With more than 30 years of experience and progressive leadership in the not-for-profit sector, Catharine de Leeuw brings Strides Toronto a depth of knowledge in strategic and operational planning, continuous quality improvement and community development.

Catharine joined Strides in 2018 initially to support organizational performance management and moved to provide leadership to the sector-wide system planning and management team. Before joining Strides Toronto, Catharine worked at the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, progressing to senior management and introducing a balanced scorecard approach for strategy performance management. Earlier in her career, Catharine worked with community-based mental health and social support service providers and developed capacity building in evaluation, outcome measurement and social policy advocacy.

Catharine holds a Master of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University in Community Development and Social Planning and a B.Sc. from the University of Toronto. She has completed additional courses in advanced analytics, leadership and change management.