Please join us in welcoming WISH’s new Executive Director, Kara Gillies.

The search for a new ED began nearly five months ago, and was conducted with the help of There Consulting, including input from WISH staff at all levels.

We are extremely excited to welcome Kara into her new role this September. We are confident her in-depth experience in community leadership, health care and sex work advocacy will help WISH continue to provide essential services for years to come.

Kara has been leading community-based, non-profit organizations for over twenty-five years and brings a wealth of experience in organizational development, financial leadership, human resource management, and program planning to WISH.

Most recently, Kara was the Director at Parkdale Community Legal Services, a poverty law clinic in Toronto. Previously, she was the Executive Director at Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights and the Toronto abortion facility Choice in Health Clinic. She has worked in Executive Director and senior leadership positions in HIV/AIDS and healthcare, including at Voices of Positive Women, Hassle Free Clinic, and the Humber River Family Health Team.

Kara has a passion for advancing the health, safety and rights of sex workers and has advocated for sex workers’ rights at the local, national and global levels. A former sex worker herself, she worked for many years at Maggie’s: The Toronto Sex Workers Action Project and is a founding member of the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform.

Kara’s vast experience implementing programs and campaigns informed by the lived experiences of community members, together with her deep commitment to decolonization, anti-racism, and anti-oppression, positions her as an ideal leader for WISH.

For interview enquiries please contact: 
Estefania Duran, Director of Communications
[E-Address: communications | wishdropincentre]
604-669-9474 (Ext. 124)