Tonya Surman

Tonya Surman
Born	March 24, 1969 London, Ontario
Alma mater	University of Toronto
Occupation	Co-Founder and CEO of the Centre for Social Innovation
Spouse(s)	Mark Surman
Children	Tristan Surman Ethan Surman
Website	tonyasurman.ca

Tonya Surman is a Toronto-based social entrepreneur, and the founding executive director and current CEO of the Centre for Social Innovation.^[1][2]

Education and early social ventures

Surman studied Environmental Studies add International Development at the University of Toronto and has been creating and leading social ventures in Canada since 1987.^[3][4] She was the founding co-chair of the Ontario Nonprofit Network,^[5] is a founding trustee in the Awesome Foundation Toronto,^[6] and has been active within the Ontario Social Economy Roundtable and the Social Enterprise Council of Canada.

Tonya and husband Mark Surman were instrumental in developing the Constellation Model of Governance, a complexity-inspired framework designed to enable collaborations within dynamic systems.^[7] She was the founding Partnership Director of the Canadian Partnership for Children's Health and Environment, a legislative framework to manage chemicals and the banning of BPA in baby bottles.^[8] In 1999, she co-founded the online newspaper rabble.ca.^[9]

Centre for Social Innovation

In 2009 Tonya was named a Global Ashoka Fellow.^[4][10] She was recognized for building shared spaces and networks for social innovators designed to foster cooperation. The Centre for Social Innovation has four locations in Toronto and one in New York City.^[11]CSI is home to over 700 organizations.^[12][13]

In 2012 Tonya Surman co-authored the book "The Community Bond: An Innovation in Social Finance". The book details the process by which the Centre for Social Innovation raised $2 million through community bonds to purchase and renovate its Annex location.^[14][15][16] She also co-authored three books on creating shared work spaces for social innovation,^[17]and has developed an expertise in the creation of shared spaces for social innovation.^[18]

Personal life

Tonya Surman was born in London, Ontario, and currently resides in Toronto with her husband Mark Surman, CEO of the Mozilla Foundation, and their two sons, Ethan and Tristan Surman.

References

1. The Community Bond: An Innovation in Social Finance. Toronto: Centre for Social Innovation. 2012. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-9865436-5-4.
2. Jermyn, Diane (3 November 2010). "200 office-mates, one copier: It's all about sharing". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
3. "Commons.ca". Retrieved 3 August 2012.
4. Birnbaum, Elisa. "Tonya Surman and TEDx Toronto: Collaboration at it's [sic] finest". See Change Magazine. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
5. "Ontario Nonprofit Network News Releases". Retrieved 4 March 2014.
6. "Awesome Foundation Toronto Chapter Website".
7. "Constellation Governance". Centre for Social Innovation. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
8. "Major health and environment organizations call on government to eliminate public exposure to BPA". Canadian Environmental Law Association. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
9. "Ashoka profile". Ashoka. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
10. "The Ashoka Foundation Tonya Surman Profile".
11. "Entrepreneur - Starrett Lehigh Tonya Surman Profile".
12. Klein, Paul. "What's Your Scale for Good?". Forbes.com. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
13. "Centre for Social Innovation Website".
14. Lu, Vanessa (May 9, 2010). "Social innovation centre pins hopes on expansion". Toronto Star. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
15. Wade, PJ (March 20, 2012). "Community Bonds: Actionable Innovation for NonProfits & Investors". Retrieved 5 September 2012.
16. Yogaretnam, Grace (February 23, 2012). "Community Bonds and the Rise of Local Power". Retrieved 5 September 2012.
17. "Shared Spaces for Social Innovation". Centre for Social Innovation. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
18. "MIT Press" (PDF).