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.

Atelier avec des étudiant-e-s de Concordia au 633 avenue Beaumont (30 octobre 2021) #8.jpg

Atelier avec des étudiant-e-s de Concordia au 633 avenue Beaumont (30 octobre 2021) #9.jpg

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, law and public health. Our steering committee, comprising board members, staff and community members, is our main governing body.

—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.

—Communications & Storytelling, SHIFT Centre for Social Transformation Intern
Originally from Pakistan, Arman is carving his path in Montreal's world of creative technology. At Concordia University, his studies in Computation Arts fuel 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.

—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.

—Board member
Leonora is a community worker for Brique par brique and Afrique au Féminin, founder of Parc-Ex Curry Collective, a PhD candidate in Psychiatry at McGill and a community-based researcher with 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.

—Communications & Place-caring
communications@briqueparbrique.com
Thai is a writer and communications coordinator. She received her BA at McGill with double honours in Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Studies and English.

—MITACS Research Fellow
Chetna Misra, a UX Researcher and Designer, is currently pursuing a Master's in Information Studies at McGill University in Montreal. With a background in architecture and experience working in Dubai and the Netherlands, Chetna's seven-year journey in multicultural environments has reinforced her belief in the value of diverse perspectives. She's a staunch advocate for designing products with, not for, users, to promote inclusivity and minimize biases.

—Communications & Storytelling, SHIFT Centre for Social Transformation Intern
Alexia is a queer Mexico-Japanese artist who's a very motivated Intermedia student at Concordia University. She loves using her art to communicate deep emotions and her will to help the world around her. A multi-media practitioner, she marries her love for performance and visual arts into social and political commentary. She has put on plays, short films, art pieces, and singing and dance showings.

—Organizational development & Operations
amanda@briqueparbrique.com
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), a regional curator for The Nature of Cities Festival and a member of the Fund Disbursement hub at The SHIFT Centre for Social Transformation. She holds a graduate diploma in community economic development, an MFA in Visual and Media Arts and a BBA in Strategic Design and Management.

—Board member & Affiliate Community Organizer
Masoon is a community organizer and volunteer translator for the South Asian immigrants living in Parc-Extension. At Brique par brique, she facilitates Connections, a support group for refugee women. 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.

—Affiliate Organizer
Asad is a multidisciplinary artist & architect. He is the founder of Cinema 73, a community cinema project operating out of a garage in Karachi, Pakistan. A space that works on the ideas of resistance to and ownership of the city. He holds an MA in Architecture and a Masters in Urban design.

—Development intern
Catherine is currently pursuing a master’s degree in architecture at 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.

—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.

—Steering member
Jorge is a lawyer with experience in business immigration and intellectual property law. He is actively involved in community initiatives and has led innovative projects focused on providing crypto education to his local community. Jorge recognizes the transformative potential of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, aiming to empower individuals and bridge the digital divide. Through his multifaceted pursuits, he combines legal expertise with community advocacy.

—Steering member
Besides collecting hobbies as a hobby, Sorraya is always down for a good gathering and chat. Interested in extensibility, openness and inclusivity in physical spaces and our minds, whether it's in the arts or community work.

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.

Spontaneous application