Leslie Woo
Leslie Woo CRE® is a respected city leader with over 25 years of experience building sustainable communities and shaping urban development in Canada’s fastest-growing urban region, greater Toronto. Leslie is a tri-sector athlete with experience convening and co-creating with the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. She is a seasoned urban planner, architect and tireless community activator. At CivicAction Leslie has been building leadership programs that are building the next generation of civic-minded leaders. As CEO at CivicAction since 2020, Leslie leads this powerful apolitical organization that moves between all sectors to make progress on impactful solutions to pressing urban crises.
Before joining CivicAction, Leslie was Chief Planning and Development Officer at the Greater Golden Horseshoe regional transit authority, Metrolinx, for over 12 years, responsible for the strategic planning and public policy for a historic public investment of $60B in transit expansion. She is a Board Director at Waterfront Toronto (since 2021), Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care (since 2022), and the Urban Land Institute’s Curtis Infrastructure Global Advisory Board (2020-2023).
Leslie has been recognized as a 2023 Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award Recipient; one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2017 (by WXN); Spacing Toronto’s Transit Changemaker in 2016 and Canada’s Women’s Infrastructure Network’s inaugural 2015 Outstanding Leader. Founder of shebuildscities.org, Leslie uses her voice and platform to amplify and celebrate other women city builders.
Leslie is a Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto and a member of the Advisory Board of the Social Purpose Real Estate Accelerator at the Infrastructure Institute, University of Toronto. Leslie holds a graduate degree in Planning, and undergraduate degrees in Architecture and Environmental Studies, from the University of Waterloo.
Leslie was born in St. Augustine, Trinidad and is a graduate of St. Joseph’s Convent, Port of Spain.