Refugee Sponsorship-Fairmont Tudor Room 7 & 8
Dec 04, 2015
Ian McBride, Director of AURA
Refugee Sponsorship-Fairmont Tudor Room 7 & 8

Ian McBride has been the Executive Director of AURA, the Anglican United Refugee Alliance for over 15 years. Born in Coburg, Ontario, Ian is one of those people who has seen it all…Who would have thought that one of Toronto’s busiest refugee advocates and facilitators used to be a corporate manager?

For a long time Ian was a sales and marketing executive, working in the world of international trade. His long business career was replaced by Ministry Service with a focus on the elderly, children and youth.

He has served the Church in many capacities, including as an assistant Chaplin. For a number of years he served on the Board of Directors of AURA, before becoming the Executive Director

While Ian never went to University, he is by far an expert in his field. He now dedicates almost all of his time to facilitating the private sponsorship of refugees and supporting their resettlement in Toronto. While many are eager to learn and have recently become interested in refugee issues in the face of the current crisis, this has been Ian’s day to day work for a long time.

He is based in Toronto but travels throughout southern Ontario to meet, inform and support the Constituent Groups that AURA represents. He is a dedicated advocate for refugees, and has made this his life work.