Foundations of Peace: Youth Day Camp 2026

Meet the Facilitators

Joshua is a peace educator from Macau, China. He holds degrees in conflict resolution from George Mason University and has a range of international peacebuilding experience. He currently works as youth pastor at the Toronto Chinese Mennonite Church. His background includes youth development, community dialogue facilitation, and workplace mediation with faith-based, higher education, and governmental organizations.

Joshua Lash-Ballew, MSc
Lead Facilitator & Program Coordinator

Elaine Law, MEd
Guest Facilitator

Serena Zhao
Lead Peace Intern

Ofir Sivan, MSW
Guest Facilitator

Christina Reimer, PhD
Guest Facilitator

Elaine is Senior Education Museum Associate at ALPHA Education's Asia Pacific Peace Museum. She specializes in history, peace education, and interdisciplinary learning. Elaine holds a Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts in Teaching Social Studies from Columbia University and has worked extensively in secondary and post-secondary education. Through research, mentorship, and community-building initiatives, Elaine is committed to integrating experiential learning into social sciences and humanities education.

Ofir is a second-year PhD student at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and a registered social worker. Ofir holds a B.A. in Philosophy and the Multidisciplinary Program in the Humanities and an MSW from Tel Aviv University. Ofir’s research focuses on political and technological aspects of community-level interventions in social work and beyond. Ofir is particularly interested in exploring how computing and information technology, along with the rise of nationalist populism, shape our perceptions of communities, their ability to challenge unequal socioeconomic systems, and their capacity to promote transformative political change. Ofir has over a decade of practice experience in grassroots organizing, dialogue group facilitation, and leadership building with various communities in Palestine/Israel.

Christina is one of the pastors at Toronto United Mennonite Church and a trainer for workshops in conflict resolution with Crisis & Trauma Resource Institute. She holds a PhD in Religion from the University of Toronto. She has done voluntary service in different parts of the world including Northern Ireland and India, taught university courses in world religions, and facilitated interfaith dialogue sessions in a variety of contexts. She loves camping, swimming, cooking, watching murder mysteries, and spending time with her two teenage sons.

Annie Chau, MEd, PhD (c)
Lead Facilitator

Annie Chau is a PhD Candidate in Social Justice Education at the University of Toronto whose doctoral research is Vietnamese Canadian Refugee Women and the Work of Identity-Making: Politics, Freedom, and Memory. She has published on the topics of gender, race, class, work, politics, migration, citizenship, community, and decolonization. Annie worked for a decade in community-based sexual violence response and prevention in Canada, participating in national initiatives on gender (in)justice, through Women And Gender Equality Canada (formerly Status of Women Canada) and the Canadian Women’s Foundation. As part of this work, she was the 2014 keynote speaker for the PeacemakeHers Young Women’s Camp, coordinated by Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace. She is a member of the Pedagogies of Community-Engagement Collective.

Jadon Yu
Peace Intern

Serena is studying Political Science and Art History at University of Toronto. She is passionate about youth engagement, community building, and creating inclusive spaces where young people can learn, connect, and grow. She is excited to help create a welcoming and supportive environment where youth can explore meaningful conversations around peace and community. She has worked with diverse groups of students through tutoring, mentorship, and youth support programs. She truly enjoys help creating spaces where young people feel encouraged, heard, and empowered.

Jadon is going into his second year of a degree in business this coming term at Toronto Metropolitan University. In his free time, he loves playing hockey and staying active with other sports. He is really looking forward to getting to know everyone!

Lin Fang, PhD
Guest Facilitator

Lin Fang is a University of Toronto Professor and the endowed Factor-Inwentash Chair in Children’s Mental Health. In recent years, Lin has concentrated her scholarship on community-based research, examining how neighborhood and structural factors shape lived experiences of young people, and how young people, in turn, engage and understand the world they live. Currently, she runs Project APPA, which utilizes participatory action research to work with Asian parents and other stakeholders to promote capacity building, build knowledge and resources, and curate an Asian-centred approach against AAR.

Sample Schedule

8:30-9:00

Arrive

9:00-9:30

Opening

9:30-11:00

11:00-11:15

11:15-12:00

12:00-12:30

12:30-13:00

13:00-15:30

15:30-16:00

16:00-16:30

Morning session

Break

Group work

Lunch

Clean up/Break

Afternoon Session

Closing

Dismissal

Toronto Peace Academy is an initiative of Toronto Chinese Mennonite Church.

Toronto Peace Academy is an initiative of