Merissa Preston is the Manager of Partnership and Business Development at the LiUNA Local 506 Training Centre. She has over 20 years of workforce development experience, focusing on connecting youth to apprenticeships in the construction sector. Merissa started her career with JobStart in 1999 as a summer student and held various positions from frontline staff to management. In 2010 Merissa became the Coordinator of the Hammer Heads Program that supports youth from under-resourced neighbourhoods in the City of Toronto. In her current role, Merissa develops partnerships with community, owners of construction and contractors, providing apprentices with careers in construction through LiUNA Local 506. Merissa is currently on the Board of Directors of the Toronto Community Benefits Network and the Dovercourt Boys and Girls Club and is an alumnus of the 2017 Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference. In 2020 Merissa was appointed by the Hon. Monte McNaughton, Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development to the Construction Advisory Panel.