As president and chief executive officer of World Vision Canada, Dave Toycen heads the country's largest humanitarian relief and development agency. In his 18 years as a leader with World Vision Canada—10 as president—donations have increased almost seven-fold and the number of children sponsored by Canadians has quadrupled to more than 400,000.

Toycen has led World Vision Canada into significant advocacy and public policy work, emphasizing issues that affect children. He has spoken before the World Bank, and he has met with heads of state, key global executives, and development leaders to discuss the well-being of the world's children.

Toycen's career with World Vision has spanned more than 30 years. His book, The Power of Generosity (HarperCollinsPublishersLtd, 2004), draws from his experiences and calls readers to become more engaged in the world and to develop a more generous way of life.

A Canadian citizen, Toycen holds degrees in philosophy and divinity and has received three honorary doctorates—from Tyndale College and Seminary in Toronto, the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California and Wycliffe College in Toronto.