Leslie Woo

Leslie Woo is Metrolinx’s Chief Planning Officer Planning and Policy, leading Metrolinx’s planning and policy.Leslie’s portfolio spans the long range vision for mobility in the region, as set out in The Big Move (2008), to detailed service planning for GO Transit rail and bus, and includes capital project pre-planning, setting scope and defining projects. Leslie ensures that the $31 billion capital public investments are guided by good planning evidence and robust policy research. She is also a champion for driving corporate sustainability, innovation, design excellence and leads Metrolinx’s network for women in management. As a member of Metrolinx’s Senior Management Team, Leslie brings her executive expertise in addressing complex urban development challenges in constrained environments to deliver results. Her leadership in tackling the integration of the $13.5 billion GO Regional Express Rail with local transit initiatives, with challenging the status quo on transit fare structures in the Toronto region and her determination to deliver planning that is built on strong business case has been recognized nationally. She was named the 2015 Outstanding leader by Canada’s Women’s Infrastructure Network. Prior to joining Metrolinx she worked in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. She shaped the influential Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan (2006), which over the last ten years, has resulted in urban intensification totaling over 18 per cent increase in multi-family residential development, a two-thirds reduction of greenfield lands consumption, and has conserved about 800 square kilometers of agricultural and rural land. Amongst her many global professional associations, Leslie is a 2011/12 Fellow and member of the International Women’s Forum, a Global Trustee with the Urban Land Institute, a member of the Scientific and Strategy Council of the Institute pour la ville en movement (2012-2015), and a retired member of the Ontario Association of Architects. Leslie holds many community volunteer roles including Vice Chair of the YMCA for the Greater Toronto Area and founder of shebuildscities.org. Leslie received a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Waterloo where she also studied Urban and Regional Planning. She is also the 2015 recipient of the Renison University College Distinguished Alumna Award.