Jay Pitter

Jay is the director of communications and stakeholder engagement at the Inspirit Foundation. After establishing a career as a public funder and then a corporate marketing communications director, Jay earned a graduate degree at York University’s Faculty of Environmental Studies. While working as a communications and public engagement strategist, Jay led initiatives for organizations like The Toronto District School Board, The City of Toronto, The Health and Safety Task Force, Toronto Police Service, North York General Hospital, and DIALOG, a national architecture firm. Her work has consistently resulted in increased media penetration, improved revenue generation, clearer internal and external knowledge transfer processes, fostering excellent stakeholder relationships, and safeguarding the public profile of numerous organizations. Furthermore, Jay’s research in environmental studies (site-specific narrative, crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), design equity, and urban placemaking) enables her to combine her considerable communications expertise with a keen understanding of creating inclusive communities employing a spatial, social, and systemic lens. She regularly lectures and is a former faculty member at the University of Guelph-Humber. Her writing credits include Spacing, CBC Radio, The Walrus, the Toronto Star, and TVO, and she is the co-editor of an upcoming Coach House city-building anthology.