Our Team
It’s nice to meet you! We have a passion for helping kids become and stay active in the Peel community.







Alyson Beben
Project Manager, Play in Peel
Physical Literacy Project Manager & Education and Curriculum Specialist, Peel Public Health
Peel Public Health works towards improving health and quality of life, decreasing death and disease, and reducing health inequities among population groups. Our programs focus on health protection and promotion as well as disease prevention. Our strategic priorities include a vision in which Peel residents live in a community that supports healthy eating and active living.
Collaboration with local Peel community partners is a cornerstone to advancing public health strategic priorities. Our interventions are most effective when done in partnership with community organizations. We focus on interventions with the greatest potential impact across a population where an increased number of people benefit. The Play in Peel physical literacy project aligns perfectly with these strategies and goals. The Leadership Team at Play in Peel is comprised of experts from key community partner organizations. Their collective knowledge will guide the creation of a strong network of advocates – educators, teachers, recreation leaders, parents, and caregivers – who will help children develop the fundamental movement skills to be active for life.

Lisa Boyce-Gonsalves
Partner Lead, Play in Peel
Manager, Program Delivery, City of Mississauga, Recreation
In the City of Mississauga, Recreation’s mission is to keep Mississauga residents healthy, active and connected in partnership with the community. We encourage more people to connect more often through programs and services that reflect our community’s needs. Our service delivery goals include positioning recreation as essential to quality of life and improving resident physical literacy and active lifestyles. The Play in Peel Project supports these goals.
The City of Mississauga values the work of our partners; the collaborative approach of this initiative enhances the goals of community wellness. Through this project, Mississauga will strengthen the working relationships with our community partners in Peel while improving quality programs, specifically through the inclusion of physical literacy programming for children and youth. Recreation promotes physical activity at every stage. Through this project, education, and the promotion of physical literacy at an early age will become a stepping-stone to lifelong physical activity.

Joe Grdisa
Partner Lead, Play in Peel
Coordinator Health and Physical Education & Extracurricular Athletics, Peel District School Board
We inspire success, confidence, and hope in each child. At the Peel District School Board, we are committed to inspire the smile within each child. Everything we do is designed to help each child achieve to the best of their ability. Our collective, daily efforts make a positive difference in the lives of our students, their families, and the world. Our schools are alive with diversity which enhances the school experience. The Peel District school board is committed to support anti-oppression and the naming, disruption, and dismantling of anti-Black racism and other forms of discrimination. We look to lessen the disparities in educational outcomes for marginalized students, particularly those who identify as Indigenous, Black, African, and Caribbean. Educators must understand it is a learning journey and to impact conscious and unconscious bias, systemic oppression, and racism, each of us must reflect personally and professionally and take appropriate, meaningful action. We are committed to the well-being, safety, and success of all our staff and students. The Play in Peel collaborative project will help our staff support the development of physical literacy in all our students.

Tenneil Dhaliwal
Partner Lead, Play in Peel
Quality Initiatives Manager, CDRCP

Habiba Mahmood
Partner Co-Lead, Play in Peel
Quality Initiatives Supervisor, CDRCP
