Touchstone Institute Annual Report 2015/2016

2015/2016's Message from the CEO:

Three years ago, I was drawn to Touchstone Institute by the belief that this was an organization positioned in a unique space with considerable unrealized potential. This past year has clearly demonstrated that this belief was well founded; as Ken notes, we have taken on several new challenges, which are documented throughout this report.

We established our centre on Bloor Street in Toronto in 2006. Over time, our operations expanded to 78 assessment rooms and 6 classrooms spread over several floors. As we mark the completion of our first decade as an organization, we find ourselves with an evolved vision and an expanded scope. It became difficult to accommodate the new staff we needed within our office space on Bloor, and we were unable to ensure a renewed long-term lease as our site was targeted for re-development. This created an opportunity to re-prioritize our space requirements, improve our work environment, create more functional classrooms, rationalize the amount of space allocated to assessment rooms and establish a long-term stable home. After an extensive search, we identified a location that met all these requirements perfectly. We finalized an agreement in late 2015, started building our new environment in early 2016 and moved in – on time and within budget – on July 18, 2016.

As we prepare for our next decade, we do so with a great facility, upgraded infrastructure and a belief in a bright and busy future – one built by the phenomenal people working here, the sage wisdom of our consulting professionals and the dedication of our board members. I am privileged to be a part of this enterprise.