ABOUT ME
I am a community engagement expert, public policy nerd and specialist for gender equality and inclusion.
In 2023, I joined Equal Voice as their new Executive Director. Equal Voice is Canada's only multi-partisan national organization advocating for the election of women and gender diverse people to all levels of government.
In 2022, I was a provincial candidate for the in the riding of Spadina-Fort York. Getting to speak to citizens and residents in this amazing riding was an incredible privilege. It was an honour hearing the stories of what is important and what matters to people in my hometown.
I have worked for some of Canada's most respected institutions, charitable agencies and do-gooding organizations to develop public policy, engage citizens and end systemic and cultural inequality.
We're living in challenging, messy times and we need to evolve how we work. Our traditional ways of solving problems are not enough to deal with the intractable problems of the day. What we need now is courage to experiment, to learn from our successes and failures and to keep pushing ahead. For me, the path towards this includes ensuring that more of us are active in building our communities, strengthening our democracies and tapping into our gifts to build the country we want.
My work has been recognised for its contributions to improving the lives of women and girls when I received the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons’ Case (2004) and YWCA Toronto’s Young Woman of Distinction Award (1999).
I am proud to say that I come from a first-generation immigrant family. While my parents like many newcomers were committed to the success of their kids, they struggled with their own mental health challenges. I know that growing up in a city like Toronto that welcomes immigrant families has given me many advantages. It opened up a world of possibilities for me. And, my life as a woman of colour has taught me that not everyone gets to see the world as their oyster.
It’s time that everyone gets that opportunity.
I continue to model to both of my sons a balance of parenting and professional life so that they can see women bringing their whole selves to work.
HELLO!
I'M CHI NGUYEN.
I'm all about big ideas: social purpose business, gender equity, politics, communities and my beloved Canada.
I'm on a lifelong mission to challenge the way “gender” impacts the world of work, home and school.
Are you driving this kind of change in your workplace, school, or community? Join me in building a world that works for all of us.
What's in my wheelhouse? I bring a unique and invaluable expertise around deepening gender equality across the globe. If you’ve got a mission, I want to lend my expertise to get you there.
From start-up to scaling, I can lead you to success by maximizing the impact of service, leadership, community, and inclusion on the bottom-line.
BUILDER
Dream. Plan. Do.
I love to roll up my sleeves, work with thoughtful colleagues and to build new initiatives, organizations and projects that inspire others. I see gaps in our world, and find teams to execute and deliver to make change.
Executive Director, Equal Voice
Director, Social Innovation Canada
CEO, Parker P. Consulting
Co-author of the Little Black Book for Girls
Founder of McGill University's Women in House program and Young Women Vote
Founding Director, MASS LBP
Tower Neighbourhood Renewal, United Way Toronto
FIXER
Strategy, Ideation and Implementation.
I am a first-class problem solver who can spot landmines in unsuspecting places. I work best with good sparring partners who want to be challenged to make a big impact in their work. I've worked with:
Social Planning Toronto
Health Commons Solutions Lab
North York Community House
Future Skills Centre at Ryerson University
Pivot 2020
United Way Centreaide Canada
Scadding Court Community Centre
McGill University
Barrick Gold
Status of Women Canada
University of Regina
Lassonde School of Engineering
CBC
United Way Toronto and York Region
North York East Local Immigration Partnership
The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, MP
DO-GOODER
Lover of and fighter for the common good.
Volunteerism feeds my soul. I love organizations, projects and people who do good and I love to put my muscle behind them. This has included some of these amazing social impact projects:
IN THE NEWS
May 24, 2022
A political panel discussion on the housing platforms for the Ontario provincial election. I join other provincial candidates Kristyn Wong-Tam and Matt Richter on TVO's The Agenda.
May 4, 2022
“More than ever, we all deserve the opportunity to use our voice.”
When I turned forty, I gave myself the birthday present that I have been thinking about for most of my life: a political campaign. I have been involved in community building since I was a teen; being active in social causes and supporting those around me was something I learned from the adults and allies in my life."
April 9, 2022
“We’re still operating in a system that’s inherently patriarchal that was built a long time ago by men of a certain class, power and background.”
April 7, 2022
On this episode of @Risk, Jodi Butts is joined by Ontario Liberal Party candidate for Spadina-Fort York, Chi Nguyen, to discuss the risks on the ballot in the upcoming Ontario provincial election.
May 18, 2021
"If we actually understood the value they [careworkers] contribute to society and reoriented our economic thinking, Nguyen says we might treat them better as a society. 'That’s part of what I want to bring into the conversation about how we’re dealing with these big questions right now,"
January 10, 2021
"Often you're tapping the people who look like you, who run in the same circles as you..."
October 30, 2020
"WE has exhausted Canada and the social sector. As they continue their international activities, and operate many of their Canadian entities, and undertake a listening tour on allegations of racism in the workplace from 150 current and former employees, their story has not concluded. But, for Canada, it may be time to re-envision who and how we lead in the social sector."
July 15, 2020
"With the announcement last Friday that the Canada Student Service Grant will no longer be delivered in partnership with the WE Charity, there is a moment here to hopefully put more effective principles of community-ownership, youth learning and empowerment, and intergenerational thinking into these efforts."
February 21, 2020
"While the challenges of an aging society affect women more than men in their role as caregivers, everyone is affected equally as receivers of care.
In some ways, it’s "self-interest” for women to be in positions of power where decisions about the future of long-term care are made, says Ms. Nguyen at Social Innovation Canada. 'But actually it’s a collective societal interest in investing in the mechanisms that are going to keep us all healthier longer, with better living opportunities'"
March 6, 2019
"There's an incredible power in being part of a collective... When you get a community to come out in solidarity, it can give people lift and energy to continue doing the long-term advocacy work that leads to real change."
March 12, 2019
"Chi Nguyen is something of a lifelong specialist in the field of social change. She's worked as a staffer on Parliament Hill and for charities like the United Way. Currently, she's the director of social innovation at Social Innovation Canada, a non-profit that runs shared workspaces for groups on a social mission."
March 8, 2018
"... policies and rules need to go hand-in-hand with efforts to change the corporate culture. This isn’t about picking the token woman to sit on the corporate board or excluding men from mentoring programs, she says. It’s about executives and managers making sure they’re searching both gender pools when fishing for top talent."
