Our Instructors
The Parkdale Free School would not be possible without the commitment, knowledge and lived experience of our volunteer instructors. Scroll below to learn more about these inspiring community members!
Thinking of joining the team? Click below to learn more about what it takes to run a PFS class, workshop or skillshare!
Andrew Winchur, Radical Experiments in Land Stewardship
Andrew has been a PNLT volunteer since 2015, and currently serves as the Community Engagement Coordinator with Homes First, a housing and shelter provider. In 2016, he obtained a Masters in Environmental Studies from York University, with a focus on popular education for social change.
Beryl-Ann Mark, Self-Discovery, Money and Corporations
Beryl-Ann Mark recently completed a leadership training program with the Parkdale People's Economy and The Public and is an active member of the Parkdale community. She graduated from Humber College in the Social Service Worker Program and received the Dorothy Leatch Award from Parkdale Legal Services for being a selfless community member. Beryl-Ann helps people reframe and make sense of their situation in a constructive manner and is looking forward to the journey of self-discovery alongside participants.
Jane Iordakieva, Create a Winning LinkedIn Profile
Jane Iordakieva is a Parkdale resident with nearly a decade of communications experience. She is currently a Director of Communications at Spectrum Health Care. She volunteers with a number of community organizations.
Salma Oomer and Karolina Kisiel, Yoga For Beginners
Salma and Karolina are Parkdale residents. Salma has over 500 hours of YTT and is a certified high school teacher. Karolina has been a curious mover, dancer and yogi for over a decade. She holds over 500 hours of YTT.
Paul Magder, Repair Café Toronto Troubleshooting Workshop
Paul Magder is a Parkdale resident and one of the co-founders of Repair Café Toronto. Repair Café Toronto is a volunteer group traveling around the city putting on monthly repair events. Their volunteers help members of the community fix their broken things for free.
Bob Rose and David Ross, Radicalism, Activism and Change in Parkdale
David A. Ross, Ph.D. is the author of four published and one self-published book in the areas of sociology and philosophy and has taught sociology and English in places around the world.
​
For more than three decades, Bob Rose worked at PARC, the Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre, an agency that provides meals, develops programs and housing for the vulnerable and marginal.
Melissa Weale and Tamara Lorincz, World Beyond War
Melissa Weale is a keen young activist working to change the system by educating and exampling. She runs her own non-profit called SheCycle that's all about Upcycling and redistributing. She hosts monthly workshops, swapping events and circle groups to bring communities together. She is a Unitarian, and the Ontario Coordinator for The Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, and World Beyond War, motivating all ages and all abilities to show they can make a difference, both in Peace with ourselves, and peace with the Earth! Please find inspiration and learning materials here, here, and here.
Tamara Lorincz is a former board member of Canadian Voice of Women for Peace and the former Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Environmental Network. Tamara has an LLB/JSD and MBA specializing in environmental law and management from Dalhousie University. She is currently a PhD student in Global Governance at the Balsillie School for International Affairs (Wilfrid Laurier University). She works actively to educate and write about ending wars and military involvement to move the money (#movethemoney) into peace education and community programs. She is an avid writer who has publish many articles and reports for organizations, you can find some here that specify on our involvement in NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).
Syd and Sheryl Nestel, Israel/Palestine 101
Sheryl Nestel holds a PhD in the Sociology of education from OISE/UT where she taught from 2000-2011. She has been a member of the national steering committee of Independent Jewish Voices since 2011 and active in radical Jewish politics since 1968. She and her family lived in Israel between 1974 and 1988.
Sydney Nestel is a husband, father and grandfather. He is the child of Holocaust survivors born in Canada who moved to Israel in 1974. He lived in Israel or 15 years, served in its army and was active in anti occupation politics. Since returning to Canada, he has been a synagogue board member and remains active in his synagogue as well as being a member of Independent Jewish Voices: a Canadian Jewish Human Rights, Anti Racism and Palestinian Solidarity organisation. He recently retired from a career in IT.
Cheyenne Sundance, Mobilize Liberate and Grow: A Guide to Decolonizing Urban Farming
Cheyenne Sundance is an organic urban farmer and previously worked as a sex worker in Toronto, Montreal, British Columbia, Alberta and parts of the US. She has also held many
workshops teaching beginners to the sex work trade and sharing her story. She
currently resides in Toronto.