MEET the shvilim Team

PROJECT LEADS

Evelyn tauben

project director

Evelyn is a Montreal-born, Toronto-based producer, curator and writer. She is a recognized leader in the field of Jewish arts and culture in Canada. Over the last 20 years, she has worked at Smithsonian Museums, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Koffler Centre of the Arts. She produces theatre, concerts and cultural conversations featuring local and international, emerging and established creatives. Since found­ing the FENTSTER in 2016, Evelyn has collaborated with more than 60 artists through over 50 exhi­bi­tions and pub­lic pro­grams.  Evelyn has overseen large, multi-pronged initiatives including serving as Visual Arts Curator at the 2018 Ashkenaz Festival (Harbourfront) as well as producing The Book of Judith in a performance tent and a symposium on accessibility in the arts at the Abilities Centre (Whitby).She has been a fellow at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the Toronto Arts Council’s Leaders’ Lab, and Hadar. For the last fifteen years, Evelyn has been involved in communities committed to investigating systems of oppression and to building allied relationships with the ultimate goal of ending all oppressions.

Kavita Bisoondial

Evaluation & COORDINATION

Kavita is a founder and principal of Shoreline Collaboratives. She is a queer person of the Indo-Caribbean diaspora whose work is informed by growing up as a settler and guest in Scarborough. She has been facilitating knowledge building and generative spaces through an equity lens for over 15 years. She supports groups in embodying anti-racism and equity values in their programs, services, and ways of working. Kavita has extensive experience in supporting cross-racial groups to engage in challenging conversations around race and identity, exploring polarities towards building unity and enhancing collaboration. Some of her clients include: YWCA of Greater Toronto, City of Vancouver (Arts Culture and Community Services), Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre (Queer Jewish Incubator), Toronto Metropolitan University (Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching), University of Toronto (Faculty of Information, Emmanuel College of Victoria University), Ontario AIDS Network, Kensington-Bellwoods Community Legal Services, Daily Bread Food Bank and more.

SARA YACOBI-HARRIS

production & education

Sara is an award-winning multi-disciplinary artist and learning designer. She is the co-founder of No Silence on Race, a non-profit organization dedicated to re-imagining Jewish life in Canada for multi-ethnic Jews through community activations and content creation, contributing crucial narratives to the contemporary Jewish canon that represents all corners of modern Jewish life. She uses digital content to inspire agents of social change. Most recently, Sara produced five episodes on a new six part documentary series on the CBC called For the Culture with Amanda Parris. Sara’s DEI work at the CBC laid the foundation for the establishment of the DEI department for CBC’s Entertainment, Factual and Sports department from 2017-2021. She addressed Prime Minister Trudeau at the 2021 National Summit on Antisemitism. She holds a M.Ed from OISE at the University of Toronto and her work has been featured on podcasts and media publications across North America and the middle east.

SARAH MARGLES

RESEARCH & STRATEGIC DESIGN

Sarah comes with almost 20 years of practice in an anti-oppression counselling methodology founded on the basic goals of seeing the full humanity of ourselves and others. This practice has informed Sarah’s equity work since 2009 when she launched a freelance EDI consulting practice. In 2013, Sarah joined the Ontario Public Service’s (OPS) Diversity Office to develop its 2015 anti-racism strategy as well as an intensive workshop on unconscious bias. Sarah was a member of the Antisemitism Advisory Council for the OPS Anti-Racism Directorate. She has published articles on anti-racism, unconscious bias, and the experience of being a Jewish woman. Sarah gave a talk on antisemitism following a performance of the play Talk at the Jane Mallett Theatre in Toronto. Sarah has a Master’s Degree in Jewish education where she focused on cultural transmission and the immigrant experience. Sarah continues to bring her equity mindset to her current work in public service.

RESEARCHERS & CONSULTANTS

 SHVILIM is supported by an exceptional, diverse group of project consultants and researchers that includes artists, educators, arts managers, Jewish spiritual leaders, and equity professionals.

Click on a photo & hover over it to learn more

*on mobile: tap the white dot to reveal bios