Jon Massimi

Jon Massimi comes to Nurture Development as an Associate with over 20 years experience in both community and municipal space. He has helped in the development of several strategic initiatives aimed at building collaboration between sectors and strengthening communities.

In his municipal role, Jon was a Supervisor giving oversight to four community centres, offering over 500 programs per session. He brought an Asset Based Community Development approach to his work, which opened space for Neighbourhood Associations and community members to be active participants in the centres work. He provided ABCD training to staff and community leaders, led design thinking sessions, facilitated community discussions and mentored secondary school students as they created community action plans for their neighbourhood.  He also developed a social recovery framework aimed at increasing community participation and power post pandemic.

Seeing the importance of community accessible space, Jon has helped churches find alternative uses for their buildings which have included co-work spaces, recording studios, performance spaces, and fair-trade coffee co-ops. He has also worked with major funders in designing and implementing neighbourhood strategies across several communities resulting in the expansion of neighbourhood based jobs and grants that residents could access for events and other initiatives.

Jon’s doctoral work focused on the intersection between faith and Asset Based Community Development. His supervisor was John McKnight.  Jon is an adjunct professor, conference speaker and guest lecturer. He has a knack for identifying and building on the collective strengths of individuals and organizations in the creation of connected and powerful communities.  He is frequently asked to share his experiences with asset mapping, community-based action, design thinking, group facilitation, and place based spirituality. He is currently working on a book with Cormac Russell on strengths based approaches. Jon is Nurture Development’s key contact in Canada.