Brown played for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees from 1990 to 1995, serving as team captain during his final two years. He helped lead the team to the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU) national semi-finals in 1992-93, and earned the Kitch McPherson trophy as most valuable player in the Ontario University Athletic Association (OUAA) championship game. That same season, he graduated with a degree in Social Sciences (Sociology & Recreational studies).

Following his playing career, Brown worked as an assistant coach for several years with the men's program and he also went on to become an assistant coach for the Texas Pan Am women's basketball program (Division 1).

On returning to Canada, Coach Brown became the associate head coach of the Ottawa men's basketball team for three seasons. In 2004, he became head coach at the College de L'Outaouais in Hull, Quebec. During that season, Brown was named Coach of the year for the (2004).

Coach Brown is now entering his forth season as head coach of the women's basketball program at the University of Ottawa.

Mohamed and his wife Hoden fled Somalia and arrived in Toronto in the early 1990s. Back home, had been a member of his country's Olympic basketball team and later coached Somalia's national team.

Abdi worked for the Ministry of Sport coached the Somali national basketball team. Now, he's president of the East African Community Association, and active in the parent councils at all three local schools in Lawrence Heights. His wife Hoden is a volunteer in the community - working at the breakfast program at Flemington Public School and also the Community Health Centre. Her mother, Faduma, was a renowned story-teller, poet and women's activist in Somalia.

They have five children. The eldest daughter, Shukri, is the youth tenant representative with the Toronto Community Housing Corporation, she is also the Youth Program Supervisor and Children's Camp Supervisor at the Lawrence Heights Community Centre. She is a full-time nursing student at Seneca/York.

Ball has lived in Lawrence Heights for 13 years. She's a single mother of three boys, aged two to 15, and she's just completing her Social Service Worker Diploma. She serves on the Board of Directors at the Lawrence Heights Community Health Centre and is also President of the Paul Watson Soccer League.

As a Social Service student, Ball is presently completing a placement in the community with the Midaynta Community Service agency, at its Youth Employment and Local Leadership (YELL) Program. This gives leadership, employment training and community jobs to at-risk youth aged 16-29.

In his youth, Phil Dixon was one of the city's greatest high school basketball players, averaging 40 points a game in his final season. Fifteen years later, in 2003, he won the title "King of Toronto" and then "King of Canada" in Nike's first one-on-one "Battlegrounds" championship.

Along the way, Dixon got his degree from the University of Utah, played pro ball in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Hong Kong and spent some time with the national program before his knee forced him out of the game. He then founded the "Hoops For Success" program for inner-city under privileged children.

Dixon is also one of the founders of the new Mississauga Wolverines, a non-profit basketball organization with a vision to help youth not only develop basketball skills but develop their self-esteem and leadership skills for lifelong learning.

Yohannes is one of the youth team leaders in the "Words2LiveBy" program at the Lawrence Heights Community Health Centre. She uses hip hop to educate youths about AIDS, racism and other issues. Her parents are originally from Eritrea and she was born and raised in the community of Lawrence Heights.

Yohannes was named class valedictorian at the Sir Sanford Fleming Academy in June, 2006 and she published her first book of poetry before completing high school. She is a spoken word artist (under the moniker Mz. Ebony) and is studying political science in her first year at York University.

In 2006, Tavares ran as a candidate in Toronto's municipal election against incumbent Howard Moscoe in Ward 15 (Eglinton-Lawrence). She raised five daughters in Lawrence Heights and is a long-time community advocate.

She is presently chair of the Board of Directors at the Lawrence Heights Community Health Centre and vice-chair of the Downsview Community Legal Services. She was also a tenant representative for the Toronto Community Housing Corporation for three years.

Moreno moved to Toronto from Chile with his family in the 1970s. He grew up in Lawrence Heights and went on to study photography at Ryerson.

He has since returned to the community to coordinate "From the Inside Out" - a photography project incorporating photographs of residents taken by local youths, along with oral histories of life in the community. This will be part of the Contact photography exhibit in May.

Born without arms, Peart became a martial-arts master who worked with local youths in the community, providing a positive role model, representing triumph over apparent disadvantage through dedication and perseverance. He's now a music producer and artist manager.

James is one of this country's finest point guards. He attended Acadia University, was a member of Canada's national basketball team and now coaches basketball at Earl Haig Collegiate.

If you know of someone from Lawrence Heights who deserves special mention, please send us an email with their name and a brief biography.