Jason Syvixay

Jason Syvixay credits The University of Winnipeg, through his studies (BSc, BA) and experience as President of the University of Winnipeg Students' Association (UWSA), with shaping his desire to inspire and build diverse, mixed-use neighbourhoods that are bustling with people of all backgrounds, businesses, arts, and culture.

At age 26, Syvixay worked towards building a safer, more resilient and inclusive downtown as Managing Director of the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, through creative placemaking, tactical urbanism initiatives, stakeholder/political engagement, and community consultation.

He is an award-winning public relations professional who has developed city-wide marketing campaigns that have attracted hundreds of thousands of local and out-of-province visitors to the downtown. He was the youngest recipient of the CPRS Communicator of the Year Award, and the inaugural first recipient of the CBC Future 40 acknowledgement in 2015.

Syvixay volunteers his time on a variety of Winnipeg boards and committees interested in homelessness alleviation and promotion of the arts. He spearheaded the first CEO Sleepout in Canada, which fundraised close to a million dollars to support employment programs for individuals experiencing homelessness. He has served as a member of UWinnipeg’s Senate and Board of Regents, and helped launch many of the major campus developments.

Now, in his role as Urban Planner at HTFC Planning & Design, Syvixay is passionate about helping communities generate ideas for their future, building consensus between varied stakeholders, and supporting capacity building with the development of practical tools for program implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.