Brique par brique builds infrastructure for social change.
By nurturing grassroots leadership, amplifying cultural wealth and cultivating solidarity, we are building a home for freedom to grow, brick by brick, in and beyond Parc-Extension.
About us
Brique par brique is a nonprofit organization founded in 2016 by community organizers and professionals of colour in order to respond innovatively and from a social justice perspective to the need for affordable housing in the gentrifying and multicultural Parc-Extension neighborhood.
In addition to the development of affordable housing, our cultural centre is a place where we cultivate solidarity and leverage community assets with the goal of improving the living conditions of diverse low-income residents, notably newcomers, asylum seekers and other immigrants facing discrimination. Through our community activities and cultural programs, we facilitate a welcoming and accessible space for expression, with the aim of building bridges between people and organizations, and nurturing the talents and aspirations of people in and beyond Parc-Extension.
Community Economic Development
Working in close collaboration with strategic partners and community members to nurture solidarity and grassroots leadership, activities and initiatives that can drive local developments directly benefiting residents facing systemic barriers.
Community Housing and Spaces
Developing a stock of affordable, quality, and secure community housing and spaces in Parc-Extension that host a range of empowering activities and services by and for the members of our community.
Community Research
Facilitating, participating in and disseminating research that supports our social mission and impact. Recent research projects we led or participated in pertained to social finance, systemic racism, and the digital divide in Parc-Extension.
Learn more
Follow the links below to learn more about the organization and our projects.
Meet the team
We are a team of staff and affiliate community organizers with backgrounds in real estate, project management, cultural and community organizing, and public health. Our steering and advisory committee, comprising board members, staff and community members, is our main governing body.
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—Founding & Steering member
Sophie is a cultural organizer, facilitator and mediator with a multidisciplinary background in the cultural, community, non-profit, academic, public, as well as private sectors. With nearly 20 years of experience in leadership positions with an anti-racist feminist approach, she focuses on strategic thinking and collaborative processes in order to foster a critical and creative culture founded on solidarity. Sophie is second-generation Vietnamese.
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—Parc-Exchange digital coordinator
Originally from Pakistan, Arman is carving his path in Montreal's world of creative technology. His studies in Computation Arts at Concordia University fueled his drive to blend various technical and software-based skills to envision new solutions to problems and experiences. Collaboration is at his core, believing that diverse collective efforts lead to unparalleled innovations.
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—Founder & Director
Faiz' mission is to nurture creative energy in diverse communities. Having studied International Development at McGill, followed by 20 years of experience in the community sector and in both private and public real estate, Faiz appreciates the challenges and opportunities that arise from de-commodifying the city and making it about people and their communities.
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—Cultural centre and activities coordinator
Amber Goveas is a community organizer and wandering artist. She is at her best when connecting people and spaces to build resilient communities rooted in mutual care.
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—Communications & Storytelling Intern
communications@briqueparbrique.com
Haaziq is a marketing graduate and current design student at Concordia University. At Brique par Brique he combines his skills as the Communications Intern to tell the world about the amazing work done within the organization. He believes that good design is rooted in humanity and is never achieved in a vacuum.
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—Parc-Exchange coordination assistant
As Parc-Exchange Coordination Assistant, Raminder supports the exchanges of services between participants. Alongside this internship, she is pursuing a BComm in Accountancy with an anticipated graduation in 2025. She also worked as a Finance Administrator at Project 10 where she helped streamline financial processes, ensuring transparency and efficiency in the organization's financial operations.
Other Steering Members:
iftekhar ahmed, shahista hussein, noria belamri, Kwabena amoateng, sorraya guembhyt, iyan hayadi.
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—Board member
Leonora is a community worker for Brique par brique and Afrique au Féminin. She is the founder of Parc-Ex Curry Collective. She also holds a PhD in Psychiatry from McGill University. and is an affiliate community-based researcher with the Concordia's Office of Community Engagement. She is passionate about organizing and bringing people together. When she is not "in meetings", you can likely catch her delivering meals and goods throughout Parc-Ex on Fridays.
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—Junior Architect, Coordinator of cultural & placemaking initiatives
Asad is a architect and multidisciplinary artist. He founded Cinema 73, a community cinema project in a garage in Parkistan exploring ideas of resistance and appropriation of the city. He holds two MAs, one in Architecture and one in Urban design.
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—General coordinator, Organizational development & Operations
Amanda is a cultural organizer and organizational development consultant invested in uplifting community economies and co-creating emancipatory spaces. She co-founded Navel, a resource centre for cultural workers in Los Angeles, where she created a peer-learning program called Assemblies. She is also an affiliate facilitator with COCo (the Centre for Community Organizations). She holds a graduate diploma in community economic development, an MFA in Visual and Media Arts and a BBA in Strategic Design and Management.
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—Board member, Parc-Exchange lead coordinator & founder of Connections
Masoon is a community organizer and volunteer translator for the South Asian immigrants living in Parc-Extension. At Brique par brique, she coordinates Parc-Exchange and facilitates Connections, a support group for refugee women she founded in 2022. She has written and presented about her personal experience of domestic violence with several nonprofit organizations, notably “Pin Drop Silence” and “Does This Really Happens!”, a collaboration with Teesri Dunyia for the Improvisation Festival in 2022. Masoon is passionnate about using storytelling and other art-based approaches to amplify the voices of women who have been silenced.
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—Architect, Strategic development for housing & community centre projects
developpement@briqueparbrique.com
Catherine holds a master’s degree in architecture from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. She is motivated by collaborative processes and civic practices aimed at creating a just and resilient city. As part of the rebuiLT student project, she helped federate over 400 local actors around the construction of a community pavilion using reused materials. Previously, she also studied art at Concordia University and worked for several years in cultural programming of public spaces on the South Shore.
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—Steering member
Simone is a community organizer in Parc-Extension since 2019, where she coordinates an urban gleaning project of fruit trees. She is the coordinator of the collective Les Fruits Défendus, an organization that promotes fruit trees through citizen mobilization in order to ensure the harvesting and sharing of fruit with residents of Montreal neighborhoods. Since 2020, she is also a member of the Parc-Ex anti-eviction mapping project. Originally from Los Angeles, Simone has been living in Montreal since 2015, where she obtained a Bachelor's degree from McGill University's School of the Environment.
Join the team!
We are always looking to grow and strengthen our team. We seek people who are ambitious, creative, resourceful, spiritually connected, and apt at turning challenges into opportunities.
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