Gavin Sheppard
Youth Civic Action Strategy Coordinator

Gavin Sheppard is the founder of I.C. Visions--North America's first government-funded hip hop recreational centre-- and the Remix Project --an urban arts training centre where youth develop skills, gain confidence, develop and implement their own plans for success. A gifted connector and visionary, Gavin has been at the helm of countless other diverse ventures throughout his young career, including an instrumental role in managing the careers of hip-hop recording artist Rochester aka Juice (Maple Music/Universal Music Canada) and music production collective Tone Mason Inc. (Talib Kweli, AZ, Sean Price, MuchMusic, etc.)

Gavin is also a founding member of the Grassroots Youth Collaborative, a collective of some of Toronto's top youth-led organizations serving their peers in the GTA. His experiences within the field of youth engagement and talents for working with young people have led him to be called upon by many different institutional bodies as an authentic voice regarding youth issues. From the Canadian Heritage all-staff retreat to a federal government caucus summit on the gun violence currently afflicting Toronto, to meetings with different funders who are seeking to better understand and engage young people, Gavin has been a tireless advocate for young people and the need for social programs that embody youth culture and the arts in our most under-funded communities.