Meet STAND's Directors

Ben Fine is a a second-year undergraduate medicine student in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Ben received a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering Practice from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006, and B.E.Sc in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Western Ontario in 2005. Ben was a Semi-Finalist in Magna International’s As Prime Minister Awards program in 2004, and was awarded a 2007/8 Action Canada Fellowship (www.actioncanada.ca). Ben began Darfur advocacy at the University of Western Ontario in 2004, formally founding STAND Canada in February 2005. Upon reading Nicholas Kristof’s (New York Times) accounts of the atrocities in Darfur, having visited the concentration camps in Poland, he decided to take action. In his advocacy for Darfur, Ben has met with MPs, cabinet ministers, senators and former Prime Minister Paul Martin, authored op-eds in the Toronto Star and National Post, spoken at rallies, appeared on MTV Live and helped launch 1-800-GENOCIDE in Canada. He served as the Executive Director of STAND Canada from its inception until Summer 2007.

Josh Scheinert is a second-year student at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. He graduated from McGill University in with an honours degree in History and Political Science. Before law school Josh took a year off school and worked in Washington, D.C. in political consulting, specializing in crisis management and communications. Josh joined STAND in December 2005 to begin its national divestment campaign. In September 2006 he took over as Advocacy Director and oversaw STAND's expansion in dealings with the federal government. In this capacity he has met with numerous MPs, members of Cabinet, diplomats and community leaders. As well, he has co-authored op-eds on Darfur in the Toronto Star, National Post. He was also responsible for STAND's "Saving Darfur" series in the National Post in the spring of 2007. Josh has been involved in causes related to persecution and discrimination since visiting Auschwitz in 2000. He has spoken on a number of occasions to students and adults about the Holocaust and its present-day applicability and has appeared on television to discuss the matter. He has also contributed articles on various topics to the Canadian Jewish News. In the summer of 2007 he traveled to Uganda to volunteer there. While in Africa he summited Mount Kilimanjaro. Beginning in January 2008 he will be on exchange studying law at the University of Hong Kong.

Yoni Levitan, Executive Director of STAND Canada, is a first year student at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. He graduated from the Bachelor of Commerce program at Queen's University, with an Honours degree in 2007. He founded the STAND chapter at Queen's University in February 2006, with STAND Queen's quickly became one of STAND's most active campuses. In the fall of 2006, recognizing the need to reach out to Canadian high-school students, Yoni started up the STAND highschool group. In this capacity he spoke at several high-schools throughout Ontario, and guided the groups growth from only a handful of chapters to over thirty. Yoni also coaches minor league lacrosse, enjoys a good game of hockey, and is an avid white water kayaker.

Anne Wagner is a first year Master's student in Clinical Psychology at Ryerson University. Anne graduated with an Honours BA in psychology from the University of Western Ontario in June 2007. While at UWO, she took a compelling genocide class which spurred her involvement with STAND at the chapter level in the winter of 2006. In the summer of 2007, she began working with STAND National to expand their engagement with parliamentarians, and became Advocacy Director in December 2007. Motivated by the possibility of students, and compelled by the frustration of apathy faced by advocates, Anne is building on past STAND successes to integrate both student and parliamentary advocacy. Since starting her work within advocacy, Anne has coordinated dozens of meetings with key decision-makers, organized press conferences, worked closely with parliamentarians to heighten Darfur awareness and spur legislation on parliament hill, authored letters to the editor in national papers, spoken at national conferences, universities and high schools, and appeared on MTV Live.

Elham Bidgoli is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto, specializing in Psychology. During her time at the University of Toronto, she worked in policy initiatives surrounding the University’s investment portfolio. She is looking forward to pursuing a Ph.D in Counselling Psychology, and is currently working for the Toronto Partnership for Autism and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She became interested in Darfur advocacy in her first year of her undergraduate degree. As one of the founding members of the University of Toronto chapter, she coordinated a number of initiatives to raise awareness on her campus and funds for the IDPs in Darfur. In 2007, she coordinated a Toronto-wide call-in day to the Prime Minister’s office demanding action in Darfur. She is currently working on project management between campus groups and STAND National.

Shannon Thorndyke is a student at the University of Toronto, current pursuing Women and Gender Studies and Political Science. She is planning to pursue a law degree and focus her attention and scholarship on international women's rights. She has worked with a variety of women's organizations such as LEAF Toronto and SWAG. She began volunteering with STAND in 2007 as a project manager on the Campus Management team and is currently working as the Promotional Director of STAND Canada.

Evan Cinq-Mars is a first-year Public Affairs and Policy Management student at Carleton University. He graduated St. Augustine Catholic High School in 2007. Evan hopes to pursue a undergraduate degree with a specialization in Human Rights, and plans attend law school after his four years at Carleton. Evan became an advocate for Darfur in April 2007, when he founded the STAND Chapter at his high school. His group ran a very successful Rock the House Campaign, and his time as a Campus Representative was very rewarding. In August 2007, Evan was appointed to the position of High School Coordinator, and has been active in the role since . In this capacity, he manages the STAND High School Team, which also consists of Brittany Dale and Matt Harris. Together, The Team manages 43 High School Chapters across the country, and hopes to continue to expand within Canadian high schools as the year progresses.

Ira Goldstein is a student in his final year of an undergraduate degree in Political Studies at Queen's University. He is looking forward to studying Politics at the graduate level in the coming year. During his time at Queen's, he has volunteered extensively within the Kingston and surrounding communities. Actively involved with Frontier College, Canada's largest literacy organization, Ira has worked to facilitate unique prison literacy initiatives in three federal penitentiaries. He places a strong value on advocacy and outreach, sharing those passions with his friends and colleagues. Last year, Ira took on the national divestment portfolio at STAND Canada. Concerned with his school's financial links to the Sudanese government, Ira sought to engage his fellow students in these often ignored issues. He first became involved with STAND serving as the divestment representative at Queen's, and now he manages campus divestment campaigns across the country.