ABOUT
In 1989, Sheri Ahava Cohen received her Social Service Worker Diploma at Centennial College, and worked as a Case Manager with seniors for 5 years.
In 1993, Sheri went back to school to obtain a Bachelor of Social Work through Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) and graduated in 1996. She later established the Sheri Ahava Cohen Social Justice Award for Students with Disabilities/Learning Disabilities at Toronto Metropolitan University. She received the Alumni Achievement Award from Toronto Metropolitan University in 2009.
In 1998 Sheri founded the Adult Learning Disabilities Employment Resource Centre (ALDER), a not-for-profit organization in Toronto. She sat as the Executive Director for a number of years.
After leaving ALDER in 2005, Sheri sought out various consultants and supports within Toronto’s community and the USA that supported her to learn wealth management with a focus on social change and philanthropy. In 2007, Sheri took the Sound Work Practitioner’s Program with Gary Diggins. Sheri opens up a portion of her home, called the Sanctuary Space, for groups and events.
From 2014 to 2019, Sheri co founded and sat as a member of the Learning and Violence Collaborative, an online community that discusses and explores the impact of violence on learning.
Over the years, Sheri has attended various workshops and training sessions in the areas of wealth, donor gifting, organizational development, and body-centered practices that inform her work.
I see how the personal is political. Through the creation of art, ceremony, ritual and public engagement, I speak to what is considered taboo.
My life’s work has been to unpack the intersectionality of class privilege and trauma so that, as a queer social worker and community activist, I can create and support cross-class dialogue.
