Staff
Staff Biographies
NPCC staff members are talented, energetic and dedicated arts professionals who are here to serve the needs of our community!
Ghena Abed, Customer Service Representative
Ghena Abed (she/her) is a student at Humber College enrolled in the Child & Youth Care program. Her program has helped her develop the skills necessary to excel with children and families. She has always been passionate about arts and crafts – painting and sculpting in particular. You will often find her in clay workshops and painting classes, though her main platform is watercolour painting.
Ghena started as a placement student at NPCC in late 2023 and joined as a CSR (Customer Service Representative) momentarily after. During her time at NPCC, she broadened her knowledge of art and refined her interpersonal skills, promoting a deeper understanding of how creativity can be utilized in her interactions with children and families. She is committed to applying her learning from her program and practical experiences to make a positive impact on those she helps, integrating her love for art with her passion for helping others.
Toia Allen-Daniel, Outreach Coordinator
Toia Allen-Daniel began her journey at Neilson Park Creative Centre as Customer Service Representative in 2020, ensuring NPCC’s guests have a welcoming and positive experience.
She, an artist herself, worked in many mediums over her years of experience in school and in her free time. Toia’s specialties are graphic design and illustration and helping others express their vision through their projects. Toia enjoys showing and selling her work at craft shows and conventions. A graduate of Humber College, Toia’s focus was in the school’s art-centered programs – Art Foundation, Visual and Digital Arts (VADA), and Design Foundation.
She looks forward to meeting more of the many creative individuals that walk through NPCC’s doors, hearing and seeing their stories, and establishing long-lasting relationships as Outreach Coordinator of Neilson Park Creative Centre!
Ghada Elsayed, Customer Service Representative
Ghada ( She/ Her) is a graduate of the BCYC (Honours Bachelor of Child and Youth Care) program at Humber Polytechnic’s Lakeshore Campus. She is currently continuing her studies at York University, in the Faculty of Education, hoping to become a future educator and leader, working towards inspiring the minds of others. Ghada is our customer service representative. Previously, in our Summer Arts Camp, she was our camp coordinator. She loved being a leader, addressing our campers’ needs, parents’ needs, and staff needs, making our summer camp an inclusive and safe place for everyone. In the past, she has worked with children and youth in a variety of settings, including special education settings, supported classrooms in the Toronto District School Board, and recreational settings like other summer camps. She also worked in community school programs where she trained other young people to tutor young children, encouraging a strong community connection and leadership skills. She also tutored young children, helping them strengthen their reading and writing skills through creative and fun ways. Ghada wants to make great change through her creativity and leadership and can not wait to see where her journey takes her.
Julia Farrant, Program Manager
Julia Farrant is a designer, project manager and team leader with a business development and creative concept and brand development background in marketing and communications.
She has supported the identity and growth of companies from across a number of sectors and has launched and managed programming and events for not-for-profit projects as well as construction and build projects for developers. Julia holds a degree in Design and Communications, BODC from Toronto Metropolitan University, a Creative Fashion Design Diploma from George Brown College as well as a Facility and Property Management Certification with a focus on space planning, sustainability, operations and ROI.
Julia is the winner of a number of fashion design and art direction awards including the Toronto Fashion Incubator Award, Best Collection. She has had the pleasure owning and operating a small design and sewing school for all ages and abilities in Toronto with a focus on sustainability, textile recycling and the environment. Julia has designed daywear, specialty costume, art installations and most recently through in-depth research, developed supporting clothing for children with sensory processing issues. Julia is very excited to be a part of the NPCC team.
Petra Nyendick, Executive Director
Originally from Toronto, Petra Nyendick moved to Indiana in 2001, living in Indianapolis and Terre Haute. After realizing the need for a commercial art gallery in Terre Haute, Petra became founding director of 333 Visual Art Gallery. The success of that gallery and attached working studio morphed into the launch of Halcyon Contemporary Art Gallery at the Sheldon Swope Art Museum. Petra’s success as owner/operator of Halcyon and director of the Swope Art Museum’s Summer Youth Art Program led to her opportunity to become Executive Director of Indiana State University’s Community School of the Arts.
While in Indiana, she was a member of Arts Indiana’s Regional Advisory Council, and a member of the board of directors of various arts organizations: The Terre Haute Children’s Choir, Blues at the Crossroads Festival, and Wabash Valley Art Space. At Art Spaces, Petra also served as Chair of the Site Selection and Acquisition Committee.
Most recently, Petra served as the Executive Director of Silence: Guelph’s Portal For Adventurous New Sound Events, an innovative arts centre dedicated to presenting diverse, challenging, sustainable and accessible art and musical practices. While in Guelph, Petra served on the Guelph Arts Council board, chairing the Communications Committee.
These positions are the most recent facet in a life’s work in art; a long, strong involvement in the arts as a successful artist, agent and arts organizer. She brings to the NPCC her committed vision of the guild of the creative community and its importance to society as a whole.
Petra received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors at York University in Toronto and a Master of Fine Arts with distinction at Indiana State University.
Alexander Robinson, Marketing Manager
Alexander Robinson (he/him) is a multidisciplinary artist and creative strategist with a deep passion for the arts and digital media.
He holds a BA in Creative Advertising from Humber College and is an alumnus of the Remix Project’s Creative Arts Academy and Soho House Toronto’s Open House mentorship program.
Alexander first joined NPCC as Engagement Coordinator in 2023 and now serves as Marketing Manager. In this role, he is expanding on his community-focused work by leading strategic outreach efforts and using data-driven insights to better inform the organization’s marketing and engagement strategies.
Vaishnavi Shah, Office Administrator and Event Facilitator
Vaishnavi Shah is a recent graduate of Humber College’s Child and Youth Care program, where she developed strong skills in communication, relationship building, and understanding the diverse needs of children, youth, and families. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from her home country, India, which further enriches her work in community and creative spaces.
Vaishnavi joined Neilson Park Creative Centre in January 2024 as a placement student and has since contributed to the centre in multiple roles—first as a student, then as an art instructor, and now as an office administrator and event facilitator. Throughout her journey at NPCC, she has deepened her knowledge of the centre, strengthened her interpersonal skills, and discovered meaningful ways to connect with others through art.
Vaishnavi is excited to continue meeting creative individuals within the community and learning more about their artistic journeys. She is grateful to NPCC for the many opportunities and experiences that have shaped her growth.
Matthew Summers, Customer Service Representative
Matthew Summers is an Illustration student at OCAD University.
Art has been a lifelong interest to Matthew and he has been drawing for as long as he can remember. He continues to practice and improve through his classes and is currently learning more about analogue and digital painting. He’s painted a few murals, one of which is in his old high school Etobicoke Collegiate Institute.
Music is another passion that was pursued in middle school with his participation in the band program where he learned to play the trumpet. As his interest in music grew he started taking piano lessons as well. However, what really captured his attention was a small music class in high school that introduced students to electronic music and production. He has continued creating music electronically outside of school and this has allowed him to draw upon many genres for inspiration for his own music.
Matthew was introduced to NPCC when he started working as a summer camp counselor and this last summer he worked as an instructor for the summer camp. He enjoyed working at NPCC over the summer and so when the opportunity arose to continue throughout the year as a Customer Service Representative he gladly took it.
Cory Therrien, Operations Manager
Cory Therrien is an administrative and marketing professional with a diverse range of professional experience in areas such as office management, purchasing, event coordination, and product and brand analysis and departmental budgeting.
Cory is a believer in life-long learning and strives to acquire new insights, knowledge and skills through her work and classes in college continuing education, art and calligraphy.
She has a Bachelor of Administrative Arts in Office and Administrative Studies and a Certificate in Marketing from Ryerson University.
