Racial Equity: From Intention To Action

Asha Edwin: Asha is an intersectional and interdisciplinary researcher, anti-racism and equity consultant and facilitator, and yoga and wellness practitioner. Asha works with various community partners and organizations, exploring topics related to wellness and wellbeing, movement and sport, culture, education, community engagement and development and workplace change. Asha is a research assistant with the IDEAS Research Lab, and her current research focuses on Black women’s wellness in Toronto.

Deborah Robertson: Deborah Robertson has worked in the immigrant serving sector since immigrating from London, England almost two decades ago. After lived experience as a client, volunteer and settlement services Program Coordinator, Deborah currently serves as the Executive Director of the North Bay & District Multicultural Centre and its sister office the Timmins & District Multicultural Centre. Deborah co-chairs the Local Immigration Partnership in both North Bay and Timmins.

Shaneeza Nazseer Ally: As the Executive Director of For Youth Initiative, Shaneeza oversees the vision, strategy, and direction of the organization. Previously, Shaneeza served FYI in roles focused on fundraising, community engagement, and mentorship of young community leaders. She has a deep appreciation of the York South-Weston and Oakwood-Vaughan communities and the needs of their youth. Shaneeza is a known advocate for the creation of opportunities that allow young people to realize their potential, and more importantly, those that provide the mentorship and resources to combat the disproportionate inequity that Black, racialized, and newcomer youth face.

Shaneeza holds a B.A. from the Ivey Business School at Western University. She is a Fellow of the School for Social Entrepreneurs and a graduate of Harvard University’s program in Strategic Frameworks for Nonprofit Organizations. Shaneeza proudly resides with her family in Toronto.

Elene Lam is an activist, community organizer, educator, and human rights defender. She is the Executive Director of Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Networks).

She has been involved in sex workers, labour, migrant , gender and racial justice movements for over 20 years. She is a PhD candidate at McMaster University. 

Fareeda Adam is a Staff Lawyer at the Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC). She is a graduate of McMaster University and the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law.

After graduating law school, Fareeda articled at a criminal defence law firm. Fareeda continued to work in this field after being called to the bar of Ontario in 2015. She has worked for Legal Aid Ontario in various capacities, dealing with low-income Ontarians in both the family and criminal law context. Fareeda has developed a particular interest in the intersections of youth criminal justice, police accountability, and human rights. Since beginning her legal career, Fareeda has learned of the importance of naming anti-Black racism and using a critical race framework to meaningfully understand the interactions Black people have with legal institutions. 

Audrey Huntley is of European settler and Indigenous ancestry.

She was born in Calgary, Alberta, and moved to Europe as a young adult. She returned to Turtle Island in 1998 and has been involved in anti-colonial struggles in BC and Ontario ever since. Audrey is a documentary filmmaker and paralegal based in Toronto, and the co-founder of No More Silence and works at Aboriginal Legal Services Toronto.

Bernie Farber Acknowledged as one of Canada’s most accomplished NGO CEOs, Bernie M. Farber’s career spans more than a quarter century focused on human rights, anti-racism, pluralism and inter-ethnic/faith/race relations. His efforts have been documented in numerous Canadian Human Rights publications, books, newspapers and magazines. His work has also been cited for its expertise in a number of academic publications. Mr. Farber has successfully run large NGO’s and Foundations such as Canadian Jewish Congress, the Paloma Foundation and he is recently retired as Executive Director of the Mosaic Institute.

Today, Mr. Farber is a human rights consultant, newspaper columnist and social justice advocate. He has received numerous awards for his civil rights work including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal, Government of Canada 125 Commemorative medal and the Ontario Association of Chief’s of Police Award for Outstanding Service and Dedication to Policing in the province of Ontario amongst others.

Raj Dhir has been the Executive Director and Chief Legal Counsel at the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) since 2018.  He oversees all of the OHRC’s operations including legal, policy, communications and corporate services.  He has led the OHRC’s transformation agenda which includes strategic planning, modernizing the information and technology infrastructure, and building organizational capacity. He was previously a Portfolio Director with the Ministry of the Attorney General Civil Law Division, where he spent over a decade in a variety of management roles including as Legal Director at the former Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation and as Deputy Legal Director in roles at the Crown Law Office Civil and the Constitutional Law Branches within the Ministry of the Attorney General, and in the Ministry of Labour (Litigation and Solicitor Practices).

Raj also spent over 11 years as counsel at the OHRC, where he litigated and advised on a variety of human rights matters and appeared before administrative tribunals and at all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

Kiran Bisla  is a 21-year member with the Toronto Police Service. She is a Detective with the TPS Hate Crime Unit and has served in this position for over 12 years. During this time Kiran has been involved in a number of high profile hate-motivated criminal investigations both at a municipal and multi-jurisdictional level. She delivers training regularly at the Toronto Police College, and Ontario Police College to officers from across the province. Kiran participates frequently on panel discussions and conferences (provincial and national) with internal and external stakeholders including members of the legal community, government agencies, and non-profit organizations on the topic of hate crimes and investigative challenges. She represents the TPS as part of the Hate Crime and Extremism Investigative Team. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from York University.

Nuzhat Jafri is the Executive Director (ED) of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) and has served as President and long-time national board member and volunteer with the Council. She also serves on the board of directors of The Pluralist Foundation and has served as chair and member of several other non-profit boards, including the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, ACCES Employment, and South Asian Family Support Services. Nuzhat has wide-ranging leadership experience in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. She served as the Executive Director of the Office of the Fairness Commissioner from 2007 to 2017. Her experience spans leadership roles in policy, communications, human resources, and legislative and regulatory compliance. She is an untiring advocate for human rights, equity, inclusion and accessibility. She has a B.A. in French language and literature from the University of Toronto and a Master’s from the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Western Ontario. She lives in Toronto and enjoys being a grandmother among many of her occupations.

Tisha Duncan is Oji-Cree from treaty 9, a two-spirit and the parent of two dogs. She is an exemplary young leader, peer mentor, and role model with the Regional Multicultural Youth Council (RMYC). She organizes youth-led activities like Girl Power and Band of Brothers day camps for kids in high-risk neighbourhoods, assists with RMYC’s after-school and tutoring programs, promotes RMYC’s peer mentoring and student ambassador programs, and helped launch Pathways to Education to encourage vulnerable students to stay in school. Tisha sees how social isolation, poverty, racism, and negative influences can lead to violence and reaches out to groups and agencies to help kids feel a sense of safety and belonging.

Eternity Neekan is a Ojicree Nishinaabe youth and one of the co-presidents with the Regional multicultural youth council in Thunder Bay ON. They go by any pronouns (She/He/They) and is a two spirited individual. They organize youth-led activities in high risk neighborhoods with their team and organizes workshops to educate the youth in the city on topics like : Human trafficking, Healing from trauma and more to come. She was apart of the Pathways to education program before it was transferred to Shkoday and is a peer mentor at her school. She works with youth and listens to their needs, takes them out for coffee when they need someone to help/listen and advocates for their needs in the school. She started a youth council at her high school with the 4 Directions students to further pursue RMYC’S three main goals. (Keep youth safe, help youth graduate and give youth a voice.) and hosts youth nights to provide something consistent / fun for the students to attend. 

Brittney Emslie is currently the Director of Operations at the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre, where she has spearheaded Equity, Anti-Racism, and Indigenization work. She holds a Master's degree in Immigration and Settlement Studies from Toronto Metropolitan University. Brittney is currently the Chair of the Belong Steering Group of the Waterloo Region (WR) Immigration Partnership and sits on the WR Immigration Partnership Council, and local Refugee Task Force. She is passionate about helping immigrants and refugees settle, work, and belong in Waterloo Region. Brittney sits on OCASI's Anti-Racism Policy Advisory Board and is one of the founders of Rhythm & Blues Cambridge, a grassroots organization whose mission is to provide a safe and engaging space to empower, inform, and inspire the Black community. Brittney is actively involved in different community building events and initiatives, such as the KW Multicultural Festival, WR Migration Film Festival, and the #RacialEquityWR public education campaign. Anti-Racism and Equity are at the center of everything that she does. 

Axelle Janczur has been working in the not for profit sector in Toronto for over 30 years. With practice grounded in principles of access and equity, her focus includes addressing systemic barriers to services, transformative change processes and healthy public policy.  As Executive Director at Access Alliance for many years, Axelle has worked collaboratively with stakeholders to prioritize capacity building to enhance services for immigrants and refugees, develop a community based research agenda and advocate for improved access to the determinants of health for individuals and communities made vulnerable by systemic barriers.  In her personal life, she lives with a recycling enthusiast and two rescue cats, is mother to an extreme vegan fixed gear cyclist and a feminist hiker/kayaker.  She still gets up every morning, thankful to be working in a mission and values based sector.

Myriam Mekni is the Executive Director of the Catholic Centre for Immigrants, Ottawa. Previously, she served as Managing Director of Rising Tide Community Initiatives and as the former Executive Director of MAGMA, the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area.

Before immigrating to Canada from her home country of Tunisia, Ms. Mekni worked for Apple, the British Council, and the U.S. Embassy.

In her recent role, Ms. Mekni brings more than a track record of leadership experience. Dedicated to empowering new and established Canadians alike, Ms. Mekni’s vision is informed by a spirit of inclusion that is friendly, informed, and enduring.

Ms. Mekni served as Chair of Greater Moncton’s Local Immigration Partnership. Recently designated one of the most inspiring immigrants in the Maritimes, and one of the Top 20 Under 40 in the Greater Moncton Area, Ms. Mekni is also a passionate advocate for women’s rights and proudly sits on the governance committee for the New Brunswick Women’s Council where she also acts as interim co-chair.

In August 2021, Ms. Mekni was appointed to be a member of the Human Rights Commission of New Brunswick. She also co-chairs The Community Task Force on Homelessness and Downtown Security, which was created to mobilize stakeholders and resources to meet the challenge of homelessness and social issues.

Afua Cooper is a multidisciplinary scholar, author, and artist. Her 13 books range across such genres as history, poetry, fiction, and children’s literature. Her indomitable research on slavery, and Black history has made her one of the leading figures in African Canadian studies, and the authority on Canadian slavery. Her book on Canadian slavery, The Hanging of Angelique: The Untold Story of Slavery in Canada and the Burning of Old Montreal broke new ground in the study of Canadian and Atlantic slavery. She is a Fellow at the Warren Center for Studies in American History at Harvard University. 

Dr. Cooper led the “Universities Studying Slavery” initiative at Dalhousie University and was the lead author of the subsequent report Lord Dalhousie’s History on Slavery and Race. These initiatives revealed the connections between the Canadian academy and the Atlantic slaving systems. In 2021, Prof. Cooper was appointed as the Canadian representative for UNESCO’s International Scientific Committee Slave Route Project, whose main objectives is to conduct research on the Transatlantic slavery system and its legacies. Additionally, she is the Principal Investigator for A Black People’s History of Canada, a one-million-dollar, Canadian Heritage funded project.  A celebrated poet, in 2020 Dr. Cooper was Awarded the Portia White Prize, Nova Scotia’s highest recognition for the arts. She is also the winner of the J.M. Abraham Atlantic Poetry Award for her poetry book Black Matters.

Afua Cooper holds a Killam Research Chair at Dalhousie University where she teaches.

Amy Go, a social worker by training, was Past President of Chinese Canadian National Council. Amy was the Executive Director of Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care. She was one of the founders of CARE Centre for Internationally Educated Nurses in Ontario and was on the boards of National Action Committee on the Status of Women, National Organization of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women and many other organizations.

Nadiya Ali is a PhD Candidate in Sociology specializing in anti-racism, community empowerment, and Islamophobia. Nadiya brings extensive experience in education, research, and community development to her role as NCCM’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Specialist.

Nadiya is also a published author researching and writing in the areas of Islamophobia, Muslim identity, and Anti-blackness. Nadiya has also been a part of a range of community-based research and programming initiatives across the Greater Toronto Area, including the Black Experience Project and the Migrant Resilience project. More recently, Nadiya held a Visiting Fellow position at Suffolk University, teaching in the Sociology and Criminal justice department.

Prior to her doctoral work, Nadiya completed graduate work both at Carleton University and SOAS-University of London in politics and international relations. Additionally, Nadiya holds an Honours BA from the University of Toronto. Currently, her doctorate focuses on exploring issues revolving around racialization, identity, belonging and resistance.