At MakeWay, we’re continuously learning. Part of our learning journey is to stop and ask if what we’re doing is serving our mission and our aspirations. We find ourselves at one of those moments, and so, as an organisation we are reimagining how we recruit for our board of directors.
We’ve learned that our current approach, while well-intentioned, often moves too quickly and relies on traditional networks and methods that don’t always reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. In particular, we’ve recognised that Indigenous leadership and representation must be more meaningfully and durably present at our governance table—not just in principle, but truly in practice.
What we’ve learned is that building an inclusive board isn’t just about filling seats. It’s about slowing down, making space, and creating pathways that honour different ways of knowing, leading, and relating to power. It means engaging with care, listening more deeply, and letting go of the sense of urgency that can sometimes crowd out purpose and equity.
This shift is not about adding steps for the sake of process, it’s about making room for relationships and trust to lead.
As we continue this journey, we’re inviting new voices into our governance in ways that are thoughtful and community-led. It may take longer, but we believe it will lead to better outcomes—for MakeWay and for the people and places we work alongside.
For the moment, we will be removing the August 1, 2025 deadline for applications and shifting to a rolling application model, with an eye on reviewing submissions at the end of Summer 2025. If the application pool meets the requisites of our Board’s Governance Committee, we will look forward to welcoming a new cohort of board members by December 2025. If not, then we will take pause and reflect on what we need to do differently. If you have sent in your application, thank you and your application will remain active in this process.
One promise we make to the broader MakeWay community is: we will share with you all that we are learning and even the challenges that we’re not being able to resolve, so that we can tackle them together.
We are grateful to those who have challenged and guided us, and we remain committed to learning as we go.
– Alex Sardar, President and CEO.
