Moyal pictured with Stephen Hecht, founder of Million Peacemakers
“I enjoyed learning for the sake of learning and improving my critical-thinking skills,” says Jon Moyal of his student days at Concordia.
Moyal’s involvement with Million Peacemakers had its genesis in 2016, when he was at a career crossroads. He reached out to a mentor who introduced him to someone he thought Moyal would find inspiring.
“When I met Stephen Hecht [founder of Million Peacemakers] over bagels and coffee, like Montrealers should,” Moyal recalls, “I instantly realized that our values were aligned. What he told me really resonated because I also wanted more peace in my world.”
When Hecht asked him to join the board that day, Moyal accepted and soon found himself surrounded by others who were just as motivated to be part of Million Peacemakers.
“The board was filled with people who deeply, deeply care about the world around them and want to make the world a better place.”
‘Learning for the sake of learning’
Moyal grew up in Montreal, in a family business focused on electronics. But technology didn’t interest him as much as finding way onto a stage, any stage, and allowing his extroverted personality to shine. Performing arts and music came naturally to him, so much so he participated in school theatre productions and in a band, playing rhythm guitar and singing.
After two years at Marianopolis College, first studying commerce and then creative arts, Moyal enrolled at Concordia to focus on political science.
“I loved it there,” he recalls. “I enjoyed learning for the sake of learning and improving my critical-thinking skills.”
After graduating from Concordia, he worked at his family’s electronics business while also helping produce arts events for his friends. He felt something was lacking, though.
“I wanted to strengthen my business skills and better understand the language of business,” he says.
When he went to McGill University for an MBA, the puzzle pieces began to fall into place. Moyal wasn’t too interested in the usual finance or business management position, so when a friend advised him to apply for a role at the Federation CJA, he took to it immediately.
“I always felt close to my Jewish community,” he says, “and so this role, which I got, felt less like a job than a way to be educated in the non-profit world, from volunteer management to fundraising.”
As assistant director of the Young Leadership campaign, he was responsible for approximately $2 million in funding (out of the CJA’s $50-million annual budget) to assist with programs for young adults.
“The engagement piece was critical here, and being responsible for the volunteers we had was an important aspect of my role,” Moyal adds.
His next career stop took him to the Segal Centre for Performing Arts, where he volunteered first for their allocations committee to assist with their finances. It was another instance where Moyal saw an institution he admired, took on a non-paying role, and the C-suite noticed — and later rewarded him.
He spent four years as the Segal Centre’s director of development, honing his non-profit organization skills and helping run a speaker series.
“What was really exciting was that they would come and not just talk about their business, but also their passions,” Moyal recalls. “A lot of talk focused on their community involvement and their ideas of giving back.”
Moyal, married and a father of two, offers his own take on the key driver in his life.
“When I talk to young folks who are looking for an atypical career path, I tell them to get involved in any way possible with the places they care about,” he says. “The rest usually sorts itself out.”