About Tonika Morgan -- Creating New Avenues of Expression for Urban Feminist Arts:

Tonika Morgan began her journey as a homeless high school drop-out with very few places to turn and even fewer people to trust. That is, until she arrived at the doorsteps of a young women's shelter in Toronto in 2002. That transformative experience exposed her to opportunities to become an advocate for change, volunteering with a number of youth-serving initiatives and organizations across the city. It was at this point that Tonika decided to dedicate her life to empowering youth, and "paying it forward" in honour of all of the organizations and individuals that supported her along her path.

In 2004, Tonika founded, the Medina Collective, a feminist urban arts organization and magazine to empower young women, specifically marginalized and homeless women, with a desire for education and a passion for storytelling, feminism and urban culture.

In 2005, just three years after leaving the shelter and volunteering countless hours to community organizations, including her own, Tonika was recognized by FLARE Magazine as a 2005 Volunteer of the Year. In the same year, she was also recognized by the YWCA of Toronto as the Young Woman of Distinction.

Today, Tonika continues to volunteer as the Founder/Co-Director of the Medina Collective, an urban feminist arts organization, as well as a guest speaker for issues ranging from poverty, youth engagement, community mobilization, homelessness and the arts. She is board member of the Youth Challenge Fund, a student at Ryerson Univeristy and the Project Manager of Women Moving Forward, an economic self-sufficiency program for college-bound, indepedent mothers in the Jane/Finch community.