emergency outbreak.

Toronto, Canada Area

• Provided frontline client service and support for the launches and day-to-day operations of multiple new site developments and an in-house realty brokerage.• Entered and managed all new sale, resale and lease inventory in preparation for monthly reports and analyses while increasing inter-departmental transparency and efficiency.• Provided executive-level administrative support to the Vice-President of Sales.• Prepared reports, memos, letters and legal documents.• Screened emails, voicemails and all correspondence with internal and external clients.

Bachelor Of Science (B.Sc.)

Bachelor Of Science (B.Sc.)