The Word On The Street is more than a festival, it’s a community! Get to know our team, working year-round to help you discover great books by Canadian and Indigenous authors.
Festival Director
david@thewordonthestreet.ca
David Alexander (he/him) is a published poet with over a decade of nonprofit leadership experience. David helped build Toronto’s Veg Food Fest, North America’s largest annual vegetarian food festival. Since joining the organization in 2018, David has overseen two in-person festivals, two digital festivals, the return of the festival to Queen’s Park, and several new events and initiatives.
David leads the organization through strategic and operational management.
Programming Manager
sienna@thewordonthestreet.ca
Sienna Tristen (they/them) is a poet, author, cultural worker, and perhaps secretly also a prunella plant! They love stories that feel nourishing and discussions that brighten the mind. Sienna’s had a hand in every WOTS department, but now calls Programming home.
Sienna manages artistic programming and relations with programming partners.
Digital Strategy & Communications Manager
rebecca@thewordonthestreet.ca
Rebecca Diem (she/her) writes hopeful speculative fiction and poetry. Her work includes contributions to Tor.com and Write Magazine, as well as the indie steampunk series, Tales of the Captain Duke. She is the host of WOTS’ Read The North podcast, and loves getting to know people through their stories.
Rebecca manages communications, marketing strategy, and social media.
Development Coordinator
sarah@thewordonthestreet.ca
Sarah Mosher (she/her) is a lover of artistic storytelling. She enjoys diving into book-to-film adaptations, romance novels and feminist texts. A newcomer to the CanLit world, Sarah is excited to expand her literary tastebuds!
Sarah looks after small gift fundraising and volunteer coordination.
Marketplace Coordinator
juliana@thewordonthestreet.ca
Digital Production Coordinator
haley@thewordonthestreet.ca
Haley Richardson (she/they) is an artist and creative who is new to Canada as of 2019. She enjoys reading an endless amount of romance novels, crocheting, bird watching, and playing cozy video games. Her favourite way to read is listening to audiobooks. They are passionate about creating online community and making reading more accessible, and are so excited to be a part of the WOTS team!
Haley helps with digital programming initiatives like livestreaming and podcasts.
PUBLICIST
DSHEHORI@GMAIL.COM
SPONSORSHIP & MARKETING CONSULTANT
KIM@THEWORDONTHESTREET.CA
David Leonard, President
Amanda Olson, Vice President
Masood Abid, Treasurer
Nancy Cooper
Evan Dickson
Lauren Hummel
Cindy Ma
Grace O’Connell
Alex Snider
David Torchetti
