We have over 3,000 active members at 36 chapters and city networks across Canada. You can’t begin to imagine what it’s like to be in a room with just 10 of these incredible, young leaders. We invest in them, helping to develop the knowledge, skills and approaches they need to create change in complex environments. Many become EWB volunteers, leading programs in Africa and Canada. We give them the time, the space and the resources to search out, develop, refine and scale new ideas.

It’s worth pointing out that these aren’t your average chapters, networks and members—they execute regional events as part of national campaigns, drive their own initiatives and support our programs in Africa. Over 600 of them give over 20 hours per week to the organization—that time and dedication allows EWB to offer incredible value for every dollar donated. They take impact very, very seriously.

Most major decisions in the development sector are made in Toronto or Washington boardrooms by Directors and Vice Presidents. EWB’s decisions are made by our teams in places like Tamale, Dedougou and Mwinilunga (say that three times fast)—the people who actually run the ventures we invest in. They lead our work and drive our impact. It just makes sense that decision are make by the folks who best understand the systems we’re trying to change.

These systems changers are some of the best and brightest people in the development sector. They eschew the typical white pickup truck for public transport. They live in villages, not walled compounds. They’ve made a commitment to not only creating impact for rural Africans, but doing it from the inside out (as much as possible). Each one of them has received extensive training and brings advanced problem solving, coaching, analysis and facilitation skills to their work.

You can learn more about our systemic innovations and the systems changers that make them happen in the Africa and Canada sections.

Some are engineers. Some are past members and volunteers. Some belong to other development organizations. There are Africans, Canadians, Europeans and more, but all are ordinary people who have been moved to create change. They’re people we’ve reached in the past, and the people who help us reach further and further every day.

It’s a perpetually-expanding, positive cycle—The Movement is EWB’s impact, but it also helps us achieve greater impact.

EWB employs approximately 20 people at any given time to:

• Coordinate our African and Canadian programs
• Offer strategic guidance and oversight to our chapters and networks
• Lead member-learning initiatives
• Manage organization-wide financial, communications and fundraising efforts
• Set organizational direction and objectives

It’s a lean team of high-capacity leaders who have dedicated their careers and their lives to creating positive change. Some have come up through the EWB network, some are on non-profit career paths, some have transitioned from the corporate world and many have international experience. Their unique backgrounds and insights combine to form an unprecedented foundation for impact. They aren’t bound by job descriptions (or regular work hours for that matter).

These leaders are supported by a number of distributed teams composed of EWB supporters and members. They dedicate over 20 hours per week to specific tasks—their dedication and drive is incredible, and offers incredible value to EWB.

We are incredibly lucky to have an engaged and driven Board of Directors and an equally strong Advisory Board. Yes, they provide strategic insight. But they also fundraise, speak at conferences, mentor employees—they’re simply great, smart people who want to create change.