Profile

Alan Shefman has been involved with community service as both a volunteer and professionally throughout his career, culminating in 2004 when he was elected as the Ward 5 Councillor for the City of Vaughan representing the southeast corner of the City and a substantial part of Thornhill. This area has one of the highest percentages of Jewish residents in all of Canada.

After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree from York and his Master of Arts Degree in Canadian Studies from Carleton University, Alan moved to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories where he worked in the Department of Local Government. In the course of his work he traveled extensively in Canada's north working closely with both Inuit and Dene leaders in the Territories.

He left the north to work in Toronto for the Intergovernmental Committee on Urban and Regional Research, a unique information and support agency for all levels of government in Canada.

In 1980 he joined B'nai Brith Canada as the National Director of the League for Human Rights. During his tenure at the League he was involved in a wide range of issues critical to the Jewish community, including the trials of Ernst Zundel and Jim Keegstra. He also initiated the ongoing Holocaust and Hope Education Program and established and edited the Review of Anti-Semitism in Canada.

From 1988 to 1994 Mr. Shefman worked at the Ontario Human Rights Commission as the Director of Communications and Education. In that role he acted as spokesperson for the Commission as well as led a variety of initiatives to further the education of Ontarians about human rights issues and the role of the Commission.

When he left the Commission, Alan established the Edge Quality/Communications Consultants, a human rights consulting firm. The firm provides a range of services, including training, policy development, mediation and investigation for a variety of corporate and public sector clients.

As a Councillor at the City of Vaughan Alan Shefman sits on twenty committees and Chairs three. He is a strong advocate at the City on environmental matters, waste management and matters of accountability and transparency in the operation of municipal government.

Prior to becoming a City of Vaughan Councillor, Mr. Shefman served for four years as a Trustee for the York Region District School Board, representing Wards 4 and 5.

Councillor Shefman is a former President of the York University Alumni Association and member of the University's Board of Governors. He is currently a Fellow of McLaughlin College and an Associate of the Centre for Practical Ethics at York.

Born in Toronto, Alan, his wife Francine and their two sons, Corey and Howard have lived in Vaughan since 1982.

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