General Secretary/National Coordinator
Divy Sallentes Uptegrove is the current National Coordinator. They owns two tree frogs: Pancake and Brioche. They’re a graduate of Ryerson University’s Arts and Contemporary Studies program with an Anthropology focus and Philosophy minor. Divy is passionate about their SCM work and the power of good dialogue.
They can be reached at divy@scmcanada.org
Office Administrator
Jenna Yango Leonard lives with her husband, daughter, and two pups in a small town, about an hour north of Toronto. Since completing her MA at York University in 2012, she has worked in ministry, admin, and finance roles with Interserve, Wellspring Worship Centre, and Majengo Canada. With roots in the Philippines and Nova Scotia, she’s been based in the Toronto area since 2006. Jenna is excited to be entering into the SCM family and looks forward to supporting the good work being done by it’s chapters across Canada.
University of Toronto Coordinator
Dunc (They/Them) is a Master of Divinity student at Emmanuel College University of Toronto, training for ordained ministry with the United Church of Canada. They’re also an experienced audio editor/technician and a Podcaster. They are the editor and cohost of SCM’s podcast, Spirits Rising; they are also a cohost of Cast Without Trace, a Dungeons and Dragons talk show. Dunc has a strong passion for climate and food justice, as well as Queer Theology and Anti-Racist Preaching.
You can reach them at dunc@scmcanada.org.
Alberta Coordinator
Simon Bondoc (he/him) is a 1.5 generation queer Filipino settler in Moh’kins’tsis, within the nations that make up Treaty 7 and the Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3, colloquially known as Calgary, Alberta. He is Kapampangan and Ilonggo, hailing from what is now known as the provinces of Tarlac, Negros Occidental and Guimaras in the Philippines.
He is finishing his International Relations degree at the University of Calgary, and is passionate about Christ and His liberating love, connecting communities and creating brave spaces. He is active in the United Church of Canada, from his congregation’s choir to Secretary in the denomination’s Filipino Network. He is on a journey of deconstructing and reconstructing his faith, and is excited to be part of a movement that affirms these journeys. In his spare time, he likes to eat, sing, chill with friends… and eat.
You can reach him at klaussimon.bondoc@gmail.com
Kingston Coordinator
Elliot Gunn runs Faith & Big Ideas, a Bible study group that provides seminar-style talks that features speakers presenting on an eclectic range of topics. He loves engaging with big questions and messy ideas through conversation grounded in Christ. He is a U of T grad who now works in tech and enjoys learning about Henri Nouwen, the metaphysics of money, and what a radical theology of giving looks like.
You can reach Elliot at Kingston@scmcanada.org
TMU University Coordinator
Gwen
Update in process
York University Coordinator
Johannes Chan is a PhD student in the Science & Technology Studies program at York University, researching the environmental history of watermills in long nineteenth century Ontario and their relation to British colonialism and empire. They organize with CPSO (Canada-Philippines Solidarity Organization), and are always up for a good book, a walk in the woods, or sitting down to a meal of unfamiliar food.
You can reach Johannes at york@scmcanada.org
Board Members
Bran Friesen – Bran is a member of our Board from rural Saskatchewan. She had her first connection to SCM with our group in Winnipeg, through the Honour Walk Project. Bran is passionate about Aboriginal Solidarity, interrupting generational trauma, restoring dignity, Kingdom shaped justice, and community. These passions are reflected in the two historical figures she would most want to have coffee with: Nelson Mandela and Leymah Gbowee!
Bruce Fraser- Bruce introduced to the SCM while at the University of Waterloo, when a minister at a church college mentioned that someone was starting up an SCM. Bruce had come from an evangelical background, but had felt uncomfortable with the teaching that so much of the world’s population who happened not to be Christian would be condemned. It never struck him as fair or just, because it seemed more a function of where a person was born. In SCM Bruce found a community that cared about the oppression in the world, and cared enough to work to change it. It was the first time he had ever met people for whom their faith integrated every element of their lives, from their sexuality to the fundamental sense of what felt intuitively right. He passed through the dark night of the soul, not knowing what would happen to his faith, whether it would survive. Through the support and encouragement of this amazingly loving and passionate community working for social justice, he became a co-president and found his life direction was changed, and sought ways to make a difference in the world. He has worked internationally for a non-governmental organization in the field of sanitation, and has worked professionally in the areas of air quality and health and safety. He is passionate about writing poetry, healing and pursuing a spiritual path. After many years away, he was excited to join the SCM board as a way to give back to this organization which had such a profound impact on his life during his formative university years.
Jacqueline Sookermany – Winnipeg MB
Rachelle Friesen – Rachelle is the Canada Coordinator for Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). She spent 5 years living in Palestine. For four of those years she was the Peace Program Coordinator with Mennonite Central Committee. As a result of her advocacy, in May 2014 she was deported by Israel and banned from returning for 10 years. Following her time in the Middle East, Rachelle completed an MA in Social and Political Thought at York University. Rachelle currently lives in Toronto, but will always be a prairie girl.
