Mark Kuznicki

In life, leaders must have compassion. They must have empathy. Mark Kuznicki has these in abundance and I believe these are pillars that guide him.

I met Mark like many of the people on the My52 list through the wonderful network of the Toronto Web 2.0 community. Mark was deeply involved in the network of young startups and the birth of the social web providing policy research and strategy.

I got to see Mark in his element when a small group of us came together to plan and host Transit Camp. Scheduled on the coldest day of the year at the Gladstone hotel, Transit Camp was an open collaborative “Bar Camp” event that allowed individuals to come together and host their own five minute presentations and follow-on discussions. Mark was energized and enthusiastic to build and help facilitate an awesome event. The event was so successful we had senior TTC staff attend the event and even saw some of the ideas broached come to fruition years later, like real time vehicle tracking. 

Mark is very thoughtful. Conversations with him have shown me that Mark thinks very deeply about topics and he invests himself in causes he believes in. He has a strong belief in community and the power of collaboration. He carefully considers the challenge and tries to bring the best process to assist.

When you chat with Mark his empathy for people and their situations is evident. Mark lets you know that he’s listening and that he understands. It’s a rare quality that we need to practice. More listening, less talking. Ask the person more questions about them. 

I’m lucky to have met Mark during the Web 2.0 heyday and to be part of creating some lasting changes on Toronto public services. I’m proud to have him in My52.

LinkedIn: /markkuznicki

Twitter: @remarkk