Agnes Thomas, Executive Director 

Agnes leads the CCS Senior Management Team and joined the organization in 2018. She is a leading community development practitioner and academic with a passion for social justice issues, community building, and organizational transformation. In this role, Agnes is committed to working with a broad scope of stakeholders to build consensus collaboratively, deliver change and drive impact for the 30,000 clients served by CCS’ suite of programs and services.

Agnes served in the not-for-profit sector for more than two decades locally and internationally in various capacities and leadership roles, including at various L’Arche communities around the world, and the Yonge Street Mission and the Jane/Finch Family and Community Centre in Toronto. She is also a Research Associate with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto (U of T) and serves on a number of not-for-profit boards in Toronto. She has also appeared frequently as a guest lecturer and conference presenter, and has an extensive body of research and published work.

Her passion for advocating for the rights of marginalized groups led her to complete and receive her Ph.D. in Adult Education and Community Development with an award-winning thesis from OISE (U). She has a Masters of Arts (M.A.) in Critical Disability Studies from York University, a Diploma in Social Development from the Coady International Institute, St. Francis Xavier University, and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from the Mahatma Gandhi University.

Agnes enjoys teaching, training, coaching, mentoring, volunteering, writing, and photography. Agnes and her husband have three children and live in Scarborough.