Michelle Singh

Program Manager

Born into an interfaith family, Rev. Michelle Singh has a deep understanding and appreciation for the world’s rich spiritual and cultural diversity. In 2008, she became an ordained Interfaith Minister from The New Seminary, New York.

Since then, she has been actively engaged in Canada’s interfaith movement, including vice-chairing the award winning World Interfaith Harmony Week Steering Committee and co-founding a multi-faith Spiritual Dialogue Circle. Notably, Michelle was a Board member and Steering Committee Co-Chair for the 2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions — overseeing the worlds largest interfaith gathering, featuring over 1000 diverse spiritual programs, attended by over 8500 persons.

Prior to becoming an Interfaith Minister, Michelle spent more than 30 years in the I.T. and Communications sectors leading teams in challenging, goal-oriented environments. She is an officiant, well known for intuitive listening and her ability to create safe and sacred spaces for processing and dialogue. Michelle excels in bringing diverse groups of people together to achieve a common goal.

Stephen Collette

Building Grants Manager

Stephen Collette can answer your grant application and faith building questions. Stephen is the Building Audit Manager for Faith & the Common Good. Stephen created the Green Audit for faith communities. Stephen owns his own company, Your Healthy House, which carries out indoor environmental building inspections and consulting. Stephen is a Certified Building Biology Environmental Consultant, a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional and a Building Science Specialist of Ontario. 

David Patterson

Benchmark Manager

David Patterson will be helping grant applicants measure and benchmark the impact of their greening work using Energy Star Portfolio Manager. David is Faith & the Common Good’s energy coordinator. David has been consulting through his company, Proterra Sustainable Solutions Inc. since 2007. He has performed over 60 audits of faith buildings for Greening Sacred Spaces’ Green Audit and Solar Audit programs and has also planned and coordinated the installation of multiple geothermal, wind and solar systems on private dwellings.

Aleyxa Gates Julien

PR/Communications Coordinator

Aleyxa is a passionate advocate for advancing green building initiatives that support the shift toward a sustainable built environment. In her role, Aleyxa amplifies energy conservation and decarbonization building retrofit projects of United Church properties. Collaborating closely with UCCan staff nationwide, Aleyxa leverages her expertise in strategic communication, creative strategy, and value-driven marketing to spotlight post-renovation impact while inspiring other communities of faith to pursue similar green building initiatives. 

Chris Benjamin

Atlantic Coordinator

Chris Benjamin has worked in many locations in many varied capacities, mostly having to do with sustainability and communications. His graduate studies focused on environmental communication among stakeholders in Indonesia. In Ghana he was a columnist focused on sustainable development. In Toronto he worked to mobilize volunteers from around the world working on food programs, geoscience, urban planning, citizen science, and on transportation issues. In Nova Scotia, he led a coalition that worked to achieve a ban on cosmetic lawn pesticides. He is also an author, including of Eco-Innovators: Sustainability in Atlantic Canada. 

Kalen Taylor

Prairies Coordinator

Kalen Taylor is a social entrepreneur and Co-Founder and Director of Development for Aki Energy, a social enterprise that works with First Nations communities to create jobs and fight energy poverty through community owned renewable energy development. Kalen is also the President of Winnipeg’s Social Enterprise Centre and a founding board member of the Social entrepreneurship Enclave, in Northern Winnipeg. Since 2018, Kalen has served as the Executive Director of Purpose Construction, combining social housing development and rehabilitation with trades training, and employment run by and for people underrepresented in the skilled trades. 

Kalen is a graduate of Schulich School of Business's Executive Masters in Project Management, Oxford University’s Executive Social Finance Program, as well as LEAN Green Belt certified through the Desautels School of Management at the University of McGill.

Jess Ryan

Western Coordinator

A former journalist, Jess Ryan worked her way from reporter to editor at the Camrose Canadian weekly newspaper, then went into layout and copyediting for Pagemasters North America, a division of the Canadian Press. Joining the Newo team as communications lead, Jess has been venturing in learning how to share uplifting stories about generosity, stewardship, the next economy, and people who are attempting to embody these things. She is eager to engage with Western Canadian congregations in the work of reducing emissions and addressing climate change.

Program Advisors and Mentors

Dr. lucy cummings

Senior Advisor

Lucy Cummings will be managing overall program implementation. Lucy is a Senior Advisor to Faith & the Common Good, where she has worked since 2012. Prior to her work at Faith & the Common Good, she earned a master’s of religious ethics and researched the intersection of social values and politics for her PhD. A Mandarin Chinese speaker, she was a professor of global politics at the University of Hong Kong for ten years, where she explored the impact of environmental degradation on global security. She is a member of the Parliament of the World’s Religions Climate Action Task Force.

Rev. Christine Boyle

Advisor

Christine Boyle will act as our climate action advisor. Councillor Boyle was elected to Vancouver City Council in 2018. Christine is a community organizer, climate justice activist, and United Church Minister, born and raised on unceded Coast Salish territory in Vancouver, BC. She is passionate about tackling inequality, contributing to climate solutions, and deepening democratic engagement. Christine has an BSc in Urban Agriculture and First Nations Studies from UBC, and an MA in Religious Leadership for Social Change from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.

Mardi Tindal

Past National Mentor

Mardi Tindal will be acting as “mentor-in-chief”, helping the program to more effectively engage United Churches and connect this work with national climate conversations. Mardi has brought energetic leadership throughout her career as an educator and facilitator, writer, broadcaster and church leader. Tindal was the 40th Moderator of The United Church of Canada (2009-2012). During her term as Moderator she collaborated with faith leaders throughout Canada and around the world, to encourage action on the moral challenges of global warming, climate and ocean change. For her, the work of healing soul, community, and creation is an interwoven effort. Right relations with Indigenous Canadians is among her priorities.  More recently, she’s been in the public eye as co-founder of Wine on the Porch, a Toronto co-housing community motivated in part by her desire, with that of her spouse Doug, to further reduce their carbon footprint after giving up car ownership 7 years ago. She and Doug are members of Windermere United Church which is beginning its involvement with Faithful Footprints.

Faith & the Common Good (FCG) is a national, interfaith charitable network founded in 2000 on the belief that our diverse faith congregations and spiritual communities can be powerful role models for the common good. FCG supports diverse faith and spiritual communities contribute to greener, healthier, more resilient neighbourhoods.

Find out more at: www.faithcommongood.org