Allison Pond, Advisor
Allison has dedicated her career to workforce development, establishing highly effective employment services that link jobseekers to employers across the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, and Canada.
As ACCES Employment’s former President & CEO for 25 years, Allison, championed accessible employment services made possible through community collaboration and broad public and private sector partnerships. Under her leadership, ACCES Employment grew into a $35-million organization, attracting support from all three levels of government, corporate partners, and community stakeholders. During her tenure she has been a passionate advocate for internationally trained workers, helping to ensure that they have full and equitable access to employment in their professions and trades in Canada.
Allison has served on many boards in Ontario’s non-profit sector, including six years on the Board of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC). She is part of the BMO-United Way Greater Toronto Inclusive Local Economic Opportunity (ILEO) Leadership Table and a member of the City of Toronto Newcomer Strategy Leadership Table. She is also part of the Refugee Jobs Agenda Roundtable and Chairperson of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion External Advisory Council at University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies.
Allison holds a Master of Arts in social anthropology from York University and a graduate certificate in non-profit management from York University’s Schulich School of Business.