Local leader Lekan Olawoye inspired to act

On most mornings, Lekan Olawoye, a married father of three young children, who holds more jobs and titles than he can name off the top of his head, is awake before dawn. (He does not drink coffee.) “I have a chip on my shoulder—I have a lot to do, I have a lot to prove.”

He was sitting in a boardroom near his office in the MaRS Discovery District, a few blocks from Ryerson University. It was 9:30 a.m., and he had already been awake for five hours, and had taken part in at least one conference call before sitting down for an interview that was slotted into one of only two available windows on his schedule that week.

“When I’m older, I can slow down,” he said with a smile. “But right now, I have lots of energy, lots of time, and I just want to do as much as I can.”

Olawoye, Social Work ’07, is lead executive, Venture Talent Development at MaRS, heading a team of more than a dozen to guide talent, from pre-graduation to senior leaders, looking for jobs in technology. The team aims to teach those job seekers the skills— and the mindset—needed to thrive in the new economy.

That is his day job.

He founded the Black Professionals In Technology Network late last year. There are plans to grow that network to more than 1,000 members by the spring, helping to foster connections and access points for young professionals in what Olawoye calls the “tech ecosystem.”

He sits on the Greater Toronto Area Community Board at Telus, the charity arm of the telecommunication company. He is also a board member with the Toronto Community Benefits Network, which works to ensure a portion of infrastructure spending goes toward hiring members of the communities where the projects are based.

Olawoye has his eyes on another job title: Toronto city councillor.

He finished 1,343 votes behind Ward 12 incumbent Frank Di Giorgio four years ago, and he is looking to win the rematch this year. There are 40 members on his campaign team now, with plans for between 50 and 100 going door-to-door in the six months leading up to the big day in October. Why do all this?

“It matters,” he said. “I can’t just get complacent and comfortable. I became a social worker because my friends were dying, in Jamestown. I can’t, now, ‘make it,’ and then just focus on my home. It’s not good enough. Our city can do something special in the world, and I feel like I have the skills, the lived experience, the natural gifts that God has given me, to be able to help.”