Gil Clelland, our Executive Director, has a heart and a calling for working among those experiencing homelessness - listening with curiosity, learning with wonder, and sharing in friendship. He has been doing so since 2007, when he got his start in this line of work in London, ON. After 4 years working for a not-for-profit social service, he co-founded a church called Sanctuary in London in 2011. In 2021, Gil began to manage a community that housed people who had been homeless. He joined the Sanctuary Toronto staff in 2023 as an outreach/housing worker and starting his role as ED in 2025. Before Sanctuary, Gil worked as a teacher, pastor, and a freelance artist.

He enjoys running, climbing, and he’s a lifelong artist who specializes in realistic and 3-D imagery in chalk, paint, and drawing.

Gil is father to Joseph, Isaiah, and Jacob, and lives in Toronto area.

He can be reached at gilc@sanctuarytoronto.ca