Ilsa Blidner

Myra York WOA Community Award

Ilsa Blidner is actively involved in community leadership. She has, and continues to serve on Boards and advisory bodies locally and provincially. She is a member of Baycrest Foundation Board and served as Board Chair from 2022-2024. She is a Board member of Holy Blossom Temple Foundation.  Ilsa is Chair of several governing committees for Ontario’s Stroke System. Ilsa was Vice Chair, Ontario Stroke Network, and an Advisory Panel member for CorHealtlh/Ontario Health.  Ilsa has served in leadership in the human services arena and with her professional associations at provincial and national levels. Ilsa was significantly involved with her professional association, Canadian Evaluation Society (CES), where she served as Ontario’s regional representative to the National Board and was a founder of the Ontario Chapter and served as its first Chair. She was awarded for her contributions to the CES. Ilsa’s career began in clinical research in neonatology at McMaster. She pursued her passion for research through an academic position at the University of Toronto before forming her consulting business that specialized in services planning and evaluation and organizational performance improvement.  Ilsa values the opportunity to bring her career skills into the organizations with which she serves in governance roles.

Ilsa and her husband, Jeff Blidner, are parents to daughters Stacey Kline and Meredith Blidner and very proud grandparents to six children. Residing in Toronto, they always value time together there, and in their Kawartha Lakes paradise north and their Longboat Key Florida, paradise south.  Ilsa is happiest with long, busy days. Her favourites are those spent with family and with friends, being physically active, honing golf and pickleball skills, enjoying book groups, cherishing ballet series and finding the opportunities to relish out-of-the-way diner breakfasts. 

Ilsa and her family, through the Blidner Familly Foundation, are philanthropic supporters of a large variety of charities, spanning many sectors where there is need across Canada and Israel. They currently focus on health care, community programs for both adults and children, the arts, the environment, and Jewish-related causes.