Clara Freire

Clara began her 28-year career starting on the front lines in community non-profits. Her front-line experience included supporting residents who were homeless or at risk of homelessness, and serving adults facing significant social, economic and emotional barriers to social services. Through her 18-year career at the City, Clara has worked in Housing Services, on corporate programs and most recently in CSSD, leading client service initiatives and strategic plans as the Manager, Partner and Stakeholder Initiatives. In this role, Clara managed funding, social policy, community engagement and strategic initiatives such as the City’s Municipal Immigration Strategy, Woman and Gender Equity strategy, the Integrated Neighbourhood Service Teams, Indigenous Reconciliation Action Plan, Community Funding Framework Review, Youth Futures, and the Mayor’s Somali Community Task Force. In March of this year, Clara took on the temporary role of Lead of the City’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Human Needs Task Force focused on responding to immediate, medium and long-term community needs, for example: food security, homelessness and sheltering, and outreach and social services. Clara has a Master’s degree in Social Work and is a passionate ally in contributing to structural and systemic change and advancing equity and inclusion for all.