Andre Vashist is an advocate of neighbourhood renewal projects and believes in community-based planning as a framework for effective community development. Andre has been a senior executive at University of Toronto at Scarborough' s Student Union, represented MADD Canada as a national youth spokesperson, and managed a federally funded program for newcomer youth in Toronto for the YMCA of Greater Toronto. Inspired by the work of United Way's Action for Neighbourhood Change initiative, Andre created Butterfly Communities to serve neighbourhoods not identified as a priority by the city and that had the desire to improve their quality of life.