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Who We Are
About Us
New Leaf Yoga Foundation was founded in Toronto in 2007. Simply put, our organization was created by like-minded people whose lives have been impacted by yoga and who want to share what we have learned.
We set out to build an organization that would not only make yoga accessible to youth, but would also provide on-going support for teachers and staff at our project sites so that long-term, committed programs could flourish.
We believe that yoga (and by yoga we mean asanas –physical poses, meditation and generally a way of life) can be a powerful contributor to social change, and that change on a large scale starts one person at a time.
At New Leaf Yoga Foundation, we hope to inspire and support at-risk and incarcerated youth to tap into their inner strength and resources, so that they may cultivate seeds for peace in their lives.
Founders
Laura Sygrove
Executive Director
Laura has dedicated several years to teaching and management work within the Toronto yoga community, and has also taught yoga at studios in Asia and the Caribbean. She has traveled in many different countries across the globe, including various parts of South America, Central America, and East Asia, and has spent much time volunteering with youth and women living in shelters.
She completed an 800 hour + yoga certification in 2005, and has since earned certifications of training with Vajra Yoga & the Lineage Project in New York City, designed specifically for working with at-risk and incarcerated youth, Street Yoga Teacher Training (Portland, Oregon) for vulnerable youth, participated in Youth Circles Training through Peace Builders International, and Mindfulness Yoga Teacher Training, bridging Buddhism and yoga.
Laura teaches youth at our pilot project in Bluewater and in Brampton.
Jessica Robertson
Vice President
Jessica Robertson is co-founder and director of Moksha Yoga, a community of environmentally designed and ethically inspired yoga studios. She has been involved in leadership positions in the not-for-profit sector for over a decade, working primarily to implement and safeguard international human rights legislation and to promote environmentally conscious living.
Jessica has studied yoga with Baba Hari Das, Jai Uttal, Gurumukh, Bikram Choudhary, Sri Navasana, Judith Lasater and many other yoga luminaries..
Directors and Advisors
DIRECTORS
Frank Jude Boccio
Yoga Teacher, Interfaith Minister, Zen Buddhist Dharma Teacher, Author
Frank is the author of Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath, Body and Mind - the only fully integrated treatment applying mindfulness teachings and practices to the postures and movements of hatha-yoga. He has taught all over the world in a variety of settings, including as a guest teacher in prisons, and regularly contributes to Yoga Journal magazine.
Nicole McNamara
Yoga Teacher, Facilities Manager
Nicole’s background includes over six years working with Planet Aid Canada, a charitable organization supporting HIV/AIDS -related programs in Zambia, where her roles included three years as General Manager. She has studied and trained in Moksha Yoga, Restorative Teacher Yoga with Hali Schwartz, Frank Jude Boccio's Mindfulness Yoga, and Traditional Yoga Studies with Georg Feuerstein. She is a licensed Punk Rock Yoga teacher and recently began D.I.Y. Dharma in Toronto.
Jessica Robertson
Co-founder and Director of Moksha Yoga, Yoga Teacher, Studio Director
Jessica Robertson is co-founder and director of Moksha Yoga, a community of environmentally designed and ethically inspired yoga studios. She has been involved in leadership positions in the not-for-profit sector for over a decade, working primarily to implement and safeguard international human rights legislation and to promote environmentally conscious living. Jessica has studied yoga with Baba Hari Das, Jai Uttal, Gurumukh, Bikram Choudhary, Sri Navasana, Judith Lasater and many other yoga luminaries.
Felicia Ross
Yoga Teacher, Studio Director
Felicia is a yoga teacher, studio owner and mother who has been actively involved with the Children's Aid Society of Toronto for several years. She worked with teens as a coach for 11 years and has assisted the Junior League of Toronto with implementing various programs for inner city youth.
Elisa Schwarz
Yoga Teacher, Educational Television Host, Writer
Elisa is completed trainings in Anusara and Moksha Yoga. After teaching yoga at an inner city school in Montreal, Elisa became passionate about sharing yoga with youth at risk. Apart from teaching yoga, Elisa works in educational television for children where she has worked as an on-air host, a writer and as a researcher.
ADVISORS
Michael Stone
Psychotherapist, Yoga Teacher, Author
Michael Stone is a yoga teacher and psychotherapist. He leads the Centre of Gravity Sangha in Toronto. He is the author (from Shambhala Publications) of The Inner Tradition of Yoga, and Yoga For a World Out of Balance, as well as a book of essays on Yoga and Intimacy.For more information, visit www.centreofgravity.org
Carole Varin
Male Youth Detention Facility Program Manager, Counsellor
Carole has been working in the field of social services for fifteen years and has been actively involved in several different facets of this sector including working with at-risk youth experiencing social, emotional and behavioural barriers. Carole’s most recent endeavour is as a Program Manager/Counsellor at a detention facility for young males in London, Ontario.
Shaka Licorish
Facilitator, Yoga Practitioner
Shaka is both a facilitator and case manager with the Canadian Training Institute’s Breaking the Cycle, an ambassador and leadership program in Toronto for gang affiliated/involved youth. A former student-athlete having graduated with two B.A.(Honors) degrees in Criminal Justice & Public Policy (University of Guelph) and Political Science (McMaster University) respectively, Shaka has several years experience working with marginalized youth, young adults and the many barriers and challenges they face.
Kate Love
Youth Advocate, Yoga Practitioner
Kate has spent more than 9 years working in the non-profit sector championing social justice issues including in the area of violence and gang prevention programming for youth. For the past 6 years Kate has worked with Leave Out ViolenceE (LOVE) in various capacities including Program Director. She currently works with SEDI, an organization that assists low-income Canadians, where she provides financial literacy programs to individuals in the shelter and prison systems. Kate holds a Masters Degree in Criminology from University of Toronto.
Adam Segal
Psychotherapist
Adam Segal, M.A., is a Toronto-based psychotherapist working in private practice. He has experience working with adults of all ages and specifically with young adults, members of Toronto's LGBT communities and persons facing illness. Adam's interests in mindfulness and Buddhism greatly inform his life and work with clients.
Donors
ROOT PARTNERS ($16,000 +)
Our root funding partners are a support system that we can’t survive without. They provide the foundation that keeps us firmly planted and allows us to carry out the important work we do.
Jones, Gable & Company Limited, Toronto
A very special thank you to Donald Ross for his generous support and belief in our work.
Moksha Yoga Community
We have been incredibly blessed that a group of yoga studios that make up the Moksha Yoga community came together right from the start to collectively provide our base funding. This community continues to support our mission to reach out to more and more youth in need and continues to inspire us with their commitment to giving back.
We extend huge amounts of gratitude to the studio directors, teachers and students who have contributed - without them, we wouldn’t be where we are.
Contributing Moksha Yoga Studios:
| Uptown |
Markham |
| Downtown |
Bloor West |
| Danforth |
London |
| Montreal |
North York |
| Richmond Hill |
Waterloo |
| Scarborough |
Edmonton |
| Winnipeg |
Halifax |
* A special thanks to Moksha Yoga Uptown who has raised more than $13,000 in 2 years!
STEM PARTNERS ($6,000-$15,000)
Our stem funding partners help us to continue to reach higher and higher. We are so grateful for the generous support of companies and individuals that have been inspired by our vision and believe in the work that we are doing.
Lululemon
L & A Sherman
Venturlink Funds
LEAF PARTNERS ($500-$5,000)
Leaf funding partners help us to blossom and flourish, proving that when many come together and give whatever they can, amazing things will happen. Studios and organizations big and small, individuals who can give a lot or a little, make a huge difference in the lives of the youth we work with.
Hot Yoga Wellness
Yoga Festival Toronto
Queen Street Yoga
Kula Yoga Oakville
J Robertson
F Ross
P Born
CONTRIBUTORS
So many people also give their valuable time, knowledge and skills to help us make this work.
A huge thank you goes out to:
Ilana at LAUNCH BOX
Sandi at ILLUSTR8
James Fox – Insight Prison Project, California
Freeing the Human Spirit
Lineage Project, NYC
Jill Satterfield – Vajra Yoga NYC
Irene & Ryan Bailey
Nicole McNamara
Erin Moraghan
Bluewater Youth Centre
JJ & Deena Robertson
Heather Campbell
David and Kali Hewitt-Blackie
Heather Elson & Queen Street Yoga
Tracy Adair
Toronto Yoga Guide
Ted Grand & Tara McLean
And countless others...
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