Our team

We bring experience, skills, and joy to our work!

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Emma Chilton

Founder & Director

Emma’s background in nonprofit project management helped her hone the skills to build Spruce. She loves making niche information accessible. She has presented 40+ workshops to 5,000+ people over the past decade, including to audiences of lawyers, artists, accountants, and kids. Her happy place is ruthless plain language editing.

A woman with short, dark, curly hair and gray eyes smiling, wearing a black and white textured blazer over a dark top, layered gold necklaces, small earrings, and a nose stud, against a plain reddish-orange background.

Sara N.

Multimedia Producer

Sara is a Multimedia Producer, Artist, and Visual Arts & Cultural Programmer. She is skilled at highlighting community connections and showing authentic relationships in her work.

Sara has worked with the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre, the Textile Museum of Canada, Mercury Films, and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

headshot of Marjorie

Marjorie White

SEO Specialist

A former doula and tech entrepreneur, Marjorie brings a wide range of experience to the Spruce team. She has a wealth of knowledge on how web searching is changing and how to keep websites visible and ranking as web search algorithms change.

A woman with curly brown hair and hoop earrings smiling outdoors, wearing a gray blazer over a red top with city buildings in the background.

Laura Davis

Operations Strategist

Laura provides operations solutions for non-profits and small businesses. She has extensive experience in starting and building non-profits.

Laura is skilled at turning the day-to-day challenges of mission-driven organizations into opportunities for growth and sustainability.​​​​​​​

Young woman with long black hair, wearing a white and blue striped collared shirt, standing indoors near a wooden wall with a window in the background.

Chen Tong

Design Strategist

Chen is a UX Designer with a background in architecture, driven by a passion for exploring the intersection of design and human experience.

With a technical understanding of critically navigating both physical and digital spaces, Chen brings a unique perspective to creating user-centred solutions that seamlessly blend functionality and emotional impact.

Shirin H. 

Content Strategist

Shirin specializes in curriculum development, research, and writing. She is a PhD candidate at OISE/University of Toronto and holds an MA in Adult Education and Community Development. Shirin has published research on anti-colonial pedagogy, refugee youth, and English-language learning.