Dave Carey, Board President of East End Arts
He/Him
David Carey is city animator and urban innovator with 20 years of experience in government relations, strategic communications, and place-making. As of 2026, he is the new Chief Executive Officer the Ontario Professional Planners Institute (the voice of community planning in the province, representing 6,120 members). As Co-Executive Director of The Bentway through to 2025, Dave led a creative movement to re-imagine the possibilities of Toronto’s shared infrastructure – working to transform a 7km stretch of neglected land below the city’s downtown highway, the Gardiner Expressway, into a network of connective public spaces. Under his leadership, the organization grew from a single-sited public space into an important change-maker along Toronto’s waterfront, dreaming-into-being an ambitious Under Gardiner Public Realm Plan.
In previous senior leadership roles at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), Dave oversaw government relations and philanthropy for one of Canada’s premiere cultural institutions during a formative period of growth for the organization. Most recently, Dave founded Urban Romantics, a consultancy practice that embraces urbanism, community listening, public programming, strategic planning, smart finances, and civic joy.
Carey holds a M.A. in Communication & Culture from Toronto Metropolitan and York Universities and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Waterloo. He is also an alumnus of the Toronto Arts Council and Banff Centre’s Cultural Leaders Lab. Since 2019, Dave has served as Board President of East End Arts, a community arts activator embedded in Toronto’s east side, active in neighbourhoods from the DVP to Victoria Park. In all aspects of his career (and life), Dave aims to lead with empathy, trust, energy, and imagination.