The Emerging Leaders Network (ELN) was founded in 2006 by the Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance (formerly the Toronto City Summit Alliance). By convening a group of 50 middle to senior managers working in the private, public and non-profit sectors, the ELN set out to support the incoming civic leadership network to be better informed, equipped and oriented to take action on the region's most pressing issues.

Today, many of the ELN's founding members are in senior leadership positions at organizations like Toronto Community Housing, RBC, Government of Ontario, CBC, George Brown College, Toronto International Film Festival, Ryerson University, YMCA and many more. A handful played key roles in CivicAction's Greater Toronto Summit in February 2011.

In 2011, the ELN has grown to more than 450 civic leaders and has set out to advance the Toronto region through awareness, influence and action.

Members of ELN have launched the following city-building projects: Toronto Homecoming, Better Ballots, and Project Neutral. They also contribute to the city-building efforts of CivicAction.

To learn more, visit ELN.

• The ELN was developed by Alliance Vice President Strategy Naki Osutei and is co-chaired by Toronto Community Housing CAO Mitzie Hunter and Playbook Communications Vice President Donna Lindell. Mitzie Hunter and Donna Lindell will step down from their roles with the ELN in January 2012 after five years leading the initiative, at which time three new co-chairs will be announced. Find out more here.

Photo credit: Colleen Nicholson, www.dropthefish.com