Sevaun Palvetzian

Sevaun Palvetzian is the Chief Executive Officer with CivicAction. She comes from the Ontario government, most recently as Director of the Ontario Place Revitalization project to transform the flagship site into an iconic, year-round destination that offers visitors increased access to green space at the water’s edge. Previously, she served as Director, Communications for one of the largest communications teams in government, and as Director of Strategy at ServiceOntario, the provincial government’s retail arm which oversees over 44 million transactions each year.

In 2005, Palvetzian launched the Youth and New Professional Secretariat, a government-wide strategy to attract, recruit, and retain future generations of leaders, and led the development of several new employment programs including the Amethyst Award winning Learn and Work Program for at-risk youth. Prior to this, she led the office of the then-Deputy Minister and Associate Secretary of Cabinet Michelle DiEmanuele, during the period in which the Government of Ontario launched the Diversity Office and a human resource and talent management strategy.

Palvetzian has worked at the University of Toronto, the World Bank Group, and Presidential Classroom, a Washington-based civic education organization.

Outside of work, Palvetzian has been involved in a wide range of civic initiatives. She has served as Chair of the Board of Directors of Katimavik Youth Services, as a member of the Advisory Board to the University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and Governance, and was a Canada-Germany Young Professionals Leadership Fellow.

She completed the Ivey Executive Program at the Richard Ivey School of Business and has an M.A. in history from the University of Western Ontario.